[Leeroy. Well. An image serves as Vincent's response. A typical image- one that would be on any upright Midgar citizen's ID. He adds nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Because Veld should be able to tell that there's a similarity there, and what it means.
Both men- Leeroy and the Don- have cleft chins. It's not a certainty that they're father and son. But it's far more likely than not. Especially considering other shared traits. Male pattern baldness. Piglike blue eyes. A shit-eating grin. Looked like one Mrs. Corneo was a keeper. ...Once. But ping. Have another message.]
Turks are best suited for this job. The military don't need to be involved.
[There's kids involved in this, after all. They might be shitheads like their father. They might even grow up to be shitheads like their probable grandfather. But the last thing he wanted- anyone wanted- were more troopers going rambo. This residence is located on the upper plate too. While a few gunhappy troopers can be ignored in the slums, on the upper plate, it would have to be covered up.
...And that's even more work for the both of them. ]
I'm going to give Heidegger a distraction and something to keep the troopers occupied.
[This is why he allows for a few anti-Shinra groups to run around - they have their purposes sometimes.
Corneo or not, it's not ideal to drag the kids into things as collateral, but they can't afford to let themselves get sentimental on the job. The Turks were there to do the things that no one else would have the stomach or lack of morals to.]
We'll probably have to break him of the idea that he's more clever than he is, which will take some time.
[Like suspected father, like son no doubt but everyone has their breaking point.]
Even he will be able to understand that we have his family within reach and understand what's in his, and their, best interest.
[Screw the kids, then. They, and the wife, are getting picked up too. It's... fine. He knows, of course he knows, that their job isn't clean. And he also knows that he's done far worse. (The worst he's done was solved easily enough. Some PTO, lots of booze, and elvira reruns.) So... fine. They're collatoral. He's not arguing.
Part of him wants to respond with something wry. About how he should have given Veld the news about the restaurant after the news about work. But he doesn't. While he can dismiss the murkier elements of the job, he'd never be one to joke about them.]
If he's stupider than we thought?
[If he runs to Corneo, for instance? The chances are slim. Any idiot knows that the don only operates thanks to supplying information to Shinra. But he suspects the answer. Kill them all. He just needs confirmation.]
[It was a risky decision to potentially antagonize Corneo too much, but Veld assumes that the Don is at least smart enough to know that he has no direct recourse against the company.]
But make sure we have a souvenir we can gift to Corneo if necessary.
[Leeroy was born under an unlucky star, indeed. And knowing the Corneo family smarts, he'll probably be buried under one. Vincent's objective, this time, was making sure that didn't happen. Normally, Veld's a solid partner. He's never had to be skirted around, and never had to have been handled.
But the demise of Da Chao Down changes things. Vincent's keenly aware that his partner's pissed. And that might come out in the way Leeroy and his family are treated. Vincent's objective is just as much tempering Veld as it is doing his job- and it's not out of sympathy for the family.
It's more like Leeroy staying alive- terrified, but alive- is the best shot they have at getting intel on Corneo's non-company sanctioned endeavours, and given that Vincent had already seen almost a year's worth of surveillance go up in smoke tonight with the kickoff at the Honeybee, he knew that anything else going wrong would jeopardize the entire thing.
So.
As Veld pulls up to the residential building, Vincent gets out of his own car, briskly crossing the street to get into Veld's own. A small glance comes to the backup Turks likely in the back seat. Then to Veld. And:]
There's an anti-Shinra protest near the university in Sector 2 that's going to get out of hand when some of the protesters start throwing things at the troopers acting as crowd control.
[There is no reason to leave things to chance about how events are going to unfold when Veld has some operatives in various anti-Shinra groups who make themselves useful at times like this when they need cover.
He lights a cigarette, blowing smoke into the chill air out the car window. The news of his beloved take out restaurant day couldn't have come at a worse time, further evidence that the world as he knew it was slipping through his fingers. That morning, he had watched the President's expression light up as Hojo presented proposals for some more gruesome experiments, Scarlet practically salivating over the new weapons in development.
And now Da Chao Down was lost to time. Leeroy was about to have an unpleasant night, especially if he decided to try to act like some kind of tough guy which, given Corneo family tradition, was likely.]
We'll bring him in as if this is a one way trip- no need to bother with questions right now, for him he will assume that he's facing execution. If he's anything like we suspect it won't take long for him to break from desperation and fear.
[How terrible. What's the world coming to when uniformed Shinra employees are accosted by the unwashed masses. Etc. Etc. Knowing well and truly were this batch of unwashed masses were coming from, Vincent declines to comment.
Instead, he reaches into his pocket to retrieve his cellphone. A cursorary glance of it provides the electricity usage for the house they're presently parked outside. Everything's off. They're all asleep. Given the fact it's presently the early hours of the morning, he hadn't expected anything different. Young children. A family residence. But honestly? He wouldn't be that surprised if things weren't as they seemed. The Corneo name tended to make things weird.
And something would be weird. He's sure of it. It's just not their sleeping habits.
He reaches for Veld's cigarette packet. He weasels one free, placing it between his lips. And yes, he's also got the audacity to hold his hand out to Veld for the lighter.]
May as well get the family too. It's probably expecting too much of him- [Expecting that he might be a decent person that actually can be manipulated with his wife and kid's wellbeing...] -but having them to hand may open doors if we run out of fingers.
[Fingers. Toes. Knees. When it comes to that. Because it always comes to that.]
[Veld slowly turns to face Vincent, staring at him as the other man not only steals one of his cigarettes but then holds it out for a light.
Slowly, very slowly, with a flat look, Veld takes out his lighter, sparking it to light Vincent's cigarette. This won't be forgotten but right now Veld tucks away the lighter to look up at the house.]
He cooperates and his wife and kids enjoy a comfortable break in one of the safe houses as guests.
[A lot of their job is unpleasant, to say the least, and Veld doesn't show mercy when it comes to doing those things but he's not going to go out of the way to torture the family unless absolutely necessary.
Veld doesn't move as a figure approaches the house, the swagger clear even in the darkness of the early hours. With bright yellow hair Leeroy would stand out in the slums and there was no way he would blend in anywhere above the plate.
He waits until Leeroy stumbles into the house before looking at Vincent, a silent confirmation that it's time.]
[The very worst partners are the ones that don't buy their own cigarettes. The second worst are the ones that encourage smoking by providing them. It's... a terrible habit, really. But a habit it is turning into. Especially before doing something untoward. Not that he'll get to enjoy most of it. Soon enough, the scumbag in question saunters his way toward the house, and through his front door.
Vincent hears what Veld says. But he's silent for a few moments, watching the door close behind Leeroy, and continuing to observe the house behind the rolling, tumbling smoke of the end of his cigarette. He has reservations. Not about ethics. Not after being put straight earlier. It's more... a reservation caused by the one thing he didn't understand about this picture. A pretty big thing, actually. ...Why this one is topside. How the neighbourhood of proud, upstanding Shinra employees didn't make a stink. Any HoA would take exception to Leeroy. Just by the look of him, he's sure there would have been complaints. Let alone the fact that Grounders made a big enough show of liking their cesspit. Don Corneo was happy enough in his magpie's trove of sprayed gold tat.
...What made this one different? He'd half-expected a man trying to move out from under his father's shadow. Perhaps not a man that wanted to be legitimate, (That would be idealistic.) more... one with a law-abiding citizen front. By the look of Leeroy, Vincent's suspicion was dead wrong. There's no front at all.]
I don't like this.
[Perhaps a bit late in the game to voice his reservations. But the closer he gets to it- the more it reeks. His voice is low. Mostly, so those in the back wouldn't hear. But Veld would.]
You've got ballistic armour on?
[He's got a feeling they might need it. Perhaps it's a shame, after all, they decided against troopers. They're fantastic bullet-catchers.]
[But he's not concerned- he's survived being shot more than once, that and he probably should be more worried about it happening again, but his attention is on the house, watching a light in the window turning out.
A few more minutes and the family would no doubt be settled for the night, but that doesn't make this any less dangerous. If Leeroy inherited anything from his suspected dad, it would be laying traps and making sure others underestimated him.
Or the kid could be a complete idiot but he doubted the Don would let Leeroy run around without some kind of protection or set up.]
I don't like it either but here we are.
[Because Heidegger and his troops had burned their operation, leading them to be sitting in front of a house in the dark early hours of the morning instead of enjoying greasy takeout, cheap coffee with even cheaper whiskey in it.
He taps ash from his cigarette out the window again and after one last drag, flicks the butt out of the car without a second thought.]
Let's do this. Guess you didn't forget your armour?
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[Leeroy. Well. An image serves as Vincent's response. A typical image- one that would be on any upright Midgar citizen's ID. He adds nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Because Veld should be able to tell that there's a similarity there, and what it means.
Both men- Leeroy and the Don- have cleft chins.
It's not a certainty that they're father and son. But it's far more likely than not. Especially considering other shared traits. Male pattern baldness. Piglike blue eyes. A shit-eating grin. Looked like one Mrs. Corneo was a keeper. ...Once. But ping. Have another message.]
Turks are best suited for this job. The military don't need to be involved.
[There's kids involved in this, after all. They might be shitheads like their father. They might even grow up to be shitheads like their probable grandfather. But the last thing he wanted- anyone wanted- were more troopers going rambo. This residence is located on the upper plate too. While a few gunhappy troopers can be ignored in the slums, on the upper plate, it would have to be covered up.
...And that's even more work for the both of them. ]
no subject
[This is why he allows for a few anti-Shinra groups to run around - they have their purposes sometimes.
Corneo or not, it's not ideal to drag the kids into things as collateral, but they can't afford to let themselves get sentimental on the job. The Turks were there to do the things that no one else would have the stomach or lack of morals to.]
We'll probably have to break him of the idea that he's more clever than he is, which will take some time.
[Like suspected father, like son no doubt but everyone has their breaking point.]
Even he will be able to understand that we have his family within reach and understand what's in his, and their, best interest.
no subject
[Screw the kids, then. They, and the wife, are getting picked up too. It's... fine. He knows, of course he knows, that their job isn't clean. And he also knows that he's done far worse. (The worst he's done was solved easily enough. Some PTO, lots of booze, and elvira reruns.) So... fine. They're collatoral. He's not arguing.
Part of him wants to respond with something wry. About how he should have given Veld the news about the restaurant after the news about work. But he doesn't. While he can dismiss the murkier elements of the job, he'd never be one to joke about them.]
If he's stupider than we thought?
[If he runs to Corneo, for instance? The chances are slim. Any idiot knows that the don only operates thanks to supplying information to Shinra. But he suspects the answer. Kill them all. He just needs confirmation.]
no subject
[It was a risky decision to potentially antagonize Corneo too much, but Veld assumes that the Don is at least smart enough to know that he has no direct recourse against the company.]
But make sure we have a souvenir we can gift to Corneo if necessary.
no subject
[He can think of a few souvenirs as well. Leeroy's going to have a bad time.]
Will you be coming to this one, or shall I meet you at the company building?
no subject
I'm coming- with any luck he'll make some bad life choices when we grab him and make things interesting.
[Tough luck for Leeroy, Veld is in a mood with this tragic news he's going to need time to recovery from.]
no subject
But the demise of Da Chao Down changes things. Vincent's keenly aware that his partner's pissed. And that might come out in the way Leeroy and his family are treated. Vincent's objective is just as much tempering Veld as it is doing his job- and it's not out of sympathy for the family.
It's more like Leeroy staying alive- terrified, but alive- is the best shot they have at getting intel on Corneo's non-company sanctioned endeavours, and given that Vincent had already seen almost a year's worth of surveillance go up in smoke tonight with the kickoff at the Honeybee, he knew that anything else going wrong would jeopardize the entire thing.
So.
As Veld pulls up to the residential building, Vincent gets out of his own car, briskly crossing the street to get into Veld's own. A small glance comes to the backup Turks likely in the back seat. Then to Veld. And:]
I assume the distraction's set?
no subject
[There is no reason to leave things to chance about how events are going to unfold when Veld has some operatives in various anti-Shinra groups who make themselves useful at times like this when they need cover.
He lights a cigarette, blowing smoke into the chill air out the car window. The news of his beloved take out restaurant day couldn't have come at a worse time, further evidence that the world as he knew it was slipping through his fingers. That morning, he had watched the President's expression light up as Hojo presented proposals for some more gruesome experiments, Scarlet practically salivating over the new weapons in development.
And now Da Chao Down was lost to time. Leeroy was about to have an unpleasant night, especially if he decided to try to act like some kind of tough guy which, given Corneo family tradition, was likely.]
We'll bring him in as if this is a one way trip- no need to bother with questions right now, for him he will assume that he's facing execution. If he's anything like we suspect it won't take long for him to break from desperation and fear.
no subject
Instead, he reaches into his pocket to retrieve his cellphone. A cursorary glance of it provides the electricity usage for the house they're presently parked outside. Everything's off. They're all asleep. Given the fact it's presently the early hours of the morning, he hadn't expected anything different. Young children. A family residence. But honestly? He wouldn't be that surprised if things weren't as they seemed. The Corneo name tended to make things weird.
And something would be weird. He's sure of it. It's just not their sleeping habits.
He reaches for Veld's cigarette packet. He weasels one free, placing it between his lips. And yes, he's also got the audacity to hold his hand out to Veld for the lighter.]
May as well get the family too. It's probably expecting too much of him- [Expecting that he might be a decent person that actually can be manipulated with his wife and kid's wellbeing...] -but having them to hand may open doors if we run out of fingers.
[Fingers. Toes. Knees. When it comes to that. Because it always comes to that.]
no subject
Slowly, very slowly, with a flat look, Veld takes out his lighter, sparking it to light Vincent's cigarette. This won't be forgotten but right now Veld tucks away the lighter to look up at the house.]
He cooperates and his wife and kids enjoy a comfortable break in one of the safe houses as guests.
[A lot of their job is unpleasant, to say the least, and Veld doesn't show mercy when it comes to doing those things but he's not going to go out of the way to torture the family unless absolutely necessary.
Veld doesn't move as a figure approaches the house, the swagger clear even in the darkness of the early hours. With bright yellow hair Leeroy would stand out in the slums and there was no way he would blend in anywhere above the plate.
He waits until Leeroy stumbles into the house before looking at Vincent, a silent confirmation that it's time.]
no subject
Vincent hears what Veld says. But he's silent for a few moments, watching the door close behind Leeroy, and continuing to observe the house behind the rolling, tumbling smoke of the end of his cigarette. He has reservations. Not about ethics. Not after being put straight earlier. It's more... a reservation caused by the one thing he didn't understand about this picture. A pretty big thing, actually. ...Why this one is topside. How the neighbourhood of proud, upstanding Shinra employees didn't make a stink. Any HoA would take exception to Leeroy. Just by the look of him, he's sure there would have been complaints. Let alone the fact that Grounders made a big enough show of liking their cesspit. Don Corneo was happy enough in his magpie's trove of sprayed gold tat.
...What made this one different? He'd half-expected a man trying to move out from under his father's shadow. Perhaps not a man that wanted to be legitimate, (That would be idealistic.) more... one with a law-abiding citizen front. By the look of Leeroy, Vincent's suspicion was dead wrong. There's no front at all.]
I don't like this.
[Perhaps a bit late in the game to voice his reservations. But the closer he gets to it- the more it reeks. His voice is low. Mostly, so those in the back wouldn't hear. But Veld would.]
You've got ballistic armour on?
[He's got a feeling they might need it. Perhaps it's a shame, after all, they decided against troopers. They're fantastic bullet-catchers.]
no subject
[But he's not concerned- he's survived being shot more than once, that and he probably should be more worried about it happening again, but his attention is on the house, watching a light in the window turning out.
A few more minutes and the family would no doubt be settled for the night, but that doesn't make this any less dangerous. If Leeroy inherited anything from his suspected dad, it would be laying traps and making sure others underestimated him.
Or the kid could be a complete idiot but he doubted the Don would let Leeroy run around without some kind of protection or set up.]
I don't like it either but here we are.
[Because Heidegger and his troops had burned their operation, leading them to be sitting in front of a house in the dark early hours of the morning instead of enjoying greasy takeout, cheap coffee with even cheaper whiskey in it.
He taps ash from his cigarette out the window again and after one last drag, flicks the butt out of the car without a second thought.]
Let's do this. Guess you didn't forget your armour?