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Accessibility tools are fucking dope. Isn't that right, Teagan? Thanks to your newly acquired reading skills -- and your phone's ability to assist by vocalizing the things you cant -- it isn't too hard to suss out an address from the weird text responses. After all, there's only one laundromat anywhere on the streets in that list, and it's on Aramingo.
It's roughly 11 PM when the series of messages hits the app, and Teagan makes decent time. Despite the fact that the place closes in less than an hour, K&M Laundry's aisles are filled with folks trying desperately to get their last bits of Laundry done before Monday's shift.
Through the big front windows, it's easy to see interior of the place is spacious and well lit, there're plenty of free machines despite the crowd, cars in the parking lot, and seats filled with impatient customers.
Hell, they've got nice, fancy TVs mounted on the ceiling. Y'know, just in case you get bored while staking the place out.(edited)
Teagan never goes out on An Mission without a certain amount of preparation: Vigilance of Ares, Boon of the Scuttling Spider, and, in this case, Light Shy. Being a Darkling, they can be assured that they don't show up on cameras, too, which is nice.
Upon arrival, they wander slowly around the building, looking for the location of cameras (from a distance), and then set up a watch point across the street, from the roof. Crouched. Waiting. Absently flipping the dagger that Sigrun made for them in one hand.
The place isn't well covered, but there are cameras. One out back covering the employee entrance/exit, and one monitoring the storefront from half-way up a light post in the parking lot.
Once they're absolutely sure they know where all of the cameras are, Teagan starts taking an inventory of the people, the cars (anyone sitting in any of them and watching the place?), who's talking to whom inside, if any of the doors seem to be taking in people who don't come back out, and, once they've got all that information, provided nothing looks too hinky? It's time to get a little closer and do a little Kenning.
They spend a good long time watching the entire outlay -- having already figured out where the cameras are -- and then clamber down from the roof across the street, still under Light Shy. Slowly, they move around the building again -- watching for movement in cars, watching the people coming and going. Does anyone go through a doorway and not come back out within a reasonable period of time? Does anyone ping their radar? Does anyone, you know, have blue skin or fangs?
The inside of K&M is pretty damn busy -- though you could tell that much just from the parking lot -- and while you're searching for a good vantage point, and scouting around, you notice a few things:
There're only two attendant employees despite the bustle. One of them, a dark-haired twunk (that looks like he's about to lose his fucking mind) leaves to take out the trash. Twice, actually - though Teagan's eyes are sharp enough to spot that he was just using it as cover to smoke a cigarette.
There's a repair truck out back, and the repair guy -- a burly blonde with beard scruff, wearing his hat and coveralls -- it belongs to is currently sitting inside and staring at one of the hanging TV screens, rather than doing his job. He seems laid back - not at all worried about timeliness. Must get paid by the hour.
There's a family of four. The oldest child is hovering around a snack machine with a wrinkled dollar bill in his hand, while his mother attempts to wrangle the younger sister into sitting still as they wait for the father to finish packing up their belongings.
In addition to the fixtures that're there for the whole time Teagan watches, no less than four or five people come and go. Most only stay long enough to flip their load of clothes and bounce, or bundle up their things and head back out, but one -- a teenager, probably no more than 16 -- comes in and pays for a machine and then leaves without doing a load of laundry. He's currently waiting on the side of the building. Maybe for a ride? Maybe he's buying pot. Who knows!
They watch the machine for a long minute, and then wander around to the side of the building where the kid is. They keep their ears open, and tuck their knife away in the holster that Sigrun made for Little Sister, because of course all the blades have names, before Kenning.
Sometimes a bitch goes 'maybe I could eat a Goblin Eye,' because damn.
The kid outside is leaning up against building. He's listening to music through earbuds -- it's loud-ass music, someone's gonna have tinnitus when they grow up -- and humming along to what sounds like Flout's lead singer. The dark-haired twunk from out back rounds the corner, and passes the kid a pack of cigarettes. He's not even stealthy about it.
Oh, but... but.
Something pings Teagan's kenning.
Interesting. Very, very interesting. Teagan recognizes the Flout, and that makes them press their lips together into a thin line - hey, that's one of us - and the very act of someone listening to Polly's music puts the Summer on their guard.
The thing about being an ambush predator is that you have to wait. So Teagan does two things, while waiting:
They will their body into a new shape -- lean, undeniably masculine, with a stronger jaw, pale skin, snow-white blonde hair, blue eyes. Like Sigrun's male counterpart, almost, but more angular. They almost never change their face... unless they're working. And now they are.
And once that's done? They slam their Rigid Mask into place like a protective carapace, concealing their Mantle and every clue that they're anything but a hot-ass blonde otter. Once that's done? They find a car to appear from behind, and step out. Visible. They're wearing their ratty-ass old trenchcoat instead of their Sigrun Custom, a pair of ratty skinny jeans, and a Big D And The Kids Table shirt, and heading over to where the kid holds the cigarette pack.
As hot-ass blonde otter Teagan approaches, the twunkish employee -- probably thinking that they're coming in -- holds open the door on his way back inside. He only looks a little bit disappointed when he realizes they're probably not coming inside, and heads back to his daily grind. Oh, if only.
The kid's still there - he's lighting a cigarette now. I guess he's probably staying to smoke? Makes sense. When I was sixteen, I didn't smoke where my parents could find me...
"In a minute," tall drink of water otter responds, offering the twunk a little wink. "Thanks, though." A little glance aside, a little smile. Make him remember the hot blonde otter, make that image stick in his head so he forgets other things, and is maybe a leetle distracted if they're lucky.
They scuff their boots on the pavement and lean against the wall near the kid. "Can I bum a smoke?"
It's fiiiiiiiiiiiine, we're not starting up our nicotine addiction again for a mission, are we, Teagan?
The kid -- clearly a prime example of the generation raised by the internet -- gives Teagan a look not unlike a certain little blonde girl that became a meme, but does pass them a cigarette, and the lighter.
"Bumming a cigarette off a kid seems pretty lame, dude. Can't you, like, go buy your own for real?"
Oh, to be a fearless teenager again.(edited)
"Lost my wallet," Teagan replies, rolling their shoulders. "Waiting for my boyfriend to come pick me up so we can go buy some, but I've been dying for a smoke for an hour now." A loose, lazy shrug, and they take the cigarette, lighting it.
Commit to the role. Deal with the irritation and the cravings later. They pull in a sharp drag; the cherry of the cigarette flares, and they pass the lighter back. "It sucks, because my good vape broke and I lost my fucking Juul in one day. Shittiest luck on the planet, me." A glance cut aside at the kid. "So thanks."
"Big oof," the kid offers between puffs of his cigarette, with all the confused politeness a person whose snark was returned without bite. Clearly he doesn't actually care, but if they're not going to play his game, he's not going to push Teagan's buttons any further.(edited)
Teagan glances aside, then. Takes another long drag of the cigarette, pronounces, "These are dirt, dude. But, you know that." A moment's silence, and they roll their shoulders. "Fucking quiet-ass night." Whether or not that's a good thing, ehhh. "See some weird shit staying at laundromats late. All the crazies come out of the fucking woodwork right before close."
"Hah, yeah. Buncha fuckin' weirdos tonight especially. Did you see that guy who came in earlier? With the ugly gauges? Yeesh." Oh, talking shit is this guy's language. That tracks. Teenagers be like that. "James is usually eager to come take my money, I bet having to stay and pay attention to that loud-ass family was driving him nuts." A beat. "Also, what the fuck's up with that repair guy? How do I get a gig like that? Just. Chill and watch someone else's TV and get paid for it?"(edited)
"Dude, no I did not, I was looking for my vape. Are we talking, like, he didn't take care of it gauges, or like, the gauges themselves are ugly? Because nothing is nastier than someone with gagues who doesn't take care of them, and then they have to take them out, and it's just like a sad meat donut," Teagan replies, and snorts. "Fucking union shit, man. Totally covers your ass. Nice job, if you can get it." They push away from the wall, backing up a few steps to glance up and down the parking lot." Still there, repair guy? "Families be like that."
"Oh yeah. I think he must've tried to wear wooden jewelry before they fully healed up or something, 'cause they're just. Eugh." He makes an exaggerated face of disgust. "What a dumbass." A beat. "Lucky bastard. I'd lose my fuckin' mind for that gig," he muses again. Oh, to be a lazy kid that thinks getting paid to watch TV is the pinnacle of existence.
Repair guy's truck is still there, but Teagan'd have to go around the front of the building and check the window to see if he's still inside.(edited)
They wrinkle up their nose at that, and shake their head. "That's fucked, man." Another drag, and they ash their cigarette, finishing it relatively quietly. "Yeah man. Good money for doing fuckin' nothing." Dropping their cigarette because it's mostly done, they step on it and tip their chin up. "Thanks. Keeping me from tearing my face off while I wait is fucking kind. I'm gonna go look for my boyfriend, see if his dumb ass pulled in and didn't call me." And then they head for the front of the building.
Unfortunately for Teagan, they made a really good impression on that twunk working the front, and -- though they really are quite subtle -- he's been using his reflection in the opposite window to touch up his hair. Y'know, just in case they actually come back. It's him that notices, and he bolts upright before offering them a wink. The repair guy notices the movement and turns his head away from Conan O'Brien for long enough to smirk at the fawning employee.(edited)
They turn their head to look, and when they realize they've been noticed? They smoothly transition from looking up and down the parking lot to stepping into the building, door pulled open. "Hey," they offer lazily, glancing back into the building itself. Family still there? Anything changed?
Looks like the family must've left while Teagan was smoking out back with the kid. Probably about a half-hour has passed while you cased the place, and inspected everything, so things are mostly quieting down and it's nearly time for them to start closing things down. You can still go in and pick up your laundry, but no starting new loads.
A series of things happen in rapid succession.
1.) Teagan's phone buzzes in their pocket as they head towards the door.
2.) Vigilance of Ares procs.
3) A split second after Vigilance of Ares, something bumps into them on their way inside. It's a subtle thing -- like they've been brushed on the street by accident -- but it definitely happened.
"Hey," offers the starry-eyed Twunk once they're inside proper. "We're about to close up, but I've gotta stay open late to lock up after the repair guy, so I'll let you use a machine anyway."
The Mirrorskin is about to say something else, but then they put on a very confused expression, turning back toward the sensation that just hit them. Their hand lands at their hip, unsubtly so, and then pats their sides absently. A deep breath, and they glance at the twunk, out toward the parking lot, and then turn to casually walk away from the laundry. Whatever this is, they've fucked it up enough.
As Teagan is turning to leave, they notice the repair guy sending a text message - and their phone buzzes again.
Finally, after nearly an hour of sitting around watching nightly TV, he gets up to do his job -- stopping over at an out-of-order machine and taking out his tools.
They're at a loss: they're supposed to be good at this, and apparently? They're not. When their phone buzzes again, and on checking it, it's clear everything is over, Teagan just keeps walking casually away. Someone else can figure this out.
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