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Post by Jordanna on Jun 15, 2009 23:06:44 GMT -5
"Well, that's another rung on the ladder. What'd be even more important is that elsewhere." Vance frowned and raised an eyebrow at Cole. "Is that part of what you got, too?"
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Post by skybright on Jun 15, 2009 23:20:38 GMT -5
Cole shrugged one shoulder. "Only vaguely. Voegel worked in connection with the Mount Bliss lab, and would have been transferring with the new subjects to the replacement facility -- but he's never been there. It's somewhere in Pennsylvania. I presume that his superiors would have given him the location on a need-to-know basis." The telepath closed his eyes. "There are other facilities, as well. None were as large or had as much success as Mount Bliss -- but Voegel doesn't know their locations."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 16, 2009 22:03:39 GMT -5
"Well, that checks with the information Tiernan uncovered when he first pinned down Mount Bliss. Word then was that these slaughterhouses were kept separate from each other--just for this reason." Vance folded his arms. "Pennsylvania... That gives us at least a start, though."
He frowned intently. "How important are those direct superiors of Voegel's? Would getting to them be enough to put a stop to all this, or are they just another shield for the real bosses?"
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Post by skybright on Jun 16, 2009 22:14:09 GMT -5
Cole frowned. "As far as Voegel's concerned, the people above his superiors don't have names. They've kept the chain of command purposely vague, probably to protect themselves if Voegel and those like him fell into . . . well, hands like ours."
He rubbed his neck. "But yes -- I think taking his superiors out might be enough. Especially if we can get our hands on some of the files and information they've got in that complex. The entire project is on shaky footing -- too much expense, too much risk. Given the right leverage . . ."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 16, 2009 22:22:19 GMT -5
"I'd say we've got our work cut out for us, then," Vance nodded. "We'll need to know everything you can tell us about that place in Jersey--security, layout, what to look for inside."
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Post by skybright on Jun 16, 2009 22:34:18 GMT -5
Cole nodded. "In terms of layout, the place seems to be a fairly generic office building -- but it's much, much more secure than it looks from outside. They've got a small army of guards."
He frowned. "It's a five-story building, plus a basement and sub-basement -- that's where they would keep the people they took from the clinic, until they could be moved out. Most of the important people -- and the important files -- are on the top floor, in internal offices with no windows."
"Easier to keep people out." Daws remarked.
"Exactly." Cole sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Even Voegel doesn't have the clearance for some of the rooms at the top. Getting in would be a matter of brute strength -- or of finding someone else who knows more than he does."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 16, 2009 22:40:24 GMT -5
"We've done that before," Vance muttered. "Maybe snatch a guard, like we did at Mount Bliss."
Nate scratched his jaw thoughtfully. "Have they got any specific measures against mutant powers? Anti-teleporting interference, fireproofing, whatever?"
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Post by skybright on Jun 16, 2009 22:49:28 GMT -5
Cole nodded. "Anti-teleportation, certainly. I don't think they've done anything else to guard against specific powers -- aside from building the entire complex out of military-grade reinforced materials. Your average firestarter couldn't burn the place down, even if they gave him the chance to try."
He frowned. "There's something else, too. Some of the people they have guarding this complex . . . they're mutants, themselves."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 16, 2009 22:53:03 GMT -5
"That figures." Vance made a face. "Do you know whether they're willing traitors to their own kind, or just drugged or brainwashed somehow? That'll make a lot of difference in how hard this is for us."
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Post by skybright on Jun 16, 2009 23:02:31 GMT -5
"Willing, I'm afraid. At least, as far as Voegel knows. They've all been recruited by the same man -- that 'Dr. G' you told me about.
"They serve on the regular guard rotations, and they're on the regular payroll -- but all the same, Voegel thinks of them as . . . how can I put this?" Cole frowned thoughtfully for a moment. "As belongings. Like . . . personal weapons that Dr. G brought with him to the project. It might be he has some means of keeping them loyal."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 16, 2009 23:12:19 GMT -5
Vance frowned. "That vagueness kinda worries me, sir. If these creeps do have any kind of forced control over their mutant guards, I don't wanna hurt 'em any more than we have to. We need to know for sure."
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Post by skybright on Jun 16, 2009 23:19:34 GMT -5
Cole spread his hands. "For that, you'd have to find another source of information about this Dr. G. Voegel doesn't trust the man at all, and they aren't close -- I can give you educated guesses, Major, but everything I know is limited by what Voegel knows."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 17, 2009 21:06:33 GMT -5
Vance nodded. "Understood. Getting back to the physical details, what about conventional security systems? Security cameras, alarms, passwords, procedures?"
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Post by skybright on Jun 17, 2009 22:55:39 GMT -5
"All of the above." Cole said grimly. "They have the entire place on two separate alarm systems -- so if anything happens to one, the other will still be able to take its place. Every room in every floor is watched by camera, and there are guards stationed on every floor as well as guards on constant patrol."
"They're not taking any chances." Daws muttered.
"No. They aren't." Cole sighed. "To even get in to the building, Voegel has to provide his passcard, a retinal imprint, and the most recent password."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 18, 2009 22:09:30 GMT -5
"I can fool a retina scan," Proteus put in quietly. "But I can't help you with the card or the password."
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Post by skybright on Jun 18, 2009 22:22:42 GMT -5
"I know all the passwords Voegel knows -- there's one for each floor." Cole replied. "The card was in his desk at the clinic."
"Which means if it didn't get blown to bits, it's been bagged as evidence by now." Daws said glumly.
"He has a spare card." Cole said. "In the safe in his apartment."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 18, 2009 22:42:16 GMT -5
"Well, that's helpful," Vance remarked. "As long as his pals haven't already gotten there to clean up after him. Or the cops, for that matter."
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Post by skybright on Jun 18, 2009 22:44:44 GMT -5
"If they have, that pretty much throws a wrench into our plans for going through the front door." Daws said.
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 18, 2009 23:01:52 GMT -5
Vance looked up at Daws. "Why don't you call that contact of yours with the police? See if he can find out, or stall things any if the cops are already looking into Voegel's place."
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Post by skybright on Jun 18, 2009 23:06:40 GMT -5
Daws nodded. "Worth a shot, I guess." She stood and crossed the room to the nightstand, lifting the phone.
Cole sighed and took a drink of coffee. "What else can I tell you, Major?"
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