OPERATION: SALT THE EARTH - Log 17
Mar. 9th, 2018 02:31 pmNina and North deactivate the second level of security as they compromise the IT centre.
Pavel Semyonov resisted the urge to wave at her as he arrived at the security station. After all, he was an officer and had to maintain some level of decorum. On the other hand, he'd been stationed at VECTOR for over a year, and the security sequestration protocols had meant that he'd be isolated with the same group of people for that time; soldiers, scientists, or people who outranked him, leaving him almost no peers with any similar interests. He was so dreadfully bored that having a peer to talk to about shared hobbies was like an unexpected day off.
His acquaintance apparently did not quite share his professionalism, flashing him a quick grin before rearranging her features into a more neutral expression. "I know I didn't last very long," she said, sotto voce, "but what can I say? When you've got to raid, you've got to raid."
"I'll sign for her." Pavel told the guards. After a precautionary check for weapons, Domino was waved through, and Semyonov escourted her back to the secure computer centre. "Security is very tight. It takes twenty minutes to get back inside after lunch most days. Are you leaving right after the conference tomorrow?"
"I'm afraid so," she said, following him back into the warren of offices. "But who knows, maybe we'll be back for another inspection before too long." Dom felt almost bad promising this, given his obvious loneliness and isolation - almost as bad as she felt about what was to happen next. They entered the small computer lab and she paused just inside the door, feeling around in her pockets. "Damn, I think I dropped my pass..."
"Oh, here-" He stepped past her, looking along the hallway from which they came, checking if it was there.
A sharp pain at the base of his neck robbed him of his next breath. And then his consciousness as he collapsed gracelessly into the safe bracket of North's waiting arms.
The German flashed Dom a quick smile as he dragged Pavel to a corner and kicked the door shut. "It is that terminal over there," he said, jerking his chin to the main system set out along the perimeter of the room.
"Be careful with him," Dom said, frowning at North as he deposited Semyonov against the wall. It wasn't like her to worry about the collateral damage caused in pursuit of missions and she made a note to firmly tamp down any feelings or sentimentality going forward. "Do we have an ETA from Emma?"
"We have a couple of minutes," he assured her. "Just try not to give your friend here enough time to wake up. I did not bring any tranquilizers."
"Guess you were never a Girl Scout," Dom muttered, dropping into the chair and quickly glancing over the set-up. It seemed straightforward enough and so she got to work, though she was well aware of the ticking clock over their heads. She was familiar with Russian systems and though there were a few clever tricks in the way they soon fell, leaving her free to trigger the security shutdowns they needed and hopefully allowing Emma free access without raising any alarms.
"Okay," she said, pushing back from the keyboard after an intense few minutes, "I think we're good." Behind her Semyonov gave a faint groan. "Shit, he's tougher than he looks. Or you don't hit as hard as you look."
The older man shrugged, clearly unbothered by the jibe, then leaned down with a small device, the size of a match box, and casually tased the man.
"Shall we, madame?" He smiled, courteously holding open the door and offering her help with her bag. "There's a rendezvous point we should get to."
Pavel Semyonov resisted the urge to wave at her as he arrived at the security station. After all, he was an officer and had to maintain some level of decorum. On the other hand, he'd been stationed at VECTOR for over a year, and the security sequestration protocols had meant that he'd be isolated with the same group of people for that time; soldiers, scientists, or people who outranked him, leaving him almost no peers with any similar interests. He was so dreadfully bored that having a peer to talk to about shared hobbies was like an unexpected day off.
His acquaintance apparently did not quite share his professionalism, flashing him a quick grin before rearranging her features into a more neutral expression. "I know I didn't last very long," she said, sotto voce, "but what can I say? When you've got to raid, you've got to raid."
"I'll sign for her." Pavel told the guards. After a precautionary check for weapons, Domino was waved through, and Semyonov escourted her back to the secure computer centre. "Security is very tight. It takes twenty minutes to get back inside after lunch most days. Are you leaving right after the conference tomorrow?"
"I'm afraid so," she said, following him back into the warren of offices. "But who knows, maybe we'll be back for another inspection before too long." Dom felt almost bad promising this, given his obvious loneliness and isolation - almost as bad as she felt about what was to happen next. They entered the small computer lab and she paused just inside the door, feeling around in her pockets. "Damn, I think I dropped my pass..."
"Oh, here-" He stepped past her, looking along the hallway from which they came, checking if it was there.
A sharp pain at the base of his neck robbed him of his next breath. And then his consciousness as he collapsed gracelessly into the safe bracket of North's waiting arms.
The German flashed Dom a quick smile as he dragged Pavel to a corner and kicked the door shut. "It is that terminal over there," he said, jerking his chin to the main system set out along the perimeter of the room.
"Be careful with him," Dom said, frowning at North as he deposited Semyonov against the wall. It wasn't like her to worry about the collateral damage caused in pursuit of missions and she made a note to firmly tamp down any feelings or sentimentality going forward. "Do we have an ETA from Emma?"
"We have a couple of minutes," he assured her. "Just try not to give your friend here enough time to wake up. I did not bring any tranquilizers."
"Guess you were never a Girl Scout," Dom muttered, dropping into the chair and quickly glancing over the set-up. It seemed straightforward enough and so she got to work, though she was well aware of the ticking clock over their heads. She was familiar with Russian systems and though there were a few clever tricks in the way they soon fell, leaving her free to trigger the security shutdowns they needed and hopefully allowing Emma free access without raising any alarms.
"Okay," she said, pushing back from the keyboard after an intense few minutes, "I think we're good." Behind her Semyonov gave a faint groan. "Shit, he's tougher than he looks. Or you don't hit as hard as you look."
The older man shrugged, clearly unbothered by the jibe, then leaned down with a small device, the size of a match box, and casually tased the man.
"Shall we, madame?" He smiled, courteously holding open the door and offering her help with her bag. "There's a rendezvous point we should get to."