Westwind Construction Co. (Soleana Outskirts)

[Qesun Vendak]

The establishment of an empire is a slow process sometimes. Especially when starting from scratch. Nothing but thieves and beggars running a show behind the scenes. A display never seen, as it's always in the shadows of the puppets put up front.

Today, Albin would make these puppets dance.

Sitting in his office, he had several people in there with him. Of course Rekard was in there. Rekard was almost always nearby somewhere. There were a handful of others in there as well. Daniels, a rough looking Tomcat and one of his 'Foremen'; Morgan, the Parakeet lass was his PR; Mackie, another foreman and a human; and finally Decard, a duck officially on the records as a contractor, though usually Albin's method of contact with other less then legal elements.

"I'm glad to see you all here today," Albin stated as he leaned forward on his desk as he began. "It's been a while since the Merge. Since then, we've been building our lives anew, trying to reclaim as much as we could back from the shattered remains of the world. Now we have a front, a plan, and a goal. And like any good business of any light, we're going to be moving towards that goal."

The room is allowed to sit silent for a moment before Albin turns toward the two birds among the bunch. "Morgan and Decard, I want you two to begin distributing information. We will be offering a reward to those of the Thieves Guild. It will be for information on the locations of Emerald Shards or for bringing us actual shards themselves. Our 'tools' sales have been going well, and I want to put that 'toxic site' money to use. Only actually give them a reward upon confirmation. Don't short anyone, I want this talked about in a good light in among the Guild."

"How much are we offering," Morgan asks as she takes notes in her own near undecipherable short-hand scrawl.

"Talk to Jeb. He knows how much we have to squander on this. Offer more to those who actually bring us shards."

After a moment to see if there were more questions, Albin continued. "Secondly, we will be trying to get some insiders in the government of Soleana. If they find some shards, or have any, it would be invaluable to learn this. This is especially true as they're trying to find them as well. Mackie, that's your project."

"Me? Do I look like James Bond or somethin'?" the human responded.

"I would hope not. He got caught to easily."

"Aye. I got ya. I'll talk to the boys and start 'shoppin'' for fresh, innocent faces. See if I can find some corruptible young minds. I'll also start havin' some of the current workers watched, see if I can find any that need some 'help' with some aspects of their life or just want a financial boost."

"Good. Daniels will help you," Albin stated before switching subjects again. "Morgan, one more thing for you. Our Casino and Hotel are well on their way towards completion. Remember to make an invitation to some of the leaders of some of the larger unscrupulous groups. Remind them that, since it's Family run and operated that certain activities might go 'accidentally unnoticed' by the staff. Furthermore, it will make for great mediation ground since it's on land neutral to either party."

"Right sir. Market to the thieving bastards. Got it."

"We all know what we're doing now, it seems. Menard, since Morgan has two projects, I expect you to lift a little more weight on the project you're on. Do the Family proud."

The duck nods, but otherwise stays silent.

"You are all free to leave now. Remember to keep me updated."

[Qesun Vendak]

"Albin!!"

The horse looked up from the work at his desk with a snear. He hated being distracted, especially when working on something as boring as actual contracts. Before anyone could see it, it was swiped off his face and replaced with a smile as Daniels came back into the room. "Albin! The robots! They're coming for Soleana!"

Albin blinked as he took a moment to comprehend this before pushing himself up from his desk and briskly walking around it. "Robotnik's army? What is it doing way out here?"

"Don't know. We can see them moving to the north," the man stated.

The equine never missed a step, and kept going right out the door to his office and right towards the front door, grabbing The Sledge on the way out. "Come on. We're going. Right now."

"W-what? Where are we going!?"

"Soleana. We need to pay a visit to the administrative offices while they're still scrambling," Albin briskly pushed the door open and headed outside. "Johnson! Markus! Trish! Ciela! Come on! We're headed out! Now!"

"But what about our cov-"

"We have a limited opportunity here, and a half-dozen side businesses on the side to keep going even if I have to fade to the shadows, including Casino Night, as it's farther outside Soleana's zone of influence. On that note, if we're not caught, it's not a problem. Now lets go, I have little time for 'What Ifs.' I want to know if they have any information on the Shards," He stated, heading over to a Truck, aiming for the passenger seat. "Drive."

Once everyone was loaded up, the truck took off, heading for a smuggling point so they could sneak in with little issue.

[Tancer Fang]

The loaded up truck sank deep to one side when the purple fox climbed on the back. As if a ton of bricks had been dumped on the back, the shocks readjusted bringing the pickup level again. He sat against the left side, leaning his hands on his knees. The others who where in the truck all looked at him confused. The largest guy, their boss, the horse, barely shook the sturdy truck when he got in, hammer and all. Yet this guy brought the truck down a good foot before he was fully in it.

Tancer looked up cocking his head "Ey yo, Whats tha matter with yous?" The purple fox adjusted his leather coat with the shake of his large, built shoulders. Every one in this truck had been picked for one simple reason, no qualms about busting skulls. While, there was the horse with the hammer, a beaver with a bat, or a Dingo with a crowbar, Tancer had just his fist, not so much as hand wrap. He also had reputation for a mean streak with his coworkers at the construction company. This explained why every one looked another way as soon as he spoke to them.

Deciding it was a good idea to get some info on what was happening, the mostly metal vulpine climbed to the back of the cab, leaning over to the passenger side of the window, He spoke to Albin. "Yo, Boss horse! How far 'till we see some action?" Tancer displayed a devilish grin, showing those sharp fangs.

[Qesun Vendak]

((Sorry about that Tancer. I'm back now.))

'Well, that was interesting,' Albin thought to himself, using the rear view mirror out of the corner of his mind as Tancer climbed in. 'I'll have to see what that was about, see if it could be of more use to me.'

Farther down the road, the same individual was asking questions. Must have been one of the few the Foremen felt was worth providing an offer. He turned about and opened the window the fox was near. "Not too far. Just Soleanna. There's an opportunity afoot we need not waste."

Soon enough, after a short ride, they were outside Soleanna...

[[Topic Change ---> Office Raid]]