Welcome to Gaia! ::

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Special Agent
Vanessa Kernaghan
Bounty Hunter, Class 1

↙︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺↘

"He'll be fine. He usually is."
Vanessa nodded and left Penelope to dress. She too went to gather her clothes and headed to the bedroom. She put on some similar clothing to the attire she wore the day before, with a few color differences. She wore a dark green tunic top instead of a brown one, and brown trousers instead of black. The green really brought out the red in her hair, making it look almost on fire.

Once dressed, she went back into the living room and geared up. She strapped on her gun bolsters, and pre-loaded her three guns: one pistol on each side of her ribs, and a large blaster on her right thigh. She strapped on her new wrist gizmo which was complete with a clock, projectile knife, small grappling hook, a few spare bullets, and a handkerchief, just in case. She also strapped on a shoulder bag, which held a few more things she might need for a day or two: some field rations and a thermos of fresh water, a few spy-ders, and other tools and necessities.

A spy-der was a clockwork mechanism that was originally developed by the Captain of MI6 as an incognito way to spy on basically anyone or anything. Many people have upgraded it here and there, making their name for each upgrade they develop. Vanessa even had her hand in the development of a few prototypes. The most recent ones though, she didn't help create. These spy-ders are solar-powered by day and battery powered by night, smaller than a child's palm, camera-equipped, have poisonous projectile needles, can scale any surface, survive under water, operate in extreme condidions, and self destruct by remote control.

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Special Agent
Vanessa Kernaghan
Bounty Hunter, Class 1

↙︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺↘

"Yes, I can bring you back. After that, we'll head to London and catch us a thief."

Vanessa threw on a thick black leather trenchcoat and patted Finnick who had finished his meal and began to lick his maw clean. She and Penelope headed out of the apartment and down to her wet, chained bike. Being as it was their only means of transportation, rain or not, Vanessa took her arm across the seat and unchained it from the post. She sat and got a little wet on her rear, but it was only water and would dry.

She revved the engine to life and revved a few more times to clear the rainwater from the exhaust valves. Penelope lived closer to headquarters, which worked out because it was based in London. They'd be able to stop at Nel's apartment, let her get changed, and grab a crook before lunch. It was after that catch that they'd have a longer drive to the next one.

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Special Agent
Vanessa Kernaghan
Bounty Hunter, Class 1

↙︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺↘

Vanessa laughed. "Just because we're top bounty hunters, doesn't mean we're rich. I mean look at us, we live in dismal flats and are constantly hungry. Do you really think I can afford a cover for my bike when I can't afford the cost of living?"

She drove off a bit faster and accidentaly jerked a moment when Penelope grabbed her. It was a shock, but a welcoming one. Vanessa cupped Penelope's hand on her breast and gave a gentle squeeze before grabbing the handles once again.

When they arrived at Penelope's house, the rain had dwindled to an irritating mist. Vanessa walked her bike under a carport and threw out the kickstand. Under the bike seat was a dry cloth that Vanessa used just to wipe down any exposed gears to avoid rust, then sprayed it with some lubricant that was also stored away. She was working on this until Penelope went inside and got changed.

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Special Agent
Vanessa Kernaghan
Bounty Hunter, Class 1

↙︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺↘

"No I just finished," Vanessa said as she hopped back on her bike. "Let's head off to London. There's a lot of work to do before the day's out." Vanessa kissed her back and backed the bike from the carport.

It was about a twenty minute drive to London's center where Vanessa had an address of where a potential tax evader lived. By the time she chained up her motorcycle, the rain had stopped completely and she didn't have to worry about the exposed metals on her ride. Guns loaded and adrenaline beginning to pump, Vanessa led Penelope to the alleged address and knocked on the door. As usual, there was no answer.

"Alrighty, here we go. You check around back, I'll check out the windows. We'll head in and see what we can find. If the place is empty, we'll set up a camera to watch the place and move on to the next warrant." As she spoke, Vanessa took out one of her spy-ders and fidgeted with a few buttons, setting it to record and transmit video of the house should she choose to set it up. She then replaced the thing and began checking windows for movement inside.

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Special Agent
Vanessa Kernaghan
Bounty Hunter, Class 1

↙︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺↘

The bounty hunter nodded. "You will enter from the back. Try not to break the door again will you? We have to pay for that type of thing. And if they are home, they wouldn't still be sleeping. It's well past ten!"

Vanessa motioned for Nel to go on back around the house and Vanessa tried the door. Locked. She smiled at the meek attempt of security. She pressed a button on her new watch gadget and out came a few tiny lockpicks. She tried each one until she heard it unlatch, then put the picks away. She tried the door again and it opened inwards. Vanessa crouched down and looked just inside the doorway.

There were no lights on, but she could smell something unusual. It smelled like sulfer. Immediately, Vanessa knew she wouldn't be able to fire her pistols or blaster inside without igniting the air. She drew a knife from her boot and entered the house in a crouch. The place was small, so checking out the rooms went rather fast. She checked the living area and kitchen, and by the time she was done, Nel had gotten inside. She motioned down the hallway, and began to lead on.

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Special Agent
Vanessa Kernaghan
Bounty Hunter, Class 1

↙︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺↘

Vanessa shrugged off Penelope. "If you want to go then go!" she hissed and continued on. Risks came with the job, Penelope knew that. If she didn't want to take the risk, then don't take the job.

The hunter continued down the hall where the smell became stronger, and Vanessa also noticed some other smell: smoke. She pulled up her shirt around her nose and pulled out a pair of goggles to protect her eyes. At the end of the hall, there was a closed door. Vanessa tested the door with the back of her hand and found it was cool. That was good. If it was warm, it meant there was a fire on the other side.

Vanessa motioned for Penelope to gather near her. They were going in strong. She counted to three on her fingers and then burst through the door. Knife at the ready, Vanessa leapt into the room, but stopped suddenly. The entire bedroom was charred black. There had been a fire and it looked as though someone let it burn then extinguished it. There were wet areas all around, and Vanessa knew that was the extinguishing tool: water. She held the cloth closer to her mouth as the smell and smoke had become intoxicatingly strong.

She looked about the room and noticed what had made the sulfur smell originate. There was a charred body laying motionless on the bed. The skin was what smelled so bad. It looked as though it had been a few days since the fires were extinguished. Everything was damp, but not soaking wet. Unfortunately, as per the job, Vanessa had to look around for evidence. She went over to observe the body and tried nudging it with her knife. Flakes of skin fell off. It was a male, by the looks of it: big, bulky, muscled in areas, and had a projecting Adam's apple.

Vanessa turned to Penelope, "Found our tax fraud."

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Special Agent
Vanessa Kernaghan
Bounty Hunter, Class 1

↙︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺︺↘

The redhead reached into her back bag and pulled out her camera she had recieved from MI6. It was a new prototype...it had the ability to display some colors in the captured photograph.

Vanessa turned back to Penelope, "He's not on one of my warrants. And as far as I'm concerned here, my job is done. We had a warrant, found the culprit, and photographed the scene. All I do now is drop it off with Homicide and let them handle it from here. If you want to go gallivanting off and play copper then don't let me stop you. That's not in my job description, dear."

Vanessa took a few more photos of the room and the spot where Penelope claimed the fire had started. When she finished, she replaced the camera in her bag and went to head out of the house. Once outside, she pulled her shirt back down and withdrew her stack of warrants. She found the one for the tax fraud and folded it in quarters. I was her way of marking off that the job had been completed. She took in a healthy few lungfulls of air and stretched out. Nothing like a good homicide to start the day.

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