faderift | [Closed] Operation: Execution

Entry tags:

[Closed] Operation: Execution

WHO: Anders, Jamie
WHAT: Anders is given Inquisition intel regarding a target they want questioned and then eliminated and takes an associate to deal with the matter.
WHEN: In the FUUUUUUUUTURE (dark future AU)
WHERE: Ye Olde Windye Roade
NOTES: Intimidation, violence, threats, death.

It's not the usual raid, and that gives him pause. Raiding is... different, somehow. He's been able to do the mental gymnastics to justify raids - they need supplies, people just happen to be there who are enemies. This is direct.

And yet the pause is short. They're at war, and even though he's fairly certain they're losing this he's going to fight. Anders gathers what he'll need and checks his mental list of who is around before heading out to one of the local hangouts. Sure enough, Jamie's there and he takes a seat next to the Rifter.

"I've an errand to run, if you're interested in joining me. It's not the usual, but it's for friends of the both of us." Which should say enough for any public conversation. Privately, though, he passes the specifics he'd been given over to Jamie while keeping an eye out for anyone trying to read over the man's shoulder.

"Memorize what you'd like to. I'm going to burn that once you're done." The details are simple enough, at least.

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When Anders finds Jamie, he's carving, something that he hasn't really done all that often lately. When faced with the news of the errand, however, he's quick enough to set aside he piece of wood with the starts of a rose on it and take the scrap of paper instead. He's quiet while he reads it, the only noises coming from a slight shifting of position on his end, the better to help block it from sight of any overly nosy people.

It is different than the usual raid. Finding and questioning a high-ranking official isn't something they normally do as it is, and what's asked of them after...well, that part gets Jamie's eyebrows to arch upward ever so slightly. But other than that, he remains relaxed, casually folding the paper back into a tiny package that's passed back under cover of gathering up his things.

"Could do to stretch my legs a bit anyway," he remarks, idly tucking the carving into the pouch on his belt. "Were you heading out now, then?"

The scrap is turned to ash in the blink of an eye. Anders figures no one will notice a little more of a smokey smell than normal in the area but he doesn't even look down at what he's done as he dusts off his fingers and nods.

"I feel like it's only polite to arrive first at these sorts of things. I'd hate to have it said we weren't welcoming." He stands, feeling some relief that Jamie hadn't turned down the mission. There are others he could go to, but he's walking on the edge of another line-crossing and he doesn't think Jamie would accept if the mission went too far.

"I've my kit," he tilts his head to indicate the pack on his back, "lead the way to what you'll need? It won't be hard to supplement the dried goods with what we can catch along the way, too."

The quick flash and resultant smell of smoke is ignored by Jamie as well. If he doesn't draw attention to it, it'll blend in fast enough that it won't be picked up by the others, and that's just fine with him. He pushes himself out of his seat, slipping the knife he was using into his sheath, and then motions with his head towards one of the corridors.

"Hunting should help with that, aye. Let me just grab mine, then, and we'll be away."

It's not far, and once they're there, it doesn't take long for him to throw together what he'll need, although he does pause somewhere in the middle, glancing around to see who's nearby before asking a seemingly innocuous question.

"Anything extra you want me to throw in there? Just in case we get delayed by the weather or the like."

He pauses in thought, running over a mental list of what they have and what might be wanted, before looking back at Jamie.

"Anything you'd need for making traps. While they're on the move might be the best time to... visit." That way there are no fortifications, nowhere the target can fall back to, and no secret tunnels or something to give them an escape advantage.

Anders glances around to doublecheck that no one is listening. "I've wires and what I need for small explosions, as well as some metal shards that should be safe enough to use." The target will be in the carriage. This will be unfortunate for the horses, but he'll try to make sure they suffer as little as possible. All avenues of escape need to be locked down promptly.

"Nothing too heavy, though. Buggy will carry us to a drop-off point and while two people aren't too taxing, we don't want to push it. So no anvils." There's a flicker of a smile on his lips. He might be stressed about leaving Nate, and about becoming an assassin for the resistance, but this is what needs to be done.

"No anvils, aye."

There's a flicker of a smile on his end as well, but he knows that keeping things light is the best idea. And he has a few things that might come in handy, like some lengths of wood that he'd been thinking of using for carving, some rope, extra wire and the like, and he sets about putting them in his pack along with the other supplies. At the same time, however, he keeps turning over the word 'anvil' in his mind - and right about the time that he's picking up the pack and slinging it over his shoulder, he turns to Anders.

"If you want something like anvils, though, I've an idea that just might work." Depending on the terrain, anyway. Only one way to find that out, though. "Let's away, and I'll show you what I mean when we get there."

Or get somewhere where they can talk freely, anyway. Right now, he doesn't want to go into too many details. Not while there's so many people around.

He gives Jamie a curious look, raising an eyebrow before shrugging and heading out. Jamie said he'd explain and he'll take the man's word for it. Before long they're where the griffons are kept, Anders nodding to the current guards on duty before leading the way to Buggy.

The griffon takes a little attention, snacks, quiet reassurances, head pats and the like, before she's saddled and rigged up. Anders is the first to climb on, giving showing Jamie how to copy him and then expecting the Rifter to hold on as she takes off.

"It won't be too long of a flight," Anders hollers over his shoulder once they've reached a decent height. "Two hours, but Buggy may need a break in there sometime despite how we've trained. Let me know if you need one as well!"

Despite having been around the griffons for years now, Jamie's never ridden one before. Even though he knows they do accept riders, they're still great big beasties, and he tends to treat them with a slightly wary respect - which means that he leaves them their space and lets the others do the riding.

If they didn't need to get to where they're going in a hurry, he'd suggest another way, but deep down he knows that it's not possible. So despite his trepidation, he watches what Anders does and copies him, doing what he can to try not to let his nervousness show. He's hard pressed to do so when he figures out she's about to take off, but his old clinging instincts are still there, and he has absolutely no problems in hanging on for dear life as she launches herself into the air - and after that, as well. At least it means he's in no danger of falling off any time soon, but it still takes him more than one attempt to holler a reply back.

"Look, I-I-I'm fine. L-let's just get there, alright?"

The sooner they can get there, the sooner he can let him know about the plan - and then the sooner he can get that done and take a more normal way home. Like walking.

Edited 2017-03-08 03:01 (UTC)

If the whole situation wasn't so serious and Anders wasn't stressed by leaving Nate behind, he might have laughed. Sure, the reaction makes perfect sense. But funny things are in short supply, and his friend clinging to him and stuttering as Buggy hits her stride counts as one of them.

"We're on our way," Anders says with just a little bit of amusement in his voice. The ride is fairly uneventful, thankfully - they see a few birds here and there, Buggy chases after one for a quick snack, they go through a cloudbank that's unfortunately chilly - and then they're landing in a small valley with a creek running through it. There are trees on the hills on either side, and Anders nods north.

"The road is that way, and I'd say we've at least twelve hours before he's there. We should take several of those hours to prep what we can, not moving it to the road until shortly before we expect him, I think. What was your idea?"

By the time that they reach their destination, Jamie's more than ready to be done with this whole flight thing. In fact, the feeling of relief is strong enough that he winds up letting out his breath in a rather audible sigh the moment both feet land on solid ground.

There's work to do, though, and while twelve hours sounds like a long time, if Anders is willing to go along with what they have in mind they'll be busy for most of that time. Rather than dwelling on that relief he takes a few moments to glance around, chin lifting slightly as he he peers off into the distance and only lowering when he turns to look back at Anders.

"Aye, well, it seems to me he'll have a fair few men with him, and if we can take them out early enough, we'll have an easier time of it. Setting some small traps'll be good, but if we can set something larger it'll take more men. Logs coming down or a rockslide, maybe. Something that'll take out more than one of them at once."

"Hm." It's a good idea. The noise is mostly one of thought as he considers the terrain they'd seen while flying before nodding.

"Rockslide. I can break up the ground some with magic, prep it, and then use force to do the rest of the work. Logs could give warning. I like the thought." Anders kneels, starting to pull things they can use out of the bags. "I'll do that when we get to the road. There's no reason to start it early and risk something big coming through that makes everything moot."

He doesn't feel any Darkspawn nearby, so ogres aren't an issue. That being said, there are always bears running around, and more dragons than there should be. Since everything in his life has a habit of going wrong, he should really prepare for the worst.

"What did you bring?"

At least with the dragons they'll know those are coming fairly early on. With only the two of them and a bit of warning, Jamie feels confident they'll be able to avoid getting eaten. Bears are another story, but he's done his share of hunting over the years and can check for signs easily enough once they get started. For the moment, though, he pulls his pack around to his front and starts to undo the fastenings keeping it closed.

"Rope, a wee bit of wire, a few shorter sticks which we could use that to shore up a deadfall trap, maybe, but it'd have to be a small one. If we can get that to trigger something bigger, though..."

It'd not be a problem to tie a rope to it, and pull it when needed - or with wire, string it across the way so someone could stumble into it and set it off. If things were balanced in the right way, that could trigger a much larger rockslide. In the meantime, he finishes getting the pack open, then peers inside.

"There's some tools, too, and a few odds and ends I put in in case they'd come in handy. Want to take a look through it while I go check to make sure we've no bears about?"

Edited 2017-03-16 02:30 (UTC)

It's a good amount of supplies and Anders nods, coming over to start looking through the supplies.

"I think I might like to make some scarecrows attached to ropes that we can trigger to suddenly look like there's people on the hills too, so if you find stones that look round, grab those too. ...Obviously drop them if you find a bear, though, and shout please. I'll be closer to the road, but I'll move to your side as quickly as possible. And don't forget that if you've any ideas that need a trigger, you've a mage with you who can burn through a rope in an instant."

Anders picks up both packs and starts heading north, toward the road, so he can see it on this level and figure out which hill will be best to weaken. One day people will be used to dealing with mages, which will be all the better for everyone. More heads will come up with ideas of uses for magic and more can be done. The world can continuously become better for everyone around them.

"Ah, no fear. You'll know if any of them actually turn up around here."

Come to think about it, he couldn't actually remember the last time he'd seen a bear - or even heard about one being around, with the exception of that one that'd turned up with the Doctor, Hermione and the others. That didn't necessarily mean that there weren't some around here, though - for all he knew, they'd been around all along, only in places where people didn't run into them. He'd keep an eye out.

But Anders has a point, and before he gets too far Jamie takes a moment to add, "Oh, and I've not forgotten, you know. Could set some traps along with yon scarecrows so that when someone comes to check on those you can trigger them and give them a nasty surprise?"

He might do that with the rockslide, too, truthfully, to add another layer to the physical triggers. Maybe some sort of dummy trigger to tangle up some people while Anders burns the rope...but before he voices those ideas he wants to think them through somewhat first.

The patrolling gives him a chance to do just that, because on his end things remain quiet, with the largest beastie he sees a fennec. Once he gets done, he swings back Anders's way, letting him know both about that and the idea about the dummy triggers coupled with Anders using his magic to set off the rockslide. Once he's explained his idea in full, he gives Anders a questioning look.

"So what do you think about that, then?"

"Mm, good idea," he says before Jamie heads out, glancing at their supplies again. They've got plenty of things to work with. It's probably a good thing he's walked into an ambush or two in his days, and it seems Jamie has as well.

The other ideas are good as well, and Anders nods his approval.

"We've got our work cut out for us, then." To kill a man. He's still not sure how he feels about the assignment, but it has to be done. Anders has been working on the rockslide first, taking his time to loosen in just the right places with just the right amount. There's not much to show for this, just a glow around Anders' hands as he walks the hill he'll be destroying and pauses here and there.

"Thankfully the road seems to be on the quiet side as well. And soon we'll have the experience needed to set us up for a life of banditry if ever it becomes an option."

He flashes Jamie a faint smile. "Let's. Perhaps this can be the straw that topples the ogre."

Jamie's mouth twists into a wry half-smile at the mention of a life of banditry, but the expression is brief, replaced with something more serious a few moments later.

"Aye, here's hoping."

If this does turn out to be the straw that does topple the ogre, then maybe the whole thing'll be worth it - even if he still doesn't relish the necessity of having to kill a man in this way in the process. But the assignment is the assignment, and while Anders starts to take care of the hill, he starts to take care of what needs doing on his end. His past experience comes in handy here, allowing him to set up things quickly and smoothly, and it's not too long before he finishes and goes to rejoin Anders.

"Anything else that needs doing or are we good to go?"

He takes a breath, looking the preparations over.

"I suppose there's nothing left to do but wait." Waiting is torturous, but necessary. They set up a small area and Anders works on putting together something palatable to eat in the meantime.

"Are you all right with the end of this? We'll be killing a man in, not exactly cold blood, but rather close. Mercy's a little on edge, I'd not be surprised if you were too." So is he, to be truthful, but the assignment was handed to him. He doesn't have the freedom to not be all right with it.

One thing that hasn't changed over the years is Jamie's love of food, and there's obvious signs of anticipation from him over the meal Anders is putting together. However, that changes the moment Anders brings up the task that's been given to them. The enthusiastic expression on his face fades away, replaced with something that is much more guarded - and for a few moments, he doesn't say anything at all. Still, it's a question he has to answer, and before the silence can stretch out a little bit too long, he takes a breath and lets it out again.

"Not sure 'all right' is what I'd call it. It's...look, I know it's what we're supposed to do. If we'd not been ordered to do it, though, I'm no so sure I'd be seeking to end this man's life. Not like this, anyway."

Anders nods, looking grim.

"I don't blame you." He takes a slow breath in and out before pushing his food around a little. "If you need... If I have to do the final blow, I'll do it. You'd the option of coming. The order was given to me."

Mercy won't be pleased. She's already tense, but she at least understands the vague shape of ending one person to save many in theory. He'll see if practice works, or if he's going to have to find another spirit to work with after this.

"That's assuming he doesn't make it easy and attacks us and he dies in the chaos." Information would be very useful, but the end goal is the target dying. There's no guarantee he can tell them anything useful.

"Eat up, and then we can get into position and wait."

Maybe the man will make it a moot point, at that. All the planning in the world isn't necessarily going make this go smoothly, and it's entirely possible that he might wind up attacking them. A small part of him almost hopes he will. It sits a bit better with him than the thought of assassination. He appreciates the fact that Anders is willing to be the one to make that final blow, though, and he reaches to clasp Anders' shoulder for a moment.

"I know it was...and I daresay it can't be any easier for you than me. Look, let's just agree that when the time comes one of us'll take care of it. We can sort out the details when it's time."

A small smile turns up the corners of his mouth as he lets go, crossing over to where the food's been set up to take a portion of it for himself. Whatever's meant to happen there will happen when its time, and he'll worry about that - and any resulting guilt - when it happens.

For now, it's time to wait, and he makes short work of his food and goes to settle into position, shifting until he finds one that's relatively comfortable. Whatever else is going to happen today, he's fairly sure that it's going to involve a fair amount of waiting.

The agreement is an easy one to make and nod to, and then it's time for eating and waiting. He finds he almost misses Justice at times like this; talking outloud could give them away and he'd been able to speak with the spirit in his head. But considering all the downsides of being possessed, Anders knows it's better this way.

Evening fades into night fades into the twinklings of dawn, and they can hear movement on the road. Anders glances over at Jamie before taking a nice, slow breath and bracing.

The initial traps go off, and rocks slide down the hill to take on the carriage, destroying wheels and crippling horses that Anders feels for. But there's nothing to be done. More traps trigger and he can hear men yelling now, some in pain, some in anger. Anders casts an ice storm over the area, chilling and slowing, moments after tossing up a barrier around himself and Jamie. It's go time.

Anders isn't the only one feeling regret when it comes to the horses - but Jamie doesn't have time to dwell on their fates, unfortunate as they are. The trap's been sprung, and while it's taken out some of the guards, and even though the ice-storm has slowed them considerably, there's still some that can respond to the attack.

Rather than rush down immediately, however, Jamie pops up from the spot he's chosen from behind the practice dummies they'd set up as trap, taking aim with a bow he'd brought with him and firing before running to another position and firing again, making it seem like there's archers on the hill in an attempt to draw some of the men up and into the range of the traps. For now, it seems to be working, at least to an extent. Some of the less injured men do draw their swords, moving up the hill and towards the line of "archers". Not all of them do, however, and when Jamie spots some of the others reaching for bows to return fire with, he ducks back down out of sight, using the terrain to cut across to a spot he knows he can use to hide his movements and allow him to flank the men that remain below.

In the meantime, the men that do make their way up the hill are still moving slowly, thanks to the ice-storm...but it's not long at all before they're in range of the second trap, unaware of the rather nasty surprise that awaits them.

And nasty surprise it is, metal shards spraying through the air and shredding into the guards. Mercy does not approve of this, cannot, but at least she doesn't flee. There will be so many more lost if they don't take care of this man and determine what they can from him.

Anders does what he can from his own position, trying to keep track of Jamie while he makes fires flare up. By now the men are scattered and few, and their target is struggling out of the center carriage and yelling. It takes a great deal of patience to wait for it, but finally the man steps into the paralysis glyph and Anders activates it, trapping him for a good long time.

As far as the rest goes? Anders weaves together force and ice for a reverberation effect as he yells "Run" to them. It's their only chance to scatter, and they don't have to die here today unless they choose to do so.

As the reverberation effect starts to sweep through the ambush area, some of the men - the smarter ones - do. They can see where this is headed, and they're not getting paid nearly enough to lose their lives in the process. Some of them are slower than the others, thanks to their injuries, but it's clear to see that they're still going - and once Jamie sees that, he makes no move to stop them.

The ones that are left, however, are another matter, and as they realize that the dummies are in fact dummies and not people, they start to turn their attention towards Anders and their trapped boss. By then it's too late, however. Jamie's made his way into position, and as the men that are left start to make their move, he does as well, springing out from behind a tree with steel in hand and every intention of taking down the few men that remain.

It helps that they're not all in the same place, as well. That means neither he nor Anders are going to get overwhelmed, and barring anything odd happening, between the two of them they'll be able to take down the last of the guards in short order.

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[Closed] Operation: Execution

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