Covert Operations And Tactics C.O.A.T. (Blood)

Sometimes law enforcement needs to stay out of obvious breaches of justice. Whether that be because they are overtaxed as it is, or that the matter is too trivial, or perhaps someone in a high position feels it would reflect badly on them if they were found to be tied up in potentially criminal matters, no matter how harmlessly or peripherally.

For this reason, C.O.A.T. exists. Outcasts, criminals, freaks, monsters, if they can listen to reason they can potentially be part of C.O.A.T. They do as they are ordered and paid to do, on behalf of whoever has the money or influence to not only know about them but to hire them in the first place. Despite being part of their supposed position, rarely if ever does the Throne make personal use of C.O.A.T. and instead their services being requested by perhaps not morally upstanding citizens but certainly ones who can pay.

It is for this reason they currently sit in a foul smelling and rotting fishing boat on it's way to one of the most rundown piers in an already rundown part of Saddle Arabia. Their employer evidently feels that meeting at their own residence would be too incriminating.

Besides their own individual gear, all they have been sent with is a dossier of their members and their terms of employment.

Rain Splash briefly skims over the terms and other such nonsense, not because he isn't interested, but because he is naturally good at absorbing info, plus being so interested in a employer that practically says, "Whatever you want take." Bits are bits aren't they? He lazily looks over at some of his fellow Mercs, he mutters to himself, "Too many fallen on hard times..." The boat tremors softly as he grumbles, "Water from the sky is ok... Bodies of water aren't..." Keeping his voice to a low mumble he keeps his eyes on the parchment trying to avoid others, he wishes to keep contact to a minimum, less he knows, the less likely he will be to feel bad when they pass.

Raviere Blue Feather looks at the terms of service, his clear white officer's jacket stands in stark contrast to his royal blue feathers. He made sure to read everything twice to be sure, nothing was missed.

He looked a bit around at the ensemble and thought to himself. "Well I need the money for my village so I guess I'll just work for as long as is needed."

He then looked up at the dim light of the oil lamp lighting up the boat. "Well I didn't think I'd end up here when I graduated military academy..." He said to himself slightly too loud in his opinion, then looks at the coco brown pegasus that sits beside him. Smiling he says in a polite tone. "Hello there colleague, what might your name be?". Looks at the list of members. "Ohh Rain Splash eh? What is your story then?"

A teal blue unicorn stallion wearing a cloak that covered his mane and tail stood near the edge of the boat, looking out into the sea. Zero had been chosen by C.O.A.T. for his skill at being sneaky and his excellent skill in illusions. He was a part of a different mercenary group, but he was far to skilled for their "Agreement". He had killed them off and hid himself from the grief.

His ears flicked as he heard one of the other mercenaries muttering to themselves. He didn't turn his eyes away from the sea though. He had read through the terms a while back and wondered if he should really do this. He never liked to kill others, but he was forced to do it. He sighed, ears drooping against his head. Oh how faith has messed with thee big brother. He though looking back the way they came form.

All he could think about was his big brother and the mission he was on now. Oh how he wished he never came on this mission and oh how he never should have join C.O.A.T. If he hadn't left is brother on that day he might not be in this situation. He really hated faith. His expression changed to one of anger, turning back to look out at the sea.

A light grey mare leaned lazily on the edge of the bow, her white mane flowing lazily behind her and her gaze locked on the vast, sparkling emerald ocean ahead of her. She'd moved to that spot half an hour into this trip, mostly because it was away from the rest of the passengers and upwind of the stench of rotting fish. She'd deliberately kept her gaze on the ocean for Celestia knows how long, trying to ward off those who might want to talk to her. She was never really in a talkative mood, and the foul odor and destination only made it worse.

Still, it's not like staring at the ocean for hours on end had been the last resort. Willow had come to realize, around two hours in standing in that one spot, that she actually really enjoyed the ocean. It was the sort of thing that made a pony realize just how small she was compared to the entire world, and just how small her life was as well. It gave her some distance, which she was pretty grateful for, given what kind of ponies she lived around constantly.

It was one of those rare things that made her smile a genuine, good-hearted smile.

Sitting in the stern of the boat, the sheaf of papers that constituted the full contract in her hooves, a thestral sits using the dim light of the nearby cabin to carefully examine each and every word, and each and every line. Given the very used appearance of her clothing, one would never suspect that this mare was the regional manager for a successful courier and shipping service based out of Trottingham. But Eclipse Moon preferred that no one ever really know that she was the hoof behind the success of her branch because with recognition came notice and not always the good kind. Because the closer one looked at Eclipse Moon, the more likely one was to find Halfmoon. It hadn't been her idea, really, to call her beast 'Halfmoon'; it'd just sort of happened because half of her cutie mark appeared on its forehead. No one had yet made the connection, but she realized that it was inevitable and hence, things like C.O.A.T. and the combination of pay, anonymity, and a way to let Halfmoon relieve her violent impulses on ponies that had it coming. It was a bit disingenuous to refer to Halfmoon as if she was a different person altogether; the beast was strong and impulsive but the beast also had a mare of surprising intelligence pointing her at bad ponies to punish. The trick was, you had to embrace the beast to control the beast.. and Eclipse Moon had very good control of that beast.

So she sits there, reading the contract the way a skilled businesspony would, and says nothing to her comrades. Talk would certainly come later and after that, action, but none of it required her to say anything now.

"Hey, we're coming in!" One of the fisher ponies shouted to the COAT agents, hauling a huge net of partially gutted fish over his shoulder, attaching them to a large buffalo on deck by hooking it onto the large worksaddle he wore.

The buffalo had been casting suspicious looks to the ponies who had stayed on deck for the duration of their voyage. They didn't know who these ponies were and yet their captain was perfectly happy to ferry them illegally into a port which frankly should have been illegal itself.

The pony at the wheel periodically threw a glance to the griffon, the only one of these suspicious lot who had stayed within the cabin; he didn't like the look of those talons even on a surprisingly well dressed griffon and refused to fully turn his back on the griffon right up until the boat finally stopped entirely with a small thump as they docked.

"All right, everyone who's not a member of my crew I'd appreciate if you'd pay what I'm owed and get off." The captain of the boat declared, waiting for the payment each of the COAT agents had been provided to pay him off with. The envelope in their dossiers would give them directions to where they were to meet their client, a disused or at least rundown church yard it seemed.

Rain begrudgingly looks over at the bag of bits next to him he then looks up to the, oh... Griffon, joy. He groans softly, "Eh, not much to tell," he pauses looking back down at the paper, "Raviere, just somepony who wants money. And is willing to fight for the rights to it." With the absolute bare minimum said to the giffon he walks to the captain, the draw-string of the bag of coins around his wing he snaps it out and drops it at the captains hooves, "Invest in a better boat for when we come back."

With a sound of disbelief behind him he steps onto the ground, he is just gonna guess that flying right now is a bad idea so he suffices for stretching his wings of to the side of the port, waiting for his fellow mercs to pay and join him, "This is going to be... Interesting." He says to himself as he eyes the numerous interesting looking ponies, some he thinks he's seen before, others just seem to grab his attention for what they have on them.

With a groan he pushes himself back up tucking his wings in, "Time to meet the 'family'" he says walking towards them.

Zero looked at the captain as he announced they were arriving. Sighing, he used his magic to open one of the flaps of his saddle bags and took out a bag of bits. He walked over to the captain and the boat finished docking, giving the bag to the captain. He stepped off the boat. He saw that one of the other mercenaries had paid and was waiting on the dock.

Zero dropped the bag of bit into the captain's hooves and walked up behind the pegasus. He then look a look around and quickly and suddenly wrapped himself in a green magic aura. He disappeared in a puff of smoke the next second. With a sigh, Zero walked his invisible self a far distance away from the other mercenaries. He never liked being around a crowd of ponies, it risked him getting caught. Even now he was trying to be cautious.

Lightning reread the the sheet of paper one more time until he put it back into his dossier. It seemed like regular job with the exception of the smell of sticking fish. The small rock of the ship caused the stallion to feel nauseous, but had managed to keep himself from losing his lunch to the sea. He was a flyer not a sailor. He would had preferred it much better if they went by plane or something in the air. The plane could be falling apart and it would be better than this.

His grey and white mane had been dyed to black to make sure that his mane wouldn't draw attention to his heists, which had been rather modest to this point. He had been a regular thief that C.O.A.T apparently saw use for and used his talents for their benefits. Now, he carried duffle bag to put his things. It mainly consisted hand guns, knives, and his mask to hide his identity from anyone that wasn't associated with C.O.A.T while he was on assignments though he was obviously wasn't going to wear it now. The bag also had his jacket so that while he was about he could carry ammo, knives, and guns without having to hold it in his arms.
 
The stallion internally thanked Faust for them to finally reached their destination. He gave the Captain the payment before he headed off the boat with his bag in toe. The grey stallion still having a small green tint to his coat because of the trip. Lightning had took the time to memorize the directions while he was on the ship since it was one of the few things that kept his mind off his sea-sickness.

Eclipse got up and brushed herself off primly before walking over to the captain. "Thank you, captain," she says with a fairly strong but easily understood upper-crust Trottingham accent. "I appreciate your competence and efficiency in this matter." Stowing the papers in a saddlebag, she unfolds the map indicating where they'd meet their contact, quickly orientated herself and the map, and started off towards the church, not bothering to notice where her companions were or where they were going. Despite this apparent ignorance and lack of attention, she keeps her head on a swivel, glancing above the map and to either side fairly frequently to catch anyone attempting to approach her in her peripheral vision.

A hooded stallion with a large dark-green cloak, that was covering most of his body, was sitting on the stool at the end of the pier. A bottle of rum in one hoof, cigarette in the other, he slowly turned towards the fishing boat, giving the C.O.A.T. agents a short look before looking towards the ground in front of him again. "You guys are late..." he silently murmured to himself. He throws away the cigarette, finishes the rum and throws the bottle away aswell before he stands up, awaiting the C.O.A.T. leader to approach so he can properly greet him.

Raviere gave a respectful nod to Rain Splash, knowing that not everyone or anyone for that matter would be the talkative one during this sort of thing. He almost expected a racial slur instead of a coherent answer, which he was happy to get.

He nodded towards the Captain, who had just basically said 'pay me and bugger off' to them, but Raviere stayed calm. He stood up, towering over the others in the ensemble and walked over to the captain, looking him straight in the eyes. "I know that this must have been an extreme bother for you, so accept this little bonus that you get from effort and the luckily uneventful trip. Have a nice day." He said and gave the Captain the agreed pay, plus a little extra. He at least hoped the Captain would stop giving him looks then if they were ever to cross again.

He jumped off the boat and unto the solid ground, ruffling his large sapphire wings and chirping softly. "Well it wasn't that bad actually..." He mused aloud and began without paying attention to anyone else, marching in a professional fashion towards the designated location, wanting to appear first to show his commitment in the mission. His large sword staff strapped to his back, rattling soundly as he marched on.

Chrono was staying silent throughout the trip. He looked very grim, with his face in a constant frown throughout the whole entire trip. He also stayed mostly silent, barely speaking a word. When they ahd finally arrived, he stood up and trotted along to get off the boat.

COAT had wanted Chrono for his intuition and cunningness, and his ability to run away when the situation called for it. He did not want to be here, he wanted to be in his home in Ponyville snuggled at a fire, maybe drinking some champagne from Manehattan. Not in this grungy hellhole.

Chrono got off the boat, moving his purple wings into a comfortable position before he looked at the Captain. He bit his tongue to not speak against the word, as he knew he would probably get in more trouble. He trotted onwards towards the majority.

The port was a mess, the air stank of raw fish and other smells that they more likely than not did not really want to know the origin of. The ponies around the pier similarly looked rundown and disheveled with ragged clothes and coats and manes matted with dirt.

This made their contacts stick out more. They stood toward the end of the pier and the guards seemed similarly dressed to the locals though in a much more clean and cared for look while the mare at the front was much more conspicuous in a business and expensive looking gold rimmed glasses. She had a look of disdain on her face as she approached the COAT members, like she was having to talk to rats.

The mare stepping forward turned her eyes to Eclipse as she made to move past and gestured to her guards, who moved to block Eclipse's path, refusing to let her past. The mare continued talking to the rest of the assembled group as if nothing had happened.

"I assume you are here for your job?" She asked. Evidently she was perfectly aware who they were, as she picked up the dossier with their specifications, and their asking price. "I apologise for the move in location but it was deemed prudent, your employer hopes that you understand."

Why he thought a public and smelly pier was better than an old church she didn't say.

She took some time to read it over, never moving her head and instead letting her eyes scan back and forth over the paper in an eerily quiet manner; she didn't even seem to breathe before she looked back to them and gestured to one of the guards, who dropped a briefcase before them.

"500,000 bits up front. The other million shall be paid upon successful completion of your assignment as per arrangements." She passed back the dossier, along with a map of coordinates to where the Nobles' Son had last been seen before silently walking away.

COAT employers clearly weren't a pleasant bunch, that was for certain.

Eclipse stops when the guards step in front of her and block her path and for a moment, the guards would be able to see her features seem to flicker, for lack of a better word. Her muzzle is longer... and then not. Hooves become clawed paws... and then not. The wary watchfulness of the mare from the wrong side of the tracks is momentarily the calculating and hungry focus of a predator. But all of the flickers settle, and Eclipse turns to the contact with an air of calm. She listens quietly to what the contact has to say and the moment the briefcase is put down, she deftly opens the briefcase and examines the contents. "It's never wise to surprise a wild animal," she says as she looks the contents over, the comment seeming to be directed at no one in particular. "They tend to react... instinctively."

Upon verifying that the amount is proper, she glances at the map and then at her companions. "It seems like we've a plan to formulate, doesn't it?"

Zero remained invisible, observing the other mercenaries. He was particularly interested in the griffin though. What was his name? Raviere Blue Feather, from the Blue Feather clan. He mentally reminded himself. He thought the griffin was a bit too nice, but then again in his eyes mercenaries are just jerks. "Jerks indeed." He muttered following the group. Of course he was still invisible so anyone who heard him would probably think they were going crazy.

Zero listened close when the contact was talking, and watched even closer when he saw that mare's, he couldn't remember the name off the top of his head, feature flicker. Interesting...Might want to get to know these ponies and griffin a little bit more. He smiled slightly and he made himself reappear, seemingly out from nowhere. "Aye. It does seem we have some planning to do. Shall we get started?" He smiled at the other mercenaries from behind his cloak.

Griff finally decided to take off his hood, revealing the large scar on his eye and a messed up mane. He gave the bottle that he threw away one last look before standing up and walking over to Eclipse. He carefully watched and listened to the contact and the surroundings, always prepared in case of sudden assault.

After mentioning the planning, he silently nodded and was prepared to carefully listen.

Lightning heard the invisible pony and knew his mind playing tricks on him. Nopony in COAT would disappear like that after going out this far. It would be assumed that he was nearby and making sure he wasn't caught by anyone though Lightning found the smoke would counter the stealth of the spell though that was probably because he could see Zero do it.

It didn't come much of a surprise of the reappearance of the stallion once the bits were shown. As for the change in the mare's appearance Lightning couldn't really tell if it was only his imagination or not. It could have been a simple illusion or actually be real. That was yet to be seen since he'd rather not boop the mare how said she was an animal in a way.

"How about we take this somewhere more...less open." He whispered as he eyed the ponies around him. "Planning is good and all, but I'd rather not do it where someone can ease drop." He readjusted his bag as he felt it slip a bit. For the amount the gloomy employer was talking about his bag would be heavy once he got back from this mission though the thought of him not also crossed his mind as well which was something he'd rather not focus on. Not now at least.

Rain Splash suddenly jumped, startled by the sudden presence of the pony, "By the Light you scared seven shades of-" He was cut off by a briefcase of money being hoofed to him, in shock he looked at it, "T-that's a lot of beer..." He pulled it closer, keeping his stature intact, 'With this I could... OWN a bar!' He thought giddily, then almost fainted at the words of one million after the job was done, a determined fire burned in his eyes as he concentrated on the pony, listening intently.

He rolled his shoulders as his armored shoulder pads of padded leather tried moving out of place, he bit the strap and pulled it letting it tighten around his form, his wings fluttered softly as he looked down at the dagger of crystal strapped to his barrel, as well as the flask on the opposite side behind his wing, sad thoughts crossed his mind as he remembers his friend, 'Maybe even a small memorial for him... For his sake...' He thought sadly. His attention snapped back when the COAT pony finished, he silently cursed, knowing he missed most of the briefing, 'I'll scream if I have to listen to this all again...' He looks to the other ponies, 'Hope I can ask somepony for advice... What about that griffon?'

"It would seem that our essential question is whether subtlety or a more overt approach is needed," Eclipse said. "I'm more inclined towards subtle for the simple fact that it represents lower risk than overt action. Granted, I am more durable than most but I see no reason to take a risk when it's not needed. Now then, I'm thinking that the best way to locate this noble's son is to approach his last known location by slightly varying routes so that we can all collect any observations or insights that might be obtained via going to the location and fanning out, but with greater alacrity."

Lightning's suggestion of not discussing so openly seemed a wise one; across the pier some attentions had turned to the group for idle glances, or lingering stares at such an odd group clearly not from local parts, but nopony kept their gaze lingering too long.

They didn't need to. These ponies were clever but clearly inexperienced; the old mare at a bar, a young stallion pulling in a net, they had all set themselves up to be perfectly inconspicuous, taking a quick, curious look at the group. Just long enough to check their weaponry.

It seemed that in Saddle Arabia the walls had eyes and ears, and one had to wonder how loose lipped some of these ponies would be. Lingering was not an option, the longer they took the more likely their targets would gain information ahead of time.

Lightning noticed the glances the people gave towards them which only further proved his point. The last thing he wanted was to be a target after being there for only a few minutes. Personally, he preferred covert since it meant less bullets would be aimed at him. "Hey, let's go." He said as he yawned to seem as if he was tired. He hoped this time the others would take his advice and go somewhere secure which was right now a hotel or abandoned building.

Hopefully, afterwards they could go in from there without too much trouble from the locals. Whoever kidnapped the kid most likely had eyes everywhere in the city and it wasn't like they were blending in well either. He should have taken that in consideration before he came. That could be changed by simply adding some dirt and ragged clothing which would be a major if. If they got too noticeable he guessed that they could hide under Zero's invisibility to hide themselves which again was an if.

They should have some cover for their reason being there since again they stood out. Maybe a few fishermen who were trying to start a company here. Something that Lightning would think to be a bad business venture, but better than what they were doing now.

Zero looked around, noticing the glances they were getting. He also noticed that Lightning had yawned. His brain took a moment to realize what Lightning was doing. He mentally facehoofed. He used his magic to pulled the hood of his cloak back, revealing an orange mane. "Yeah, let's go. We don't want to linger anymore than we need to. And as...um...what's his name said, we should find someplace less open. Also, sorry I can't remember your name of the top of my head." He apologized to Lightning.

He turned to Eclipse. "Observations? I can gather us some observations if need be. I might be the most stealthiest out of all of us. Unless there is someone else who is more stealthier than an invisibility spell..." He looked towards the other ponies, and griffin, wondering if they were more stealthier then him.

Griff still sat there, hood covering his head. "Yeah, we probably should go..." he says. "Besides..." he now started whispering, making sure only the group could hear him "...I could always use my eagle form to spy from above. No one would suspect an eagle, right..?" he says, looking around him, making sure nobody is going to assault them from any direction.