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Post by skybright on Nov 26, 2009 0:03:12 GMT -5
Daws raised an eyebrow at him. "You thinking of having Proteus stage an escape?"
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 26, 2009 0:16:15 GMT -5
A trace of a predatory smile twisted Vance's lips. "Imagine it. The supposed Doctor G manages to get loose and overpower us captors, and hauls Voegel out along the way." The smile grew darker. "It'd be interesting to see what the first place Voegel wants to head for is, wouldn't it?"
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Post by skybright on Nov 26, 2009 0:20:30 GMT -5
Daws narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "It certainly would . . ." She lashed her tail. "The problem is what would happen once he did settle on somewhere to bolt for."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 26, 2009 0:37:16 GMT -5
"That's the gamble, alright. Hopefully he'd lead us to someplace--or better yet, someone--important." Vance shrugged. "He's still a wounded man. He couldn't get anywhere fast without Proteus--and without us having plenty of time to follow."
Proteus frowned. "It's a big risk to pin on my ability to bluff, Major. Suppose he expects me to decide where to go?"
"Then we can just bring him back, and no harm done," Vance replied confidently.
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Post by skybright on Nov 26, 2009 0:44:27 GMT -5
Daws' frown deepened. "I don't know. On the one hand, it's running an awful lot of risks -- and it might mean us ending up in a confrontation with Voegel's bosses that we're nowhere near ready to have. On the other . . ." She sighed, "It's not like we're exactly overrun with leads in this whole mess."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 26, 2009 22:31:58 GMT -5
"We might not necessarily have to tangle with the big rats yet," Vance mused. "If we can just trick the location out of Voegel, we can reel him back in before he ever gets near it. Then we could recon the site and figure out our next move."
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Post by skybright on Nov 26, 2009 23:43:33 GMT -5
Daws nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah . . . that could work."
She glanced at Proteus. "What do you think? You're the one who'd have to pull it off -- and you know your own abilities better than we do."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 26, 2009 23:49:25 GMT -5
Proteus frowned intently, deep in thought for a long moment.
"Well... I'm willing to risk it if you are," he said at last. "Voegel is a sick enough man that he can't get far without me helping him. He won't get away. As far as I can see, the worst that can happen is that he'd see through my bluff."
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Post by skybright on Nov 26, 2009 23:53:36 GMT -5
Daws smiled humorlessly. "And it's not like we've got to worry about falling out of his good graces if he does."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 28, 2009 23:15:31 GMT -5
"Okay--I think we've got a plan." Vance gave the bindings on Proteus' arms one last examination. "Can you break out of that alright?"
The shapeshifter flexed his arms. "Yeah. Just make sure you pretend to get careless, so I've got a believable chance to do it."
"Right. And we'll let the boys know the plan in a little bit--after we see what Voegel has to say when he sees you."
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Post by skybright on Nov 28, 2009 23:47:07 GMT -5
Daws smiled wickedly. "This ought to be interesting."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 28, 2009 23:49:51 GMT -5
Vance frowned. "Regina, maybe you'd better step over and tell Nate to come here. We'll want to make it look like we've got 'G' well in hand while we're moving him."
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Post by skybright on Nov 28, 2009 23:57:03 GMT -5
Daws nodded and slipped out of the room, stepping to the adjoining door and knocking before stepping inside.
"We could use you." She told Nate, gesturing over her shoulder. "Just a little extra security while we're moving him in."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 29, 2009 0:08:53 GMT -5
Nate smiled crookedly. "Sure. Can't be too careful--after what he did last night."
The young soldier shot a last venomous look at Voegel, then followed Daws to the room nextdoor--and did a double-take when he saw Proteus' impersonation of Doctor G.
"Here's a morning eye-opener," he quipped, looking Proteus up and down. "If Voegel doesn't start squirming at that, he's got ice water pumping through that bad ticker of his."
"We can hope, anyway. By the way, Nate--we've got a new angle." Vance briefly outlined his scheme for the staged escape.
Nate rubbed his chin, frowning thoughtfully. "It's as good a gamble as any, I guess. Have we got some kinda signal for when it's about to go down?"
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Post by skybright on Nov 29, 2009 0:17:34 GMT -5
Daws frowned. "No -- but we'd better have one, just to be on the safe side. We don't want to take any unnecessary risks."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 29, 2009 22:13:32 GMT -5
"When I'm ready to pull out of these ropes, I'll say 'I've seen enough here'," Proteus offered. "Voegel might feel a little more confident in me if he gets the idea I let myself get caught, in order to spy on the enemy."
Vance shrugged. "Makes sense. Just wait until I've cleared nearly everybody out of the room, on a coffee break or something."
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Post by skybright on Nov 29, 2009 23:20:46 GMT -5
"Whoever we leave behind will have to make a convincing show of being overpowered, too." Daws noted.
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 30, 2009 21:37:02 GMT -5
"We saw how G handled the kid last night," Vance muttered to Daws, and glanced at Proteus. "I'll leave Nate with you--he saw the effect of G's poison. Just go for his exposed skin, and he'll know what to do--right, Nate?"
The younger Vance grinned darkly. "I'll play along, alright."
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Post by skybright on Nov 30, 2009 23:12:37 GMT -5
Daws smiled flatly. "That'll convince him, or nothing will."
She shrugged and spread her hands. "Anything else we need to worry about before we do this?"
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 1, 2009 22:38:30 GMT -5
Vance shook his head. "I don't think so. We'll wait to spring this until Caddy heads home to start going through those files. We want to see how much just the sight of 'Doctor G' will get out of Voegel first, anyway."
"Well, I'm ready to be uncomfortable for a while," Proteus remarked, shifting his arms that were bound behind his back. "And to perform under pressure."
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