Twists of Fate
Nov. 2nd, 2014 12:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: Noblesse
Summary: Nakida’s a hacker in the middle of a job to find some information. Except they’re not the only one breaking into the building that night - there’s a silver-haired guy walking around like cameras don’t exist. If he wants to get caught, it’s not their problem.
Huian’s on guard duty to protect the information they’re after. Usually it’s quiet - all she has to do is enter the system, keep an eye on the camera feeds and patrol around the clusters of data to make sure no-one gets to them.
Their pasts connect them, even if they don’t remember. And the past does tend to come back.
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Reincarnation fic! :D Written for nano! So expect some weirdness as I churn this out, haha.
Genre: General.
Word count: 2,093
Status: Work in progress
Nakida exhaled, leaning back on the wall before stretching. They'd worked the panel off of the wall, and that was pretty much most of the physical work done already.
Now they had to slip into the system before any of the guards spotted them. They ran a hand under their ponytail, lifting it away from their neck, swiping their thumb over the port there. It opened with a snap, and they let out a breath, feeling the cable there switch on, connecting with their mind.
It slipped out of the port at a thought, slithering around their fingers, about the same width, allowing them to pull the rest of it out.
At the end of the cable were a few hooks for grasping and they tested that they stilled worked, the metal clicking against each other.
Okay... Now for the next bit...
Their lips twitched at the familiar brightly coloured innards of the wall. For a company that was all about security systems and prided themselves on being the best in the market, it was ironic that they were all the same when it came down to it.
Now... Which one was the one they wanted...?
The security rooms tended to be close to their servers -it made for easier patrols if they knew the data they were supposed to be protecting was close by- but that would make things too easy wouldn't it? And that would be just disappointing if that was true.
It wasn't like the guards needed to be physically close to it to protect it anyway.
Nakida snapped the claws around the cable they wanted, the edges slicing in like the protective covering didn't exist. They sucked in a breath as the claws connected to the system, the jolt something they'd gotten used to over the years. The first couple of times they'd done it, they'd ended up giving their position away with a yelp before coming to the conclusion to practice in a safer place rather than getting themselves caught.
Things had gone smoother after that.
Connecting to a system was always dizzying at the first connection, feeling that snap as the brain was no longer alone, the surge of new information that didn't stop or slow down.
Like the signal saying there was a breached point. Nakida snapped out their consciousness at that piece of information, following as it zigzagged, speeding along with unrelenting determination.
Nakida grabbed it at the last second, 'accepting' it as if they had always been the intended destination.
The alert faded, its mission complete and Nakida smiled, turning their attention to where it had been going. This cluster of data had to be where the security was. They brushed at the data, gaining access from the entrance the alert had given them. The camera feeds were…there…and now to find their body before someone noticed it.
Sixth floor, east staircase… Aha. They teased out the recording of the feed before they arrived, the images spilling over and they watched it as they looped it over their own image, erasing their presence like they'd never been there in the first place. They tucked the feed back where it belonged, and it settled in place like it had never been disturbed.
Next, they connected themselves to the camera feeds on that floor close to their body and adjacent ones, keeping them at the edge of their consciousness, giving themselves a warning system. There shouldn't be anyone wandering about, but it didn't hurt to be careful.
That was everything and now all they had to do was - hm?
There was movement on the upper floors. Not the staircases, but in the corridors. Was that where the security room was? That couldn't be right... Security was usually closer to the ground.
Nakida edged towards the particular feed, wary in case one of the guards' attention were drawn to it while they looked at it. Silver-haired male by the looks of it, with -Nakida switched perspective- no port at the back of his neck, huh. Unless he'd gotten surgery to cover it, but the outline was distinctive even with.
How had he gotten there? It was after hours and he wasn't wearing the guard uniform.
So he was either part of this (whatever 'this' was, but that was why Nakida was there to find out) or he was a fellow hacker.
Who didn't have a port at the back of his neck, which was one of the basic necessities of hacking. High-end hacking, anyway, and this was a company who prided itself on keeping hackers out.
But if he was doing it with a handheld, maybe.
Still. He was walking around in the open without caring about the cameras, unless it was an avatar to distract the guards. Because what was he doing near the roof?
It piqued Nakida's interest, and if they had different agendas, then they could both carry on with their business and leave each other out of it. If they had the same... Eh. It was doubtful.
Nakida drew back from the security feeds and prodded at the wireless. It was unlik... There was a device connected to it. Wow. How had the guy gotten in? Opened a window?
Accessing his communicator from there was easy, and hmm. Maybe the silver hair was an indication of something, even though he had a younger face than they did - Nakida hadn't seen an interface like this for a while. Did he like that look or did he not change his phone every year?
Call to self, and Nakida double-checked their avatar was in place while they waited. Their avatar was nearly completely opposite of what they actually looked like with pale skin and black hair, a white stripe thrown in for no particular reason other than they liked the look of it.
He picked up on the second ring, the man's face appearing before them. Huh. Scar on the right side of his lip. Where had he been at the time that he couldn't get the medicine to stop that from happening? Had something gone right through his head?
"Hel-" The man's eyes went wide at the sight of them. "Tao?" he spluttered.
"My my, it's nice to be recognised," Nakida said, resting their chin in a hand, grinning. Maybe the guy wasn't as green as they thought he was.
"Of-" The expression crashed, anger replacing it as the man lifted his upper lip, baring his teeth. "Who are you?"
Nakida raised an eyebrow. Did their avatar remind him of someone he knew? "Like you said: Tao." He'd just said that. What were chances they'd create an avatar with both the same name and face as someone who existed?
"You're not - you can't-" The man took in a breath and Nakida watched him get control back over himself, the lifted lip only twitching but staying in place. "What do you want?"
It was as if the man was growling. How old was the sound chip in there?
"Nothing, really," Nakida said with a shrug. They didn't miss how the man's eyes narrowed at the sight. "I just wanted to know what you were doing."
"Why the fuck should I tell you?"
Wow, touchy. The two must have parted on bad terms. Nakida dropped the smile, all business. "Because I need to know if we've got the same goal or not. If not, then we keep doing whatever and stay out of each other's way."
The man pursed his lips, considering. "And if we've got the same goal? We 'work together'?"
Nakida didn't miss the dripping sarcasm. They waved a hand, snorting. "I don't work well with others; I doubt you do either."
The glower deepened and it looked like Nakida was stamping on every single nerve he had by merely existing. Nothing new. They had that effect with some people.
There was buzzing behind Nakida and they turned their head towards it, stretching out their consciousness and hearing the agitated chatter of the guards. The man had been found.
"You're with the guards," he accused, lifting his chin, triumphant at catching Nakida out in the lie.
"Near the guards," Nakida corrected mildly, turning their attention back to him. They could use this. If the guards were distracted by that ass, they were free to take the information they wanted at their leisure. "Have fun!" They smiled one last time, making it as fake as possible and cut the connection, feeling the guards' presence disappear one by one as they left the system to re-enter their bodies.
There was one left to keep an eye on all the feeds and direct the others, but that was all they needed. Now the guards were on alert, the guard would be more zealous about guarding the information, pointing Nakida directly to it.
* * *
Huian gasped, her eyes snapping open as she reached back and disconnected the port from the machine. Switching from consciousness to being grounded in a physical body was disorientating every time, aware of the pulse of her heart, every breath she took, feeling so much more contained and smaller after being inside a system that sprawled the size of a city, but she didn't have time to adjust like usual. She rolled off the bed, her communicator already pinging, a message from Abi telling her where the intruder was.
But what was he doing? There were a few offices there, and that was where a number of the security systems were tested, but it was better to steal the details rather than the chance of picking up an older useless prototype. He hadn't seemed like he was searching for something either when Huian had seen him, so he knew exactly what he was looking for. But why hadn't he hidden himself? Had he thought he had? There were too many questions, too many things that didn't add up.
[
[
Huian got a clap on the shoulder as she double-checked she had her taser ready.
"Good catch." Taller than she was (though that wasn't hard with Huian) Fadia was her senior, the kind that checked up on everyone, making sure they'd taken breaks. And when a person spent hours inside a system aware of every second, the click of the clock everywhere, and not connected to a body, it was far too easy to forget things like eating and toilet breaks were a necessity.
"Thanks," Huian said, quashing the light jittery feeling in her stomach with confidence. She'd been trained for this; this was her job and now she actually had to do it. It was the first time she'd had to (who would dare try to break into a security company?) but it wouldn't go wrong, she knew it. The team was good.
[
Dammit, they're taken too long talking. "Are any of the elevators moving?" she demanded, starting to move, hearing Fadia take another route.
[
He had to have taken the stairs. "I'll take the east staircase." That had been the direction he'd been moving in the last she saw.
Her communicator blipped, the others saying their destinations and Huian kept going.
* * *
The guards had split up. Which is what Nakida had expected them to do and they watched the elevators –
Not move.
Wait. Were they taking the stairs? Why would security take those when they had the nice fast elevators that could take them where they wanted to in seconds?
If they didn't know where the intruder was and were covering the exit points.
…Shit! There was movement in one of the feeds they were connected to and Nakida got a flash of black hair and a guard uniform before tearing back to their own body.
Left here - move forward for this distance and-
Nakida's eyes snapped open as they inhaled sharply, the claws attached to the system already unhooked, their cable zipping back into their body. Everything was too noisy, hearing the energy pulse around them, but they couldn't take a moment to collect themselves. There was no time to replace the panel, not when the clattering footsteps were already far too close.
They used to be faster at re-orientating themselves, but maybe it was because it had been so long since they'd been close to being caught. The chase had been something they'd enjoyed before, but that was before, when they'd done this for fun, when they'd had no real reason to do any of it.
Summary: Nakida’s a hacker in the middle of a job to find some information. Except they’re not the only one breaking into the building that night - there’s a silver-haired guy walking around like cameras don’t exist. If he wants to get caught, it’s not their problem.
Huian’s on guard duty to protect the information they’re after. Usually it’s quiet - all she has to do is enter the system, keep an eye on the camera feeds and patrol around the clusters of data to make sure no-one gets to them.
Their pasts connect them, even if they don’t remember. And the past does tend to come back.
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Reincarnation fic! :D Written for nano! So expect some weirdness as I churn this out, haha.
Genre: General.
Word count: 2,093
Status: Work in progress
Nakida exhaled, leaning back on the wall before stretching. They'd worked the panel off of the wall, and that was pretty much most of the physical work done already.
Now they had to slip into the system before any of the guards spotted them. They ran a hand under their ponytail, lifting it away from their neck, swiping their thumb over the port there. It opened with a snap, and they let out a breath, feeling the cable there switch on, connecting with their mind.
It slipped out of the port at a thought, slithering around their fingers, about the same width, allowing them to pull the rest of it out.
At the end of the cable were a few hooks for grasping and they tested that they stilled worked, the metal clicking against each other.
Okay... Now for the next bit...
Their lips twitched at the familiar brightly coloured innards of the wall. For a company that was all about security systems and prided themselves on being the best in the market, it was ironic that they were all the same when it came down to it.
Now... Which one was the one they wanted...?
The security rooms tended to be close to their servers -it made for easier patrols if they knew the data they were supposed to be protecting was close by- but that would make things too easy wouldn't it? And that would be just disappointing if that was true.
It wasn't like the guards needed to be physically close to it to protect it anyway.
Nakida snapped the claws around the cable they wanted, the edges slicing in like the protective covering didn't exist. They sucked in a breath as the claws connected to the system, the jolt something they'd gotten used to over the years. The first couple of times they'd done it, they'd ended up giving their position away with a yelp before coming to the conclusion to practice in a safer place rather than getting themselves caught.
Things had gone smoother after that.
Connecting to a system was always dizzying at the first connection, feeling that snap as the brain was no longer alone, the surge of new information that didn't stop or slow down.
Like the signal saying there was a breached point. Nakida snapped out their consciousness at that piece of information, following as it zigzagged, speeding along with unrelenting determination.
Nakida grabbed it at the last second, 'accepting' it as if they had always been the intended destination.
The alert faded, its mission complete and Nakida smiled, turning their attention to where it had been going. This cluster of data had to be where the security was. They brushed at the data, gaining access from the entrance the alert had given them. The camera feeds were…there…and now to find their body before someone noticed it.
Sixth floor, east staircase… Aha. They teased out the recording of the feed before they arrived, the images spilling over and they watched it as they looped it over their own image, erasing their presence like they'd never been there in the first place. They tucked the feed back where it belonged, and it settled in place like it had never been disturbed.
Next, they connected themselves to the camera feeds on that floor close to their body and adjacent ones, keeping them at the edge of their consciousness, giving themselves a warning system. There shouldn't be anyone wandering about, but it didn't hurt to be careful.
That was everything and now all they had to do was - hm?
There was movement on the upper floors. Not the staircases, but in the corridors. Was that where the security room was? That couldn't be right... Security was usually closer to the ground.
Nakida edged towards the particular feed, wary in case one of the guards' attention were drawn to it while they looked at it. Silver-haired male by the looks of it, with -Nakida switched perspective- no port at the back of his neck, huh. Unless he'd gotten surgery to cover it, but the outline was distinctive even with.
How had he gotten there? It was after hours and he wasn't wearing the guard uniform.
So he was either part of this (whatever 'this' was, but that was why Nakida was there to find out) or he was a fellow hacker.
Who didn't have a port at the back of his neck, which was one of the basic necessities of hacking. High-end hacking, anyway, and this was a company who prided itself on keeping hackers out.
But if he was doing it with a handheld, maybe.
Still. He was walking around in the open without caring about the cameras, unless it was an avatar to distract the guards. Because what was he doing near the roof?
It piqued Nakida's interest, and if they had different agendas, then they could both carry on with their business and leave each other out of it. If they had the same... Eh. It was doubtful.
Nakida drew back from the security feeds and prodded at the wireless. It was unlik... There was a device connected to it. Wow. How had the guy gotten in? Opened a window?
Accessing his communicator from there was easy, and hmm. Maybe the silver hair was an indication of something, even though he had a younger face than they did - Nakida hadn't seen an interface like this for a while. Did he like that look or did he not change his phone every year?
Call to self, and Nakida double-checked their avatar was in place while they waited. Their avatar was nearly completely opposite of what they actually looked like with pale skin and black hair, a white stripe thrown in for no particular reason other than they liked the look of it.
He picked up on the second ring, the man's face appearing before them. Huh. Scar on the right side of his lip. Where had he been at the time that he couldn't get the medicine to stop that from happening? Had something gone right through his head?
"Hel-" The man's eyes went wide at the sight of them. "Tao?" he spluttered.
"My my, it's nice to be recognised," Nakida said, resting their chin in a hand, grinning. Maybe the guy wasn't as green as they thought he was.
"Of-" The expression crashed, anger replacing it as the man lifted his upper lip, baring his teeth. "Who are you?"
Nakida raised an eyebrow. Did their avatar remind him of someone he knew? "Like you said: Tao." He'd just said that. What were chances they'd create an avatar with both the same name and face as someone who existed?
"You're not - you can't-" The man took in a breath and Nakida watched him get control back over himself, the lifted lip only twitching but staying in place. "What do you want?"
It was as if the man was growling. How old was the sound chip in there?
"Nothing, really," Nakida said with a shrug. They didn't miss how the man's eyes narrowed at the sight. "I just wanted to know what you were doing."
"Why the fuck should I tell you?"
Wow, touchy. The two must have parted on bad terms. Nakida dropped the smile, all business. "Because I need to know if we've got the same goal or not. If not, then we keep doing whatever and stay out of each other's way."
The man pursed his lips, considering. "And if we've got the same goal? We 'work together'?"
Nakida didn't miss the dripping sarcasm. They waved a hand, snorting. "I don't work well with others; I doubt you do either."
The glower deepened and it looked like Nakida was stamping on every single nerve he had by merely existing. Nothing new. They had that effect with some people.
There was buzzing behind Nakida and they turned their head towards it, stretching out their consciousness and hearing the agitated chatter of the guards. The man had been found.
"You're with the guards," he accused, lifting his chin, triumphant at catching Nakida out in the lie.
"Near the guards," Nakida corrected mildly, turning their attention back to him. They could use this. If the guards were distracted by that ass, they were free to take the information they wanted at their leisure. "Have fun!" They smiled one last time, making it as fake as possible and cut the connection, feeling the guards' presence disappear one by one as they left the system to re-enter their bodies.
There was one left to keep an eye on all the feeds and direct the others, but that was all they needed. Now the guards were on alert, the guard would be more zealous about guarding the information, pointing Nakida directly to it.
Huian gasped, her eyes snapping open as she reached back and disconnected the port from the machine. Switching from consciousness to being grounded in a physical body was disorientating every time, aware of the pulse of her heart, every breath she took, feeling so much more contained and smaller after being inside a system that sprawled the size of a city, but she didn't have time to adjust like usual. She rolled off the bed, her communicator already pinging, a message from Abi telling her where the intruder was.
But what was he doing? There were a few offices there, and that was where a number of the security systems were tested, but it was better to steal the details rather than the chance of picking up an older useless prototype. He hadn't seemed like he was searching for something either when Huian had seen him, so he knew exactly what he was looking for. But why hadn't he hidden himself? Had he thought he had? There were too many questions, too many things that didn't add up.
[
He looks angry - be careful.][
I'll be fine,] she replied. Huian got a clap on the shoulder as she double-checked she had her taser ready.
"Good catch." Taller than she was (though that wasn't hard with Huian) Fadia was her senior, the kind that checked up on everyone, making sure they'd taken breaks. And when a person spent hours inside a system aware of every second, the click of the clock everywhere, and not connected to a body, it was far too easy to forget things like eating and toilet breaks were a necessity.
"Thanks," Huian said, quashing the light jittery feeling in her stomach with confidence. She'd been trained for this; this was her job and now she actually had to do it. It was the first time she'd had to (who would dare try to break into a security company?) but it wouldn't go wrong, she knew it. The team was good.
[
I can't find him. It's like he disappeared.]Dammit, they're taken too long talking. "Are any of the elevators moving?" she demanded, starting to move, hearing Fadia take another route.
[
No.]He had to have taken the stairs. "I'll take the east staircase." That had been the direction he'd been moving in the last she saw.
Her communicator blipped, the others saying their destinations and Huian kept going.
The guards had split up. Which is what Nakida had expected them to do and they watched the elevators –
Not move.
Wait. Were they taking the stairs? Why would security take those when they had the nice fast elevators that could take them where they wanted to in seconds?
If they didn't know where the intruder was and were covering the exit points.
…Shit! There was movement in one of the feeds they were connected to and Nakida got a flash of black hair and a guard uniform before tearing back to their own body.
Left here - move forward for this distance and-
Nakida's eyes snapped open as they inhaled sharply, the claws attached to the system already unhooked, their cable zipping back into their body. Everything was too noisy, hearing the energy pulse around them, but they couldn't take a moment to collect themselves. There was no time to replace the panel, not when the clattering footsteps were already far too close.
They used to be faster at re-orientating themselves, but maybe it was because it had been so long since they'd been close to being caught. The chase had been something they'd enjoyed before, but that was before, when they'd done this for fun, when they'd had no real reason to do any of it.