savetheearth | the pen is a gun in disguise

Entry tags:

the pen is a gun in disguise

Who: Karl Aurion (

flamberge), Eriks Saverem (

featherduster), Neil Dylandy (

hotshots), Eugen Lambert (

buildyourworld), Yoko Aznabel (

sucrosity) & Cesar Sanchez-Ortiz (

evowhisperer)
What: An FBI Inspection Team to Thundercorps following a tip about a secret basement wing.
When: 20th June
Where: Thundercorps
Warning: Socially awkward uniformed men (and lady) trying to be serious.

Right after he received the tip about a secret wing concealed in Thundercorps' basement from Melissa, Eugen alerted his supervisor to look into the matter. While his supervisor was keen on investigating the matter, convincing him to allow Eugen to join the Inspection Team wasn't easy. He did made a reputation for himself by being stubborn and withholding information. But in the end, the federal agent conceded when Eugen argued that he would like to proof himself to the FBI now that he was technically an agent himself, despite not being a field agent. He had to ponder if it was Gundam or his knowledge that the FBI was so interested in keeping. Maybe a little of both...

Which was why, the entire team was made entirely of people he trust. Eriks - even if he was annoying, Karl - whom he knew he could trust and most importantly Neil - who had his back; all of whom had the right badge to take rightful strolls in the corrupt company. As well as being Numbered. If anything, they could make use of the network to slip past communication jammers, if there was any.

After the briefing with the team, where the mission outline was defined and technical matters relayed, the team left for their target. Two of them were in disguise to blend in, because a high profiled cop and a purple-haired teenager certainly won't make a convincing Inspection Team. With a goal in mind, the 4-strong team readied themselves for an inspection that was about to surprise them with crucial information!

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Meanwhile, Neil manages to pull off a pretty convincing facade of looking professional - dressed in a sharp business suit and carrying himself with an air of authority, you'd almost think he actually is an agent of some sort. At the very least, he has his own training to lean back on - he knows how to exude at least the appearance of confidence. Thus, this is what he does in spite of being really uncomfortable in a suit.

Regardless. Once through, his eyes are peeled for just about anything. And for any available exits. With no weapons on him - because even acting under FBI jurisdiction, it'd still probably be a bad idea to be caught packing - he's feeling a bit naked when walking into the belly of the beast, so to speak. So he wants to make sure they can get the hell out of there if need be.

Throughout all these pulse and echo and alien shenanigans, Karl had managed to keep his identity secret. No one outside the Network had any clue that the straight-faced Deputy Superintendent is anything but human. Needless to say, risking exposing it while sneaking into the TC compound under this little pretense wasn't going to happen. What better way to ensure this than with a disguise? It may never live up to the standard set by Gerald, but it does the job effectively enough.

The getup consists of a realistic looking blond wig reaching to about mid-back, very hipster, if professional looking attire and speaking in a particularly thick German accent. His walk exudes pure confidence and his stony, if bored expression does the same. Simply put, Karl looks like a cocky 20 something year old German pretty boy who's trying too hard to fit into American culture, but clearly has brains or talent or connections due to being with the FBI. No one in their right minds would think 'OH HEY THAT'S A HIGH RANKING COP'. At least, that's what he's going for. The only downside of the disguise? Itchy wig. So very itchy. Are wigs supposed to be this itchy? He really doesn't think they are.

Stuck in a brown wig, Eugen could hardly hide the amusement in his eyes if it wasn't for the brown contact lenses and the oddly comfortable makeup he's wearing. Between Neil's stark contrast in appearance than his usual self and Karl-in-disguise's German accent, he's having a field day holding his laughter in. He'll probably get decked for it but it would be well worth it. And he hasn't even start on Eriks yet...

As the engineer of the Inspection Team, he concentrated on his assigned task and left Eriks with the responsibility of getting them through with the right papers. The plan was for them to head for the power site and then split out with the excuse to find possible power leak or engine failure in other areas within the compound. While the other three had been tasked to find the basement, Eugen would act as the decoy at the power site to keep the enemy's eyes trained on him. Still, he kept his eyes peeled for exit routes that he was briefed about prior to mission since he wasn't armed to defend himself. If things went south, he'll need to know his way out.

Being that Eriks is an FBI field agent, there really isn't any trickery or subterfuge happening when he flashes his badge ("FBI," he tells the guard, with the brightest of smiles that broaches absolutely no argument. "We called ahead."), and strolls his way into the Thundercorp compound with the other three; the uniform gives it away even if the air of strange belonging does not. The pistol at his hip is Bureau-issued and Bureau-mandated, but he'd prefer the one he echoed back. Fits in his palm better.

Not that he's super eager to have to use it - would be very surprised if he has to - but he's not so keen on this place or the people running it. Kind of like waltzing into a den of hyenas with fresh kill strapped to your back.

... Fresh kill and two losers in wigs. That will require commentary later, but for now, professionalism is required.

"Everyone remembers the briefing, correct?" Said casually and deliberately, as if there were an official FBI briefing, and not... whatever their little pow wow had been. The Thundercorp guards and employees milling about don't need to know that.

Moreover, he just wants to find the door to the basement and get this thing done and over with.

His prop clipboard is full of home-made forms and recent notes over the upstairs labs' when he finds the stairwell. He hadn't known what was behind the door, but his entire search pattern had been deliberately scattered, and when the door opened at the pass from his ID-badge he didn't hesitate. He was in.

A small part of him regretted it immediately: restricted levels like these not only tended to have better security, but closed communities of employees. For a while, each step down the stairwell made his face sink into deeper lines. He would be recognized at a glance as an intruder, if found.

If he wasn't found, he might have the chance to find out what was really going on. Cesar shook himself: it wouldn't save him in the end, but if he tried to look somewhere between unafraid and mildly lost while he explored, then maybe he'd just be ejected, rather than detained.

By the time he gets to the bottom of the stairwell, his face has deliberately smoothed, and he makes for the farthest lab he can see. He looks like he knows where he's going.

Edited 2014-06-24 03:23 (UTC)

Unfortunately for Cesar, there is an opportunist in the building.

An opportunist who - after combing the compound for some time, in search of this rumored basement stronghold - finds that some strange fellow has lit the way for him. He watches Cesar slip inside, brow furrowed, and has a casual look around.

The security here is really shitty, all things considered. Not a soul in sight.

Deciding it's now or never, he presents the Thundercorp ID (that definitely wasn't pickpocketed off an unsuspecting employee) and slips through the same door, picks his way down the same staircase, light on his feet. He catches just a glimpse of Cesar disappearing into the lab, and moves to follow, slowly. This guy doesn't look super official, but that might just be Thundercorp's style: shady in all things, including uniform enforcement.

Either way, he's not looking for a fight. He wants to know who and what he's dealing with before he starts poking around at things that - according to Thundercorp - don't even exist. And if this guy is an employee, he won't know any better that the FBI hasn't graciously given itself clearance down here, as the FBI is wont to do.

It's only after they've both converged on the lab that he steps away from the walls and clears his throat, pointedly. Bureu-issues firearm glinting at his hip.

"Yo. You lost?"

The lab is an out-of-the-way one, with a set of overhead lights that had been left on and not a soul in sight. He walks to a desk at random, pokes at a few papers, and then leaves. Interesting, but not what he was looking for.

He doesn't notice the other man until he's drawing close to the shadowed wall, and only then does he pause.

"... Lost?"

Cesar's expression is one of mild surprise, but his actual stop is just a little too sudden to be really as casual as he wants it to be. Cesar doesn't see a security badge presented anywhere. He's not security, or someone clearly from the surrounding labs, but he still has an official-looking gun, and Cesar is still going to be extremely careful. There's more than Thunder Corp employees here, today.

"What makes you think I'm lost?" Cesar is hard to read: did he mean 'I work here, why would I look new?', or does he mean 'yes I'm new, how could you tell?' There's no knowing for sure. As it is, he seems unafraid and his eyes flick over the agent again, scanning again for identification.

Eriks spares the lab a once-over, or what little is visible from the hallway. Glances over his shoulder for good measure, back towards the stairs and the various doorways he'd already passed. Feels the hair at the back of his neck stand on end for reasons he's not entirely sure of; this place is just so comic book villain cliche. A secret lab in the basement? Is Thunder Corp even real?

Is he gonna find a torture chamber in one of those front rooms?

"Nah," he says, shrugging easily; it's a bluff-off, now. Assuming this guy is an employee after all, that'll make him a valuable resource. Eriks will just have to pretend the FBI actually has clearance to search down here. "It's just that I haven't seen anyone wander down here until now."

Takes a few more steps out of the shadows, and shifts until the FBI patch on his shoulder is clearly visible.

"It's a good thing you're here, though; the guy who was supposed to give me a walkthrough never showed. Pretty awful, right? Didn't even fire off an email or anything to warn me."

"That is awful." Look agreeable. Look not guilty. Look anywhere but his shoulderpatch, after that first glance. May the bluffiest bluffer win. (Spoilers it probably won't be Cesar.)

"I'm sorry, but I might not be much more help... I'm one of the temporary inspectors, from upstairs." He spreads his hands disarmingly, aiming for 'harmless' and 'embarrassed' with his little grin.

"If you're lost, I'm sure that someone upstairs would be happy to escort you for a proper tour. As for me, well--this is only the second or third time I've been down here."

Cesar earns an elegantly quirked eyebrow, but it's hard to say whether that's skepticism or just how Eriks deals with strange men he meets in secret underground potential-torture laboratories. A mystery for the ages, since he doesn't deign to comment on it one way or another.

"Oh, them? No way! They're about as helpful as an army of wet blankets, with about as much humor. You're by far the the most agreeable guy I've run into." Which is actually 100% true, because he's counting the likes of Eugen in that assessment.

He wanders over and claps Cesar on the shoulder, amiably enough. "Since we're both here to do some inspecting, how's about we kill one bird with two stones? So to speak."

Shit. For the first time, Cesar regrets being a nice cool guy. The hand claps to his shoulder, and he's officially trapped. Cesar fights to keep it from showing in his smile. What if someone walks in here and exposes him for the fraud he is?

"That sounds like a good plan." He gestures back the way he came, but doesn't move.

"Did you need to see the lab I was just in, to start with?"

Edited 2014-06-30 07:07 (UTC)

Eriks isn't sure how convinced he is, but it's less about Cesar and more about the ambient shadiness factor of the place, and the people by extension. He does want a good look at these labs, though, and who is he to deny an invitation that is only maybe a trap?

He graciously frees Cesar's shoulder and gestures for him to lead the charge, with a needlessly dramatic sweep of the arm.

"By all means, lead the way."

Cesar doesn't blink or hesitate: he turns graciously and walks back towards the door.

"The subsystems I'm here to inspect operate out of only three of the labs," he explains. The door beeps again at his badge, and then opens at his tug. "This lab has some of our materials synthesis workstations. I'm only here to examine the protocols involved in the reversed crystal lattice elucidation matrices for the free electron ioniton contabulators... Is there anything specific that you're here to see?"

Eriks keeps his face perfectly neutral, which is Oscar-worthy in his humble opinion; this guy could've just insulted him via technobabble and he wouldn't even have the training necessary to know it.

"'Everything' probably isn't the best answer here, but it is the most accurate," he says with a winning grin, and he wastes no time examining the machines. He doesn't exactly know what he's looking at, but he does wonder what the hell this stuff has to do with "green energy."

Probably nothing at all, but he'll hand the evidence off to those who can confirm the theory for sure.

After only a moment or two he's pulled out a small black camera, just old and crappy enough to be government-issued. "Don't let my note-taking throw you off your superbrain stride, you're doing great so far."

He's just grateful the auto-focus on this camera is better than anticipated. One shot per machine seems efficient enough.

Cesar answers his encouragement with a pleasant smile, and then turns to compare a stack of papers on the counter to his clipboard of notes.

Out of sight, his smile shifts just slightly: this man is exactly what he looks like. He's a government clunk. Cesar listens to him take pictures and jots down some meaningless data while he waits. Cesar flips a page. More notes.

He was supposed to have already been in this lab before, so by the time the pictures start winding down he's simply looking back and forth between tables, ostensibly double-checking what's already there. Then he lowers the papers altogether, looking mild.

"Is that everything you need for this lab?"

Fortunately, Eriks' distraction with thoroughly documenting the lab instruments means he doesn't lend much attention to what Cesar's doing, blank document-skimming or no. Aside from the occasional flicked glance, that is, but the guy hasn't done anything overtly suspicious yet.

... Other than being a temporary inspector for a place that nobody technically knows about, but what can ya do.

He turns the camera off and casts one last sweeping glance around the lab before seeming satisfied. "Yep. No sense wasting time with all that other ground to cover, right?"

He doesn't wait for a response before strolling his way out of the lab, eyes finding the staircase and the various doorways they'd bypassed earlier. Some identifying features would be nice, but then again, mad scientists probably aren't much for clear directions.

"Not real big on signage down here, are they?"

"This wasn't expected to be a heavily trafficked area," Cesar agrees apologetically. He flips the top few pages back down over his notes and leads the way.

Instead of making a straight line to the one he'd been hoping would give more fruit, earlier, he turns to a lab so close it's nearly adjacent. His card goes to the badge reader. The badge reader blinks and beeps, and he's opening the door for the two of them.

It's perfectly innocent, but Cesar makes a little 'after you' gesture towards the open doorway. He hasn't yet gone through, himself.

While the three of them are off looking for the secret basement, Eugen busies himself looking through the machinery in the actual tech wing they were led to. Being the lead engineer ( or rather the only one ) in the group, he had send them off to look for possible power leek from other part of the building. The in-house engineers were clearly unhappy with his decision but he's the one with the badge and he left them with no choice but to comply.

There's only one problem with their arrangement. It left Eugen inexplicably nervous being the decoy in the middle of the hyena's den. The only reason he's not visibly panicking is because he's facing an entire room build in his comfort zone. While he's never the boisterous type, he's really good in his own field so it doesn't take him long to figure out Thundercorps is bullshitting everyone with their so-called official explanation of the blackout. Even so, he's careful with his investigation, making sure to perform all the routine checks while he checks on other information discreetly.

Moving towards the next machine, he waves the technician working on it away, "I need to check this one now, move along." The technician gives him a look, clearly isn't happy to be shooed away from his station.

The technician reluctantly leaves, having no other choice than to comply. On his way out he passes a man travelling the way he'd come, with a ThunderCorp badge displayed quietly at his hip. The technician doesn't look twice, too wrapped up in his own irritation to care.

The facility is crawling with technicians, administrators, FBI, and other inspectors, and it's this chaos alone that gives Cesar the courage to go as far as he is. Who's going to care about one more unfamiliar face? No one, hopefully. Cesar walks to a work station adjacent to the one Eugen is working at and switches the monitor on, putting down a clipboard covered in unorganized notes. He starts calling up windows and readouts.

Unfortunately for Cesar, Eugen cares because he has been keeping an eye out on who comes in and out, largely due to the fact that he wants to be sure who he's facing if he has to run for it. So when the new guy comes in and start working next to him, Eugen turns his attention to him almost immediately.

"Your name and station please." He asked, flashing his FBI badge at the stranger, while he conveniently blocks the station he's working on. There's no need for anyone to look at the test he's running, especially if it's one meant for scanning hidden files. Even with all the practices, it's still nerve wrecking. He's really not meant for this sort of work.

It's okay, Eugen. This guy's probably just as scared of you as you are of him.

Speaking of which, Cesar lowers his hands from the keyboard and turns to face him. He's several inches taller than Eugen, as well as proportionately heavier, all of it in muscle. There's a sense of tensed control about him, but if Eugen can read that far, it's not aggression: it's nerves. His eyes show it more clearly, with tightness at the corners and a faint crease between his eyebrows.

"Ceasar Ortiz," he says, pronouncing it 'see-sar'. It's just close enough to his ID to pass a glance, but just mis-spoken enough not to show any answers on the first search or two.

"I'm with the Safety Division, here to inspect one of the electrical subsystems."

If there's something he's good at other than engineering, it would be socializing even if it isn't his favorite thing to do. It's a necessary skill for him to be able to socialize and makes valuable contacts if he wants to be successful in the academia profession. The nervousness behind the strong facade is simple enough to look pass. The question is if Ceasar's reaction is due to meeting an FBI agent or something else altogether. It makes Eugen curious enough that his anxiety is slowly ebbing away.

Giving the man's ID a look, he takes the chance to look at his monitor, just to be sure he's not trying to do anything funny. When he returns his attention to Ceasar, he has his professional facade on, which is to say his no-nonsense face, even though he's still dumbly nervous inside. "Weren't you briefed that you're not supposed to run any inspection while we're here, Mr. Ortiz?" We, the FBI Inspection Team, obviously. They didn't want to risk anyone interfering or sabotaging the files even though they were quite sure they won't be able to find much here. Their real target is after all, in that secret basement. But, they're expected to keep to standard practice and that's exactly why the rest of Thundercorps engineers and technicians are so prickly in Eugen's presence. The good thing about having teaching experience is that he learns to build the same endurance to gives off an intimidating presence when necessary.

Shit. Think fast, Cesar.

"I was briefed." A beat. His calm facade starts to crack, but it's deliberate, and for once it's an act that's actually subtle. "Didn't you get the emails?"

"I was told that we coordinated with the agents that would be in here for a simultaneous inspection." He puts a hand on his own clipboard and draws it gently closer. No retreat, but definitely some deferral. What time is it? "From 2:40 to 3:00?"

Either this guy thought he's an idiot or Eugen really missed an email. No. That's not possible. His supervisor wouldn't have agreed on it in the first place. It's goes against their 'prevent interference and sabotage' method. Which means this guy either messed up his own work schedule or he has an ulterior motive to be on the machine at this time. Sensing something amiss, Eugen pulls his file from the station and starts flipping through the name lists given to him earlier.

"Must have missed the email. Who's your supervisor? I'll call and let them know this is not possible. We don't want anyone running anything when we're on the system. Standard Operation Protocol, I hope you understand." He looks up from the file expectantly for the name he asked for.

There's a third option that Eugen is missing: Cesar isn't trying to hold his ground. He's trying to cover his retreat, however clumsily.

"Of... Of course. His name is, ah, Augustus Wrinklethrope." Taking a moment to stir himself into reverse, he logs out, sending all the windows to an automatic close. "It's spelled like it sounds."

He nods, looking through the name lists as he mutters the name quietly. The name presents itself at the last page. Without any delay, Eugen fishes out his cellphone from his jacket to dial the number listed. That's when he notices Cesar is closing his tab on the station and he motions for him to stay.

"Do not leave until I'm done verifying with your supervisor." The call continues to ring until it reaches a dead tone. With a frown, he redials the number and waits for the call to connects.

Cesar nods, and then continues standing where he is while his monitor dims, and the phone rings itself out.

Eugen redials. Cesar dries the palm further away from him on the side of his pants, and eventually offers, "He's probably out of the office today."

Halfway through that last word, the phone picks up, and a harried woman's voice answers.

"Augustus Wrinklethrope's office, how can I help you today?"

When the call connected, Eugen immediately asks for Wrinklethrope but is disappointed to find out the man in question is indeed, as Cesar said, out of office. "That's fine, thank you."

Hanging up, he turns his attention back to Cesar with an appraising look. "Looks like I won't be able to get to him today. In any case, you can't work on these while I'm here." Pushing his glasses back in place out of habit, he continue speaking, careful not to appear nervous. "You said you're from the Safety Division, would you be able get me the reports for the nights of the blackouts?"

Cesar has no idea where the reports are.

"Safety and hazard reports?" he says out loud, turning his almost-work-station's monitor off. "The investigation is still ongoing, but I can find you the in-progress draft."

His expression hasn't shifted an iota since it settled from his feigned confusion, and he's being hard to read again.

He nods, writing down a note on his list to call Cesar's supervisor again later, not that Cesar can see what he wrote.

"That and the damage reports, preferably one that records all the down time and where it occurs."

The station Eugen's working on gives a beep signalling that the scanning is done. Not wanting Cesar to see what he's actually doing, he waves the man off. "That'll be all, email me the files when you're done compiling them."

Email this man. It's not lost to Cesar that if he does, he'll have a written trail for people to find in addition to the other trails he's already leaving.

He nods, and turns. "I'll get on that, now."

He leaves.

Roughly fifteen or twenty minutes later, Cesar will reappear with a pair of new folders packed with a stack of paper each. He doesn't linger on his way over, and everything about him is so mild and dull that he's boring just to look at.

He puts the files just within Eugen's range of attention.

"Here are the reports that you asked for."

Eugen was busy questioning one engineer that he didn't notice Cesar entering the room again until he's about to leave. That's when he notices the files, a little put off by the man's inability to follow simple direction. Oh well, it's not he'll be the one to put those files in order, the data entries back at HQ will have a field day with them.

"Don't forget to email me the rest when you're done."

With that said, he turns his attention back to the engineer he was speaking to earlier.

Cesar stops, and then turns, and then stands back to wait until Eugen is done, uncomfortably aware that the longer he stays, the more the people around him are able to study and learn his face. He touches the bridge of his nose, but doesn't quite pinch, and lowers the hand soon after.

He waits.

It's another a minute or so when he noticed Cesar and raised a curious brow at him. Did he missed his dismissal?

Oh. The file. He picks it up and flips through it, finally realizing he has mistaken it for something else from someone else. Once he's done giving it a once over, he looks up and gives Cesar a nod. "This will do. Thanks. You can go back to your work."

The tension lines in his face ease in relief, and he gives the man a short nod, now turning away. He leaves.

He'd originally stayed there to try to find some way to get an email without revealing that there had been no chain of communication in the first place, but if he can take this shortcut, he's not going to argue.

It's probably the better part of a few hours before Eriks returns from his Sketchy Basement Jaunt, but he at least emerges successful - insofar as having located the basement, anyway. Any shady dealings once down there shall remain unspoken, but it's nonetheless clear that Thunder Corp is pulling a fast one on... well, probably just about everyone. He can only lament that he isn't an engineer himself, even if he took plenty of diligent notes.

He finds Eugen where he's been playing decoy for them (successfully, might we add, and he owes the guy another case of beer) and raps on the doorframe a few times, expression tight. He'd really rather they not dawdle around here for much longer, especially if TC has cameras in their Basement of Lies. Which he's almost entirely convinced they do.

"You're relieved, Agent."

... Also, he's just really been wanting to say that. It has a ring to it.

How long had he been cooped up here waiting for any of them to come back? The longer he's here, the more nervous he becomes. Have they found the basement? Did they get caught? What's happening out there? He's beyond worried and there's nothing he can do but wait. It's almost time for their allocated time and if neither of them turns up, he's supposed to leave and wait for them at the rendezvous point. Would it seems suspicious for him to leave alone? What if they ask him questions? What if they suspect something and prevent him from leaving? What is he going to do then?

Just when he's about to text them, discreetly of course, he heard the door opens and turns around. Only to be greeted with that.

Why did he even bother worrying for him?

Should he reply him? No. He doesn't want to. He doesn't want to give him the satisfaction of using that line with him but it would be strange if he doesn't respond to his senior agent. With a very unimpressed blank face, he utters an equally bland "Yes, sir." before turning around to unplug the thumbdrive with the scanner program and retrieves his files from the station. He gives the head engineer a thank you nod and heads for the door, bypassing Eriks silently.

Once the door closes behind them, he gives Eriks a look.

Eugen: UnFun to the very end.

But they're still in Thunder Corp's compound, and the words he's keen on sharing aren't for Thunder Corp ears. He settles for giving that look right back and marching them back up the bowels of the building, cutting a beeline for the exit. He'll no doubt get an earful later, but what else is new, right?

"I'd like to combine our reports," he says while they walk, clipped and neutral. For any prying ears, it will seem a perfectly normal exchange between agents. It's not a lie, either; he needs to pass what he's seen off to someone who knows the mechanics better than he does. "I trust you got what you needed?"

There's one thing he's sure of. He spend too much with Eriks in a social context that he's incapable of taking him seriously anymore. Even if he's in professional mode. It just strikes him weird and he's eager too be done with as soon as possible. Unfortunately, hurrying out will be too suspicious so he's forced to endure.

"Most of them, I'm still waiting for their damage report." The look back gets a blank in return. Nodding to the question, he picks up the hidden meaning of his words. "I'll have them look at and write you a report." Anxious about the situation of Neil and Karl, he asks discreetly, "What about them?"

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the pen is a gun in disguise

General Exploration

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Basement - Secret Tech Wing

Re: Basement - Secret Tech Wing

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Tech Wing

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Fetching a Grumpy Jerk

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