Naomi Sato.

Gavin knows little of her but that she comes at the recommendation of Ceri Glynn. The M.A.G.M.A scientist was one of Gavin's favoured minds, the eagerness to which she applied herself to the division not lost on the underboss. That she vouches for Naomi is the reason that Gavin takes time out of his busy day to grace the campus of SUTC with his disguised presence.

Amusing as it might've been to cause a scene, he's incognito today.

No amount of physical disguise conceals an ego, however, and the confident way in which Gavin carries himself seems to draw the eye of the girl on the bench before he's even opened his mouth for an introduction.

Observant. Good. First impressions were important.

"You must be Ms. Sato."

Gavin's voice is rich, deep, edged rough with the gravel of a smoker's throat.

"Thomas Finnegan, but you can call me Finn." She'll know from Ceri that his real name is Merlino, but she might know from the news why he avoids using that name in public. "I was told you might be interested in a project I'm working on."

Behind his glasses, eyes of amber twinkle with mischief.

NOTES

"Nomi," Gavin repeats, and smiles like the sun. "Cute."

For a moment, it's hard to picture the hardened criminal behind the softness that overtakes his features, the easy way he laughs and cards a hand through long brown hair. He's not wearing the wedding ring that usually adorns his left hand; Finn isn't married, after all. The glint of silver around his neck appears to be a simple chain, but the ring nestles against his chest beneath his shirt.

He crouches to offer his hand to the Sylveon, even allowing its ribbons to brush his arm should it wish to glean his intent. Having a Sylveon of his own, he understood them to a degree.

"Porygon are always useful." Gavin straightens up after the Sylveon loses interest, tucking brown locks behind his ear and adjusting his glasses. "But for the project I'm planning especially, I think. Do you have any?"

NOTES

Behind feigned softness, something sparks in Gavin's eyes.

Looks could be deceiving, just as 'Finn' demonstrated with his own façade, and it would appear that Naomi Sato's illusion of girlish naivete served to conceal the cunning underneath. Ceri Glynn had told him nothing except that Naomi would be an excellent fit for the M.A.G.M.A Division, and now the underboss is beginning to see why.

"Lead the way."

He follows in her wake, stride confident but possessed of a casual air that Merlino had not the luxury to wear.

Thomas Finnegan, he signs into the book, his signature bearing no resemblance to the elegant curl of Gavin Merlino or Cillian Quinn.

NOTES

"No sound from the elevator camera, I'd hope." Leaning against one of the walls, the bar pressed against his back, Gavin assures Nomi, "There usually isn't. It's illegal." His canines flash with a devilish grin. He's been friends with not one, not two, but three Rockets specializing in intel. These are the sorts of things you learn.

"Are we allowed down here?" He's not too concerned if they aren't, but wants to know exactly how careful they should be to avoid any witnesses to their prescence. Plus, there was the aforementioned elevator camera. "My Rotom can set up a loop if we want to get off at a different floor and then double back."

There's an affirming BZZT! from the phone in his pocket as the Rotom housed with in acknowledges its trainer's words.

Whether or not they set up the loop, eventually Gavin steps out beside Nomi into the cool basement. Nice down here. Almost feels like home. His Sootopolis home, not Galar. That hadn't been home for ages.

NOTES

"I would recommend Klefki," Gavin offers, tone serious. "They'll never lose a key or attachment they like, but it can be a hell of a process getting them to give those up." A double-edged sword. Shifting, he shrugs back his blazer to expose the dormant Klefki attacked to his hip. A collection of keys with unknown purposes rest on its ring.

He listens in austere silence as Nomi explains the plan, nodding at appropriate moments. That she'd not prepared past this point was but a minor hiccup; ability to adapt to a changing situation was an important quality to assess in a recruit.

"I can certainly handle myself."

That Klefki he'd mentioned would come in handy, but first Nomi would need to execute her half of the plan.

NOTES

He nods, seeming agreeable. "I'd be happy to help, if you know where to find one. You should keep an ear on the Black Market, as well."

Focus soon shifts to the task at hand, however, and Gavin stands by the elevator with a bored expression, noting from the corner of his eye when Naomi Sato exit the server room with a few other students in tow. He pays them no mind, feigning a look at his phone.

Once they've passed, light footsteps carry him to the room.

The Porygon aren't hard to find, and they pay him little attention as he slips inside. It seems they're used to people coming and going, and suspicions aren't raised even as he finds the location of their pokeballs and swipes two of them from the group. Two of the drifting code-ducks vanish as they're recalled, and Gavin tucks the minimized capsules into his blazer.

He nips back out just as swiftly, pressing the button on the elevator. Hopefully it'll arrive just in time for he and Nomi to abscond with the stolen Pokémon, before anyone notices that they're gone.

NOTES

Gavin does, in fact, hear the crash. He knows from which direction to expect Naomi Sato, looking up from his phone to offer her a smile as if she were merely a classmate passing him in the hall.

They step into the elevator, Rocket's underboss as placid as a still pond.

"Excellent." He won't risk revealing their prize while in view of cameras, but says, "Two of them. Good work."

Once they're outside, he asks, "Join me for a drink?"

He knows the perfect bar where they can speak freely.