Nightshift 40: East Wing, Hall A (First Floor)

[youlackmascara.livejournal.com]

[from here]

Itachi walked down the hall at his usual pace, it not occurring to him to hurry, even though Sasuke might be following him. He kept his eyes front, scanning for any potential enemies, but his ears were finely attuned to the potential of footsteps behind him.

The greenhouse yard was just ahead, and then he could safely get over the wall. He had no thought in mind of running from a fight, but he did not want to fight Sasuke now, not least because he had goals he wanted to accomplish tonight. Time was of the essence in the Institute, and he could not afford to be distracted by a brother who would in all likelihood fail again.

[to here]

Comments

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

Artemis felt a muscle go in his face. That hadn't been what he was referring to at all. Then again it was Badou--Badou who would twist anything around given half a chance and the right set-up. He let that one slide, though, in favor of:

"Setting things... on fire?" Artemis had been under the impression that they were going to get a file--not set one on fire. Though if Badou wanted to take revenge by setting his doctor's office on fire... Well, Artemis didn't have any moral objection to it. No one would be killed, after all.

"Well, if you like," Artemis said, chuckling to himself and pulling out his lock-picking syringe. "Which one is her office? I've picked the locks on these doors before, it shouldn't take me long."

[strayfag]

Badou did his best not to laugh, which, as usual, meant he was gloating like a champion. If he was reading it correctly, that face meant 'I'm really going to punch you in the mouth one day.' Truly a statement all friendships were built on.

"For therapeutic purposes." Badou assured him. He didn't have any fuel so setting the whole office on fire was out of the question, but with the kind of neat freak Makiko was he could still leave her something special. He beckoned Artemis forward a bit to office number three. "This one. I'll keep watch."

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

"It's not going to hurt anyone, so whatever you want to do is fine," Artemis said with a small shrug. It was towards the end of the night anyway--the odds of someone wanting to enter this specific room were very small.

He pulled his blazer off, tucking it safely to the side, and uncapped the syringe. The jacket was comfortable, but Artemis found it restricted delicate movements just slightly. Plus, he felt a little warm.

"The doctors are here for therapeutic reasons--so if burning down her office is going to help," The lock clicked open. Artemis had been working barely thirty seconds. "So much the better." He tested the knob and the door swung open. He'd opened this particular door before as well, so he supposed that helped.

"After you," he said, waving Badou ahead of him.

[strayfag]

"You're opposed to me hurting people now?" Badou asked, mostly not expecting an answer. The click came in no time. Artemis was faster at this than him. How many locks did a rich brat have to pick? ...Maybe quite a few, actually, if he wasn't that rich to begin with but Badou doubted that. He probably just broke into the kitchen at night to get smashed while listening to Beethoven.

After a last glace around the hallway (a couple of people just passing through) Badou moved past him into the doctor's office. With anyone else he'd complain about being the appetizer but he figured Arty would make a poor meat shield anyway.

[To here.]

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

(From the Smoking Office here. :| (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/621169.html?view=51474289#t51474289))

Artemis exited the doctor's office, a sleeve covering his nose and mouth. So it was a little dramatic, considering the fire hadn't gotten that big yet, but he wasn't about to wait around to see if his 'This Doctor's Office Is Going To Burn Down' theory was correct.

"Disraeli's office is down this way," he said, pointing across the hall and down two doors. "Let's hurry before the fire blocks our route of escape." And he knelt down in front of the door and began picking the lock.

[strayfag]

Badou exited the doctor's office after Artemis and closed the door behind him. He wasn't taking any precautions against the smoke. Actually, he thought he might be allergic to clean air because it felt like he could breathe a lot easier now.

"The smoke might, but there's not much out here to feed the fire. We could always go through the greenhouse and double back if we need to."

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

"Leave it to Martin Landel to do something sinister like invent flammable linoleum," Artemis said with a small chuckle. No, Artemis wasn't worried about fire jumping the hallway--he was more concerned about the ceiling or the vents or something else that fire could easily get into. But if they were lucky (and they had been so far), the door would contain the fire long enough to get into Disraeli's office and get out.

He drew the needles out of the keyhole, squinting in at the tumblers. He frowned. "The lock's been changed. Give me a moment."

[strayfag]

"I'm sure he doesn't want his institute burned down any more than... Wait, why haven't we burnt this place down again?" He'd heard about it recovering and all of that but they could at least try, just as a general 'fuck you, happy holidays'.

"Careful." Badou added, as if Artemis needed the reminding. It wasn't like someone could install a trap in the lock mechanism, but there was always the chance that magical puberty would kick in somehow.

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

"I don't think we've found an adequate fire source or fuel," Artemis replied, pausing from his work in thought. "Also, evacuating everyone from the building would take some doing. There are some people who I couldn't care less about, but there are other innocent people who don't deserve to be trapped in a burning building."

He was starting to sound like Hitsugaya, he thought. While burning the whole building down sounded like a good idea at first, apparently upon further thought...

"Careful of what?" he asked, looking down the hallway nervously.

[strayfag]

Well, that made sense. Badou wasn't the nicest guy in the world but he wasn't very enthusiastic about innocent people burning to death either. Maybe he'd talk to Alle about it later. Using more violent means of getting out looked better and better all the time.

"Nothing." He replied, shaking his head. "You need help with that lock?"

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

"Not... at... all."

Click. Artemis afforded himself a small, triumphant smirk. There was nothing like knowing how things worked and exploiting that knowledge. He stood up, recapping the syringes and tucking them back in his breast pocket.

"I've been in here before, and I believe he told me to return whenever I needed something--it should be a decent enough invitation."

Still, Artemis swallowed nervously and stepped across the threshold. The possible results of magic were worrisome, but he was more concerned about the unknown factor of what lay in this office during the night.

(To here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/622179.html))