33rd Exploit: Infiltration 1

Night has fallen upon the Tower. Clarice prepares for the faux interview as Antonio and Jason take their places in the plan. The plan is sound, but there is no accounting for the unpredictable.

Act 2

33rd Exploit: Infiltration Pt. 1

The entrance lobby of the Tai Tower is brightly illuminated. Clarice walks up to the receptionists desk with the duffel bag over her shoulder. The woman at the desk wears a warm smile and greets Clarice expectedly. 

"Good evening Mrs..."

"Jenna." Clarice speaks her Pseudonym confidently. " Jalice Jenna."

"Oh yes, Mr.s Jenna! You're here for the second interview." The receptionist waves her hand toward a scanner square next to the desk. "If you could stand in that square briefly."

"Of course." Clarice walks toward the scanner and casually steps onto it. This is the first true hurdle of the mission, but one she has no worries on. She comfortably brings her heels together and looks toward the screen on the wall. Her blade appears blatantly on the blue screen but nothing else is detected. Nothing in the bag or otherwise.

"Only a sword?" 

"That's the only form of defense Ive ever needed." 

"I see, well-" the receptionist walks from behind the desk and toward the first corridor, not too far from the blue screen. "Right down this way, third door on the right." Clarice nods as the receptionist smiles. "Good luck!"

---

Jason sits behind the cover of several bushes. He eye's what looks to be a relatively unprotected, at least on the outside, power station next to the left side of the Tai Tower. His eyes turn to face a watch Clarice gave him before the mission.

"15 minutes." Jason begins to sweat. "Damn heart feel's like its gonna burst." Jason looks back up at the power station nervously.

---

Antonio isn't too far from Jason's position. He's directly facing the Tower, 'hiding' behind a tree he's leaning on. His hiding skills leave little to be desired but he doesn't seem to have been noticed by anyone. His eye's glare upward excitedly as he waits for 'the signal' patiently.

"Not long now, Clark."

---

Bo and Ole are walking down one of the hallways on the third floor. Bo scratches the back of his head and grumbles.

"Something doesn't feel right." 

"Hm? What do you mean?" Bo, knowing Ole isn't in the loop about the possible upcoming attack, hesitates to say anything, thinking it would only make matters unnecessarily complicated.

"Probably-" Bo clears his throat. "-Its probably just me being worried for no reason." Bo sighs. "So, this potential new recruit, she's good with the sword right?"

"It would seem! I'm going to have her show me a demonstration sometime in the middle of the interview." Ole smiles. "Hopefully, she's got more talents then using a sword though. I'd be very happy if we stumbled upon someone with natural espionage talents. Tai and Grendel have been wanting more spies and our best guy still hasn't returned from that damned McFawfin's headquarters. We don't even know if hes still alive."

"You talking about the borderline Cultist Church of O'Goagth?" Ole cringes uncomfortably. 

"Dreadful name." Ole grumbles. "Still can't believe they're our top competition in sales, they ought to stick to their god and keep their hand out of the product pot!"

"Hmm." Bo's interest in the subject drifts back to the woman whose about to be interviewed. "Anyways, this  woman claims to be a swordsman. Kind of reminds me of someone, but I'm sure its just a coincidence-" All of a sudden the lights shut off. Ole looks around confused and scared.

"What in damnation is this?!" Bo lowers his head and sighs.

"Looks like a blackout."

"Blackout?! This tower doesn't have black outs!" Ole bites his lower lip. "The two back ups will bring power back quickly, but this isn't right!"

---

Two Minutes Prior

Clarice is seated in front of an empty desk. The Tai Corp associate that guided her to the office slowly closes the door behind her.

"Mr. Runnel will be a moment still."

"That's fine." The door closes behind her. She studies the room, noting a plastic thorn bush next to the door, a book shelf at the back of the wall and an exceedingly tacky Ole boggle head right next to Ole's monitor. Clarice considers how atrocious this mans ego must be for a second before bringing her mind back to the mission. The lights suddenly shut off without warning and Clarice stands immediately.

"Thank you, Jason."

---

Eight Minutes Prior

Jason takes a deep breath and looks at his watch once more. He fills himself with resolution as he lowers his arm and looks up at the power station. He's already fried the camera next to the door.

"Alright, time to make it happen." Jason's feet spark for a split second. He zips up* to the window right of the entrance door, five feet above it. He places his ear to the window and heightens his hearing using fighting spirit and natural electricity in tandem. Jason's eyes slightly widen as he hears someone speak.

"Yeah Mr. Rweise. No, everything's nice an' solid here, you really don't need to send that gross psychopath here." Jason thinks for a moment. He remembers when Clarice was talking about an aura radar and want's to give it a try.

"Is now the best time though?" Jason thinks out loud. "Whatever, nothing ventured nothing gained." Jason's horn sparks as he closes his eyes and focuses his fighting spirit to his head. The window surges for a half second before sending an invisible wave of energy through the room. It reflects off the walls and retreats back to Jason, signalling surprising things through his horn.

"Ey, Mr. Rweise you still there? Yea I lost the signal for a second. Alright I'll call back if there's a problem." Jason removes his head from the window and shakes it.

"Woah, that was pretty weird." Jason looks toward the window. "Only felt one fighting spirit in there, otherwise I didn't see anything... Ok! This should be easy!" Jason kicks the window open and hops in confidently. He lands like a badass and lifts his head up, but is suddenly surprised. "Huh?!"

The Tai Corp associate who had just finished his conversation with Clark is leaning on an arm-less robot with a large revolving Gatling cannon for a head and upper body. This is a Rev Gunner.

"WHAT THE F**K?!" 

Jason's eyes widen as he notices seven more associates inside the cramped power station, as well as a second Rev Gunner right behind Jason, aimed at the door. Of these eight associates the only one with a fighting spirit is the one leaning on the Rev Gunner in front of Jason. This brownish red haired youth with a double horned cowlick on the right side of his hair is Conner Dumal, a rather low ranking defense division officer fresh off his first year with the corporation.

"Ten obstacles, s**t." Jason smirks under his scarf and reacts before anyone else can blink, sending a sharp emp wave out of his body and through the power station*. While the main power grid has too many defenses to be shut down by the wave it does fry any phone in its wake, including Jasons, fries the dour cameras in the room, and disrupts the Rev Gunner's vision receptors. Conner has enough time to stance up before Jason is upon him.

"Bring it o-" Poor Conner's nose is instantly obliterated by Jason's index and middle knuckles. Conner gasps as a brief jolt of electricity shoots through him and he collapses in instant defeat. The other seven Tai Corp officers are are utterly left in surprise.

"He got Conner that quickly?!"

"Whatever we still got the gunner's-" As this statement is said the blind Rev Gunner in front of the door swings its long six foot barrel wildly to the left, clonking two of the associates in the back of their heads and knocking them out immediately. "Hey what?!"

"Hah, won't even need my glove for these guys!" Jason lays his hand on the Rev Gunner behind him and pours electrical aura into it, making its Gatling head explode. Jason lowers his head as a chunk of metal flies fast past his head.

"S**T!"

"Anyone against abandoning post?" Jason 'materializes' behind the TC officer who had just spoke, left of the room, with his skip step. "Uh-"

"What, and miss the fun?" Jason grabs his shoulder. "Relax and enjoy the night, man!" Jason electrocutes the man to unconsciousness. He aims his bare hand at the others and gloats. "Now, whose next?" Jason's eyes grin behind his shades.

"Goddamn it! Someone manual the stupid robot and put holes in that b*****d!" 

"OH HEEEELLLLLL YEAH!!!" One enthusiastic associate jumps on the back side of the blind Rev Gunner and presses a couple buttons. "I'm gonna light this prick up!" He grabs the manual joystick and aims the Gatling cannon where Jason was standing and only sees sparks in the place. "Hu-"

"BESIDE YOU!" The associate on the Rev Gunner turns his head to the left just in time to see an electrically surging shin roaring toward his head.

"O-" 

Jason smashes the poor b*****d in the face. He flies back off of the Gunner and into two other associates. All three are shocked from the first one's overcharged body. Jason shoves his hand on the back of the Rev Gunner and fries it like he did the first one, this time using less electricity and not making it explode. Jason turns his head to the remaining Tai Corp Officer and casually hops off the dead Rev Gunner and in front of him.

"You... YOU A*****E!" The man pulls out his gun. Jason 'skips' to him and slaps the gun out of his hand. "uuurg!"

"Don't you know those things are dangerous?" Jason holds in a laugh. The TC Associate grins and begins to yell at Jason.

"Oh, you are so f*****g dead! Do you realize just what kind of people run this place?! YOU'RE DEA-" Jason casually pats the passionate officer on the shoulder and shocks him. "GYAAAAHHH!!!" He faints.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Jason pats his pocket where his fried phone is and sighs. "Hmm. Guess I can't let ya'll know Ive got the power station secured. Guess they'll know when I shut this place down." Jason walks around the rubble of the Rev Gunner next to Conner and finds the switch to the power behind them. There's a large glimmering gem above it, an electric gem. Not quite as big as the one's in the power plants that put power to multiple cities but still quite a sight. 

Jason places his hand on his chest, feeling his heart pounding, then extends his hand to the switch. "Okay Antonio, Clarice, its time!" Jason grabs the switch and yanks it down while pumping a massive amount of electrical fighting spirit through the switch and gem. The gem reacts violently as electricity bursts throughout the station. Its power is killed, as is the power on about the first third of the Tai Tower.

Author's Note

*Skip Step - a moving technique used by Bolzen-Kafers that can comprehend fighting spirit to move at blinks of speed using their electrical blood cells.

*Disruption Blitz - A quick burst of magnetic energy that serves as an EMP. Its range isn't great but its large enough for relatively open rooms.
-

Rev Gunner - One of Clarks inventions. He deemed it relatively useless as a serious means of offense but it's been massed produced. There's no less then three stationed in the vaults of each TC Storefront.

Conner Dumal - 5'9, 167, 19