Providence, Rhode Island
Abolith furrowed her brow as she continued her search. With the sun now bathing the executive office in light, the elf assassin was running out of time.
Upon learning of Casseus's involvement in the Moreland assault, Fukushu approached his beloved wife with a simple task. Find out what Casseus was up to. Unfortunately this task was proving to be harder than the elf assassin originally thought.
Attempting to break into New Horizon's head office was suicide. Since the ill advised attack by the Harris siblings, security around the home office was increased ten fold. The only way to have any hope of finding any evidence on Casseus was to infiltrate one of New Horizons smaller offices. This is how Abolith found herself within the CEO of the regional branches office.
After sneaking through the ventilation systems, Abolith stealthily made her way to the office, quickly breaking the encryption codes as she perused the mainframe. In theory, she would obtain the information and leave without leaving any evidence, deactivating the buildings alarms and cameras as she worked. It should have been an easy job, yet as the elf grunted in frustration once again, it was proving complicated.
"Nothing," she hissed, as she clicked off yet another file. She had been working for hours now, every time a lead surfaced it would lead to a dead end. Abolith was close, she could feel it, yet she was quickly running out of time. This was a mission of stealth not savagery. The fewer bodies left in her wake the better.
"No luck?"
Abolith spun quickly, her scimitar at the ready. Seeing the smug smirk on Hanako's face only causing the elf to frown.
"What are you doing here Hanako?" she grumbled, lowering her blade.
"Same thing as you I imagine," Hanako replied. "Gathering intel on Casseus. I'm just surprised the kitsune would be interested in something that directly affects my family."
"Shouldn't you be heading to your coffin before you turn to dust," Abolith answered snidely. "I'm busy and my reasons are my own."
Hanako nodded, watching the elf work as a small smirk spreading across her face. "Always with the rude comments," she said. "I would expect no less. I do have another theory though?"
Abolith said nothing, waving off Hanako as she continued to work. "After all," Hanako continued. "Considering Casseus attacked the Morelands, how long before he goes after your precious nieces and nephews?"
Quickly raising her hand, Hanako caught the knife Abolith had thrown at her. "I appear to have touched a nerve." she grinned.
"You touched nothing," Abolith grunted, continuing to work.
"If you say so," Hanako shrugged. "By the way I spent the evening going through the archives. Regrettably, if there are any hard copies, they're not here."
Abolith, nodded before slamming her fist on the desk. "Damn it," she grunted. "There's nothing here either."
"So do you think Casseus is innocent?"
"No," Abolith replied. "I can tell there's something, but the firewalls installed around that information can't be accessed from here. The only way to get that information would be on Casseus personal computer and archives at New Horizons global HQ."
"Which would be a suicide mission right now," Hanako finished.
Abolith simply nodded, logging out of the computer before wiping any evidence of her presence. The camera's being shut off would be seen as a mechanical glitch and as the elf wiped her prints away none would be wiser that she was here. All that needed to be done now was escape.
The sound of approaching voices now caused Hanako and Abolith to pause, a look of concern crossing her face. Quickly Hanako's body became corporeal, the mist floating into the vents leaving Abolith alone.
"Sorry only room for one," Hanako stated, her voice echoing within the vents. Abolith grumbled in annoyance, quickly scurrying under the CEOs desk. Gripping her knife tightly, Abolith held her breath as the door to the office opened.
"And this is my office."
"Wow Daddy,"
Abolith grit her teeth, listening carefully. Of course the CEO would have a group of children with him. Listening carefully, the elf could hear the CEO now talk, the sound of a group children chattering softly filtering towards the elf. Why did these infiltration missions always have issues? Listening carefully, it sounded as if the class of the CEO daughter was on a field trip, receiving a tour from the CEO himself.
Abolith held her breath, the grip on her knife tightening. Leaving an army of corpses in her wake was not on her agenda. If she was discovered, her departure could turn into a bloody mess. She may not want to leave a classroom of children and this CEO laying dead, but she couldn't be discovered either. All she could hope for for was this man to quit praddling on and leave.
As the door to the office closed, Abolith let out a sigh of relief. It appeared the tour was proceeding elsewhere, leaving the elf alone once more. Slowly crawling out from beneath the desk, Abolith quickly took in the vacant office.
"Check the closet," Hanako whispered from the vent. "I think there's some janitor coveralls inside."
Abolith did as instructed, opening up a wooden door to reveal a janitor's jumpsuit and supplies. It appeared the CEO had a small locker installed for his cleaning staff to use when they entered his office. Quickly slipping into the jumpsuit and grabbing a hat, the elf took a moment appraise the outfit.
"Not very flattering," she thought, noticing the loose material around her body. "But it will do." Grabbing a cap and adjusting her hair to cover her ears, Abolith crept towards the door. Opening it, she could see office workers now slowly entering, holding onto cups of coffee, their eyes bleary as they looked to start her day. No one would notice a member of the evening janitorial staff finishing their work. Closing the CEOs door, Abolith now casually made her way to the elevator before pressing the button.
As the elf now exited the office building, she casually began to walk across the street towards a parking garage. Once inside, she would call Shay for a pickup and report her findings. As she looked to enter she could see a car now pull up next to her, the occupant rolling down their windows.
"Hop in," Hanako said.
With a nod, Abolith did as she was told opening the passenger side door as the pair now drove off. "Thanks for the ride," Abolith stated. "I only wish we had more to report."
"Welcome," Hanako stated as the pair drove away. "And I feel the same. If we're going to find anything on Casseus, it looks like we'll need to investigate the home office."
Both Abolith and Hanako remained quiet as they drove away. The idea of infiltrating New Horizon was a prospect neither woman was thrilled to undertake.