Post by The BombTrax on Feb 11, 2020 8:40:46 GMT -8
2/7/2020
THE SANDS HOTEL & CASINO
LAS VEGAS BLVD, LAS VEGAS, NV
Press and Youth stood staring up at the giant neon palm trees of the Sands Hotel & Casino as the cascaded across they Vegas skyline in various colors. They had recently learned that their former enemy, Alastor Haurus, a vengeance demon, had somehow survived their meeting nearly five years ago, and now held a position here at the Sands. They also knew, thanks to a dead recording studio executive, that he played some part in Loki's plot to reorganize the crime racket here in Vegas to include those of the supernatural persuasion. Their main goal was to locate the God of Mischief, but if they were able to derail an attempt to put demons in control of the cities under belly, then that would be a major plus.
Both men felt naked considering neither were packing for this venture into enemy territory. It wouldn't do for them to draw attention to themselves by setting off the metal detector at the front door, and they were hoping that they could get the information they needed and get out. If a more frontal assault was required, they would need to regroup and strategize.
They also had their eyes peeled for any familiar faces that didn't have to do with their day job. Vegas was only four hours away from Santa Monica, so it was plausible that any number of Iconic Professional Wrestling personnel might be floating around the place, not to mention the popularity of the city to the wider world. More than that, however, was the real possibility of running into Cross Recoba. Their 'Freedom' charms would allow them to move freely past cameras and the memories of others, but it had it's limits. Anyone that knew them personally, or even knew them beyond a surface level, then their cover would be blown. It stood to reason that the past they shared with The Fox would constitute as 'personal'.
The two men hurriedly crossed the multi-lane drop off points and entered through one of the many glass revolving doors lining the front of the casino. They received a few glances from security, mostly the same looks that someone large as Press always received, so they didn't think too much about it as they navigated their way into the front section which housed the slot machines.
"Jesus. This is going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!" Youth exclaimed, looking starry eyed at all of the flashing lights, loud dings, and hundreds of people on the main floor.
Press grunted in agreement, using his height to peer over the rows to try and see if anything stood out. His partner was right. There was no way to make heads or tails of who was what and where, and more so, he had the nagging feeling that Alastor wouldn't be anywhere on the main floor. That meant they would need to do a little B&E into one of the service halls to try and find an elevator.
To that point his eyes pick up on a woman dressed in a skimpy outfit carrying a tray full of empty cocktail glasses away from a rowdy crowd at the craps table. Press gave Youth a nudge, and nodded his head in the woman's direction as she makes her way towards a door at the far end of the room. She fumbled with a key card while still maintaining control of the trey full of glass, and somehow manages to make her way through the door.
"How convenient. Let's mosey on over there and wait for the door to open." Youth says, cheesy grin on his face.
Press rolled his eyes before the two men made their way to a row of slots within a few feet of the door. Youth plunked down on a stool sitting in front of the machine on the end, and plops a quarter into the coin slot. He pulls the lever and the multiple logos begin to spin as the big man tries to act casual beside him, but can't help but blatantly stare at the door. Just then it pops open while at the same time Youth's machine comes to a stop, dinging loudly to indicate a winner. Youth fist pumped the air as coins began shooting out at the wide mouth tray at the bottom only to be yanked by his collar away from his prize and towards the door.
"Aww, come on man! That never happens!" He cried as he's drug towards the door.
The server exiting steps quickly past, eyebrows raised as she does at the sight but otherwise focused on getting to her customers. Press managed to catch the edge of the door just as a shout for them to stop goes up from a pit boss who is already speaking into a radio hooked to his shoulder.
"Shit!" The big man exclaimed, and Youth, who was resisting now turns and stars pushing him through the door.
The duo find themselves in a long hallway with doors lining the left and the right with labels above their frames. They know they don't have long so they bustled forward blindly, not certain what they were looking for, but sure that they'd know when they found it. Just as they duck into a door titled 'Linens' the one at the end of the hall where they came bursts open with security that hustles into the hall and starts checking doors.
"Dude. What are we going to do?"
"Fuck, I don't know. Hide?!"
"Where in the hell are we supposed to hide you? You're the size of a truck!"
Press huffed before shoving past his partner of little help to begin surveying the room. It's essentially an over-sized walk in linen closet where the fresh bedding, towels, etc. are housed in their designated spots. There are a couple of push bins at the end of the room, and Press quickly makes his way over to one and starts to step inside.
Youth watches this incredulously. "Are you kidding me?"
Press started to lower himself down into the bin. "What? They're clean!"
Youth rolled his eyes but starts to follow suit in one of the other bins. "That's not what I mean. Don't you think they'll figure this out pretty quick?"
Press paused in covering himself up with sheets and towels to look over at his partner, who was having a much easier time concealing himself in the large cart. Finally he shrugged and sunk down as low as he could, flipping sheets so that they now engulfed his head. Both men grew quiet as voices could be heard out in the hall, and when the door to their room burst open their butthole's drew up in response. There was a rustling for a few moments before a loud booming voice called, 'Clear', and the sound of the door shutting indicated that they were gone.
Press flipped the sheets off of him and looked over at his partner who was already leaping over the side back on solid ground. He sniffed the air for a minute, and seemed to be following a smell until coming to a stop in front of a ventilation grate.
"You smell that?" He asked over his shoulder, still sniffing the air.
Press watched this with a shake of his head, but upon an inhale himself, couldn't deny that there was something. What was that? Bread?
"I think this vent is hooked in to the kitchen! We could probably get some disguises and a key card there."
Press looked at the grate doubtfully, and when he didn't respond, Youth turned to see the hesitation on his face.
Youth threw his head back with a face palm and couldn't help but chuckle. "I meant that I would go and come back for you through the door, moron!"
Press's face screwed up in disapproval, but when Youth motioned for him to give him a boost he complied. Youth used the edge of a credit card to loosen the two screws holding the grate in at the bottom, and then his fingers to get them completely free. He tossed them down below where they landed at Press's feet, and found that forcing the grate open was pretty easy. He narrowed his shoulders the best he could by tucking his arms in, and Press gave him a toss upwards which propelled him forwards into the grate.
Aluminum duct work creaked and cracked as Youth made his way the rest of the way inside, and he could be heard saying, "Be back in a jiffy", from further in.
Press leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes as the bangs and cracks grew less and less profound the farther his partner got away from him. This wasn't a good plan, and had already gone awry. There wasn't any stealth in a place like this where there were enough real eyes on where cameras were not. The camera footage might get flawed by their freedom charms, but it would erase it. They would know that someone was somewhere they didn't belong.
He was there for what to him felt like hours, but was in reality only about fifteen minutes when the door burst open a second time. He was lowered and ready for an ambush when he saw that it was his partner, only Youth was now wearing a server's uniform and had a much larger one draped over his arm. Press quickly came out of his hiding place, while Youth tossed the uniform in his direction.
"I doubt that's going to fit comfortably, but it's the biggest one they had." Press started to dress while Youth explained his adventure. "So when I got to the grate leading to the kitchen it was right over the dishwasher's area. You should have seen the look on that poor mook's face when I burst out on top of him. Of course, he didn't put up much of a fuss when I wrapped him up in a sleeper. Anyways, I still had to do some sneaking to get to the kitchen staff's break room and managed to pop the combination on one of their lockers. This place is huge, by the way. There were like twelve guys up in there, and security was still continuing their sweep, so, I mean, it's not like it was easy."
"Uh...can you get to the part where you found out where Alastor's located?"
Youth sighed at being interrupted in his story and turned to look at his partner. The sight nearly bowled him over with laughter. The big man's girth barely fit into shirt, whose buttons looked like they were on the verge of becoming projectiles. The pants weren't much better, pushing his stomach in so deep that he actually had overhang. OVERHANG!
Press stared hard at his partner as he guffawed over in the corner before shaking his head and stepping over the door to have a peak down the hall. "Get it all of your system, ass hat. Now did you find out where he's at or not?"
Youth could tell by the grim voice that his partner wasn't in the mood, so he took in deep, measured breaths to get control of himself before replying. "Yeah, I told one of the bar staff that I was new, and Mr. Haurus had called the main floor demanding a drink. His offices are on the 48th floor in a penthouse suite."
"Seems familiar."
"Yeah, only, he's not there. The guy at the bar questioned me about the order cause he knew that Alastor wasn't in the building at this time, and I told him that he had called ahead to keep the bubbly on ice."
"Quick thinking."
"Well, I mean...it's not like this is the first time I've impersonated kitchen staff at a five star hotel."
Press shook his head and pointed at the ID badge Youth had clipped to his shirt. "You sure that thing is going to get us where we need to go?"
"Are you kidding me?" Youth Replied. "Even the high rollers need to eat, and that means culinary probably has more clearance than security does."
"Point taken. I don't guess you saw a service elevator during your travels?"
"As a matter of fact," Youth began, stepping up next to his partner by the door. "It's just down the hall and around the corner."
"Good, let's get this over with."
The two men quickly shuffled out of the linen closet into the hallway and luckily didn't run into anyone but they could hear security conducting a secondary sweep further into the complex. They rounded the corner where the elevator was located and Youth flashed the badge he had stolen over the card reader which flashed green. Soon the elevator doors opened, and they found the cart unoccupied as they slipped inside and had to swipe the card again in order to input the correct floor. It was a long ride to the 48th, and the two men traveled it in silence, both anxious to be done with this part of the adventure and hoping they could do so uninterrupted.
When the elevator dings and the doors slide open, they are standing in the foyer of a good sized penthouse apartment. Straight ahead of them through the archway is the main room where several plush couches sit around a glass coffee table. There is a bar at the other end of the room along with a set of huge glass doors leading out to a wide balcony. At the other end is a fireplace large enough for Press to step into and several doors leading into other areas of the floor.
They check these one by one, looking for what Alastor would use as an office, knowing that whatever it was they were looking for would more than likely be there. Then again, what were they looking for? That was the question. All the information pointed to Alastor being alive, but didn't actually say what, why, or how. They were hoping to find anything that could give them a clue as to Loki's role in all of this, but weren't sure if they'd even recognize it if they found it.
Upon hitting the last door on the left side, they hit pay dirt. The office wasn't as grand as his library back at Caesar's Palace, but it was till pretty impressive. Bookshelves lined the back wall, and to their immediate left was another fire place with a tapestry hanging over the hearth with a depiction of what must have been pandemonium, the famed castle in hell from Milton's 'Paradise Lost'. The right wall was nothing but one huge plate glass window that gave an impressive view of the Vegas skyline, while a large ash wood desk sat in the center of the room.
The two men quickly pushed inside, Press immediately going towards the bookshelves while Youth rounded the desk to search the drawers. Everything was locked, but luckily Youth had smuggled some plastic picks into his jeans and a paperclip found on the desk would serve as his ground. He set to unlocking the desk while Press began yanking books off the shelf, looking for a secret compartment. The drawers came open after a few moments for Youth, and upon finding no luck on the bookshelf Press moved over to the fireplace and checked behind the painting.
Inside the first drawer was a stack of papers outlining different expenditures here at The Sands. To be honest, above board paperwork. In the second was more risque contraband. Spell components. A few vials of what was labeled virgin blood. The main ingredients for some of your more nefarious black magic. It wasn't until he got to the third drawer that he came across what looked like the insides of a computer tower, but fashioned into the desk. He was confused for a moment before finding a switch just under the lip, and when he flipped it, a monitor and keyboard literally folded up out of the desk.
Press looked over his shoulder with an eyebrow raise. "Fancy."
"Yeah," Was all Youth replied before setting about the task of trying to gain entry. This was a smart setup. If he were using a tower or a laptop then just anyone could snatch it up and make off with it, but this. The whole damn desk was a computer, and since it was made with pure mahogany, weighted upwards of six hundred pounds. You'd have to have a moving crew and a gurney to even make it past the door.
Reaching down into the drawer with the spell components, he pulled out a vial that looked to be black gun powder and uncorked it. Lightly he dashed the keyboard that had appeared with the substance, and then leaned his head down so that it was level with the desk, and blew lightly sending the particles flying. What remains are little flecks of dust on often used keys which were possibly used to enter the password.
D..L..P..O..A..E..R...
Surely it wasn't that simple. Leopard. But just like that, the screen suddenly flashed to life and he was in, and what he saw directly on the screen cause him to 'yelp' ever so slightly.
Press noticed the sound and stepped behind his partner to look over his shoulder. Several camera feeds were compiled into one window, each one a room somewhere in this penthouse. All save for the elevator, which was currently filled with armed security officers and steadily approaching the 48th floor.
"Move fast, kid." Press stated flatly, quickly turning his attention to the other side of the desk where there were more drawers. The big man didn't use the same finesse as his partner to get them open, and he didn't have to. A violent yank and some brute strength had the drawers ripped right off their locks so that he could get a look at their contents.
Meanwhile, Youth quickly minimized the camera views and started opening folders, none of which were labeled with anything that made sense. Another security measure he supposed, one in which actually hindered him this time. He didn't have any of his normal equipment with him to download the files, so the only option he had was to print or try and send it through the net to his phone. Both men felt the tension rising as each second that ticked by brought the security team closer and closer.
Finally, Youth opened a folder marked appropriately enough, 'Mischief', and several documents appeared on the screen. Instead of trying to open each, one by one, he simply drifted the cursor over the 'Print All' button and clicked it. At the front of the desk another compartment popped open on the surface, and the sound of a printer could be heard as papers began appearing through the opening.
"Eureka!" Press exclaimed, plunging his hand into the last drawer he had ripped out of the desk to produce a compact disc.
"What's that?"
"I don't know yet, but it's labeled, 'Ravens'."
Youth clicked his tongue, a little worried at what they might find on that disc, when the computer stops spitting papers indicating an end of the folder. He quickly scooped up the forty to fifty pages and rolled them up, sticking them behind his back into his waistband. He and Youth started towards the door just as they heard the dreaded ding from the elevator.
Both men peeled out on either side of the door and pressed their backs up against the wall while trying to get a glimpse into the main room. The security force spilled out into the foyer, weapons drawn, and they made a tactical sweep into the room, separating into two man teams to check the rooms on either side while two remain near the elevator to prevent an escape.
"What now?" Youth asked in a whisper, anxiety clear in his voice.
Press shruged, equally as agitated, looking around the room for a good place for them to go. His first thought is the fireplace, but it's a smokeless unit that doesn't actually lead anywhere, and even if they could somehow get up inside to hide they were on camera. These guys were probably patched right into their security operations center, so it wasn't really an option. The only reason they were doing the sweep instead of coming right for them was because of the unseen variables.
His eyes drifted over to a notch on the wall just inside the door, and he realized that this was a fire alarm. If you pulled it, the alarm would sound, but if you pulled it and then pushed it in, the sprinklers would go off. He looked over at his expectant partner and made a gesture of his fist into his other palm, and then pointed at the alarm. Youth sighed heavily, but then shrugged his shoulders in acquiescence just as Press pulled and pushed the mechanism.
The penthouse went up in a blare of horns and strobe lights began spinning in recesses overhead to indicate an emergency. The sprinkler system kicked on in full gear, and as shouts went up inside the main room, both men tore through the office door in a rush.
Youth was the faster of the two so he went straight for the men across the way while Press charged right up the wall from the office door. The two men on that side turned their guns in his direction but he dove at them to catch both with a spear that took them off their feet. The two officers by the elevator tried to take a shot, and wood splintered as the shots missed their mark and embedded into the decorative wall. The big man's girth had both men wheezing to try and get him off of them, but he was able to get his hands around their faces and gripped them like basketballs before driving the back of their skulls into the tiled floor. When he felt them go unconscious he rose up slightly over one of the couches to see that Youth had managed to take out his two on the other side, which only left the two back at the elevator.
A brief scan of the room before bullets let fly again showed him an 'Exit' sign that was now lit up leading towards one of the doors on Youth's side of the room. Ducking his head and running low, doing his best to stay behind some form of cover, Press darts across the sitting area as the two gunmen unload, and he manages to duck behind a buffet while pulling it over onto it's side to provide more surface to hide. Youth quickly scrambles away from his two downed opponents to slide in behind the buffet as well, wood being chewed up thanks to the spray of handgun bullets.
The gunfire pauses briefly and Press points at the 'Exit' sign. Youth nods, and in that brief moment of reload both take off like a bat out of hell towards the door. Just as they reach it wood splinters just above Press' head, and he barks out a curse as they fall through the frame and into a short hallway leading to the stairs. He groans at the thought of having to go down 48 flights, but he supposed it was better than being shot. When the door closes behind them they can hear the two security officers bursting through to follow, and he manages to slam the heavy exit door shut and throws himself against it to prevent their pursuit.
"I'm not going to be able to hold this indefinitely, and we still have the issue of our escape." Press says in a clipped fashion, the door bulging out only for him to thrust his shoulder forwards to slam it back into place.
"Yeah, I get it. Just let me think."
"We don't have time for you to think," The big man roared.
"We need to get at least five more floors down before we can get to the normal rooms of the hotel," Youth says, ignoring his partner. "and from there maybe we can get on one of the service elevators."
"I doubt that key card you swiped is still active..."
"Well maybe we can make it to another stairwell!"
"The damn cameras make it pretty hard to move anywhere they won't see!" Press exclaims, nodding towards one of the black domes stuck on the wall just above them.
"Then let's get this immediate problem out of the way. Open the door!"
Press grimly nodded and just at the time that the men on the other side would drive their shoulder into the door, the big man turned the handle and pulled it open, and they stumble into the hallway in surprise. One of them even hit the floor while Youth dove at the man remaining on his feet and grabbed his gun arm, wrenching it towards the sky. The firearm went off, causing all of the men to have to shake off the deafening ringing in their ears. The echo in the tight stairwell was tremendous, but Press kept the presence of mind to send a football like punt right into the man on the ground's jaw. His head snapped back and he slumped into unconsciousness, giving him time to turn and help his partner wrest the firearm from the other gunman. Youth wrapped his arms around the man's throat and applied a chokehold that with Press's help took only a few seconds to put him to sleep.
From there they quickly rushed down the steps, listening as sounds came from far below them of more footsteps rapidly moving up the stairwell. It stood to reason that more security was on their way to cut off their escape which meant they would need to duck into another floor and find an alternate route. They had made it all the way down to the 29th floor when they could hear voices calling up the hall for them to 'freeze', and that the police were on their way. Press suddenly veered right, bursting through the door that led into a hallway lined with numbered doors. They had reached a level where there were normal hotel rooms, but the commotion was drawing some unwanted peeks from the occupants. Press and Youth rushed past them with all haste, not giving anyone a chance to get a good look at them while the security force that had been coming up finally arrived at the same level.
Shouts called out behind them but they were already at the other end of the hall, and they were guessing that security would be less apt to use their firearms in a space full of guests. Upon reaching the other end they found the east side emergency stairs, and quickly took that door. Immediately they ran into three men who were making their last steps onto the landing, and the shock of their prey arriving gave Press & Youth the advantage.
Youth left his feet with a shotgun drop kick that sent the closest guard rocketing towards the concrete wall behind him with enough force that it drove the air out of him. Press swung hard to catch the next closest with a haymaker right that sent him sprawling while spinning through the strike to throw an elbow into the jaw of the third. The blow sent the man stumbling backwards, and right off the landing to tumble end over end down the steps until coming to an abrupt end at the bottom. Press slammed the stairwell door shut, and then grabbed the two unconscious guards and stacked them right in front of them before both descended once more. As they passed the officer who had taken the stairs the hard way, he tried to reach and grab for them, but Youth gave him a knee right to the temple that ceased his attempts.
27, 26, 25, 24...
Above they could hear that security had managed to get past their makeshift barricade, while below more security had entered from the ground floor. They couldn't keep taking the same tactics, as they were eventually going to get cut off, and if the police had really been called, then they were in real danger of being carted off to jail. That wouldn't do. There was too much riding on them completing this mission and freeing Munin from the clutches of the All-Father, and that meant they'd need to be able to research the documents & disc they just procured from Alastor.
"If we can make it to single digits, we're going to make a jump for it..." Press said through labored breaths. The big man was not made for escapes.
"We'd never survive the fall." Youth replied, regarding the floor marker for #15.
"If we don't," Press wheezed, "Then we go to jail, and that isn't an option."
Youth couldn't argue that logic, kicking himself into overdrive where he was now outdistancing his partner by an entire stair length. As he rounded the stairs leading to the 10th floor, a host of security had caught up with them once again. He didn't slow down, didn't hesitate, leaping from his step down onto theirs and bowling into the lead officer with enough force that he fell back into those behind him. Like a wild ride at an amusement park the men went down like dominoes, while Youth did his best to ride them down the steps. Bodies flopped and flipped all around him and the ride ended when they reached the 10th floor landing which slammed all of them hard into the concrete.
Youth pushed up to his hands and knees as the officers groaned and checked their ribs around him. Just as he tried to get to his feet he felt himself being hoisted up by unnatural strength, and he knew that his partner had finally arrived. The two men didn't pause to speak, or even try to ensure their pursuers weren't able to follow. They had run out of time and needed to cover what little ground they could before the pendulum finally caught up with them.
9, 8, 7, 6, 5...
Just as they reached four the ground floor door opened again, and Press decided this was their stop. He thrust his partner through the door into another hallway, this one however was lined with rooms on one side, while the other wall was large panes of glass that showed the neon palm trees out front in all their glory. The two men rushed down the hall, blowing past a maid who threw her hands up and screamed as they turned the corner to head towards the elevator area. They could see on the other side of the connection that the far wall also didn't contain rooms, but was a solid wall with a few windows intermittently placed. That would allow someone access to the back of the building, which would be less crowded and easier to navigate in a clutch.
"There's our exit, kid." Press huffed, running that way.
"But how do we get through the window? They are solid panes..."
Youth isn't able to finish his sentence as he watches his partner scoop up a large decorative stone statue of a porpoise as he runs, using tremendous strength to hoist it up onto his chest, and then lobs it at one of the windows just as they reach the end. The stone crashes against the glass and it cracks significantly but doesn't break, so Press picks it up again and swings it once more. This time the glass shatters and the dolphin flies down to the rooftop below of The Sand's docking bay. Youth immediately clears the window of jagged glass with a nearby coat rack and then looks out the opening as the door bursts open behind them and at the sides of the hall their in with security.
"That's at least a two story drop..." He says worriedly, aware of their situation.
"We've made three before..." Press replies, swinging his legs so that they are now outside the window and he's sitting on the seal.
"Remember, bend your knees and roll with the drop."
"Yeah, Yeah." And with that, the big man shoved himself out of the window and Youth looked to either side of him as Security pushed in.
Press hit the rooftop with a 'oomph' but rolled with the landing and ended up halfway back to his feet. His partner ended up right beside him, rolling all the way up and grabbing him by the arm to help him the rest of the way. The two men could hear the security team barking orders to their team members about their new location but none of them made the attempt to follow their route. As they approached the ledge of the building, they looked over the side to find a parking lot below them and a spot nearby where a box truck with a shrimp stamped on the side pulled up to the dock for unload. They made their way along the edge to where the truck was just below them, and lowered themselves so that they could dangle from the edge and make the ten foot drop to it's roof.
Press's foot nearly went through the aluminum and particle board, but Youth was able to stabilize him before they stepped onto the cab of the truck, slid down the windshield, and finally slid off of the hood to their knees. They were exhausted, but they weren't out of the woods yet. No security, but plenty of dock workers and drivers were staring at them and making their way for their phones.
"We have to go, big guy. Just one more run and we can get out of here." Youth said, breathing hard and still sore after his ride in the stairwell.
He grabbed the big man by the arm and as Press slowly lifted his tired head while posting up on the truck to stand but something came into his field of vision that gave him serious pause. An ebony cane with a decorative silver tip sat right in front of him between expensive brown leather Armani shoes. He followed the shoes all the way up an expensive pair of slacks, to a well tailored jacket and shirt, and finally to the man who owned a lion's head cane.
Press said nothing, looking defeated, as Youth stood frozen, staring right at their worst fear in shock.
The Fox, Cross Recoba, lifted his cigar to his lips and cocked his eyebrow. "Gentlemen...what brings you to The Sands?"
Both men felt naked considering neither were packing for this venture into enemy territory. It wouldn't do for them to draw attention to themselves by setting off the metal detector at the front door, and they were hoping that they could get the information they needed and get out. If a more frontal assault was required, they would need to regroup and strategize.
They also had their eyes peeled for any familiar faces that didn't have to do with their day job. Vegas was only four hours away from Santa Monica, so it was plausible that any number of Iconic Professional Wrestling personnel might be floating around the place, not to mention the popularity of the city to the wider world. More than that, however, was the real possibility of running into Cross Recoba. Their 'Freedom' charms would allow them to move freely past cameras and the memories of others, but it had it's limits. Anyone that knew them personally, or even knew them beyond a surface level, then their cover would be blown. It stood to reason that the past they shared with The Fox would constitute as 'personal'.
The two men hurriedly crossed the multi-lane drop off points and entered through one of the many glass revolving doors lining the front of the casino. They received a few glances from security, mostly the same looks that someone large as Press always received, so they didn't think too much about it as they navigated their way into the front section which housed the slot machines.
"Jesus. This is going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!" Youth exclaimed, looking starry eyed at all of the flashing lights, loud dings, and hundreds of people on the main floor.
Press grunted in agreement, using his height to peer over the rows to try and see if anything stood out. His partner was right. There was no way to make heads or tails of who was what and where, and more so, he had the nagging feeling that Alastor wouldn't be anywhere on the main floor. That meant they would need to do a little B&E into one of the service halls to try and find an elevator.
To that point his eyes pick up on a woman dressed in a skimpy outfit carrying a tray full of empty cocktail glasses away from a rowdy crowd at the craps table. Press gave Youth a nudge, and nodded his head in the woman's direction as she makes her way towards a door at the far end of the room. She fumbled with a key card while still maintaining control of the trey full of glass, and somehow manages to make her way through the door.
"How convenient. Let's mosey on over there and wait for the door to open." Youth says, cheesy grin on his face.
Press rolled his eyes before the two men made their way to a row of slots within a few feet of the door. Youth plunked down on a stool sitting in front of the machine on the end, and plops a quarter into the coin slot. He pulls the lever and the multiple logos begin to spin as the big man tries to act casual beside him, but can't help but blatantly stare at the door. Just then it pops open while at the same time Youth's machine comes to a stop, dinging loudly to indicate a winner. Youth fist pumped the air as coins began shooting out at the wide mouth tray at the bottom only to be yanked by his collar away from his prize and towards the door.
"Aww, come on man! That never happens!" He cried as he's drug towards the door.
The server exiting steps quickly past, eyebrows raised as she does at the sight but otherwise focused on getting to her customers. Press managed to catch the edge of the door just as a shout for them to stop goes up from a pit boss who is already speaking into a radio hooked to his shoulder.
"Shit!" The big man exclaimed, and Youth, who was resisting now turns and stars pushing him through the door.
The duo find themselves in a long hallway with doors lining the left and the right with labels above their frames. They know they don't have long so they bustled forward blindly, not certain what they were looking for, but sure that they'd know when they found it. Just as they duck into a door titled 'Linens' the one at the end of the hall where they came bursts open with security that hustles into the hall and starts checking doors.
"Dude. What are we going to do?"
"Fuck, I don't know. Hide?!"
"Where in the hell are we supposed to hide you? You're the size of a truck!"
Press huffed before shoving past his partner of little help to begin surveying the room. It's essentially an over-sized walk in linen closet where the fresh bedding, towels, etc. are housed in their designated spots. There are a couple of push bins at the end of the room, and Press quickly makes his way over to one and starts to step inside.
Youth watches this incredulously. "Are you kidding me?"
Press started to lower himself down into the bin. "What? They're clean!"
Youth rolled his eyes but starts to follow suit in one of the other bins. "That's not what I mean. Don't you think they'll figure this out pretty quick?"
Press paused in covering himself up with sheets and towels to look over at his partner, who was having a much easier time concealing himself in the large cart. Finally he shrugged and sunk down as low as he could, flipping sheets so that they now engulfed his head. Both men grew quiet as voices could be heard out in the hall, and when the door to their room burst open their butthole's drew up in response. There was a rustling for a few moments before a loud booming voice called, 'Clear', and the sound of the door shutting indicated that they were gone.
Press flipped the sheets off of him and looked over at his partner who was already leaping over the side back on solid ground. He sniffed the air for a minute, and seemed to be following a smell until coming to a stop in front of a ventilation grate.
"You smell that?" He asked over his shoulder, still sniffing the air.
Press watched this with a shake of his head, but upon an inhale himself, couldn't deny that there was something. What was that? Bread?
"I think this vent is hooked in to the kitchen! We could probably get some disguises and a key card there."
Press looked at the grate doubtfully, and when he didn't respond, Youth turned to see the hesitation on his face.
Youth threw his head back with a face palm and couldn't help but chuckle. "I meant that I would go and come back for you through the door, moron!"
Press's face screwed up in disapproval, but when Youth motioned for him to give him a boost he complied. Youth used the edge of a credit card to loosen the two screws holding the grate in at the bottom, and then his fingers to get them completely free. He tossed them down below where they landed at Press's feet, and found that forcing the grate open was pretty easy. He narrowed his shoulders the best he could by tucking his arms in, and Press gave him a toss upwards which propelled him forwards into the grate.
Aluminum duct work creaked and cracked as Youth made his way the rest of the way inside, and he could be heard saying, "Be back in a jiffy", from further in.
Press leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes as the bangs and cracks grew less and less profound the farther his partner got away from him. This wasn't a good plan, and had already gone awry. There wasn't any stealth in a place like this where there were enough real eyes on where cameras were not. The camera footage might get flawed by their freedom charms, but it would erase it. They would know that someone was somewhere they didn't belong.
He was there for what to him felt like hours, but was in reality only about fifteen minutes when the door burst open a second time. He was lowered and ready for an ambush when he saw that it was his partner, only Youth was now wearing a server's uniform and had a much larger one draped over his arm. Press quickly came out of his hiding place, while Youth tossed the uniform in his direction.
"I doubt that's going to fit comfortably, but it's the biggest one they had." Press started to dress while Youth explained his adventure. "So when I got to the grate leading to the kitchen it was right over the dishwasher's area. You should have seen the look on that poor mook's face when I burst out on top of him. Of course, he didn't put up much of a fuss when I wrapped him up in a sleeper. Anyways, I still had to do some sneaking to get to the kitchen staff's break room and managed to pop the combination on one of their lockers. This place is huge, by the way. There were like twelve guys up in there, and security was still continuing their sweep, so, I mean, it's not like it was easy."
"Uh...can you get to the part where you found out where Alastor's located?"
Youth sighed at being interrupted in his story and turned to look at his partner. The sight nearly bowled him over with laughter. The big man's girth barely fit into shirt, whose buttons looked like they were on the verge of becoming projectiles. The pants weren't much better, pushing his stomach in so deep that he actually had overhang. OVERHANG!
Press stared hard at his partner as he guffawed over in the corner before shaking his head and stepping over the door to have a peak down the hall. "Get it all of your system, ass hat. Now did you find out where he's at or not?"
Youth could tell by the grim voice that his partner wasn't in the mood, so he took in deep, measured breaths to get control of himself before replying. "Yeah, I told one of the bar staff that I was new, and Mr. Haurus had called the main floor demanding a drink. His offices are on the 48th floor in a penthouse suite."
"Seems familiar."
"Yeah, only, he's not there. The guy at the bar questioned me about the order cause he knew that Alastor wasn't in the building at this time, and I told him that he had called ahead to keep the bubbly on ice."
"Quick thinking."
"Well, I mean...it's not like this is the first time I've impersonated kitchen staff at a five star hotel."
Press shook his head and pointed at the ID badge Youth had clipped to his shirt. "You sure that thing is going to get us where we need to go?"
"Are you kidding me?" Youth Replied. "Even the high rollers need to eat, and that means culinary probably has more clearance than security does."
"Point taken. I don't guess you saw a service elevator during your travels?"
"As a matter of fact," Youth began, stepping up next to his partner by the door. "It's just down the hall and around the corner."
"Good, let's get this over with."
The two men quickly shuffled out of the linen closet into the hallway and luckily didn't run into anyone but they could hear security conducting a secondary sweep further into the complex. They rounded the corner where the elevator was located and Youth flashed the badge he had stolen over the card reader which flashed green. Soon the elevator doors opened, and they found the cart unoccupied as they slipped inside and had to swipe the card again in order to input the correct floor. It was a long ride to the 48th, and the two men traveled it in silence, both anxious to be done with this part of the adventure and hoping they could do so uninterrupted.
When the elevator dings and the doors slide open, they are standing in the foyer of a good sized penthouse apartment. Straight ahead of them through the archway is the main room where several plush couches sit around a glass coffee table. There is a bar at the other end of the room along with a set of huge glass doors leading out to a wide balcony. At the other end is a fireplace large enough for Press to step into and several doors leading into other areas of the floor.
They check these one by one, looking for what Alastor would use as an office, knowing that whatever it was they were looking for would more than likely be there. Then again, what were they looking for? That was the question. All the information pointed to Alastor being alive, but didn't actually say what, why, or how. They were hoping to find anything that could give them a clue as to Loki's role in all of this, but weren't sure if they'd even recognize it if they found it.
Upon hitting the last door on the left side, they hit pay dirt. The office wasn't as grand as his library back at Caesar's Palace, but it was till pretty impressive. Bookshelves lined the back wall, and to their immediate left was another fire place with a tapestry hanging over the hearth with a depiction of what must have been pandemonium, the famed castle in hell from Milton's 'Paradise Lost'. The right wall was nothing but one huge plate glass window that gave an impressive view of the Vegas skyline, while a large ash wood desk sat in the center of the room.
The two men quickly pushed inside, Press immediately going towards the bookshelves while Youth rounded the desk to search the drawers. Everything was locked, but luckily Youth had smuggled some plastic picks into his jeans and a paperclip found on the desk would serve as his ground. He set to unlocking the desk while Press began yanking books off the shelf, looking for a secret compartment. The drawers came open after a few moments for Youth, and upon finding no luck on the bookshelf Press moved over to the fireplace and checked behind the painting.
Inside the first drawer was a stack of papers outlining different expenditures here at The Sands. To be honest, above board paperwork. In the second was more risque contraband. Spell components. A few vials of what was labeled virgin blood. The main ingredients for some of your more nefarious black magic. It wasn't until he got to the third drawer that he came across what looked like the insides of a computer tower, but fashioned into the desk. He was confused for a moment before finding a switch just under the lip, and when he flipped it, a monitor and keyboard literally folded up out of the desk.
Press looked over his shoulder with an eyebrow raise. "Fancy."
"Yeah," Was all Youth replied before setting about the task of trying to gain entry. This was a smart setup. If he were using a tower or a laptop then just anyone could snatch it up and make off with it, but this. The whole damn desk was a computer, and since it was made with pure mahogany, weighted upwards of six hundred pounds. You'd have to have a moving crew and a gurney to even make it past the door.
Reaching down into the drawer with the spell components, he pulled out a vial that looked to be black gun powder and uncorked it. Lightly he dashed the keyboard that had appeared with the substance, and then leaned his head down so that it was level with the desk, and blew lightly sending the particles flying. What remains are little flecks of dust on often used keys which were possibly used to enter the password.
D..L..P..O..A..E..R...
Surely it wasn't that simple. Leopard. But just like that, the screen suddenly flashed to life and he was in, and what he saw directly on the screen cause him to 'yelp' ever so slightly.
Press noticed the sound and stepped behind his partner to look over his shoulder. Several camera feeds were compiled into one window, each one a room somewhere in this penthouse. All save for the elevator, which was currently filled with armed security officers and steadily approaching the 48th floor.
"Move fast, kid." Press stated flatly, quickly turning his attention to the other side of the desk where there were more drawers. The big man didn't use the same finesse as his partner to get them open, and he didn't have to. A violent yank and some brute strength had the drawers ripped right off their locks so that he could get a look at their contents.
Meanwhile, Youth quickly minimized the camera views and started opening folders, none of which were labeled with anything that made sense. Another security measure he supposed, one in which actually hindered him this time. He didn't have any of his normal equipment with him to download the files, so the only option he had was to print or try and send it through the net to his phone. Both men felt the tension rising as each second that ticked by brought the security team closer and closer.
Finally, Youth opened a folder marked appropriately enough, 'Mischief', and several documents appeared on the screen. Instead of trying to open each, one by one, he simply drifted the cursor over the 'Print All' button and clicked it. At the front of the desk another compartment popped open on the surface, and the sound of a printer could be heard as papers began appearing through the opening.
"Eureka!" Press exclaimed, plunging his hand into the last drawer he had ripped out of the desk to produce a compact disc.
"What's that?"
"I don't know yet, but it's labeled, 'Ravens'."
Youth clicked his tongue, a little worried at what they might find on that disc, when the computer stops spitting papers indicating an end of the folder. He quickly scooped up the forty to fifty pages and rolled them up, sticking them behind his back into his waistband. He and Youth started towards the door just as they heard the dreaded ding from the elevator.
Both men peeled out on either side of the door and pressed their backs up against the wall while trying to get a glimpse into the main room. The security force spilled out into the foyer, weapons drawn, and they made a tactical sweep into the room, separating into two man teams to check the rooms on either side while two remain near the elevator to prevent an escape.
"What now?" Youth asked in a whisper, anxiety clear in his voice.
Press shruged, equally as agitated, looking around the room for a good place for them to go. His first thought is the fireplace, but it's a smokeless unit that doesn't actually lead anywhere, and even if they could somehow get up inside to hide they were on camera. These guys were probably patched right into their security operations center, so it wasn't really an option. The only reason they were doing the sweep instead of coming right for them was because of the unseen variables.
His eyes drifted over to a notch on the wall just inside the door, and he realized that this was a fire alarm. If you pulled it, the alarm would sound, but if you pulled it and then pushed it in, the sprinklers would go off. He looked over at his expectant partner and made a gesture of his fist into his other palm, and then pointed at the alarm. Youth sighed heavily, but then shrugged his shoulders in acquiescence just as Press pulled and pushed the mechanism.
The penthouse went up in a blare of horns and strobe lights began spinning in recesses overhead to indicate an emergency. The sprinkler system kicked on in full gear, and as shouts went up inside the main room, both men tore through the office door in a rush.
Youth was the faster of the two so he went straight for the men across the way while Press charged right up the wall from the office door. The two men on that side turned their guns in his direction but he dove at them to catch both with a spear that took them off their feet. The two officers by the elevator tried to take a shot, and wood splintered as the shots missed their mark and embedded into the decorative wall. The big man's girth had both men wheezing to try and get him off of them, but he was able to get his hands around their faces and gripped them like basketballs before driving the back of their skulls into the tiled floor. When he felt them go unconscious he rose up slightly over one of the couches to see that Youth had managed to take out his two on the other side, which only left the two back at the elevator.
A brief scan of the room before bullets let fly again showed him an 'Exit' sign that was now lit up leading towards one of the doors on Youth's side of the room. Ducking his head and running low, doing his best to stay behind some form of cover, Press darts across the sitting area as the two gunmen unload, and he manages to duck behind a buffet while pulling it over onto it's side to provide more surface to hide. Youth quickly scrambles away from his two downed opponents to slide in behind the buffet as well, wood being chewed up thanks to the spray of handgun bullets.
The gunfire pauses briefly and Press points at the 'Exit' sign. Youth nods, and in that brief moment of reload both take off like a bat out of hell towards the door. Just as they reach it wood splinters just above Press' head, and he barks out a curse as they fall through the frame and into a short hallway leading to the stairs. He groans at the thought of having to go down 48 flights, but he supposed it was better than being shot. When the door closes behind them they can hear the two security officers bursting through to follow, and he manages to slam the heavy exit door shut and throws himself against it to prevent their pursuit.
"I'm not going to be able to hold this indefinitely, and we still have the issue of our escape." Press says in a clipped fashion, the door bulging out only for him to thrust his shoulder forwards to slam it back into place.
"Yeah, I get it. Just let me think."
"We don't have time for you to think," The big man roared.
"We need to get at least five more floors down before we can get to the normal rooms of the hotel," Youth says, ignoring his partner. "and from there maybe we can get on one of the service elevators."
"I doubt that key card you swiped is still active..."
"Well maybe we can make it to another stairwell!"
"The damn cameras make it pretty hard to move anywhere they won't see!" Press exclaims, nodding towards one of the black domes stuck on the wall just above them.
"Then let's get this immediate problem out of the way. Open the door!"
Press grimly nodded and just at the time that the men on the other side would drive their shoulder into the door, the big man turned the handle and pulled it open, and they stumble into the hallway in surprise. One of them even hit the floor while Youth dove at the man remaining on his feet and grabbed his gun arm, wrenching it towards the sky. The firearm went off, causing all of the men to have to shake off the deafening ringing in their ears. The echo in the tight stairwell was tremendous, but Press kept the presence of mind to send a football like punt right into the man on the ground's jaw. His head snapped back and he slumped into unconsciousness, giving him time to turn and help his partner wrest the firearm from the other gunman. Youth wrapped his arms around the man's throat and applied a chokehold that with Press's help took only a few seconds to put him to sleep.
From there they quickly rushed down the steps, listening as sounds came from far below them of more footsteps rapidly moving up the stairwell. It stood to reason that more security was on their way to cut off their escape which meant they would need to duck into another floor and find an alternate route. They had made it all the way down to the 29th floor when they could hear voices calling up the hall for them to 'freeze', and that the police were on their way. Press suddenly veered right, bursting through the door that led into a hallway lined with numbered doors. They had reached a level where there were normal hotel rooms, but the commotion was drawing some unwanted peeks from the occupants. Press and Youth rushed past them with all haste, not giving anyone a chance to get a good look at them while the security force that had been coming up finally arrived at the same level.
Shouts called out behind them but they were already at the other end of the hall, and they were guessing that security would be less apt to use their firearms in a space full of guests. Upon reaching the other end they found the east side emergency stairs, and quickly took that door. Immediately they ran into three men who were making their last steps onto the landing, and the shock of their prey arriving gave Press & Youth the advantage.
Youth left his feet with a shotgun drop kick that sent the closest guard rocketing towards the concrete wall behind him with enough force that it drove the air out of him. Press swung hard to catch the next closest with a haymaker right that sent him sprawling while spinning through the strike to throw an elbow into the jaw of the third. The blow sent the man stumbling backwards, and right off the landing to tumble end over end down the steps until coming to an abrupt end at the bottom. Press slammed the stairwell door shut, and then grabbed the two unconscious guards and stacked them right in front of them before both descended once more. As they passed the officer who had taken the stairs the hard way, he tried to reach and grab for them, but Youth gave him a knee right to the temple that ceased his attempts.
27, 26, 25, 24...
Above they could hear that security had managed to get past their makeshift barricade, while below more security had entered from the ground floor. They couldn't keep taking the same tactics, as they were eventually going to get cut off, and if the police had really been called, then they were in real danger of being carted off to jail. That wouldn't do. There was too much riding on them completing this mission and freeing Munin from the clutches of the All-Father, and that meant they'd need to be able to research the documents & disc they just procured from Alastor.
"If we can make it to single digits, we're going to make a jump for it..." Press said through labored breaths. The big man was not made for escapes.
"We'd never survive the fall." Youth replied, regarding the floor marker for #15.
"If we don't," Press wheezed, "Then we go to jail, and that isn't an option."
Youth couldn't argue that logic, kicking himself into overdrive where he was now outdistancing his partner by an entire stair length. As he rounded the stairs leading to the 10th floor, a host of security had caught up with them once again. He didn't slow down, didn't hesitate, leaping from his step down onto theirs and bowling into the lead officer with enough force that he fell back into those behind him. Like a wild ride at an amusement park the men went down like dominoes, while Youth did his best to ride them down the steps. Bodies flopped and flipped all around him and the ride ended when they reached the 10th floor landing which slammed all of them hard into the concrete.
Youth pushed up to his hands and knees as the officers groaned and checked their ribs around him. Just as he tried to get to his feet he felt himself being hoisted up by unnatural strength, and he knew that his partner had finally arrived. The two men didn't pause to speak, or even try to ensure their pursuers weren't able to follow. They had run out of time and needed to cover what little ground they could before the pendulum finally caught up with them.
9, 8, 7, 6, 5...
Just as they reached four the ground floor door opened again, and Press decided this was their stop. He thrust his partner through the door into another hallway, this one however was lined with rooms on one side, while the other wall was large panes of glass that showed the neon palm trees out front in all their glory. The two men rushed down the hall, blowing past a maid who threw her hands up and screamed as they turned the corner to head towards the elevator area. They could see on the other side of the connection that the far wall also didn't contain rooms, but was a solid wall with a few windows intermittently placed. That would allow someone access to the back of the building, which would be less crowded and easier to navigate in a clutch.
"There's our exit, kid." Press huffed, running that way.
"But how do we get through the window? They are solid panes..."
Youth isn't able to finish his sentence as he watches his partner scoop up a large decorative stone statue of a porpoise as he runs, using tremendous strength to hoist it up onto his chest, and then lobs it at one of the windows just as they reach the end. The stone crashes against the glass and it cracks significantly but doesn't break, so Press picks it up again and swings it once more. This time the glass shatters and the dolphin flies down to the rooftop below of The Sand's docking bay. Youth immediately clears the window of jagged glass with a nearby coat rack and then looks out the opening as the door bursts open behind them and at the sides of the hall their in with security.
"That's at least a two story drop..." He says worriedly, aware of their situation.
"We've made three before..." Press replies, swinging his legs so that they are now outside the window and he's sitting on the seal.
"Remember, bend your knees and roll with the drop."
"Yeah, Yeah." And with that, the big man shoved himself out of the window and Youth looked to either side of him as Security pushed in.
Press hit the rooftop with a 'oomph' but rolled with the landing and ended up halfway back to his feet. His partner ended up right beside him, rolling all the way up and grabbing him by the arm to help him the rest of the way. The two men could hear the security team barking orders to their team members about their new location but none of them made the attempt to follow their route. As they approached the ledge of the building, they looked over the side to find a parking lot below them and a spot nearby where a box truck with a shrimp stamped on the side pulled up to the dock for unload. They made their way along the edge to where the truck was just below them, and lowered themselves so that they could dangle from the edge and make the ten foot drop to it's roof.
Press's foot nearly went through the aluminum and particle board, but Youth was able to stabilize him before they stepped onto the cab of the truck, slid down the windshield, and finally slid off of the hood to their knees. They were exhausted, but they weren't out of the woods yet. No security, but plenty of dock workers and drivers were staring at them and making their way for their phones.
"We have to go, big guy. Just one more run and we can get out of here." Youth said, breathing hard and still sore after his ride in the stairwell.
He grabbed the big man by the arm and as Press slowly lifted his tired head while posting up on the truck to stand but something came into his field of vision that gave him serious pause. An ebony cane with a decorative silver tip sat right in front of him between expensive brown leather Armani shoes. He followed the shoes all the way up an expensive pair of slacks, to a well tailored jacket and shirt, and finally to the man who owned a lion's head cane.
Press said nothing, looking defeated, as Youth stood frozen, staring right at their worst fear in shock.
The Fox, Cross Recoba, lifted his cigar to his lips and cocked his eyebrow. "Gentlemen...what brings you to The Sands?"
TO BE CONTINUED IN "THE USUAL SUSPECTS"
A CROSS RECOBA ROLEPLAY...
A CROSS RECOBA ROLEPLAY...
