243/Hello Treasure

Hello Treasure
Date of Scene:	01 May 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Captain America, Lara Croft, Nathan Drake, 213

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Captain America has posed:
     It's early morning, the sun still hasn't quite risen yet, but it's when the meeting had been set. A third pay up front, before even a meeting had been made, a stack of cash that wasn't anything to scoff at to sweeten the meeting.

     The note attached lead here, to a small office complex on the edge of NYC. It was a fairly nondescript place that had recently been bought out by an anonymous buyer, the place had been left abandoned for twenty years, before purchase, and judging by the construction equipment left all around it's been quick going getting it back up to code.

     The parking lot is mostly empty save for construction equipment under heavy lock and key, and a brown 1975 Cadillac Seville. A cool breeze washes over the compound with freshly lain asphalt only recently dried left to the cool morning air. It's not exactly the most secure of places but it seems quiet enough.

     Out front the sign reads Kligger Konstruction, the company logo a caricature of a smiling man holding a brilliant red hammer. The sign itself seems a new addition to the complex the lights for the sign itself not yet installed setting locked nearby in a small wooden shed.

     A lone light shines on the building, beckoning those invited to come inside.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had received the note at her home in Greenwich Village and had decided to check the place out. But due to its oddities, she wasn't going to a location without having told others where she was going. She WAS a SHIELD agent, afterall... so they were tracking her as of now.

With a dark navy blue light jacket on that had shield logos on the shoulders, a pair of dark charcoal colored jeans and some black leather boots, Lara approacehd the designated area and she let her brown eyes roam about it. "Odd." She quietly said.

The light did draw her in like a moth to a flame, but she was cautiously looking about, hands stuffed in the side pockets of her jacket where she had a handgun secretly gripped within the pocket.

Nathan Drake has posed:
"Sully, relax. It's just a meet and greet. What could go wrong?"

Whatever jeep that Nate's driving is probably not his or it is his. Whatever. The unsung treasure hunter pulls into the parking lot and skids to a bit of a halt. Apparently, Nate the Great has been driving with one hand because he's still rocking one of those old school flip phones. Nothing beats a classic, right?

"You just get here when you can. Yes. Yes, I know their twins. That's why I'm saying take your time." Nathan rolls his eyes and hops out of the jeep, slamming the door closed after him. "Don't die, old man. Later." Nathan hangs up the phone and shoves it into one of the many pockets on his adventurer's outfit of justice.

"Alright, let's see what we got." With that said, Nathan Drake trots off towards the moth-light like a dim flame that probably shouldn't still be burning.

Captain America has posed:
     Around this time another vehicle shows up. It's a Humvee, first generation, military, painted pitch black and loaded up with a great deal of extra armor. It's engine rumbles down to a stop sounding less like it belongs to a car and more like it belongs to a semi truck.

     Pulling into the lot it comes to a stop, doors opening up, as men in pitch black matching uniforms hop out. There's four of them in all, each one in an identical uniform. They've got a pistol holstered on each of them but for the moment it seems they've left their assault rifles behind. Stepping out in formation they do a quick sweep of the area, before moving for the light as well.

     The small team seems to be all business, as they move their way along, checking corners as if they were in Iraq rather than New York. Pistols aren't in hands yet but holsters are undone just in case. They've got some rather thick body armor for the city to boot.

     The man at the lead gives a nod towards the other two who've just arrived as well. A silent turn back to the front doors as he heads in.

     Inside the building is clearly still under construction, ladders are set up leading into the ceiling tiles, wires tucked away and tagged for re-running, a few spools left over in the corners. Even the carpeting of most the rooms hasn't been installed yet, but double doors are open to a rather nice office.

     Inside of the office a bald man sets in a rather high end wheelchair hooked up to an oxygen tank. Beside him a young woman stands with a clipboard in hand. Her attention drifts upwards at the sound of the main doors opening and she whispers something to the man in the chair.

     The wheelchair bound man is clearly in his late 90's his age shown plain as day on his face, and once incredibly well toned body. His skin is a deep shade of grey, with a pair of tubes leading up to the middle of his nose. He's clearly on his last legs.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had turned when she'd heard the male's voice speaking into the flip phone. She stood there beneath the light and watched him for a moment, but looked away up until he flipped the device closed and drew nearer to her. She offered him a faint smile. "Vintage hardware." She told him, glancing up and down. Was she talking about the phone or about Nathan?

Lara would then watched the HumVee arrive and the small contingent of men (that made her quite uncomfortable) exit the vehicle...

Lara would stand aside as they strode into the building and then glance back to Nate once more, giving him a 'look' about the group of militants.

With her hands still in her jacket pockets, she'd proceed on inside as well and once they reached the room she'd fan out to stand as far away from the mercenaries as she could while still facing the man with the oxygen tank and the chair.

Lara waited to be spoken too, since she'd been summoned here.

Nathan Drake has posed:
"Vintage makes the world go 'round." Nate doesn't even know what he's saying but he has to make sure he doesn't just let her get away with possibly calling him old. Well, he knows he's old but he doesn't need people around to remind him of that fact. Either way, he rocks his signature smile the entire time. Even as the HumVee rolls up.

"Well, this just got scary. Or interesting." When the men start piling out and get into their formation and do all that military outfit stuff, Nate just kind of shrugs and watches with an aside to Lara, "Both?"

Nate throws a hand up to wave at the men as they head for the doors, "Hey, fellas! Did I miss the memo? I could've worn my black shirt... fellas? Guys?" Nathan watches them walk past and into the building. "No humor allowed. Got it." Nathan mutters and moves to follow everyone else inside. Making some mental notes about patches and chasing his memory banks to see where he's saw them before. If he has. He runs afoul of a lot of patches.

Inside, Nathan kind of just gawks a little bit. It's not easy walking into someone's hospice situation. He doesn't even have a joke for this. Not yet, anyway. He's working on it.

Captain America has posed:
     "Gentlemen, Mr.Drake, Ms.Croft." The secretary speaks up with a friendly smile, and a bit of a light toss of her hair. for someone dressed in all monochrome she's certainly a good bit chipper in her general attitude and stance. It's rather a stark contrast. "So glad each of you received the message from Mr.Kligger."

     She reaches down onto the well worn desk beside her, and moves down the line handing out small pads of what look, and bend like paper, but have moving images across their surface. They're decent end PDA's, but who would go through the trouble of building a PDA that's paper thin?

     "I'm so" Mr.Kligger starts speaking, his voice somewhat raspy as he pauses for a quick breath of oxygen. "Happy, to see each of you." Another deep breath, his expression remaining rather flat. "I don't have much time left, I'm afraid" The low whining breeze of another breath drawn. His secretary cuts in. Speaking for him.

     "Mr.Kligger is willing to offer each of you a tidy sum, for the safe return of a family heirloom lost during the second world war." A light British accent to the woman voice as she speaks with a bright smile, looking to make this whole thing go faster as it seems Mr.Kligger's speaking has slown down dramatically as he's aged. "Two million up front, and the other two million upon completion of the job, plus expenses, and five percent Stark Global Solutions stock for each of you, again at the end of the expedition."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara's SHIELD patches probably gave her away to Nathan as well as the mercs... she didn't care though, she liked the jacket because it has all kinds of secret pockets!

The young woman (likely the youngest in the whole room in fact) watched and listened quietly. She looked at the mercenaries again though as they gave her a discomfort that was all-too-familar. She had dealt with similar types in the past, and she knew their types and could see it in their eyes.

After the secretary, and Mr. Kligger both spoke, Lara's head shook softly side to side. "I'm not interested in money." She spoke out, her own British accent was quite thick and her voice was soft and calming. "I am, howeveer, interested in what the heirloom is. So, any further information on it would determine my involvement or not. I have a lot on my plate right now." Her eyes would then glance over to Nathan, expecting him to speak next mayhaps.

Nathan Drake has posed:
"Two-- mill-- wha--"

Nathan Drake was having a hard time breathing. Or saying. Or anything. Money was good. Especially for something that he's already good at doing. He could do all kinds of things with that kind of money. In fact, Nathan takes a moment to put two fingers on each hand up and put them together in a very childlike manner to come up with...

"Four million dollars?!"

Nate turned to look at Lara when she mentions what she's not interested in and immediately raises a hand. "I'll take her four million!" That's definitely the spirit. He hasn't even finished looking at the paper thin PDA of weird technological stuff yet. He got distracted when he heard, y'know, money. He owes a lot of people. Not to mention that, y'know, a score is a score. And Nate likes to score.

"I mean, I don't have a cool British accent like the rest of you. But I'm in." Nate holds up the floppy PDA. "Do I need anything else but this? When can I get started? Also, and maybe most importantly, do I get paid in cash?"

Captain America has posed:
     The two have a discussion for a moment, after a low sigh from the elderly man, the secretary looks back to Nathan. "Of course that can be arranged, we wouldn't want there to be any more roadblocks then needed." A light pause. "Which country's cash would you like that in, alternatively we can pay in gold."

     while the mercenaries scan through their little PDA's. Each of them runs their gloved fingers down the surfaces, scanning for whatever information they can find out from their little search. The one who'd lead them in holds a hand up to his head after looking towards his cohorts and giving a firm nod.

     "The artifact itself is a necklace made from a worn spearhead that has been passed through Mr.Kligger's family for generations." She runs her hand along the desk a small projection sent up from it forming a display.

     The image displayed is of an old black and white photograph, a 5 inch by one inch metal spear head with runes engraved along the edges, and a rusted metal chain hooking it around the neck of a man who's dressed in traditional Russian clothing.

     "We've managed to track it as far as Lowtown Madripoor, however we would need your group to track it down further for collection." She explains with a rather relaxed tone, giving a bit of a look in the direction of Nathan, a smile for his enthusiasm.

     The elderly man chimes in once again, looking towards Lara with a pleeding expression on his face. "Please, would you honor this last request" His breath wheezes loudly. "of a dieing man." Another pause. "I want to lay eyes on it one last time."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara held the flimsy PDA in her left hand and glanced down to it briefly while Nathan made his case for her share of the cash. She didn't care, she was well aware that most people in this world needed money more than she did... though she wasn't sure that Nathan was one of those people who truly needed it, or just lusted after it.

Lara was mostly focused on the old man when he spoke and the images provided of the spearhead. She is also not convinced that he's the rightful owner of the spearhead either... but that was a thought best considered more later.

A heavy exhale just escaped Lara's lips "I returned from Madripoor only days ago." She said then. "I'm willing to go back, I suppose... But I won't promise results." Lara a gave a glance over to the Mercs, then over to Nathan. "I'm sure that they will, however, so it seems you're spending your money wisely, Sir."

Nathan Drake has posed:
"American works just fine. I wish I had a flag right now. So I could salute it." Nathan is in the middle of trying to focus his breathing and everything else. He's got one hand on his phone because he wants to call Sully but the other hand is focused on whatever else it should be focused on. Then when the spiel starts coming through the does take a moment to pay attention.

"Uh, you got hard copies of any this? I work better when there's something tangible in my hands." Nathan reaches up to run a hand through his hair. "All this hologlyphics? Not really my style."

To be frank, Nathan's not really buying most of what's being sold right now but there's 4 Million Dollars on the table and that could help him do a lot of things. Like, y'know, buy things. "Madripoor's nice this time of year." Nate turns to look at Lara with a smirk. "4 Million Dollars nice." Oh, Nate. Don't overplay your money hunger. Pull it back. Sully's not here to help sweeten the pot.

Captain America has posed:
     Mr.Kligger reaches slowly into his back pocket digging for a long moment before pulling out a small gold necklace. He holds it in his hand for a moment before popping it open to reveal the rest of the image being displayed on screen at the moment.

     Outside the frame of the holographic display stands a woman who is holding hands with the man, both of whom seem to be of rather high standing. Their general attire looking more of the noble class then the petty commoners while remaining traditional attire.

     "I can always print them out a physical copy." His assistant chimes in, moving back over towards the far corner of the room, to access the photocopier. Even as the elderly Mr.Kligger holds out the necklace

     "We would have preferred to get in contact before you left Madripoor of course Ms.Croft, however" She mentions while turning on the copier to start punching in some data. "We're more then willing to provide rapid transit to the Madripoor Boom-Tube facility, with proper application of your efforts you should be able to return home by nightfall" A rather chipper and friendly tone as she gives a reassuring smile.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara mostly shared Nathan's ideals when it came to having physical copies rather than the PDA, but she wasn't getting the impression this was going to be a job that truly fit her skillset. This was increasingly sounding more and more like a job for a Thief, not an archaeologist. In fact, she was expecting any moment to hear that this spearhead was in the possession of some other rich person who'd turn around and throw wads of money at others to retrieve it should it be stolen for Kligger here.

"Nightfall?" Lara asked, looking between the old man and the receptionist. "You have access to teleportation technology?" She knew it existed because of her ties with SHIELD, but she'd never seen it operated first-hand.

Lara would look then to the Mercs, but they were just staring at their PDA's and likely thinking about their next Protein-hit, so she looked then to Nathan... he seemed to be thinking mostly about dollar signs.

"Fair enough." Lara said then, looking back to Kligger. "I'll go. On the pretense that I can return as soon as possible... something rather large has come up that I have to attend to." Such as finding the missing pieces of what could be the Ark of the Covenant. Nothing big, no!

Nathan Drake has posed:
"Telewhowhatnow?"

Seems like something has broken through the monetary movement of Nathan Drake's heart. Granted, he probably shouldn't be worried too much about money since his wife is successful in all of her endeavors while he's uh... the family screw up. But still! Money helps people that ain't rich get to where they need to get to!

"Soooo... you're tellin' me that you're gonna' Star Trek us over to Madripoor and we're supposed to hunt down this spearhead thing and then you'll Star Trek us back?" Nathan is starting to not like the sound of this. Not because it seems shady or anything like that. But because the adventure's gone.

"Can't you just Star Trek the necklace back to you with your Boob Tube What's It?"

Sam Drake (213) has posed:
Better late than never, right. Outside the office complex the loud roar of a Harley is heard as it pulls into the parking lot, falling silent as the engine is killed.

A few moments later, the door to the building opens as Sam enters, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips as he strolls inside, pausing a moment to let his eyes adjust to the light. "Sorry I'm late," he says as he strolls further inside the building, Ttraffic was a bitch. You would think that they would do something about these roads."

He glances around the room, eyes surveying old man and his entourage first, before shifting over to Lara and finally... "Nathan?"

Captain America has posed:
     Mr.Kligger looks positively shocked at the sounds of a motorcycle. His own attention drifting back towards the doorway as he instinctively ducks down his head hard, hands going up over his head for a long moment before he opens back up his eyes looking about the room as if he's just heard death itself on wings the moment Sam actually comes back through the door able to settle himself.

     "It's not nearly that simple." The secretary starts, before walking back over with a freshly printed copy of the photograph to give to each of them. She gives Sam a quick look up and down. "We can't retrieve something so small, or direct, these are a complex piece of technology." She pauses "Besides, we need a group who can blend in at Mr.Kliggers digsite, and you're each perfect for that job, you'll be acting for the duration of this little expedition as heads of the team, to avoid suspicions."

     The pads themselves hold all sorts of information on some sort of dig site owned by the company which has full rights to a small stretch of land deep inside the Madripoor jungle, containing some sort of ancient temple. It also includes basic information on the region and on the necklace itself. Apparently originating some 23,000 years prior, in what would eventually become modern day Moscow.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara's eyes were scanning all the information on the glossy when Sam arrived and she looked back at him after hearing him speak the other man's name, now she knew at least one person's name in this room. She looked between Nate and Sam, instantly picking up on their physical similarities... Brothers... that comforted her a bit... even though on her other side were a team of intimidating mercs and she was stuck in the middle now, the only one without a partner(s).

Lara exhaled and nodded her head. "Oversee a dig site, recover the spear... Inside a temple..." Her head shook side to side. "It shouldn't be a problem. Unless there are any... hostilities in the region that you're failing to inform us of." The young British woman said, voice laced with suspicion.

Nathan Drake has posed:
"I still don't know about all this zappy through the ether stuff. Or whatever. Doesn't anybody just fly in planes anymore?"

Nate's attention is taken by his brother and he plasters on a big smile. "Hah. Hey Sam. I shoulda' known you'd be here. These dollar signs got your name written all over it." Nate heads over to give his brother a hearty pat on the shoulder.

"We can get your stuff back." Nate folds up the hard copy and pockets it. "Piece of cake." Nate knows how to deal with hostiles. Kill them.

Sam Drake (213) has posed:
Taking a moment to look at the photograph, Sam studies it intently as he takes some mental notes in regards to the artifact.

Having not heard the whole sales pitch, he gives his little brother a glance and leans into whisper something. The reply on Sam's face when Nathan whispers back is one of shock as he mutters "No F'ing way. What is this, the damned Spear of Destiny or something?" while looking back to the photograph.

I'm with Nathan, I'm in."

Captain America has posed:
     "Only the usual trouble associated with the city, after all what can one expect from a place that has so few laws?" She looks back down to her clipboard before flicking her hair back to one side, that same red hammer on the side of her hair pin. "The issue with flying is that it leaves logs of where you came from, where you went to, with these we can simple transport people to the location of choice without a trace, so long as it's from one pad to the next." She flicks her fingers down the surface of the digital pad. "If you'll follow me, I can take you to the Boom Tube." A friendly smile crossing her face.

     There's a bit of a light wheezing chuckle at Sams comment, before he takes a deep breath from his oxygen tank. A long breath to refill his own air. "Oh if only." He shakes his head a bit from one side to the other.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara exhaled softly and shook he rhead. "I just flew out of there in a rush. We were being fired upon by militants... So to be entirely honest, yes, I do fly on planes all the time... And I'll happily avoid the mileage on a return trip. It was quite rainy when we left, and spending all those hours drying out aboard a cargo plane, does not leave a good taste in one's mouth." She said these words back to Nathan and Sam, but obviously mostly Nate.

Since the Mercs were likely all gung-ho and following first, Lara would just trail behind them, going to wherever that the Assistant was leading them. She was growint quite eager to see this temple, in fact, after the short bit of reading she just did about it.

Nathan Drake has posed:
"Yeah, so, I don't know if you caught it, Sam. But they're gonna' teleport us. To Madripoor. In giant Boobs or somethin'. Like Star Trek."

Nathan follows after Lara and the other people because he's definitely not wanting to be the guinea pig for this crazy technology that warps time and space and all that good stuff. "I want to say 'these kids today' so bad but I'm not that old yet. I refuse to be that old yet."

Sam Drake (213) has posed:
Sam gives Nathan a quizzical look. "They are going to teleport us...in giant...boobs?" The older Drake smirks, shaking his head, "Well this I gotta see."

Sam follows alongside Nathan, doing what a man like him does. First, he checks out the rear of the young and attractive woman walking in front of him, then he takes a moment to unholster his weapon and check to make sure his firearm is loaded and the safety is on.

"Nathan, I hate to break it to you little brother, but neither of us are spring chickens anymore."

Captain America has posed:
     The crew are lead deeper into the facility with Mr.Kligger following close behind the whirr of his electric wheelchair all but silent as he moves along.

     It's no wonder that the mercs who've been completely silent all this time are practically leading the charge right behind the bubbly Secretary. "Now, as per company policy I'm legally obligated to warn you that you should under no circumstances stop moving till you reach the other side of the tube." Rather chipper about the whole thing as she speaks with that received pronunciation.

     Down at the bottom of a small winding ramp the group find themselves in the middle of what looks to be an incredibly advanced laboratory from the late 1990's. The room itself looks to have been more recently updated with more modern technology but it's clear just from looking at this place that it was at one point in time some sort of military research facility before falling into disrepair.

     Behind the control pannel a lone man in a security guards uniform lays napping his face covered by a magazine. He's 340lbs of man standing at just over 5'5" tall. That hair line of his is receeding so much it might as well not be there, and as the group come into the room, he's fast asleep at his post. The Badge on his chest Identifies him as Chunk. "N-No Princess Wonder of course I wouldn't mind." He mutters in his sleep.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara looked and read from the PDA that they'd been given as the group walked, she had no idea that she was being lewdly eyeballed! "Fascinating." She quietly muttered to herself here and there until they came upon the area in question. Her eyes looked up then, at the Assistance and she nodded. "Keep moving... right. I'm afraid to ask why, so perhaps it best not to..."

Lara stopped not far from the massive man talking in his sleep and she mostly disregarded that while looking about they room they were in now. "I would've loved some advanced information on all of this so that I might've packed a bit of equipment to bring along with me..." She put the PDA away into a pocket and then unzipped her jacket and pulled it off of her shoulders. She was wearing a black tanktop beneath it that clung to her form and she lowered down into a crouch on the floor and started to pull pieces of 'things' and 'stuff' out of interior pockets on that SHIELD-issued jacket.

Moments later and Lara was strapping a holster to her right thigh that she'd assembled on-the-fly and then took her sidearm out of her jacket and slipped it into the holster. "Incase I'm recognized... by whomever was chasing Indiana and I."

Had she just said 'Indiana'? The guy from the movies? The most famous archaeologist in the world, that had died decades ago? This girl is crazy!

Nathan Drake has posed:
"I like to think I'm at least a Spring Turkey. Maybe a Lamb. Lambs are cute. I'm cute, right, Sam?"

Nathan's mouth is just in motor-mode because he's nervous about all of this craziness that's about to happen. he even ignores the Princess Wonder Lover and opts, instead, to check his own gear. "Eh, relax. Me and Sam do this kinda' thing all the time. With nothin' but the shirts on our backs." And to spin a quick yarn in Lara's direction. "Oh and these." Nate checks his gun and re-holsters it. Just in case.

"Now, y'know, this ain't gonna' like scramble my brain or anything, right? I mean... I know I've got these good looks but I wanna' be used for my mind too."

Sam Drake (213) has posed:
"So let me get this straight. We are supposed to walk down this thing, which is being run by sleeping butterball over there, and it will take us halfway around the world in no time at all?"

Sam shakes his head, looking somewhat dubious of the whole idea. "If it wasn't for some of the things I have seen, or that Nathan has told me, I would say you're all off your rockers. But we live in a world where men fly, so I don't know why I should be surprised."

"I'm with the Brit...if I had known we were going to be leaving right away without having time to prep, I would have brought more gear. Do we have any resources for supplies on the other side? I've only got a handgun with me, and I have never been on one of these expeditions where there wasn't shooting of some sort."

"Cute? Man, I'm your brother Nathan. I don't think you are cute. Elena must, because she married your sorry ass, but me...I changed your diapers. I know how 'cute' you are."

He side eyes Lara and plugs his nose to indicate someone was stinky as a child.

Captain America has posed:
     "I'll try my best to make sure your brains get there in one peace." The secretary just pauses for a long moment as she looks towards the overweight man setting behind the desk. Her hand goes up towards the bridge of her nose. Moving over to the desk, she just slides the overweight man out of the way and begins typing out on the keyboard at a rather surprisingly speed for someone only typing with one hand.

     "I remember watching his films as a boy." Mr.Kligger starts as he rolls over towards a small viewing platform to the side of the room. His own nostalgia takes hold as he watches on. "I would have given more warning" Pause for yet more oxygen, the low wheeze of his chair as it rolls to a complete stop. "If I had more time."

     "No, I'm going to send you through, since I helped design the thing." The secretary speaks witha friendly smile, and another slight fwiff of her hair. There's even a playfull wink given to Sam of all people.

     Flipping switches and levers, the entire console begins to light up flashing lights flickering around. A low hum fills the air as two large vintage 60's science fiction style lasers descend from the ceiling on either side of the oversized platform. "Once the last of you is through, I'll close the tube from here, you shouldn't be too far from the dig site, just remember: Don't leave anything behind in the tube."

     She looks back up towards the collected individuals as the mercs suit up, from a backpack that had been carried by one of the burlier looking members of the crew. Full flack jackets and top of the line automatic weapons.

     For the first time since they arrived one of the mercs speaks up. His voice is gruff and worn down from a hard life of smoking and drinking. He'd stayed mostly to the back of the group but now that he's spoken it's clear that his face looks like he's been sent through the blades of a helicopter, and a bit of napalm for all the scars he's covered in. To be honest he sounds a bit like Tom Waits, a Vietnam Vet badge clear as day on his hat, despite the fact he only looks about 25. "Take what you need." As he rapidly assembles his desert eagle with a hard slam back into place. "Brought enough for the crew plus extra, never know with these bastards." A slight smirk given as he rips open the bag for the rest of the crew.

     Even a quick glance could tell someone they weren't exactly legal weapons to have on US soil, not that any of the beef heads seemed to car while throwing on their combat helmets.

     One last switch is thrown, and blindingly brilliant yellow light fills the room, a swirling vortex forming with a sudden KABOOOM that echos out rattling the air. Where once was mere air is now a hallway, made from pure light. From either end one looks through the 2 dimensional portal one see's the same end point: A dusty stretch of land, with tall trees in the far distance, and old style trucks rumbling back and fourth across dirt roads. People walk about in full combat gear paroling the perimeter of the area and keeping anyone from wandering too close.

     Warm air slowly drifts from the portal, the air of a humid jungle, even as people load and unload cargo planes for travel in the far background. It's that strange mixture of ancient world and the cutting edge of tomorrows technology that tells people one clear thing: that's Madripoor alright.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara slowly stood up with her jacket held in her right hand, she was enraptured by the science going on around her. It wasn't her field of science, but it was fascinating to her all the same! It wasn't until the Merc spoke up about using some of their gear that Lara looked down at at the provided arsenal. "Holy shit." She muttered softly, and walked toward the displayead gear. Lara didn't just love science, she kind of had an affinity for guns and weapons too. "Oh uh... no. I shouldn't. Uh... later maybe. Yeah." It was tough to say no, but she wasn't even sure what they were going to be facing on the other side yet.

When the door opened she marveled at it for a moment but then eagerly started moving forward toward it, not even skipping a beat. Where the Mercs had lead the 'guests' up until this part, Lara was taking the lead now... She gave one glanced back over her shoulder at Nathan and Sam, grinned at them both, and then turned her head back to the Portal and walked on ahead straight into and through it.

Nathan Drake has posed:
Nathan stalls when the weapons are displayed and skips past the flak jackets and just goes for one of the shiny shotguns. It gets strapped to his back and that's about it. It's almost like he's dressing for the cover of a video game box or something. He don't need no stinkin' protection. It's a long possible road ahead and he's not sure if he should be getting down with all this technology stuff. Oh well.

"Say, you know what, maybe we all shouldn't show up out of thin air, right? I mean, if people are waitin' on us, we'll be like teleportin' ducks! Trek in, get shot, die... that's not exactly worth four million dollars." Nate is going full voice of reason here. "So how about I just get the plane and meet you guys. I'll fly fast." Nate kind of bugs his eyes out as Lara steps through and he hesitates. Heavily. At the edge of the Boob Tube!

"This thing is safe, right?" Stallin'!

Sam Drake (213) has posed:
Sam smiles right back at the secretary after she offers up a wink. "Well then, I feel a whole lot safer. I'd much rather be in your hands than his.

Not wasting any time, as soon as the merc offers up extra gear, Sam offers one more smile to the secretary and then is making his way over to the cache of weapons and starts taking inventory. "Nice. At least someone was prepared for this thing." He checks the sights on a couple of handguns before making a choice of an second automatic with some extra clips before taking an automatic rifle and slinging that over his shoulder.

Well, you only live once. Better make the best of it. Here goes nothing."

He offers up one last wink and smile to the secretary as he walks along, before seeing his little brother falter at the starting line. Sam gives him a shove towards the entrance of the boom tube, "Get in there." before grabbing him by the strap of the shotgun and dragging him along. "You can be such a..." he mutters the last word quietly, but it started with a P.

Nathan Drake has posed:
Nathan gets yanked along for the unwanted ride!

"OH CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!"

So dramatic.