OPERATION: SALT THE EARTH - Log 3
Mar. 4th, 2018 08:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsWanda and Artie spend some time checking out the apartments of the potential suspects.
Breaking and entering might be a crime, but for the intelligence community, it was an essential step in any investigation. The last two apartments hadn't yielded much. One was obviously just gone for the weekend, with an empty set of bicycle clips suggesting she'd been out on the trail as her Facebook showed most weekends. The other had no signs of flight or perpetration for one, as he sat a few blocks away with a hookup from Tinder, trying to negotiate (unsuccessfully) a visit to his nearby apartment. Perhaps third time was a charm.
The placement of the apartment couldn't be better, Wanda thought as she kept watch while Artie worked on the lock. It was the last apartment in the hall and was tucked away in a slight recess which meant that to anyone who happened to come down the hall, Wanda just looked like a bored delivery woman waiting to see if someone was home. And not like she was keeping watch while someone broke into their neighbors apartment. Though their luck was holding up there as well - she hadn't seen a single person since they'd stepped off the elevator.
"Still clear," she murmured, pretending to read over the clipboard in her hands.
Artie stepped through the door, illusions hiding the door from casual observation sliding around him as he went in.
He stopped just inside the door and looked around. James Neil's apartment was dust free and thoroughly vacuumed, which made the pockets of mess incongrous. He moved to the hall closet, opening it to find neatly hung winter coats and boots and, on a shelf above them, document files. He got to work, rifling through them.
Wanda closed and locked the door behind her as she followed Artie inside. While there hadn't been a security system, she was still leery of hidden cameras but it would take far too long to do a thorough search. They'd just have to work quickly. Passing Artie as he sorted through a stack of documents, she headed towards the bedroom where the unmade bed clashed with the neatness of the rest of the room. Hopefully a good sign.
Throwing open the closet door, she started to rifle through the contents.
After a moment, Artie tapped on the wall to draw Wanda's attention to the text floating near the closet. "Identity docs and financials are gone for this year but he's kept the last few years filed neatly. it's not messiness."
He moved to the kitchen, where the fridge had been emptied of everything except condiments. The fruit bowl still sat on the counter, empty except for a single onion. "Either doesn't cook or he didn't want to come home to a rotting mess."
She followed behind, nodding in agreement. "Add in the carefully picked over closet, as well. Key pieces are missing but not all of them - a few jackets are left but not one of them look well worn. I saw a large suitcase but there was a space next to where something smaller sat. I am thinking a small duffel bag, perhaps." Wanda tapped her fingers on a kitchen counter and nodded. "This is most likely the man we're looking for."
Another quick look around satisfied her that there was nothing else to find in the apartment, their person was good enough to not leave anything actually important for them to find other than what they'd been able to pick out. "Back to the offices," Wanda said, "where we can focus on Mr. Neil more thoroughly."
Breaking and entering might be a crime, but for the intelligence community, it was an essential step in any investigation. The last two apartments hadn't yielded much. One was obviously just gone for the weekend, with an empty set of bicycle clips suggesting she'd been out on the trail as her Facebook showed most weekends. The other had no signs of flight or perpetration for one, as he sat a few blocks away with a hookup from Tinder, trying to negotiate (unsuccessfully) a visit to his nearby apartment. Perhaps third time was a charm.
The placement of the apartment couldn't be better, Wanda thought as she kept watch while Artie worked on the lock. It was the last apartment in the hall and was tucked away in a slight recess which meant that to anyone who happened to come down the hall, Wanda just looked like a bored delivery woman waiting to see if someone was home. And not like she was keeping watch while someone broke into their neighbors apartment. Though their luck was holding up there as well - she hadn't seen a single person since they'd stepped off the elevator.
"Still clear," she murmured, pretending to read over the clipboard in her hands.
Artie stepped through the door, illusions hiding the door from casual observation sliding around him as he went in.
He stopped just inside the door and looked around. James Neil's apartment was dust free and thoroughly vacuumed, which made the pockets of mess incongrous. He moved to the hall closet, opening it to find neatly hung winter coats and boots and, on a shelf above them, document files. He got to work, rifling through them.
Wanda closed and locked the door behind her as she followed Artie inside. While there hadn't been a security system, she was still leery of hidden cameras but it would take far too long to do a thorough search. They'd just have to work quickly. Passing Artie as he sorted through a stack of documents, she headed towards the bedroom where the unmade bed clashed with the neatness of the rest of the room. Hopefully a good sign.
Throwing open the closet door, she started to rifle through the contents.
After a moment, Artie tapped on the wall to draw Wanda's attention to the text floating near the closet. "Identity docs and financials are gone for this year but he's kept the last few years filed neatly. it's not messiness."
He moved to the kitchen, where the fridge had been emptied of everything except condiments. The fruit bowl still sat on the counter, empty except for a single onion. "Either doesn't cook or he didn't want to come home to a rotting mess."
She followed behind, nodding in agreement. "Add in the carefully picked over closet, as well. Key pieces are missing but not all of them - a few jackets are left but not one of them look well worn. I saw a large suitcase but there was a space next to where something smaller sat. I am thinking a small duffel bag, perhaps." Wanda tapped her fingers on a kitchen counter and nodded. "This is most likely the man we're looking for."
Another quick look around satisfied her that there was nothing else to find in the apartment, their person was good enough to not leave anything actually important for them to find other than what they'd been able to pick out. "Back to the offices," Wanda said, "where we can focus on Mr. Neil more thoroughly."
