three weeks. it had been three weeks since virgil had done anything for team rocket and higher ups were beginning to take notice. there was an unspoken agreement that in his earliest days with the organization, while his wings were still wet with the burden of societal obligation, he'd be more or less free to support rocket in his own way. but three weeks of actual nothing was nobody's 'way' and it was about time for him to show off what he was worth to team rocket.

a few accommodations, for the sake of his identity; black antibacterial gloves, a pair of shoes to be burned after and a thick wool mask to keep his face out of the logbooks. beyond that, he hoped to keep his pokemon on hold. his didn't wear anything identifiable but it narrowed things down even if only slightly; and slightly was too much for virgil. he made his way to the back door and nodded back to the van before pulling down his mask and sliding the keycard through its reader to a satisfying beep and a green light as it unlocked.

almost as soon as he entered a whine of electricity sounded in his ear, the bluetooth headset pressed up against the side of his head crackling on. only good news. in a hushed tone, "copy." and nothing more as he pressed on. he stopped at the security booth in the back where the store's paragon of vigilance kicked back, dead asleep. the door was ajar and it would be secured with a maglock, were it closed. an idea bounced its way around virgil's head.

checks out, the guard was asleep, but there was a lot of jewelry here and it would be a lot easier if they dealt with him now.

virgil took a few steps back where he'd come from, back where he'd called before and had no issue, and tapped two fingers lightly on his headset to activate it. "can we fry communications? if we can lock the dog in his kennel he won't be able to do shit save bark." it might not work and it all depended on to what degree lulu would be able to kill coms and the controls but virgil considered it worth the shot.

Lulu Flint

virgil could feel her eyes on him even given their positions. he knew he was being scrutinized over his every move. this wasn't his first job but it was one of the first and it would at the very least paint who he was to rocket in the eyes of this crucial member.

he nodded wordlessly and cautiously made his way back to the door, his attention latching onto the guard as soon as he was in view. still asleep, good. virgil swallowed hard and stepped forward, placing his back against the metal of the doorframe as soon as his foot passed it by. all he needed to do was grab the phone and figure out if they had any emergency alarms. his eyes narrowed against his surroundings as he took it all in.

the control panel was rudimentary. there was a device to control the monitors that had already been stolen away by lulu and to the far side was a server, slim computer after computer stacked atop one another to run all the hard wired electrical in this room no doubt.

and all the electrical would include local coms.

his eyes traced a trio of thick electrical cords coming out the back of the server along the wall and down into a large power strip on the ground. he did all but chuckle to show his amusement at the place's mediocre systems. no doubt there was a failsafe in place if the wired systems failed and no doubt that failsafe was the alarm system that'd already been taken care of by lulu.

virgil entered the room proper and had to make some quick decisions. if he cut the power now, the absence of static in the air might be enough to wake the guard but grabbing the phone now of course ran the risk of waking the guard simply by stumbling and making noise. he'd just have to not stumble. he moved silently to desk, placing his feet on the ground the way he'd been taught, toe first and slowly roll to the heel, to make the least noise and slowly picked the phone up by its extended antenna.

he then moved to the side of the room with the server and deftly drew a knife from his pocket, kneeling down to, in one fluid motion, both flip the switch on the power strip and cut the wire entirely a few inches down. his eyes shot back to the guard as lights dimmed, the monitors switched off and the hum of electricity quieted. no movement. virgil saved the breath of relief for once he was outside. he checked the camera in the corner, whose light still blinked its ominous red, and gave it a quick thumbs up before standing and making haste to the door.

once safely outside he pulled the door shut. it was heavy and loud and in an instant the guard scrambled from his chair and up to see it slowly closing before him. the man's eyes raced around the room and his hand shot out instinctively to hit a button on the desk. but, just as soon as he'd pressed it a look of confusion crossed his face. the door clicked shut. virgil grinned and tapped his headset.

"now."

Lulu Flint

three satisfyingly chunky clicks sounded in rhythm as the electromagnetically controlled deadbolts slid into their respective homes, trapping the helpless guard inside. "enjoy the rest of your nap" he muttered under his breath as he turned away to face the rest of the shop. he had to admit, he didn't expect the lights in the entire place to go out too but with the cameras still working he was just gonna play it cool.

he nodded at the suggestion and eyed the phone he'd just stolen. with a swipe of his thumb and a couple deft taps he had the flashlight on and the hallway illuminated. he tossed the thing into his off-hand and touched the headset once more to quickly respond. "copy." all business this guy.

as virgil entered the main room he let the beam of light sweep across the display cases. thousands of tiny sparkles, indicating the sea of jewels before him, glittered back at him. were he looking to get something for a special someone, he may've been tempted to smash the glass of one or two of the cases and pocket a necklace or two. but the more he did the messier the job got. but, that could work out in their favor.

virgil's light landed on a small safe in the far corner and a smirk tore its way across his face under the mask. he made his way over, past a few ropes, barring the common visitor from getting close, and stepped confidently on an array of metal circles on the floor that no doubt would have shot out infrared beams had they not prepped as well as they had for this. he ran a finger along the top edge of the safe, savoring the cool of the metal through the thin latex between it and the pad of his finger. victory.

he slid the card through a reader on the front and was met with the same beep he'd heard outside as he heard the locks slide open. opening the door, he revealed several stones set in a velvet base. "we've got them." he plucked each one out of its resting place and placed them into a sack at his side made of thick soft material. "i can head out now or we can rough the place up a bit and make it look like a common robbery. there're pros and cons. you're call."

his hand fell to his side and returned to the hallway with the security room, prepared for either option.

Lulu Flint