benji_mckenna | (no subject)

Benji has made this journey several times before, but it's the first time he's ever gone to Orkney on a mission. Last week the London Sanctuary and the tabloid press received reports of a mermaid, or more accurately, a two-tailed melusine. More than capable of fighting off attempted capture in water, but vulnerable on land. She was being kept in a fairground while her captors tried to make their acquisition go viral and so attract the eye of a high bidder.

Soon professional debunkers were going to realise they had something and someone special on their hands, and this wasn't just the latest internet hoax. A Sanctuary team had to get there first, and as a local Benji was a natural choice to guide and help. Declan had just nodded in approval and not drawn much attention to his total newbie status, which Benji appreciated a lot.

Even before meeting Will and Watson and joining Dr. Magnus's mission, he's always believed there were creatures yet to be discovered. There's nothing like standing on a tiny island to make a guy take in the size of the ocean all around. There had to be hidden worlds down there.

They're taking the ferry so as not to get anybody suspicious at the sight of an unfamiliar plane on the airstrip next to the cow field. Baby's first rescue mission for a beautiful abnormal creature, he thinks, glancing back at his companions and trembling a little with excitement.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

w_zimmerman

Will is tense as they wait for the ferry to dock. What can go wrong, after all, usually does. And without Magnus on hand to provide her insanely improbable luck, there's no guarantee that this won't go badly sideways. But at least they have Watson, who is definitely better at keeping his head in a crisis and coming up with Plan B (as well as Plans C through Z if needed) on short notice.

Part of his is worried about Sally, and how badly she'll take it if the abnormal doesn't make it. Even if it isn't precisely a mermaid, it's still a close cousin in a world with fewer and fewer intelligent aquatic abnormals. So, for Sally's sake as much as for Benji's or the abnormal's, he's praying that this will go off without a hitch.

If it doesn't... well, that's a bridge to cross when they come to it. His years as an outlaw have added to his confidence, and to his ability to think well ahead and work things out on the fly. Between the three of them, he knows, while it may not be easy to rescue the melusine, it should be perfectly doable, one way or the other.

From:

dr_jd_watson

James stands by the railing in silence, trying not to think too hard about what weeks of cruel captivity might be doing to the poor, wild creature they're about to rescue. Helen had been livid when she heard about this, and would have come herself if she hadn't been in the middle of a delicate negotiation between two rather hostile and dangerous factions of Hollow Earth abnormals. He's never failed to live up to the trust she has in him, and he certainly doesn't intend to start now.

The plan is simple, at least so far. Disguised as simple tourists, they're to go in and assess the situation, attempting to make contact if at all possible. From there, improvisation will no doubt be called for, but he's made it strenuously clear to the others that they aren't to act without his authorization and approval. Things will no doubt move quickly once they're inside, but to act without careful consideration is to risk everything, not just the life of a rare and precious living thing, but the potential exposure of the fact that the Sanctuary is still operational.

And that last one can not be allowed yet, not at any cost. So sacrifices might have to be made. Even, although he certainly hasn't mentioned it to Benji, the life and freedom of the very abnormal they're here to rescue. The concept of necessary collateral damage is a hard concept to really take, and he doesn't want the idealistic Benji being forced to cope with it until it's absolutely necessary. Which, he hopes, won't be for many more years.

From:

benji_mckenna

Benji managed to get details from an old school friend of where the melusine is being kept on this small island, and how long they have before she's taken to the mainland. Once in Kirkwall or Stromness, with the big air and ferry ports, she could easily be transported somewhere else in the world before the Sanctuary team had time to catch up.

He hopes the men who captured the poor creature won't think to charter a boat and take her away sooner. He knows how to sail, should it come to it, but a boat chase would really not be ideal. Taking the ferry lends him and the others more anonymity than sailing in to start the mission, too. They might be surrounded by a great ocean, but island life could be like living in a fishbowl. Everyone made it their business to know about everyone else.

"I promised Sally we'd do our damnedest to get the lass out of here, Jim," he says, showing Watson the most recent text from his old friend: a laconic chap who informed them the melusine was going to be shown off at the natural tide-filled swimming hole down on the rocks tonight, and there'd be a game of darts at the pub afterwards.

From:

dr_jd_watson

James reads the text, scowling a bit. "Dart. How charming..."

From:

w_zimmerman

Will sighs as he reads over Watson's shoulder. "I wonder if they even care how much physical stress they're putting her under, moving her constantly..."

From:

benji_mckenna

"Poor thing must be crying out to get back to the sea," he says, squirming a bit as James reads. "Och, I'm sorry about him. There's a reason I haven't spoken to most of my old friends for years." They're asses.

From:

dr_jd_watson

"Perhaps 'friends' is not the appropriate word for them any longer," he suggests, not exactly angry, but not at all pleased by the cavalier attitude being displayed by Benji's contact.

From:

w_zimmerman

"Well, regardless, he has the information we need, so we have to put up with him," Will says quietly. "So what if he's a heartless ass. He's also a useful ass..."

From:

benji_mckenna

"Well, as Will said," he agrees. "He's an ass and kind of so was I, back in the day, with bad taste in pals. Now I wouldn't get in touch again as a friend. I knew he'd know the ins and outs of anything dodgy going on. Only hope we can get our lassie out before they get to move her on anywhere else, now."

From:

w_zimmerman

"We've got their trail now. Even if they try to move her again, they're not going to be able to do it in secret. We'll shadow them to the ends of the Earth, if we have to."

From:

dr_jd_watson

"Mmm, on that note, let me show you something," James directs, withdrawing a tiny box from one pocket. "I asked young Henry for some tracking dots, just in case it seems we might lose her trail. I'll give you each one, and whoever can get close enough to plant it will do so at the first opportunity."

From:

benji_mckenna

"I can dive, if it comes down to that," he offers, pocketing the dot carefully and staring down into the blue water. "So can you, right, Will? Perhaps we could get in after dark if the chance to get close doesn't present itself straight away."

From:

w_zimmerman

Will nods, glancing out across the water. "Magnus insisted that I get dive-certified years ago, and she makes me recert regularly, so I think we'll be able to manage that if it comes down to it."

From:

dr_jd_watson

"Good lads, and I'll see if I can't tag our girl or one of her keepers if it comes down to that. Between the three of us, it should be easy enough to get at least a tag or two in position.

From:

benji_mckenna

"Told you I'd get you in the chilly depths of the North Sea at some point," he teases Will gently. "It'll be worth it if we can set her free to swim away, far away from humans and all our horrible doings."

From:

dr_jd_watson

"Setting her free is not our immediate goal. After capture and captivity, she may be injured. We're to bring her back to the Sanctuary, assess and, if necessary, heal her. And then we may look forward to releasing her again..."

From:

w_zimmerman

"I've been practicing first aid on Sally since we got the tip," Will adds. "In case she has any immediate injuries that need to be tended to. But the real trick is going to be spiriting her to safety without drawing attention once we do have her."

From:

benji_mckenna

"I think we're going to need back-up for that," Benji says, having barely allowed himself to consider the possibility that they won't make it that far. Things have to work out, for the poor melusine's sake, and Sally's, and for the work of the Sanctuary.

"We can't exactly book her a berth on the overnight ferry to Aberdeen."

From:

dr_jd_watson

"Backup may not be tenable. They will, of course, be called for if possible and necessary, but we must also remember that we can't risk exposure by deploying a large, organized group."

From:

w_zimmerman

"Any backup we do get is more likely to be a single individual offering us a place to stay for the night, or a small boat so we can get her away from here," Will adds. "Discretion, valor, all that. We draw too much attention and she's in bigger trouble than she already was."

(ooc: Spider felt it necessary at this point to interject. She says: j3.hjnyg)

From:

benji_mckenna

"My stepdad has a boat we can use if we can't call in another one without drawing suspicion," he offers.

"Hey, do you think any friends or family of hers will be planning any kind of rescue operation? Perhaps I should try to find out, so as not to tread on each other's toes." Or tails, as it happens. He isn't sure quite how rare the melusine is.

(ooc: awww. hi Spider!)

Edited Date: 2018-04-17 01:59 pm (UTC)

From:

w_zimmerman

"Having a small boat on standby couldn't hurt," Will agrees, nodding and glancing to Watson for an answer on Benji's other question.

He's perfectly capable of running an op on his own, but Magnus put Watson in charge and he knows when to defer to authority. Especially when the authority in question has been doing this kind of work for approximately a century longer than Will has. Even if he hadn't been the smartest man alive, Watson would still be the wise choice to run things.

From:

dr_jd_watson

"They are rare," Watson muses, nodding faintly. "But they'd certainly attempt to rescue one of their own if they realized she was in trouble, so an outside rescue attempt it not out of the question. Find out what you can, Benji," he directs after less than half a second of consideration, nodding.

From:

benji_mckenna

"I'm not sure there'll be much to find, but I'll have a try, James. There aren't any mermaids around here. That I've met, anyway. It's too cold. Possibly the melusine got lost or injured and swept here by the tides. Uh, I have another asshole ex-friend who makes it his business to know everything going on beneath the waves," he says, a little embarrassed by his previous taste in buddies. "He's a qalupalik. He'll know if any merfolk have been around here talking about rescue."