RPG SYF:

[liamc2]

[size="1"]A hairy arm was hanging out the window of the taxi as Liam and Rae stepped towards it. Liam helped her along, and she didn?t protest, as she knew Liam wouldn?t hear of it.

?Afternoon guv.?

The taxi driver tapped the tip of his cap as Liam opened the rear door of the taxi for Rae. Liam nodded in return and closed the door, walking around the other side of the vehicle. The SYF never missed a trick; they would have known to send out the appropriate taxi as soon as Rae left the building.

?Rough night love?? The cockney driver asked, looking up into the rear vision mirror.

Rae grimaced as the bruise touched the headrest. ?You could say that.?

The driver smiled and looked back at the road.

?The powers that be are in a bit of a fizzle over this Liam, the SYF is pretty concerned about you running around like this.? The driver said over his shoulder.

Rae, puzzled at first and still groggy from her injuries, almost had kittens at the driver?s words. Liam forgot that Rae didn?t know the driver and put a hand on her knee and grinned to reassure her. Rae settled back, still suspicious, but quickly dozed off again.

?Like I was sayin? guv,? the driver continued, ?you can?t keep running around like this. You ain?t got much left, have you??

?Just under two weeks.? Liam replied.

?Right. Well, just keep your head down.?

Liam curled his lips slightly at the thought of being unobtrusive.

?What?s your name?? he asked of the cockney driver.

?Kevin.?

Liam smiled, he knew a lie when he heard one, but it was protocol after all. Agents never knew their associate?s names. He still hadn?t figured out why all of his associates were allowed to know [I]his[/I] name.

?So Kevin, where?s the meeting??

?Back at the hostel, but traffic around there is nuts. The Singapore rescue services have appropriated the road out front as their main thoroughfare. We?ll have to go underground.? As he spoke, Kevin indicated and drove the taxi down into a parking lot.

?Tunnels?? Liam asked.

?Yup.? Kevin said.

In five minutes the taxi had made its way across town undetected and had managed to park in the SYF hidden underground parking lot. Liam nudged Rae awake and helped her out of the car.

?Good luck!? Kevin called out as he drove back the way they had came, one arm waving out the window.

Liam shook his head slowly. All of the secrecy and empty encouragement used to just slide right off him, but now, as he watched the wall close shut, he realised how much it aggravated him.

?C?mon,? he said to Rae, not unkindly.

?Give it a rest,? Rae said, brushing him aside. ?I can walk just fine.?

Rae hobbled at first, but gradually picked up the pace, quickly regaining her old stride. Liam knew it?d be costing her, but Rae obviously didn?t want to be seen as being weak and unable to go on the mission. Another pang of guilt accosted Liam?s heart at the thought of what he had done, but he quashed it.

Ryan and Eve were just waiting inside the building, leaning casually against the wall, outside the airlock and blast doors. Rae grinned and waved at them through the bulletproof glass as the computer checked their I.D. Liam merely gave them a curt nod and put his luggage through the machine.

The red light above their heads switched from red to amber, signalling that security inside the building were allowed to open the doors. Eve hit the switch and Ryan tossed Liam his bags as he stepped over the threshold.

?We?re just upstairs in the first conference room.? Ryan said, nodding curtly at Liam. ?You?re just in time so we might want to hurry.?

Liam returned the nod lazily and walked up the steps, ignoring Ryan and Eve as they fell into step behind him, eager to get the details out of Rae. Social things weren?t his area, and things hadn?t seemed to change?but at least he and Rae were square again.

The door was already open as he arrived. Matt was seated behind his laptop, obviously playing something to pass the time. The projector was set up, but displaying a blue screen instead of the SYF logo for the month.

Zharrar and Bradley were seated a couple of chairs up from Matt, so Liam sat opposite them, too lazy to walk and hide up at the back of the room. He put his luggage on the table, unzipped it, and pulled out his laptop from its pouch. The bag was put back down on the floor and Liam had just turned it on as Rae and the others came inside. She walked towards Liam and touched his shoulder, pulling out the chair that was next to him. She was about to sit down as the Commander and Callum stepped into the room.

Callum stepped forward and grinned at Rae, holding his arms out. Rae put the chair back in and hurried over, hugging him around the waist. Liam?s head hadn?t moved, nor had he shown any interest in what was going on.

Ryan took her seat and Liam could have hit him for it. Rae and Callum took the empty seats next to Matt, and Rae gave a quick apologetic look to Liam. He raised an eyebrow in return.

?Good afternoon,? said the Commander in his usual gruff manner. ?We are pleased to announce that Ryan?s stay with us will be extended for another mission and he has gladly accepted his original position in the SYF. We?re sure it?s hard for him to be leaving his prestigious position in the Delta force, but it will still be there for him when he returns.?

Liam tilted his head to Ryan and whispered, ?it must be hard for you to leave hardcore behind and take a vacation with us.?

?Of course, but at least on vacations I get to choose my own guns.?

Liam smiled and pointed his ears back at the Commander.

?We have also finally agreed on an unit insignia,? the Commander continued, proudly. ?This will be your own team?s mark; it?s what?s going to set you apart from the rest. It isn?t the main symbol for the SYF, but it is yours.?

An image took up the screen. There, on a square, split diagonally, of two shades of grey, was a bunch of five arrows tied by a ribbon with a word in Latin written underneath. Above, in a less than orthodox font, were the three letters ?SYF.?

[center][IMG]http://syf.250free.com/syf.jpg[/IMG] [/center]

Liam had to admit, it was impressive. It?d be nice to wear something other than a black patch on his camouflage gear when he was at home. It?d be a black patch on a mission for identity reasons, but it was the thought that counted. Something about the arrows was niggling at him, there were five there, but there had always been more than five on the team. It wasn?t that, it was something else, he couldn?t quite remember.

It hit him.

[I]?You nasty bastards??[/I] He thought as he realised.

?Those of you familiar with Scottish family crests will recognise the symbol of the five arrows bound by a ribbon. This is the traditional clan crest of the Cameron clan, and the committee decided it was appropriate, owing to the involvement and contribution given to the SYF by the Cameron family.?

Liam was livid. The last thing he wanted from the SYF was an attempt at a peace offering.

What was the old man trying to say?

?Sorry your parents are dead...and about the whole making you kill your sister thing, here! Have a badge!?

Liam?s gaze at the Commander spoke volumes and could have frozen continents. If the Commander had noticed, he didn?t let on.

Rae attempted to break the quick silence by asking, ?what does the line in Latin say??

?Paedagogus.? The Commander replied simply. ?It?s a Latin word that refers to a servant that accompanied the children back and forth between school. The servant was generally only just older than the children themselves and was given the task of protecting the children at all costs. The committee felt it most appropriate.?

There were a few nods in the group and even Liam smiled slightly, he had to learn to let things go, so he felt that he might as well start now.

?Now that the minor details have been taken care of,? the Commander said, ?your next mission is going to be a repeat of Gryphon College mission, but hopefully not a repeat of the Gryphon College [I]incident[/I].?

?Where are we going?? Ryan asked, not wanting to hear another tirade about Gryphon College and the rest of the team were silently grateful.

?Brunei.? The Commander paused, letting the surprise ripple through the group. The thought of an attack in the golden Sultan?s kingdom was, if not shocking, certainly disarming. The situation would certainly be dire if someone was willing enough to attack the most benevolent and, more importantly, west-friendly Sultan in the Arab emirates.

?The Mossad, acting for the Sultan and the CIA, have discovered several rumours of an attack on the international college there in Brunei. Apparently there is a small, now no longer secret, graduation ceremony for the third class of students of the American TITANS program.

?The TITANS program, or Theoretical Institute for Thermonuclear and Nuclear Studies, is one of the most exclusive educational institutions in the world. In fact, it is the only university in which you can get a degree in thermonuclear weapons.

?It?s a three year course and the qualifications necessary to get in are not relevant. The important detail you should know is that these soon to be graduated students are of vital importance to the United States and possibly world security.?

The Commander stopped there to let the details sink in; Matt flashed a few slides up of the facility and of the hotel where the students would be celebrating.

?The reason why these people are important to the US is that, while they have 10,000 nuclear weapons, they do not know how many are actually active, let alone useable. The average nuclear weapon has a lifetime of ten years, yet the average age of the US nuclear arms is twenty years.

?This wouldn?t be problem if there was documentation of weapons construction and scientists to build them, but most of America?s nuclear engineers are either dead or retired. Even with this new class of graduates included, by the year 2014 America will have ten times more NASA astronauts than nuclear weapons designers.?

Liam was grinning, the situation was almost laughable.

?So,? he said, still grinning. ?What were the scientists thinking? [I]Oh, I should write some of this down but I?m too lazy and making stuff explode is too much fun to put aside?[/I]?

Liam could tell that there were a few grins around him.

?The Cold War posed too much of a threat to allow any of this knowledge to be written down. At the time the scientists preferred to keep the knowledge to themselves rather than bother with security clearance.? The Commander shot a warning glance at Liam as he continued, ?it is only just in the last few years that the American government have realised the lack of practical and theoretical nuclear knowledge.

?As I was saying, this mission is vital for our interests. If these graduates get into the hands of an enemy force, the consequences could be disastrous.?

?Then why the hell put them in Brunei?? Liam said bluntly. ?Why not just lock them away somewhere safe in the states??

?The class is constantly moved around the world, they only stay in one place a week at a time, all the while working on their courses. They are students from all over the world, this is, in fact, the first time TITANS have opened their doors to international students. When they?ve graduated they will return to America to work for five years before returning home.?

?Sounds bloody stupid to me?? Liam muttered, none too quietly.

The Commander ignored him. ?You will be sent as IT graduates who are celebrating alongside the TITANS graduates and several other students of different institutes.?

?Hey wait,? Bradley said, ?won?t we stand out a little? I mean, the TITANS are going to be, well, [I]old[/I]. At least in their thirties. A bunch of teenagers are going to be a little obvious.?

The Commander grinned. ?You?re wrong there. These students are, as you can see, are your age.?

Matt flashed the graduate?s photos up on the screen, the oldest were 25 at the most, it was completely unbelievable.

?These students have received the highest accolades of their generation, each have been commended for their highly intelligent minds and have been accelerated through course after course. Only one student is American, the other ten are from England, Germany and France.?

Liam winced; this was going to get really complicated, really quickly. He just knew it.

?You will pack and board the bus tomorrow morning, dressed in business attire. You will be taking the Sultan?s private jet and will be flying as his esteemed guests. If anyone asks, it is because you have accepted to upgrade his country?s networks and bring all of his subjects homes into a 256k connection.?

The Commander?s tone was flat, informative. To him, this was a minor detail.

?All of this, of course, will be happening. Our technicians, headed here by Callum, will be setting up the network on your behalf. If the rumour is just a rumour, you will be there for only the few hours of the graduation and will dust off safely and accompany the graduates to America. Good luck.?

The last photo appeared, along with the long list of details. Liam saw it and blanched, he knew that face, but it was completely unbelievable. The other members were talking amongst themselves and didn?t notice the face. Matt closed down the lightpro before Liam could get Rae?s attention. He shook his head, he must have just imagined it?
[/size]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Rae?d turned to Callum just after the Commander announced that he?d be coming with them on the mission. She smiled brightly, ignoring the pain at the back of her head. Liam was right. She really [i]did[/i] need to get some ice onto it. The damn thing was starting to throb. Still, if Matt even had an inkling that she wasn?t in perfect health, he?d take her off the mission completely... and she really didn?t want that. [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]She whispered to Callum, a smirk in her voice, ?You?re coming with us?? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]He nodded, linking their hands together and smiling at her. ?What, Miss Intelligence things she?s too good for me?? He was teasing her; she could tell by the gleam in his eyes. [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]?Oh, not at all,? she replied. ?I was just wondering how you?d go with the big guns,? she laughed at his exasperated expression. ?I know. Modest, aren?t I??. Callum stood up and pulled her up with him. The group had already started trickling out, preparing themselves for the coming mission.[/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Liam was still in the room, talking to Matt quietly. Rae was giggling ? [i]how long had it been since she?d giggled?[/i] ? as she waved to the pair while she and Callum made their own exit. [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Still holding hands, they walked down the corridor quietly. ?So,? he said, grinning down at her with an exaggerated sleazy look on his face, ?What [i]shall[/i] we do to pass the time until the mission?? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Grinning at the almost subtle hint, she answered honestly. ?Actually, I was planning to go get some ice.[/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Callum?s expression turned serious, his gaze sharp. ?What do you need ice for?? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Evading his piercing gaze, she muttered her reply. [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]?What??[/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]?I [i]said[/i], I bumped my head.?[/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]He looked at her for a second, eyes narrowed, then he took her by the shoulders and turned her around, tilting her head down to check the injury, much like Liam did just minutes ago. ?You aren?t normally clumsy.? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Rae sucked on her lip, then exhaled quickly. ?Liam and I had a... philosophical disagreement.?[/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]The hands on her head stilled. ?And you bumped your head on [i]what[/i] exactly?? Callum?s voice was ice. Rae?d never heard him sound like this before, never thought he could be so angry, so...calmly dangerous. Stupid of her. He [i]was[/i] an agent, after all. [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]For once, Rae?s lying abilities failed her, though she wanted to protect Liam, she couldn?t lie to Callum. It was against her ?moral code?. She sighed. ?I bumped it against the elevator wall.? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]?And what were you doing when you bumped it against the wall?? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]?Nothing.? That, at least, was the truth. Rae had been so shocked at how easily Liam had thrown her, she?d done nothing to prevent or lessen the impact. She?d been stunned, pretty much. [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]?Okay, what was [i]Liam[/i] doing when you bumped your head against the wall?? He sounded like he was gritting his teeth, though his hands still rested gently on her head. [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]?He was,? she paused slightly, then admitted the truth softly. ?Throwing me into the elevator.? Callum?s shout of rage made her whirl around in surprise. She pressed her palms against his chest, trying to get him to calm down. ?It wasn?t that big a deal, seriously. I deserved it. I was about to shoot him in the stomach.? Callum stared at her.[/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]?What the fuck happened?? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]She shook her head slightly. ?It was insane. We completely blew up. I honestly think that I could have lost him...and that he could have lost me.? She took a deep breathe. ?It was just all this shit, from forever. From the first mission we were ever one, right up until now. And...? she paused and looked at him for a second, remembering. ?I went to hit him but he blocked me, so I draw my gun and leveled it at his stomach. So he threw me into the elevator.? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Callum swore, went to walk away and then turned around and took her hand, starting to pull her with him. She followed, simply because she wasn?t sure she should push him anymore than she already had. [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]She?d never seen him so angry. [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]He kept storming until he reached the break room, pulling open the freezer and getting out some ice. He pushed her down into the chair, and she sat with very little grace, staring at her ?mild-mannered? boyfriend. This side of him was completely unknown to her. Who?d realize that he?d have such a temper? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Still, when he pressed the ice to her bump, he was gentle. [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]?Rae,? Callum said softly. ?I have to say this. I?m sorry, but...? he trailed off then began anew. ?I don?t think Liam is good for you. You have been his friend for years, you have put up with all the crap that he dishes out. I?ve seen how much he hurts you ? first hand ? and I didn?t like it, but I could accept it, because that?s what friendship is about.[/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]?But he [i]threw you against a wall[/i]? And you?re willing to forgive him, just like that? Do you have some sort of masochistic tendency that I don?t know about? I mean, honestly Rae, you?re probably his best friend, but when push comes to shove, what did he do? He shoved you into an elevator.? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Rae took a breath to say something, but Callum kept talking in that soft, melodious voice of his. ?The guy?s unstable, Rae. Why can?t you see that? One day, he will hurt you so much that it can?t be fixed.? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Rae took his hand, and tugged on it until Callum was standing in front of her. She smiled slightly. ?Callum, Liam and I...I think we needed to have that fight. Yes, I got hurt, but the fact is that in that ? and after that ? we resolved a lot that couldn?t have been otherwise.? She smiled slightly. ?But thank you for your concern.? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]He frowned, and went to say more, but seemed to stop himself. ?Any other injuries that need looking at?? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Looking away from him, she admitted; ?I sort of hurt my back. It hit the handrail, it might come up in some bruising.? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Callum sighed and pulled her till she was standing. ?C?mon, we?ll go to my room and look at it.? [/size][/font]

[font=Verdana][size=1]She smiled at him, and he smiled back tentatively, the protectiveness shining fiercely in his eyes. She wished she hadn?t told him.
[/size][/font]

[liamc2]

Don't shoot me. I'm too cute to die!

At least I made the effort..x.X;

This post took waaaay too long to write up.

[size="1"]Liam waved gesticulated wildly as he tried to come to terms with what Matt was saying.

?What do you mean we?re only allowed pistols?? Liam said fiercely.

Matt looked up at him and replied calmly, ?you?re only allowed to carry small side arms owing to a certain subtlety required by this mission. Besides, your side arm is more of a hand cannon than a pistol, why are you complaining??

Liam frowned. ?Because at Griffon we were only allowed pistols, and look how long that dragged out for!?

?Diddums.? Matt said simply. ?If you need backup, all of your normal gear and equipment will be with the techies. They?ll only be two hundred metres up the road. If anything goes wrong you can send someone over.?

?I don?t like it.?

?You never do. Tell the others and throw your main gear in with Callum and his crew.?

Liam straightened up and huffed before turning and leaving the room. He could tell Matt was grinning at him as he left, amused at his frustration.

They had to leave in the morning, but because of the distinct lack of windows, Liam had no idea what time it actually was. He decided that he should actually pack and then search for his watch or a clock or something? Somehow he ended up passing the breakroom, and decided not to enter upon hearing the conversation coming from inside.

He flitted past the door, rather than stopping on the threshold or drawing attention to himself. The conversation cooled as he kept on walking. He counted for a couple seconds and then walked past the doorway again, back towards the dormitories.

?Where?s my stuff?where is it?where?? He muttered as he walked past each room.

He spotted a pile of familiar luggage sitting outside the door to the Russian?s rooml

?Well. Someone has at least moved on.?

The door opened with an ominous creak, and Liam simply threw his luggage onto the bed, and the luggage obliged by bouncing off it onto the floor.

?Excuse me sir?? A crisp and polite voice asked behind Liam. It was certainly one that expected a prompt, polite, response.

Surprisingly, Liam felt obliged to reply politely.

?Yes? How can I help you?? He asked as he turned on the spot.

An older gentleman, about six feet in height, smiled at Liam, stretching his toothbrush moustache. Everything about him screamed ?wealth? and ?British imperialism.?

?I am here about your business suit, young man. I believe you would be looking for a bulletproof lining?? The old tailer looked Liam up and down and grabbed him by the shoulders to spin him around on the spot. ?Yes, typical body shape. I may not even have to alter a suit for you.?

An assistant appeared and handed over a tape measure.

?Excellent, yes. Right, would black be your preferred colour?? The tailor asked quickly, and then answered his own question before Liam had the chance to open his mouth. ?Yes, of course it is. It will have to be because I do not have the time for navy today. Good day to you sir. If it doesn?t fit, which I?m sure it will, just page me in the building.?

The tailor snapped his fingers and his assistant drew up a rack of suits, handing the appropriate one to him. The tailor checked it and handed to Liam.

?I?m sure you?ll find everything in order, sir. There are a few minor details that you will need to revise, but they?re written on a little card which is located on the inside breast pocket.?

Liam, quite bemused, took the suit and smiled back in a confused sort of way.

?Good day to you sir.? The tailor nodded slightly and continued up the hallway with his attendant following close behind.

Liam watched him walk up the hall before going back into his new room and closing the door behind himself.

A few minutes later he was dressed in the suit, walking around and checking out his movement restrictions. He was surprised to find that there was a minimum resistance and it was quite comfortable. The Kevlar inner lining was only intended for low calibre bullets, allowed the casual observer to assume that the suit was merely well starched.

?Minor details, minor details. Where?s the card?? He muttered to himself.

Liam fished out the piece of paper.

[i]?Do not machine wash. Do not tumble dry. Do not iron. Do not under any circumstances dry clean. Use private tailors only for the care of this suit.?[/i]

Liam flipped the card over. ?That?s all?? He said, a little underwhelmed. ?I was half expecting hidden knives or something??

He looked in the mirror.

It really was a nice business suit?

[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid][i]Mr. Braxton knocked on her door and she opened it. Zharra smiled beautifully at his trim figure, the wonderful presentation he made. The rack of clothes was wheeled in and he plucked the correct outfit from it. She dropped a curtsy, still wearing her nightgown.[/i]

"You look like a picture in that lovely thing. From Sak's?"

"Nothing but the best."

"I see then I have your suit just right."

"You're the master."

"Well I don't know about that..."

"Don't be coy. You silly man."

[i]The two laughed softly at her patronizing tone. He bowed and left. She searched all the pockets and found the note instructing her to not do anything chemical or otherwise intended for cleaning to this delightful linen suit. Nothing special about it besides strengthened lapels on the blazer. She smiled and slipped out of her frail soft night gown.[/i]

"Wonderful. Sexy, and my favorite color too."

[i]The long skirt appeared to be slightly enforced, and only slit on one side, therefore her movement would be rather restricted. She was depending on the other, un-slitted side to keep her weapons well hidden, and then that she would be able to use them fast enough to avoid having to run her ass off.

Sky blue, with a sort of crushed white pattern of slightly cloud-like patterns, complimenting her softer colored skin...definetly somethin showing good taste. She slipped on the white blouse, then the skirt, and adjusted the zipper hidden on the side. Next the blazer, which fitted perfectly. Once properly attired, she exited her room and paid a visit to Liam.[/i]

"You look rather spiffy."[/COLOR]

[liamc2]

[size="1"]
Liam brushed down his jacket, smoothing it out. He smiled slightly, looked at Zharra, and said, ?you?re not too shabby yourself. Where?s rib-boy??

Zharra tilted her head back towards her room. ?He?s being fitted now. He?ll be alright for the mission too, thanks for asking.? She smiled, showing her teeth. There was a warning in her tone, but her eyes sparkled.

Liam picked up his Desert Eagle and unsuccessfully tried to hide it in the breast-pocket holster. When he buttoned up his jacket there was a conspicuous bulge. Clearly the gun was too big for the Velcro holster, which caused him to frown in frustration.

?Honestly, stupid thing. How the hell am I going to hide this?? Liam tried tucking it into his belt, under his shirt. ?What the?this suit does not give me any breathing space.?

?Like you can complain.? Zharra said, smoothing down her skirt. ?The Kevlar is shaped so we look normal. There?s only enough space for some knives and some low-calibre pistols.? She shrugged slightly, ?forget spare clips of ammunition.?

Liam frowned. This was not good. If nothing happened, he wouldn?t need the ammunition?or the gun for that matter. But if something did?

?..alternatively you could simply hide it in your briefcase.? Zharra indicated the stylish soft leather briefcase that was sitting unnoticed at his feet.

Liam looked down. ?Right!? He said, picking it up, ?this will do nicely.?

Amused, Zharra watched as Liam opened the flap, found the hidden pouch, and hid his gun and a spare clip. At the same time he shoved in his laptop and various computer things, a spare battery, hard-drive and DVD-RW combo drive. Finally he put in his phone, handless kit, and a day planner.

As the secret pouch was in the centre of the bag, it acted as an innocent divider that separated the bag into two halves. A casual inspection or ?feel? would warrant an investigation, which would find various easily explainable oddly shaped objects.

Satisfied, Liam folded the flap over and clasped it, adjusted the shoulder strap, and slung the back behind himself so it rested against his backside with the strap diagonally across his front.

Zharra shook her head and simply clapped slowly. ?Very nice. Here I am, thinking that you were incapable of accessorising, let alone scrubbing up. Pity you?re about twelve hours early.? She smirked and put her head out of the doorway. ??I think Bradley may need a little help. It seems he?s lost himself in his own suit.?

??I wouldn?t put it past him.?

Zharra stepped gracefully out of the room and made her way back to help the confused Bradley. Liam smiled to himself and went back to his clothes that he had discarded onto the floor. He rummaged for a few seconds and pulled out the steel whip and flicked it out. His jacket moved with the flick, causing the bag to shift and bounce slightly. The weight of the equipment hit his legs, putting him off balance slightly, all of which happened in seconds.

This would pose a problem. If he were to react to a situation, he would need to move quickly, but to move quickly, he?d need to put his bag down. If he were to put his weapon down, he would be separated from his gun. Big problem. He?d have to get his hands on knife or something; he couldn?t exactly effectively throw his whip at someone and expect them to be down for the count.

Liam put the whip in his inside breast pocket, it was too long to easily pass off as a pen, but the slight ?starchiness? of his jacket hid the slim object. For now it would have to do. He?d have to find a knife or something, unfortunately he didn?t have any in his possession, he moved away from the whole ?knife in a boot? combat a couple years ago. It looked as though he?d have to revisit it again and borrow a knife from the armoury.

And then Eve walked past his door.

Liam?s head snapped up and a plan popped into his head the instant he saw her. He shouted her name out and jumped out into the corridor. She had ignored him, but that was all the better for the plan. He ran after her, bag bouncing the whole way, and dropped a hand heavily on her shoulder.

He knew it would happen, but her speed still surprised him. Eve whipped around, a needle-sharp blade magically appearing in her hand. Liam moved just as quickly and caught her wrist, she responded by punching him in the stomach. He suppressed the cough and squeezed her wrist, pulling the knife out of her hands and whisked it away to one of his jacket?s hidden pockets.

?Thank you very much!? He said brightly, secretly grateful he had tensed his stomach muscles before the punch.

Eve was confused. It was obvious she had acted on auto-pilot and now she had just woken up. Liam noticed her puzzlement and twirled her around, causing her to face the in the direction the tailor had gone.

?There we go lass, see that rack there? No, not yours dear. The one with the clothes on it. Yes, now go there and speak with the tall British chap, he?ll sort you out and give you a lovely new business suit.?

Eve missed most of it, lucky for Liam, and managed a startled, ?-whuh??

But by then Liam had shoved her gently and retreated to his room, quickly and silently locking his door behind him. In the safety of his room, Liam grinned and checked out the blade he had pilfered, or rather, borrowed.

'Now maybe she won't be able to cut me so much.'
[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=MediumTurquoise]"Bradly dear. The sleeves turn out, the cufflinks cover the buttons, and you ALWAYS button the last buttons on the bottom of the shirt and tuck them in."

"But...but..."

"No buts dear. If you are going to be seen in public with me, I am going to make sure you wear this suit right."

"....more like a straight jacket."

"This is a work of art!"

[i]Their conversation could be heard up and down the hall, strangely enough. Liam turned his head and heard Bradley's indignant voice. The sound of things slamming into doors. He wasn't sure. Something that sounded like someone breathing heavily into a coconut. The he heard a trigger click and then dead silence.

Back in the dressing room, Zharra had Bradley buttoning his shirt and tucking it in completely, then buttoning up his suit and then, with further urging, he shot his cufflinks. Thus satisfied, Zharra flipped her skirt open, flashing a little leg, and then put away her gun. He groaned and turned to face himself in the mirror. A glazed sort of expression overtook his face.[/i]

"I look....like a gorilla."

"Nonsense. You look perfect."

"Perfect?! Perfectly hideous."

"Posh. Tosh. Now get out there!"

"NO!"

"DO IT NOW!"

[i]If Bradley had a tail, he would've put it between his legs, and slunk from the room. Liam snorted to himself, but shut up when Zharra walked out as well, looking quite posessed.[/i][/COLOR]