Snow Heist

Mission:

Thin wisps of frozen breath escaped from Haruto's lips, hanging in the night air for a couple of moments before dissipating into nothingness. He lay against the cold snow of the tundra, perhaps a good kilometer away from his target location. Brass binoculars were pressed to his face as he peered through the glass towards his target location. Two lone guards stood outside a large cobblestone complex, stretching many stories up and expanding wider than should have been reasonable. Even under normal circumstances, a stone construct such as this would have been impressive to behold. Though here in the tundra of Snow Country, it became even more of a magnificent oddity. In a land devoid of little building materials other than blocks of ice, the structure's materials would imply that supplies were imported from out of country. Stranger still was that they would have needed to be hauled several kilometers across the frozen landscape in order to construct it. There were only a small few number of groups that would be willing to make such an effort though...

Haruto continued peering through the binoculars, scoping out various entrance points for him. There were several windows lining the side of the structure, though they appeared to be one-sided glass. Likely to spot intruders while keeping the inner workings of the location secret. Haruto licked his dry lips and threw the binoculars out into the snow some distance beside him. Perhaps a waste, though the rogue didn't particularly care all that much. After all, he had stolen those binoculars in the first place, and they were a piece of junk anyway. He could find a much better pair later on, of that he had no doubt. Haruto slowly rose to his feet, shaking off the layer of snow that had made home upon his back in the time he had lain there. He was ready to make him move. He turned to the sky, noting that the moon and stars had all but been blocked out by the presence of dark clouds, indicating that a heavy snowstorm was about to unfold. If it was even half as bad as the one Haruto had experienced when he first came to this country, he had no doubt that the guards standing watch over the facility before him would never see him coming.

It wasn't long before Haruto's wishes were finally granted. Heavy snow began to fall over the landscape, practically blinding the rogue to anything more than five feet from his face. Though despite this, a wicked grin fell across his face. He had taken care to memorize the route to this facility far earlier. He could make the journey blindfolded if he needed to. The shinobi slowly began his trek through the blizzard storm, shivering violently as he did so. The journey was certainly doable, though that didn't make it any more pleasant on his weary figure. He began angling himself to the side, away from the front entrance of the structure and towards one of the many windows he had seen previously lining the walls. He continued trekking forward, edging closer and closer until through the mighty storm he saw it. The side of the building. Haruto thanked his lucky stars that he had managed to find his way there without getting lost in the storm before channeling chakra to his feet. He quickly placed his foot onto the side of the building, where it immediately gained traction. Haruto quickly lifted his other foot up, placing it next to the other on the side of the building, allowing him to face directly skyward without fear of falling. He always did find it strange how shinobi seemed perfectly capable of ignoring the natural force of gravity when they were like this. I mean sure, his feet were attached to the wall firmly, but his own body weight should've caused him to snap some tendon in his foot and fall back, or the sheer difficult of trying to keep his body in what was essentially a planking position the entire time would leave him with sore abs for days. Yet here he was, more than capable of holding himself aloft with ease. It almost felt as though the center of gravity shifted to wherever he channeled his chakra to in his mind. Though these were little more than childish musings. He had a job to do.

Haruto quickly scaled the side of the building, hoisting himself up until he reached the top floor. He quickly inspected the window, hoping to see the tiny gap he had been told he would find in their frame. Bingo. Quickly, he maneuvered a steak knife he had swiped from a local tavern into the gap, shimmying it until it gave a 'pop' in its frame. Haruto quickly channeled more chakra to his fingertips, gripping hold of the glass pane before it could fall backwards and gently lowering it to the ground below. Haruto followed as well, and once he was safely inside he hoisted to pane back up, settling it back into its place in the window. Haruto grinned.

"I'll have to thank that old man for the info about these windows..."

Haruto's mind flashed back to the elderly gentleman who had told him all about this strange place. He had been bundled up in heavy furs, just like everyone else in this country when he waltzed into the tavern Haruto happened to be staying at that night. Coincidentally, the only open spot at the bar just happened to be a stool stationed right next to the rogue. Of course, that wasn't by accident. Haruto himself had been stationed at the very far end of the bar, in the corner away from everyone else. Those who chose to get close usually got spooked off by the livid expressions Haruto gave them, though it seemed the old man was far too tired to care. His being there had pissed the rogue off to no end. At the very least, until he started making idle chatter about his day.

"So my friend... How's the day treating you?"

Haruto scowled at the man. It was bad enough that he had stationed himself next to Haruto, but did he really need to talk to him too? The rogue downed the last dregs of his drink with a single gulp. Maybe he could frighten the geezer off.

"Like shit. Some inconsiderate dickhead is bothering me, and that's putting me in a real foul mood."

The old man didn't seem to get it. Instead he chuckled to himself and waved the bartender over for a drink before continuing to make conversation with the rogue.

"You too huh? I got someone bothering me too." The bartender brought him a drink, which the old man began sipping slowly. The bartender quickly noticed Haruto's empty mug, and left to get another as the old man continued blabbering. "Recently got fired by my boss. Some young hot shot with no respect for his elders." He gave a long sigh before continuing. "There's a facility we were building out in the snow you know. Couple kilometers north of this place. Supposed to be secret I guess, but who gives a hoot when you're fired?"

A secret facility? Now THAT was news. Maybe Haruto could humor this old geezer just a little bit longer, if only to satiate his curiosity.

"Oh really? Sounds like an interesting line of work. What all do you do out there?"

The man brought the mug to his lips once again and sipped slowly. The bartender brought Haruto's drink back just in time for the old man to lower his. He gave a dramatic sigh and brought his elbow up onto the bar counter, propping his face up on his fist as he continued speaking.

"I don't know... it was all hush hush. I was in charge of building it at first. I did a damn good job I think. They wanted me to go ahead and build some big stone building on top of this underground complex someone else had made. Took a while to get all the material over, but we managed it eventually. After that I was assigned as 'head janitor' up top. Bit of a downgrade I think, but they kept paying well, so I kept at it. Then one day the boss comes in and starts shouting about how I 'made the windows too easy to open from the outside.' Left a little indent in the side. All it takes it a little wiggling of a knife, and it'd pop right out. After that, he fired me. Didn't even give me severance or anything. Now I'm out of work, and I'm far too old to get a new job."

He took another drink, and Haruto grinned to himself. Secret facilities ALWAYS meant there was something valuable there. Even if it wasn't cash, it was probably some kind of secret weapon, or maybe government files that he could pawn off for ryo. Whatever it was, they wouldn't bother hiding it unless it was valuable. Though why they chose to make a stone structure instead of just keeping the whole thing underground was... suspicious. They didn't seem particularly worried about the man leaking information about the location either. All of it just seemed too convenient. However, the promise of reward was too much for Haruto's greedy heart. He quickly stood up and began walking towards the door, snatching a steak knife from a nearby table as he went. The old man called after him:

"I know what you're thinking, and I wouldn't recommend it! You'd be dead within minutes!"

Yet Haruto didn't care. He could handle whatever it was they had to throw at him, and by the time the old man finished his warning, the rogue was gone.

Haruto's thoughts returned to the present moment. Dwelling on the events that got him here for too long would likely lead to his capture. Haruto quickly began to scan the area around himself, taking note of his surroundings and where he should go next. Surprisingly, the building was very well insulated. It kept the outside cold out very efficiently, leaving Haruto feeling toasty and warm. The tiny amount of snow that had spilled in through the window when Haruto forced himself in had already melted away, leaving behind only a small puddle of water on the carpeted floor. It'd probably be obvious to anyone who came by this area that something was wrong or that the windows were opened, but who knows? Maybe Haruto would get lucky and nobody would notice. This location seemed to be a very long stretch of hallway, which seemed to stretch onwards in both directions by some great distance. Haruto debated which way he should go, before making a split second decision to go left.

Haruto trekked silently down the hallway, keeping himself in a low crouch as he did. To his left was the windows by which he had entered into the facility, and to the right was a series of doors stretching all the way down the hallway. Most of them seemed to be some number in the one hundred to two hundred range, or at least that's what Haruto assumed. Though that assumption was quickly erased by the time he had reached the other end of the hallway, and found that the numbers only stretched up to one hundred and thirty three. However, interspersed between these numbered rooms were various chambers with special plaques on the door. One of them was a janitorial room. Another a conference room. Nothing interesting though. As this hallway ended though, another hallway opened up to the right, with the windows once again lining the left side of the wall. Though if Haruto's vision served him correctly, he believed that way off in the distance, he could see a mighty stairwell stretching downwards. The rogue paused and frowned for a minute, weighing his options.

"Wait. Something isn't right here..."

Something had been off from the very start of this mission, but the feeling had never been so prevalent as it was now. This was a secret facility. CLEARLY somebody went to great lengths to create this place. Even if the old man had been lying about the great labyrinth underground, the fact that this was made of such material here in the snowy waste clearly implies that someone dropped a hell of a lot of money to build this place. So where was everyone? He'd expect that he'd have needed to hide from some figure or another by now, but there hadn't been so much as a single peep.

"Should I cut my losses and go?"

His danger alarms were suddenly going off like crazy. Why? There was no reason for that to be so. Nothing had changed. Yet he couldn't shake the suspicion that he needed to leave right this second. Though... he couldn't leave yet. He wasn't going to leave this place entirely empty handed. He was a professional after all. Haruto continued to slink forward through the straight hallway, in spite of his inner danger senses telling him he was walking towards some unknown threat. He didn't want to know what was down those stairs, and what was in that labyrinth below. That was a challenge for someone far more skilled than Haruto. Though there was a FAR easier mark for him to handle...

It didn't take Haruto long to find it. It was on the same floor thankfully, though the rogue had almost given up looking for it. He'd found the site manager's quarters. What Haruto assumed to be the old man from the tavern's boss. The rogue quickly slipped inside, only to find a standard office. A small wooden desk facing the door, with a name placard and a desk plant, complete with various pens and papers scattered about. A swirly chair, a whiteboard on one corner of the room with scribbled notes about some chemical formula or another, and... bingo. A portrait hanging behind his desk.

The portrait itself didn't matter much. It was some cheap, mass produced copy of a more successful and influential piece. No, what mattered was on the other side. Haruto quickly sprinted over and took the painting on the wall, revealing the safe on the other side. The rogue smirked. That would do for now. Whatever in here would be enough payment for him he reckoned. After that, he didn't want anything more to do with this facility. Haruto quickly jammed the knife into the cracks of the safe with impressive speed, putting enough force behind the blade to sever the locking mechanism that kept it held shut. He quickly flung the door open, happy as a clam before what he saw made him scowl. Only four thousand ryo, and a note. Haruto scooped the ryo into his pocket before hastily flipping the letter open and reading through, frustration and perhaps a dash of fear filling his expression the more and more he read.

"You went with the 'safe' option. Heh, get it? Wise decision, though not one expected of a thief. We'll be keeping watch. Get out of the building before it's too late."

Damn it. Haruto quickly discarded the note before turning tail to run out of the room. He quickly slammed through the door and into the hallway, barreling directly into the window. It shattered under his weight, sending him sailing out into the snow below. He landed with a heavy crunch, and he didn't look back as he dashed off into the night with ryo in hand. He didn't know what the hell that facility was, and he didn't want to know. He needed to leave town, this entire country and soon. Damn the boat, he was leaving on his own if he had to.

Word Count - 2640

Exit Claims:

Approved