starbeast (starbeast) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2010-06-11 15:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | atlas, kyo han, natal maltose |
Who: Atlas/Natal Maltose, Kyo Han
What: Mission Accomplished
Where: The Florida Everglades
When: Just after then.
Warnings: None.
Atlas lounged on the damp ground, enjoying the brief respite in the rain. Rain was good for plants, but Atlas was fairly sure they needed sun, too. He looked once more at the imperceptible mound of disturbed dirt at his side. He was eager for the seed he had planted to sprout, but he could be patient. Time and patience he had in abundance.
A low, growling roar caused Atlas to turn his eyes to the swamp surrounding his little island. He caught sight of the ridged back of one of the local breeds of modern dragon before it sunk beneath the water. Atlas smiled. This location pleased him.
Settling on his back once more, Atlas closed his eyes and let the sun dry him. His pants were saturated and stained after many days spent in the swamp, and his shirt lay discarded a short distance away. He was content to let the day pass him by.
The coords had been given. The items had been purchased, all that was left was the mission complete, but that was going to be the hard part. For all he knew the last known location of his target would be days away from where he was now.
Checking his phone again for his exact location, he wanted to be sure to start as close to the precise mark as humanly possible. If he was lucky there would be something there to give him an indication what the hell he was doing. He felt a little out of his league without his former partner to assure them they weren't going the wrong way. How the hell was he supposed to know he had been walking in circles for the last ten minutes before checking his damn phone? Everything looked exactly the same out here. And for the agent, the weather was pretty miserable. Sure, he had countless days in Miami weather, but the humidity of this particular place was getting to him. Or maybe it was the pressure of this mission. It was the first in a while. Yeah, that probably made sense. Maybe.
Pulling out the secondary cellphone he had purchased for his acquired target, he checked to make sure it was still in working order and double checked all the given numbers were programmed in. Failure over something ridiculous like that would lose any creditability he had as an agent.
Atlas sat up. His head swept from side to side. He was sure he had heard something. Focusing, he could make out rustling in the distance. It could just be that little dragon making a meal of some lesser creature, but Atlas wasn't about to dismiss it so readily. He had chosen this spot because it was isolated, secret, and he wouldn't let that secret get out because he was too lazy to investigate.
Standing, Atlas grabbed a rotted log and hurled it casually in the direction of the sound. It sailed past the source of the noise, crashing back to earth several yards beyond it. Picking up his shirt, Atlas dove into the water. With strong, if not graceful, strokes, Atlas swam out to meet whatever was out there.
Getting annoyed he was not only practically knee deep in a swamp that contained God-only knew what, but the various species of insects in the area, Ky realized why he was the man for this job. No doubt no one else wanted this one and if they were lucky he'd kill over, taking the job out of their hands. Little did he realize just how insignificant he was in the scheme of things.
Seconds from checking his phone again, he couldn't miss the flying log that was inches from missing his face. With a shift of his dark eyes, he was almost ready to write that off as a hallucination. Was he losing his shit?
Splashing noise grabbing his attention, the mercenary instinctively felt he should follow it. It was the first real action he had gotten out here out of anything that wasn't buzzing around in hopes of sucking his blood. Picking up the pace he tried to follow after, but it seemed to be moving at a god-like pace. How the fuck was something moving that fast out here?
Atlas pulled himself from the water as he drew close to the source of the noise. As he shook the excess water and a few clinging plants from his body, he spotted a lone man not too far away. He had been right to investigate. If the man had traveled much further, he might have discovered Atlas' grotto. Pulling on his shirt, Atlas waited for the man to notice him. He would let the man make the first move. Whatever the man did, Atlas was sure he would endure.
At first he had been under the belief was moving away from him, but Ky was realizing during his struggle to catch it, that it was actually coming at him. Fuck. Stopping his pursuits, he looked for moving object in hopes he could catch it before it bum rushed him. To his relief, or maybe his horror, that was yet to be seen, he realized the noise stopped. Listening intently, it was hard to miss the splash of the emerging man from the swamp. Turning to face it, he could only guess he found his missing agent. Not many rocked such a massive body frame. He was told to keep his distance and man wasn't known to be hostile or peaceful, so Ky knew to proceed cautiously. Taking his cell phone in hand, he was under strict orders to not harm him, so he knew back-up may be a requirement. Now, which of his many aliases would be wisest to start with?
"Natal Maltose?," he questioned. It was highly probable he bastardized the name, but he didn't want to start with code names until he was sure he got the right man. But who the hell else would be wandering around here?
Atlas' eyebrow quirked at the mention of his name. He hadn't expected to hear it come out of the strange man's mouth. Holding his position, Atlas nodded.
"I am Natal Maltose," Atlas replied evenly. "What do you want from me?" Atlas was a little irritated that the man had breached what he felt was his domain, but few used his mortal name. It was possible that the man was a messenger from Wisdom. That kept Atlas polite for the moment.
Holding his hands out to show he was if anything a peaceful messenger, Ky reached for the phone purchased in the agent's honor, "I was sent here on a mission directly from Director Janelle Delmar to make contact with you. They've been waitin' for your contact for a while now."
Taking out the second cell he had on his person he continued to explain, "This phone has been programmed with any numbers you may need to initiate contact."
Rigid with anticipation, he knew explaining what he was there for was the easy part. The reaction was what he was concerned with.
Atlas threw back his head and laughed. It was not Wisdom, but instead his adoptive family. Those North men certainly were the worrying type. They were constantly frowning and preparing for the worst. They knew their destruction was coming and how it would befall them. What did they have to worry about?
Moving to Freyra's emissary, Atlas took the phone from his hands. He has careful not crush either the man's hand or the tiny plastic phone. Atlas looked at the phone dubiously. He had been instructed on how to use the device, if not how it worked.
"Thank you," he said at last. "I'll be sure to 'initiate contact' soon." If they had wanted him to check in, they should have handed him a phone on his way out the door.
It was evident Ky was one of those 'worrying types' with the way he was tensing at the agent's closeness. He was a small framed man -- especially in comparison to his mark -- so he felt he had the right to be concerned. Especially since he wasn't so sure about that laugh of his. It didn't sound like that maniacal 'you're so about to be a dead messenger' type of laugh, but when a man was left to his own means in a place such as this, you had no idea what his reaction might be.
While the larger man didn't seem to be being rude, he couldn't help but wonder if he was being mocked a bit. Not that he could blame him. He wasn't exactly acting within the realms of his character right now. There was a pause as the merc tried to decide if there was anything else he was missing before he made his leave. He gave the phone. He explained the mission. The moment he was leaving this God-forsaken place he'd make sure to contact the director again to explain the exchange.
Atlas took a moment to look at the little phone. It didn't look like the equipment the North men used. Atlas doubted it would survive too long out in the swamp with him. Glancing at the emissary from Ridgekeep, Atlas came to the same conclusion.
"Perhaps we should get out of here," Atlas offered. "I know a way out of here that may be a bit easier than the path you took getting in." Atlas considered a moment. "What's your name?" The man knew Atlas' name. It was only fair that Atlas know his.
Not realizing the degree of hesitation he was exercising, the mercenary was surprised to hear his contact speaking to him again. Looking toward him again, he unconsciously reached the back of his sweaty hand toward his equally damp forehead, "Yeah, that would make sense." Having a better hold of himself now, he seemed less vacant upstairs, "Ky." Remembering he wasn't completely devoid of manners he answered, "Thanks. I was startin' to worry if I fell into an episode of Man vs. Wild and was five seconds from becomin' that guy that did everythin' you're not supposed to do." A grin quirked on his features, showing more of the personality he possessed but had a hard time showing during his moments of professionalism.
"It is an unforgiving land," Atlas said, nodding agreeably. It was because it was so harsh that Atlas enjoyed spending his time there. Out amongst its dangers and dragons, Atlas felt alive. He wondered if the man on the show Ky had named felt the same way. Atlas had seen that man and his exploits a few times in the FUC warehouse. The man seemed to delight in torturing himself.
"Come, Ky," Atlas said, emerging from his reverie, "I know where we can get an airboat and leave this place in relative comfort." Perhaps feeling the wind on his face would help cool down Atlas' sweaty new friend.
Following after his acquired acquaintance, he questioned, "What should I call ya, by the way?" He was grateful to be getting out of this place easily in comparison to how he got himself in. Or at least he was confident that would be true. The hulking figure seemed to know what he was doing, while he himself was only a little less than an idiot when it came to harsh natures like this. He could almost go as far to say he could hug the man, but that would be extremely awkward and unprofessional wouldn't it?
"Natal Maltose is fine," Atlas answered. He wasn't going to tell Ky to call him Atlas. He didn't need whatever problems that could bring. Heading away from his secret grotto, Atlas angled their path towards the airboat rental place. It was only a mile away.
Summary: Kyo Han slogs through acres of Florida swamp searching for one Natal Maltose. Kyo finds him, but it turns out to be a mixed blessing. He completes his mission, but then he has to deal with Atlas.