Kathryn and Merci snuck out the side exit of Fire and Ice. Better, perhaps, to avoid the crowd. They were speaking quietly to each other- but they both quickly slammed their mouths shut when they overheard a conversation from around the corner. Two voices, male.

"-put a hit out on Renford. Every asshole with a gun will be coming after her for the reward, and we're going to beat them to it."

"What the hell could a broad like that have done to piss off the Godfather of New Orleans so much? I mean, ten million..."

"Killed his brother, I guess. Doesn't matter. Based on what our informant said, she'll be in the club all night. Although we haven't heard from him recently."

She exchanged a look with Merci. She didn't want to let these guys walk away, but she had no intention of shooting them on the sidewalk, either- especially outside her own club. Merci seemed to have an idea, though, as she grabbed Kathryn's arm and pulled her much further back into the alley.

They hunkered down behind a dumpster, guns in hand. Merci looked at Kathryn and stated a single word in an emotionless, matter-of-fact manner.

"Orgasm."

"WHAT?!"

Kathryn half yelled, and half whispered, staring at her friend in disbelief as Merci started making noises that sounded eerily similar to what they'd heard between Avarice and Gluttony earlier that evening. Kathryn just stared for a few moments, before she audibly sighed and joined in, cocking her revolver as she did so. Eventually, they heard the same voices in the alley, accompanied by footsteps. Kathryn just hoped that half The Strip wouldn't be behind them.

As the two men looked, leering, around the dumpster, they looked down into the barrels of two guns with no time to react. A few quick cracks, a few strained muscles, and a loud thud left their bodies lying in the dumpster.

Kathryn put her gun in her pocket, but it didn't leave her hand. They had to get back to the HQ fast. This had to end. Now. Merci grinned as she winked at Kathryn.

"Tactical orgasm. I'll have to remember that one."

"Goddamnit, Merci we need to go."

But they were both laughing quietly to themselves as they headed off in the opposite direction.

***

A couple hours later, Kathryn walked in through the group of people that had gathered in her renovated office. She smiled professionally to greet them, but those who knew her well could see that she was furious. She stood behind her desk, voice ringing out.

"Here's the score. Moreau put me on the hitlist for an obscene amount of money, and every shit with a gun is trying to collect. I need to end this. It's a personal vendetta: Moreau killed my father. Some of you have lost other loved ones due to his actions. I'm not asking anyone to go with me- but I do intend for everyone who assists to be well rewarded. So... what's my plan?

Moreau has a mansion in the French Quarter, and we need to hit it hard. Sending in a single, stealthy assassin is not an option: they might succeed, but they'd never get out. I'll not sacrifice anyone in the crew, and no freelancer will take the job. He's got dozens of guards patrolling the grounds. To handle this, we'll be splitting up into three teams.

Team Assassinate, Team Infiltrate, and Team Obliterate... Team A, Team I, Team O.

Team I will be led by Decypha, who will be accompanied by Joe Scalise- and anyone else who has skills at being unseen. You two will enter the mansion grounds early, hopefully unseen. Your objective will be robbing the Moreau vault in the basement- and having a team inside when the shit hits the fan should be beneficial. If you can get it all, it should be a nice payday for all of us- and justify anyone who's wondering what's in it for them for coming along. Don't get caught or the whole thing might be fucked. 

Team A will be led by me. Jack will be with me, because I couldn't pry him off with a crowbar. Tacky will also be with me, as he has lost family to the Moreaus as well.

Team O will be lead by Merci. Anyone with her will be responsible for holding off the waves of reinforcements we expect to arrive. They'll set up a perimeter near the entrance and guard our way out.

How do I anticipate this going? Decypha, Joe, and anyone else in Team I sneak onto the grounds and gets behind the initial perimeter. Hopefully they can find somewhere near the vault to lay low.

The other two teams then launch a frontal assault. Tacky has modified three vans, bulletproofed them as much as he can. We're going to run two of them right through the gates in the front. Tacky will drive Team A right up to the front door and we'll storm the mansion, cut through anyone between us and Moreau, and kill the Godfather. Team O will stay near the front door to keep the exit secure, using the vans for cover, but their focus will be holding off the dozens of bodyguards on the grounds that will most likely rush the mansion.

Once Team I has completed the vault robbery, they can do what they can to help us inside, but they'll also make their way to the vans to help with the reinforcements- and load whatever Moreau has in his fault. From what I've heard, there's a decent amount of gold.

I plan on stashing the third van the next streets over, in case things go tits up and both vans are somehow disabled.

When Moreau is down and the vault is empty, we meet back at the vans and make our way out. Make it out in the vans and drive like hell to the airport, where I have a private flight waiting.

Right now, for the people I haven't already mentioned, I need to know what team you think you want to be in- where will your skills help the most?

The Courier smoked a cigarette as he listened to Kathryn speak. The attack was finally happening, and he wanted in on it. Especially because she had dropped the words "vault" and "valuables". Well they were the words he had heard clearest anyway, having zoned other boring bits of the speech out. "I heard ya mentioned somethin' about a vault Miss Renford. Now if there's one, I sure as hell will be found in the immediate vicinity, with yer permission or not." he tells her with an impish grin. 

Tacky listens to speech and takes in all that has been said. The last of the brothers was going to drop to the delight of Tacky. A crime he was all to eager to particiapate in.

'Aye, i'll be there of course. The vans are jacked  up and ready for service'

"Guess I'm Team O," Merci says, grinning. "I'd like to be on the kill team, but we can't always get what we want," she says, stuffing her hands into the poclet's of her tailored slacks.

Kinsey practically shook with energy. This was a big deal, and a great chance to help out the crew that he'd been dying to prove himself to. However, Kinsey wasn't too sure which group to whom he'd be any help. He wasn't particularly stealthy. But, at the very least, he knew something about handling a gun.

"If it's no trouble," he began, doing his best to keep the nervousness from creeping into his voice, "I'd like to volunteer for Team O."

He then shoved his hands into his coat pockets, just in case he really was shaking. 

Stormwaver grinned as she thought about what Kathryn said. She was a bit nervous about sneaking onto a place with a lot of guards, but thought of raiding a vault caught her.

"I volunteer for Team I."

Grace looked around at the faces of her friends and frowned. She knew what she had been agreeing to, but it didn't mean she was overly enthusiastic about her loved ones charging in towards a potential injury or worse. She locked eyes with Kat and shrugged, "Where would my skills be of use? Do you want me with you?" she asked the woman, looking around, "I mean we know I can hold a gun, but we also know that if I freeze at the wrong moment because of that whole," she made finger quotes in the air, "being a doctor," she said, "thing then someone might die." She shook her head, "But you're the tactical genius here, not me." 

Gregos, looked at his manicured hands and grinned. "You can tell I've never worked manually with these hands," he said. "But they're finally tuned as are my ears when it comes to cracking into safes. So I feel I will be of best use in Team I infiltrating and then getting up close nice and personal with that long green hiding in Moreau's safe." 

Joe stood near the back of the crowd leaning in the shadows. Stepping forward let his presence be known. 

"I'm looking forward to bringing this bastard down, wish I could be there when you send him to hell but I'll be happy putting my skills to use robbing him blind instead."

Joe looked over at Gracie

"I think you could fit in a couple of places @Gracie. If you think you can be a bit stealthy on the way in your skill with your hands might actually come in handy with the safe. If you prefer to see the bastard bleed, well - your medical knowledge could make it fun up there. Or, if you prefer being in one of the vans waiting to quickly treat anyone who is hit might be good for the team out front."

Merci listens to Joe, nodding as he speaks.

"And don't underestimate yourself, @Gracie . I know you don't like to do it, but I've watched you at the range, and you're a very good shot. Double duty near the getaway vehicles is an excellent idea," she finishes.

Frankie listened patiently to bosses' words, carefully contemplating how he could best serve this event. Thinking on his skills, Frankie decided he would be better off letting his boss decide where to put him.

"Count me in, Boss, after all can't let you guys have all the fun, put me wherever you think I would best serve...if it helps at all, I have a case of Browning Auto-5's with sawed-off barrels, and enough ammo for a full-on assault".

The private flight from Las Vegas left at 3 AM to avoid anyone noticing the departure. The volunteers of RP Inc. were resting in their seats, some talkative, some silent, all wondering what would we waiting for them in New Orleans. Kathryn stood up in front of the group with Merci at her side. They each rested a hand on the chair in front of them for support against the occasional spot of turbulence.

"Alright. We'll be touching down in a couple hours. Everybody sleeps- then we hit the compound soon."

"Let's recap the plan."

Kathryn took a deep breath.

"We're going to have a 5 man infiltration team to get inside. Team I will be led by Decypha and will have Joe_Scalise, The_Courier, Stormwaver, and Gregos. Decypha, I'll leave the when and how of the infiltration up to you. Your objective is to get in silently, make it to the vault, and start robbing the place. This is... well, this is going to attract some attention, which is good. Normally, you'd be swarmed by dozens of guards- but we're going to keep that from happening."

"Once Team I has hit the vault, we should see the guards start to freak out. Tacky, you're going to drive one of the modified vans through the gate and right up to the front door. This is where all hell is going to break lose."

"My guess is that most guards inside are going to run down to the vault, while Paul Moreau stays up in his office.

At this point, we have three goals:

Team O, led by Merci and made up of Kinsey, Gracie, and FrancoMascalzone, is going to set up around the front door, using the building and the van for cover. They're going to start shooting the dozens of guards/potential reinforcements who try to enter the mansion.

Team A, led by me and including Jack and Tacky, is going to run inside, run upstairs, and quickly take down Moreau- hopefully with minimal resistance, since most guards will be at the vault.

Team I, you're going to have to fight your way out of the initial response- but Team O should prevent the other reinforcements from arriving right away. Once the vault is empty and the path is clear, make your way back to the van and support Team O, because they're going to need some backup- and get us the hell ready to go.

If Tacky isn't back yet, someone else can get behind the wheel. When we're ready to go, we all throw ourselves in the back of the van... and we're back at the New Orleans airport ASAP. We'll have another private flight ready to go, along with more comprehensive medical equipment, Gracie, although hopefully we don't need it.

Kathryn looked at everyone, letting her eyes fall on Gracie.

"Grace, I want you to stay in the van for the most part. You can stick your hand out and shoot a couple times, but remember this: if we get shot, you can be a doctor and help them. If you get shot... you're fucked. So be careful."

Any questions or confusion, see me privately. We're starting this now.

As the plane started to descend, Kathryn returned to her seat.

After landing, all teams were getting prepared for what could was going to be one of the most dangerous operations they have ever faced together. This was exactly the kind of assignments he used to get in the Secret Service so it was obvious that he had the perfect skill set for the infiltration. Looking around at everybody, he could see the vast array of mixed emotions on the faces and body language of his crew. Some were focused, some were extremely nervous and couldn't contain their hands from shaking, others were impatient with anger swelling up within. 

A couple of streets along, there is an abandoned building of apartments that has a view right across the the Moreau mansion. A perfect place for them to scout it out and explain the plan while the other teams also prepare and move into position. Decypha led @Joe_Scalise, @The_Courier, @Stormwaver and @Gregos up to the top of the apartments with all their equipment, such as silenced weapons and binoculars. Once they were settled in, Decypha had them all gathered around so he could run over the plan one last time.

"Right then ladies and gents. We have one of the most important tasks here, to infiltrate the mansion and take out the majority from the inside, setting up a defensive perimeter for the others to get in and take down that bastard with as little interference as possible. Also, we have the wonderful task of rinsing them for everything they have in that vault. So, this is how it's going down. They have a wall surrounding the outside with a gate at the front. There are guards patrolling around inside the wall and also at the front gate. 

As The_Courier suggested, we need to feint coming in from one spot to lure the guards while the rest of us come in from the other side and take them out from behind. We need those that are particularly good with a gun to begin your infiltration at the front gates and lure the guards, taking out those that approach. In order to maintain a low profile, all guns are equipped with silencers. Whilst the guys at the front entrance create the distraction, the rest of us will approach from the rear and climb the wall at the pool area. There is a lot of cover here so we can sneak up taking out the guards from the back. Once it is clear, we need to signal each other to confirm it is safe to enter using a flashlight from each side. Then, we will enter the building from the side.

Once we are in, this is where it can get a little messy. Fortunately for us, @Joe_Scalise has brought along his explosives from the mine which will allow us quick access to the vault. I would recommend blowing up the wall from the side rather than the front door itself, as the thick steel will not be that easily penetrable compared to bricks. We need to find the vault but as a priority take out as many guards on the inside as possible. Once we have set up a perimeter inside near the vault, we can signal the others to enter while we get to work on the vault itself. We are going to have to improvise a little once we are inside to locate the vault and surrounding rooms, so communication is essential. In case we get split up, take one of these comm devices each and be sure to keep each other updated. 

Now then, who wants the please of mowing the bastards down from the front gate?" He concludes, looking around at his crew and awaiting an answer. 

Joe looked at each of the men on his team and nodded encouragingly to them as he caught their eyes. He was currently wearing black from head to toe and had balaclava stuffed in his back pocket that he would put on when they reached the mansion.

Joe looked over to Decypha and spoke in a grim tone

“I’ll be going over the wall, I can’t shoot worth a damn as you know. Once we reach the safe I will need you guys to watch my back for a few minutes as I rig up the explosives and we will then need to back up a good bit before we blow it.

Pulling two very thin solid white sticks out of his bag he showed them the group.

“This little beauty is T4 – D, you may know it more by what the Brit’s call it – Research Department Explosive, or RDX. It’s quite a bit more powerful than dynamite but also quite a bit more stable until I put the detonator in it – they assured me even if it gets winged by a bullet it won’t explode which is one of the reasons they recommended it. These two small bits should be more than enough to get though the wall without being so big it brings the house down around it.”

Joe looked very seriously around at the group

“If I go down for any reason one of you will need to attach this to the wall with the masking tape I have in my bag. Once you do that you will stick one end of this det cord” Joe pulled out a roll thin yellow cord from his bag, “in each stick and then run it out the full length – my technicians made it 30 feet and said everyone should be at minimum that distance away – and then simply light it and wait. This is a fast burning fuse so should only take about five seconds to reach the charge. I’ve seen this stuff go off and it has a hell of a bang so we are certainly going to draw attention when it goes off.”

Gregos shook his head. I can't spring over that wall like a jackrabbit but maybe what I can do is lie on top of the wall and wreak some damage. I am a pretty good shot and this night-time telescope on my rifle will help spot any trouble coming our way. I can cover for you two and take out anyone who would put us in harm's way.

D stood there for a moment as he thought about the best solution given their chosen options. For the best chance at success, three people will need to be at the front gate due to the number of guards that will approach. With his training, Decypha has advanced skills with most weapons and would probably be an asset to the squad at the front gate.

"Alright then, it's settled then. I will take @Stormwaver and @Gregos with me to the front gate and create the distraction, while you two come in from the back. Once we have secured the area, I will signal you from the side path onto the pool area by waving my flashlight - discreetly - and then you can rendevouz on our position. Let's not waste anymore time. Team, move out." He exclaims as they all gather their required equipment and head downstairs for the exit.

@The_Courier and @Joe_Scalise head for the rear of the propertly while D and the others get into their position from across the streeet opposite the front gates. They sit there for a little while to watch the routine of the guards, how often they rotate and the routes they follow. For the best chance at entering the front gates without being shot on sight, it will be best to take out the front guards as soon as a rotation is made. As they wait for the rotation to occur, Decypha radio's through to the others to check if they are in postion.

"Joe, Curry, are you receiving?" He asks through the comms device.

“Copy, loud and clear. Gotta say, this is pretty awesome technology D.”

Joe made his way along with @The_Courier to the back wall. Pulling a rope with a grappling hook out of his bag he flung it over the top of the wall and pulled back hard allowing it to snag on the edge of the wall. Testing his weight against the rope he then because to climb up the wall by ‘walking’ up the wall with his legs while he climbed the rope hand over hand. When he reached the top he balanced himself for the moment it took to reverse the grappling hook and drop the rope down the other side of the wall. He then grabbed hold of the rope and shimmied his way down to the bottom of the wall near the pool.

Once on solid ground he pulled two of his throwing knives out and prepared one in his right hand as he looked around for any threats. Seeing no immediate threats he called softly over the wall

“All clear Curry, come on over.”

The Courier doesn't stop to respond. He grabs hold of the rope and moves up it like a cat, and lands soundlessly on the other side, right behind @Joe_Scalise. "Alright D, me and Joe are both in position. We're movin' towards the next hidin' spot to await your all clear signal." he speaks into the comm device, hoping that @Decypha could hear him at the other end. He didn't have much faith in these contraptions. As they moved through the shadows, he admired the way @Joe_Scalise could blend into the darkness. His employer was good, but not as good as him. They were very close when it came to their skill in the art of stealth, but The Courier still held a slight edge.

Perhaps it was due to their social backgrounds. Living in the shadows had been ingrained in him. After all, it was necessary to survive as a street urchin. Joe meanwhile, was from a well-to-do family, and lacked that natural comfort with the darkness. It did not however make a difference. They slipped unnoticed into the clump of bushes that had been designated as the rallying spot, and awaited the signal from the gate squad....  

Gregos got comfortable in the back seat of the disreputable Ford parked kitty corner to the gate. Obviously a big spacious Caddy would have been more cozy but after all the gang didn't want to create too many suspicions before the assault. Well it's time to raise a little hell, thought Gregos, poking the snout of his sniper rifle out of the window. Two of the opposition sauntered up on the other side of the gate, smoking cigarettes and chatting casually. Gregos downed both quickly with just two shots. Not a lot of noise was made but there soon would be when their bodies were discovered. Bring it on, thought Gregos.