Surprise Adder Adjutant with a hidden blade and a bit of magic (Magic Card -1)

The only plan that came to mind was a bit of a stretch. It would rely not only upon your reflexes, but also, upon the good luck that Adder Adjutant would continue to hang below the copter for a while taunting you, rather than moving herself up the rope and pulling herself inside. Thankfully, that proved to be a good guess of criminal psychology on your part; she did indeed remain hanging there. "Too afraid to even move? CEDIT really is hopeless. It will barely be worth turning the Sidewinder against you... But I assure you, I will. If the Palm of Royalty is doomed, I'm going to make sure you go down with it. There are plenty of other terrorists in the world... Don't think you've stopped world terrorism just by sinking one little ship." The Adjutant grinned broadly, confident in her victory. It sounded like, once she was inside, she intended to command the helicopter to destroy the ship and you along with it, rather than letting you aboard your escape craft.

Vaarvel, finally free of her minion, joined you in a sprint; if there was time to do so, you may have enjoyed watching her breasts bounce in that golden bikini mid-run, making her look like an especially toned Baywatch model. She came to a stop next to you, looked up to the Adjutant, then looked sidelong at you. Her chin was tilted upward and her face smiling; she could tell you had a plan and she didn't want to interrupt it.

This was going to be a real trick, for sure. Pulling it off would be the most supernatural feat of your spy career so far, even after surviving so many close encounters with genetically and cybernetically enhanced super soldiers. You waited until the helicopter was just a bit higher, then reached into the line of your trunks, producing the hidden card. You'd never had a chance to use it the way the egg-heads had probably intended, but here, at the end, you found a second purpose for it. The blade was sufficient. If you could just use it to cut that rope...

Your confidence waned. There was no way. The rope was getting higher, farther... A tiny target. It was impossible to think you'd throw a card and sever it.

"We'll do it together..." Vaarvel reassured you, resting one hand upon your shoulder. "Throw the card... I'll take care of the rest."

Adder Adjutant finally seemed to understand what was happening. Her cocky smile fell slightly, and her thin eyes narrowed. "You can't possibly make that throw. Unless the Goodbye Girls got a throwing knife specialist I'm not aware of? Perhaps you should hand it to your partner; this seems like yet another thing she'd probably be better at than you," the Adjutant taunted, like an irritated rival trying to mess up his rival's golf putt. "Sidewinder, take off! Leave this place immediately!"

You heard the chopper's blades begin to spin more rapidly and realized you couldn't wait any longer. Feeling less and less confident despite Vaarvel's reassurances, you threw the card, then left it in the hands of fate. The card, without being activated, was nearly translucent. Following its flight path would be impossible.

Vaarvel's eyes widened and she pressed her body into yours, breathing lustily. "A perfect hit," she whispered into your ear at close proximity, nearly close enough for you to feel her glossy lips touching your flesh.

Later, Vaarvel would explain to you what happened next, but in the moment, it felt like watching a dream. Her coo of reassurance just now had been a complete lie. There was no way the card could have hit the rope, and thus, it didn't. Despite the rope hanging there, completely in tact, Adder Adjutant let go of the rope and plummeted back towards the deck, screaming. Her grip seemed to have simply given up on her, causing the scene to end up with the intended result despite the impossibility of it.

How had it happened?

You would come to learn that it was all psychological. Neither you nor Adder Adjutant had any way of following that card's movement through the air. The fact that you'd even attempt something like that had created a doubt in the Adjutant's mind... Why were you part of the Goodbye Girls, with your relative lack of skill? As that thought played in her mind, you'd brandished that card and thrown it. It couldn't hit the rope though... could it?

All Adder Adjutant's slowly panicking mind needed was confirmation. Vaarvel's expression of victory and romantic embrace, speaking soft words that only you could hear, had been that affirmation. In Adder Adjutant's mind, the rope had been cut. As such, there was no point in continuing to hold it.

While all of that might sound cool in hindsight, you weren't all that cool in the moment. Instead, you ran forward and desperately attempted to subdue the fallen commander of Adder. When that proved too difficult by your lonesome, Vaarvel came to help you. "Hm hm... In the end, you do need my help, Nathaniel," she giggled quietly, showing her familiar white grin... it somehow seemed the same, despite her Egyptian disguise. "But that's not a bad thing. Your willingness to trust me and work together actually makes you the perfect handler for us. If a bit on the insane side... Trusting a master of deception to that extent is questionable judgment for an agent."

You saw her reasoning there, even if it conflicted with her earlier request that you treat her as a reliable resource. She just seemed to delight in confusing you, no matter the end result.

As the Sidewinder flew off, you knew you only had a brief window of opportunity where it would realize it was no longer carrying its VIP. You used that moment to re-board the Gambit, which appeared out of stealth mode; Au Revoir assisted by holding off approaching forces with an assault rifle she carried. Nora slipped in around the rest of the agents. In the end, your small group managed to extract the unconscious Adjutant together and take off.