It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

As per usual, bars were the safest bits for meetings outside of the crew ship, due to the frequent traffic that flowed constant on Baltigo around the clock. The bar they'd chosen to meet up at was part of the same franchise as the Red Mon Bar that Jackal had met Spook and Lucas in a few days prior. Clearing the shades of the bar, which didn't carry a traditional door as an entrance, Jackal would see the blonde Lucas attentively scribbling on a piece of what appeared to be graph paper. Hastily making his way to the counter, he'd slide in the seat next to the scientist, "You know... If you want to work on your inventions... our ship is colossal. It's where Gilbard keeps all his medical equipment.... Furnishing is compliments of the Revolutionary Army so if it looks a bit extravagant it's on them Shishishi..." Jackal responded as a conversational opener, arriving to hear the man's exclamation about having a ship or base. Jackal had actually been their for about a minute or so but Lucas was so engrossed in his invention, he didn't notice the Mink until he'd speak and even then, maybe he'd be still deeply into it's conception. "Alright. What'cha need me for Lucas was it? You should get an alias on Baltigo by the way. No one really gives out their real name. I kind of got stuck with Ears. Amongst us, Jackal is fine though." Jackal inquired, wondering about the purpose of the meeting.

Wearing his trademark Calico Scarf, Brown Cargo Pants with a red belt and no shirt present, the Mink tail trailed in metronome as he'd await the scientist response. The members of the bar had noticed who he was and the latter of them chose to split immediately after seeing his mug, especially those who'd witnesses the Blood Moon Bar incident. Still fresh on their minds, murmurs carried through the the Underworld of Jackal's newest recruits.

It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

"Shishishi..." Jackal uttered, couldn't helping but to chuckle at the man's suggestion. "One of the reasons I've avoided taking out too many of her warehouses was lack of manpower. However, as for where her stashes are at. I can help you with that." Jackal stated, walking around to take a seat next to Lucas. Digging through his messenger bag, Jackal would remove a single piece of graph paper containing a map of Baltigo. It was a simple map, anyone could've bought it off a trinket store but combining the notes stolen from the broadcaster Den Den from his raid with the Fishman Cassius. Scatter across the map were circles and squares, using the notes to geographically pin-point each station.

"Alright." Jackal stated, scattering map open onto the bar counter top.

"The squares are her major warehouses. The Circles are her major establishments. Whether it be, Brothels, Spas' or Pleasure Cafes... According to the notes, they are Mother's Major Money Makers." Jackal started to explain.

"If you look at each square, you can see they are all tagged with letters A-D. That's Mother's way of distinguishing the more loaded warehouses and business. The higher the letter, the more point of sales and storage occurs at the spot. Of course, that means the more security. The place that I raided for this information was one of her communication warehouses that she used to send information to and from Baltigo. Rank B. That place was loaded with snare traps, land minds and a trained sniper." Jackal explained.

Sliding the map more towards Lucas's direction, "If you're interested, you can take out her smaller joints D-C. If you're up for the challenge, we can take out the B and A spots too. I'll lend a hand. The choice is yours really. If you think you can handle it yourself, Justice." Jackal stated.

"They say history is in the hands of the victors. I think Justice is the perfect fit as long as you can back it up. Besides, Blonde... Too simple." Jackal nodded, irony that Ears was also the simplest name in the world in retrospect.

It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

The Mink agreed with Lucas's initial analysis. What had been working in Jackal's favour so far was the size of his organisation. With his bandit crew being so small and tight knit, it was almost impossible for anyone to track-down his crew on the off, especially since most of them spent their days aboard the Pegasus. The Flying Ship proved immensely useful, being able to change their base of operations and evade discovery in a matter of minutes. Jackal listened attentively to Lucas's words, chiming in on the bit about remaining anonymous. "I agree. At this stage it'd be best for us to not have any of these raids tied to us before the Ball in the next few weeks. I want her to increase her security on that building. The more security she hires, the more rumours will spread about the Ball's final location. Mother's immensely secretive like most of the Kingpin's. Most people don't even see their faces without either being an underling or being on the opposite end of their pistol." Jackal retorted.

When it comes to planning heists, this line of work truly made Jackal excited. He'd see this similar to that of a Shogi match, using strategies to corner the enemy, never revealing too much but just enough for them to respond. Smirking, "We hit the smaller joints then... Hit and Run as much as possible. In true Bandit fashion, anything that's movable, it's ours for the taking. Anyone that needs to be put out, then it's all part of a days work. I'll give you the option. It's either we can tag team or I'll leave this information in your hands for now. It's been a minute since my last 'job'." Jackal concluded.

Jackal would await the Blonde's response, if Justice wanted to handle the raid on his own, Jackal would use his heist as a distraction to raid one of the safe-houses on the opposite side of town with a similar 'D' Ranking. If they could use this as leverage to draw out another of Mother's top brass, it'd work to their advantage in the long run.

It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

"Transport won't be a problem as long as we have the Pegasus. I'll inform Sinbad of the plan at hand. We'll start from the East of the District, and work our way West. Take out all of the smaller spots on the strip, and store the goods on the ship. However, we'll secure one spot as our storage point, while we raid the other warehouses, I'll have our men load the hoarded goods aboard." Jackal theorised. "After all, what's the point of having a Flying Ship and not using it. I've avoided using it in my raids up to this point to leave no traces of it's connection to me. I even flew the Shichibukai's Jolly in place of my own for cover. Using my ship will not only leave them confused but employ a bit of misdirection." Jackal concluded grinning. To Lucas's Bandit King statement, he'd backtrack adding in, "I guess this little presentation of ours will be our own form of Justice then." Jackal stated. Once the details had been ironed out between the two, Jackal picked up his Den Den Mushi, beginning to contact Sinbad and inform him of the situation at hand. After the call was completed, Jackal would turn over his Baby Den Den Mushi to Justice.

---

Five hours later, the sunset upon the Second District, as the hustle and bustle of the Red Light District strung up, shrouded in the shadows about fifteen meters away from Mother's guarded warehouse, marked facility 'D' on his personalised map was an unmarked old factory house, which seemed to be abandoned. However, the ever so often flickering lights from the window's third story, and the perched sniper secluded beyond the shrouds of the trees surrounding the compound made for strong evidence to speak otherwise. It was a small compound, it was fairly large but as were many factories within the Second District that didn't double as a whore house or a pleasure spa. Loading up his Den Den Mushi from his messenger bag, the Mink would ring Justice from his undisclosed location within the same area. Once the call was received, "Well looks like this our first time together Justice. Be gentle. Shall I take the first shot or will you? From looks of it, it's a pretty simple set up. Most of the men seemed to be stationed on the top floor, sniper on the balcony, and trees scattered around the facility to lower visibility. We got two hours before Sinbad arrives with the ship, so we'll have to manage to shut them down immediately." Jackal explained. "The fence looks to be made of stone and from my Mind's Eyes, they're about twenty guards behind that twenty-five footer wall." Jackal predicted, using his Haki to peer behind the gates contents, only fifteen meters away.

Misc:

It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

"Shishishi... Take out the sniper he says..." Jackal stated snickering to himself at his nakama's comment. "As if that's ever easy to do." Jackal concluded, clearing his sinuses to gather mucus and saliva in his mouth. Puckering his lips, Jackal began to blow air into a spit bubble, expanded the sphere to around double the size of an average basketball. Cutting off the bubbles immediate air supply, the Mink disbursed the bubble to float towards the general direction of the compound. The sniper who'd been examining the situation from his position on the third floor, picked up Jackal's movements from the alleyway he'd been hoisted it up in. The bubble travelled to in front of the bases gate, and the moment it popped, pure chaos ensued. The explosive charge rocked the facilities gates, releasing a plume of smoke that ruined the snipers line of vision.

Dashing from out of the alley, Jackal engaged in a series of leaps that closed the gap between himself and the facilities outer gates in seconds. Using the smoke as cover, Jackal would've expanded his Kenbunshoku Haki to pick up on if any traps had been laid on the outskirts, similar to that of the former facility he raided with Cassius, however, this particular base didn't seemed to be guarded to that extent, explaining the 'D' Rank rating a bit more. Shrouded by the wall's height, Jackal approached the smaller staff entrance, using quick charges of his Electro to dismantle the gates lock. Sliding open the door, the Mink didn't dare to step through immediately. Instead, he'd blow another bubble infront of him, now facing to the left, to cover the width of the doorway, and without even releasing it, he'd burst the bubble prematurely, letting off a second explosive charge, wiping out fragments of the gate's lining, and of course, another plume of smoke to cover his advance. However, the front door from the entrance was about fifty meters from the gate, so it'd be quite the distance to cover with simple explosive charges.

Patiently staring behind his scope, the sniper waited to take his shot, simply following the Mink's 'checkpoints', mentally marking the areas where the explosive charges came from last. Though, not the most trained in hand to hand combat, most of the snipers and marksmen under Mother's care were top notch. As a collector of secrets, she'd need the finest forms of security at all of her locations on all levels. "Come on out Ears... I'm waiting to say hello." the sniper murmured to himself. Once trouble happened at Mother's safe houses, everyone assumed it was the infamous Ears, as no one in their right mind would've openly started war with Mother, aside from Jackal at the moment and more recently Ursa. As the smoke started to clear, Jackal wasn't in a rush to advance, he'd done his part keeping the sniper entertained. "It's a matter of whose faster... My limbs or his reaction to my movement. If his eyes can keep up with me, I'm well shot. If not, I might be able to make it." Jackal thought. Sliding from behind the stone wall, the Mink leapt using what little of the smoke remained as cover. His first stride would've put him fifteen meters into the compound but the moment he'd become visible, arriving at that point of clearance, the sniper fired off a single shot towards the man's head. From the time Jackal heard the shot, his counter had already been processed. At that exact moment, Jackal would've detonated three parts of his body, his face, his chest and his shoulder.

The energy from the explosion would've carried enough heat to melt the impending bullet, and from his fifteen meter mark in, the Mink would've caused an explosion around his ankles, using his quick charges to make towards the front door. By the time the sniper noticed it, Jackal had already made it towards the entrance of the compound. "Cheeky little-" the sniper exclaimed, getting up from his position on his belly to run into the house, hustling for the staircase to make it towards the ground floor. Using his Haki to read the situation behind the door, what awaited him were ten rifle bearers, aiming their favourite firearm towards the door's entrance. "How many hired guns does this woman have?" Jackal thought to himself. Breaking open the door, Jackal took off his Calico Scarf, balling it up and tossing it through the door. On edge, the rifle holders emptied their rounds into the scarf, only after the clips clanking for empty, did they realise the situation. As the scarf was filled with holes, Jackal bided his time as he'd calculate his next move.

Misc:

It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

Suddenly, the earth that Jackal stood upon began to shake at the appearance of gigantic daunting sentinel, that seemed to be clearing Jackal's rear of the soldiers he'd jotted pass. Extending his arms towards the building, the golem began to top clench onto the ceiling of the base. Using his Kenbunshoku Haki, Jackal immediately noticed the aura and the person who'd be behind this entire freak of nature, bringing a devilish grin to the Mink's face. Stepping through the doorway, he'd time the entrance to match up with the golem's attempt to rip off the bases poorly built roof-top. As the evening moonlight dripped through the area, the image of the smiling Mink in the distance struck immediate fear into the men's bodies, they couldn't even move or cock their guns to fight back, this was too much for them to deal with on a mental level. Giant Golems? Explosions spawning from mid-air? Even loyalty towards Mother and a thick pay cheque wasn't enough to sacrifice their lives for. "Good night ladies and gents." Jackal stated, announcing to the entire room.

"As you can see... This is a raid. Usually, I would've offed all of you but I kind of will be needing your services this evening. As of tonight, this base will be used as my storage house. Your about to bare witness to ability. I can command acts of nature, and use them to my advantage." Jackal stated smirking almost breaking out into laughter at the bullshit of a story he was spinning but from the looks on the grunts faces, they'd been eating it up. "This is what's-" Jackal's speech was interrupted from an attempted to killshot to his head but it was intercepted the moment the sniper got into position to take the shot, Jackal sensing his position with his Kenbunshoku Haki, and detonating an explosion to counter the bullets arrival once again. The force of the explosion wiped out the grunts that'd been standing idly, Jackal unable to compress the explosion precise enough to counter the bullets speed. It was a level of control he'd have to work on, using the smoke as cover once again, Jackal would shift his position to behind stone beam that acted as a pillar to support the building.

"That's an interesting skill... You have... Ears." the sniper announced from his vantage point about twenty-eight meters away from the balcony over looking entrance's commuting area. "Shishishi... That's the second time you've almost killed me. I might as well get your name if your going to try to take my life." Jackal shouted playfully. "I was out on a mission until recently, I'm one of Mother's Rooks, my name is Ulysses." the sniper informed proudly, his eye firmly pressed agains the scope of his rifle. "I had a feeing you'd attack another of the facilities... Seeing that you stole one of our Type B Den Den's." Ulysses reported. "Someone's been doing their homework." Jackal retorted.

"Unlike the other pieces... I'm fond of your work. No-ones ever forced Mother to place a black card on someone's head in the past. Usually, us pieces just clean up little shits like you." Ulysses stated. "Now your rambling... Black Cards? I have no idea what your talking about." Jackal responded. "You will in time... if I don't kill you first." Ulysses declared, ending the line of dialogue as the smoke finally cleared. Touching the tip of his tongue with his index finger, Ulysses judged the change in the wind pattern in the room, switching the rounds in his rifle to that of a lighter shell. Firing off another shot, this time, the bullet would've curved around the beam, hitting Jackal in his right arm, moving at a speed faster than he could've responded to, aided by the wind. Shocked, Jackal rolled on the ground, using the momentum of him being hit to roll from his position towards another adjacent beam, creating more distance and less exposure of his body to the sniper. Suddenly, the building began to rumble.

Misc:

It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

With the sniper subdued, Jackal winced at his right arm, noticing the blood that had been trickling from bullet wound. Luckily, the shot lost most of it's weight due to the lightness of the round and the wind's current. Delivery was swift but the impact was nothing more than a light jab. Using his nails to dig into the wound, Jackal fished out the bullet, tossing it onto the ground. Using a slight explosive charge, he'd use the heat from one of his explosions to close the wound shut slightly, taking off his Calico Scarf, and fashioning it around his hand as a bandaid. Walking up the staircase to the sniper's position, Jackal would've began to pick apart the brain of the suspended marksman, "I heard you say you've spent time observing my actions in Baltigo. Then let's not waste each others time... What is it that Mother's protecting in this warehouse. From the pawn piece, I was only able to derive the map and letter system... but something's been bothering me. This place is way less protected... The disparity is too uncanny." Jackal commented.

"I value my life more than anything else. If you can secure that much, I'll tell you what you need to know." Ulysses responded.

"Shishishishi... I'm not the dictator type. It's up to my nakama if he wants to spare you or not." Jackal retorted, pointing his thumb towards the massive golem, he'd assume to be Justice's doing. Raising a single finger, allowing Electro to run through it, "Although. I can resort to other means if you want us to keep acting like barbarians. I have time to kill." Jackal stated smirking.

Sighing, "As you said, each letter goes from D to A. The letter does correlate to the security of the base but it's not as simple as that. D facilities are Mother's Towers... or transmitting towers. It's how we share information around the District. The 'D' spots also receive information from business outside of Baltigo. Even from other districts we've setup probes in." Ulysses explained.

Nodding, "That'd explain why Cassius target was so loaded. The transmitter we found at that location was receiving information from her external contacts." Jackal thought to himself. "If that's the case, then Mother already knows about us being here, correct?" Jackal inquired. "The moment any problem arrives, we're suppose to transmit it to nearby warehouses. To request for backup and to ensure that security is on alert there as well." Ulysses stated.

Taking a minute to ponder the information presented, "Where's the control room?" Jackal inquired. "Follow this hallway to your right, turn left at the four-cross and they'll be a door locked with a padlock." Ulysses concluded. "Justice! If you can hear me, keep him strapped up and follow me." Jackal shouted. Following the man's instructions, he'd follow suit with the man, himself, and the signalling for the remainder of Mother's men to follow also. Upon arriving to the padlocked room, Jackal shattered the lock using his Electro, walking into the communication room. As soon as Jackal walked through the door, the man sitting at the control board typed feverishly to transmit a warning but in one leap, Jackal had already wrapped his black claw's around the stranger's neck.

"You've been all cooped up in here from the fun." Jackal stated, peering around the room at the giant Type B Den Den. Looking at the messaged typed on the monitor being displayed, it'd be a message to the other warehouses stating that the potential threat hadn't been neutralised and to send back up. Searching the panel, Jackal identified the button with the words 'delete' on it, and jammed his finger down on the board, erasing the message. "I want you type the following.. Word it in your jargon." Jackal stated grinning.

Message to Other Warehouses wrote:
Ears has been captured and seriously wounded. Ulysses is transporting him to facility 'A' for measure. No back-up needed here, we'll quell secure the remainder of his men until morning.

Pressing send, Jackal would electrocute the communicator and Ulysses, rendering him unconscious. "How's it Justice? Big enough to store what we'll need for the night?" Jackal inquired, resting his Sixth Sense momentarily.

Misc: