Who are the four?

[morriswalters]

In SG Kringle tells Harry that there are four mercs who can fill the role that Goodman Grey does.  Two are under contract, one is detained and the other is Grey.  Are there four scions of skinwalkers?

[KurtinStGeorge]

Maybe the one who is detained is now stuck in a cell underneath Demonreach island.  That would leave the other two.  Could one of those be Kincade, because I doubt they have to be scions of skinwalkers?

[g33k]

... because I doubt they have to be scions of skinwalkers?

Well, remember that Nic picked GG specifically to get through the eyeball-and-PINcode security.

So it needs one of:

• shapechange so profound as to duplicate retinal patterns and memory
  
• complete mental domination / loyalty-rewrite
• illusory reality, so the victim does the job thinking they are doing something ordinary
• hardware/software hacker who can tell the door to open and the alarm not to go off
• ... I dunno, other options I've overlooked?

So a merc that can do any of those would, seemingly, suffice.

I presume Vadderung knows all the abilities of all the mercs.  Looks like there aren't many.  We don't know the methods of any of the others, but I presume any Naagloshi (or N-scion) would suffice for the shapeshift.  Daisy (or Fitz) from S.H.I.E.L.D. could could probably do the hacking job.

I don't believe Kinkaid has the skillset to get through the door without setting off an alarm (just as GG probably cannot snipe the way Kinkaid can).

I presume we don't know the other 3 mercs because we haven't met them yet; maybe Jim hasn't even invented them?  Maybe it was just a throwaway line to demonstrate the elevated ranks of operations involved (only 4 in the entire world? There are more Senior-Council level wizards than mercs who can do this job??!?), and the "Can plan for anything" aspect of Vadderung?
 

[KurtinStGeorge]

Just as Harry once said there are other types of succubi besides the White Court there are probably other types of shapeshifters besides naagloshii and their scions.  Whether we will ever see another type of shapeshifter; beyond something like an angel, is another question.

[morriswalters]

The specificity caught my attention as did the fact that two were under contract, since it implies that somewhere out there there are two people operating who can impersonate anyone down to the cellular level and might be doing so. Oh, and Kringle knows them and what they are doing, not to mention that he knew what Nicodemus needed.

[g33k]

... somewhere out there there are two people operating who can impersonate anyone down to the cellular level ...

Except there are other ways to bypass the security.  We don't know that all the others would get through it the same way.

[morriswalters]

Except there are other ways to bypass the security.  We don't know that all the others would get through it the same way.

Maybe, but what's the fun in that?  It got me thinking about my favorite shadow, Sandra Marling.  And it got me thinking about Mab's prison.  It's fun to think about Mab laying hands on her and giving her a little frosty  vacation on the crazy tree to think on her sins. That thought is for fun not profit, since I doubt that it's true.

[g33k]

Maybe, but what's the fun in that?  ...

I think there's a bit of fun in thinking of all the other ways the eyescan + PIN could be bypassed.

Supernatural ways, super-spy ways, whatever.

That whole mental-domination thing, changing someone's loyalties quickly enough that you can bypass security before the (undoubted) check-up catches your turned agent.  Looks like something even faster/stronger than a Whamp-whammy to me.

Or the total-illusion reality replacement, which would surpass even a Denarian Shadow's abilities.

What kind of beings could do that?

Etc...

[Avernite]

Important to note, also, as that these mercenaries all operate on such a level that A) Nic could hire them and B) Nic couldn't hire them away from their current jobs.

That, alone, is pretty badass.

[Snark Knight]

That whole mental-domination thing, changing someone's loyalties quickly enough that you can bypass security before the (undoubted) check-up catches your turned agent.  Looks like something even faster/stronger than a Whamp-whammy to me.

Well, any black court vamp that can make a Renfield should suffice, provided the victim doesn't outright lose memory of their PIN in the psychic sandblaster treatment.

[g33k]

Well, any black court vamp that can make a Renfield should suffice, provided the victim doesn't outright lose memory of their PIN in the psychic sandblaster treatment.

I don't know that we know if things like PINs would survive (or not) in such a broken mind.  Don't think we've seen canon, or heard WOJ, either way.

I'm disinclined to expect Jim would have that sort of rough work get through advanced security... (Or maybe not, as I think of Harry & Hexus).

The "fine thrall" thing, and other nuanced enthrallments, take time (that I know of) to get someone to utterly betray a loyalty.

[morriswalters]

It can't be a human practitioner.  Magic would set off the traps.  It can't be the Fae since they use glamour and couldn't get past the scan.  Black vamps are undead and have no blood flow.  A White Court vampire could get the pin and turn the accountant.  But planning for that in advance would risk exposing the plan by Lara learning of it, prior to it happening.

Just for fun.  If Sandra Marling was herself a scion of a Skinwalker that would solve a problem, and the statement that one of the Mercs is detained, might indicate that someone has locked her away, maybe Mab, after the events of Proven Guilty.

[Bad Alias]

It's not going to be "a" fae, vampire, or other large class of being we've seen because, well, there are more than four of them. It could be a specific fae, vampire, etc. that is really good at whatever the method of bypassing the security, but it won't be some random one.

[g33k]

It can't be a human practitioner.  Magic would set off the traps.  It can't be the Fae since they use glamour and couldn't get past the scan.  Black vamps are undead and have no blood flow.  A White Court vampire could get the pin and turn the accountant.  But planning for that in advance would risk exposing the plan by Lara learning of it, prior to it happening. 

Also, the time a Whamp needs to really enthrall somebody isn't trivial.  Seduce them into sex, only a few moments.  But getting them to walk into the bank and betray someone likely to kill them could take longer.  Not only Lara might notice -- I'm sure there's magical checkups on the accountant, too (just because such enthrallments are known!), so you have to grab/enthrall/break-into-vault all in quick succession.

A Blampire could do it by making a Fine Thrall rather than a Renfield -- but again:  Fine Thralls take time, and I'd expect if he went missing for that long they'd disable his access.

Even a mortal practitioner could do it, via enthralling magic.  They don't need to bring their own magic into the vault if they have enthralled the victim.  Again, though, it takes time...

Justin had an entire school-day to work on Elaine (and maybe some time afterwards to reinforce it, while Harry was fleeing (but maybe that time was spent summoning HWWB?)), but when Harry came back to fight Justin, the enthrallment began unraveling directly; she was gone before the fight ended.  Justin clearly expected to eventually have two trustworthy thralls, and not to spend hours per day, every day, reinforcing the magic on a daily basis for the rest of his life.  Again:  these things take time.

I still believe that enthrallment is one potential route for a merc to fulfill this objective.  We just haven't seen anyone who can so swiftly and completely enthrall (just like we hadn't seen skinchanger skills like GG before).

But a Blamp or a mortal practitioner who had "next-level skills" with enthrallment could, potentially, fulfill Nic's needs here.

 

[Bad Alias]

A Blampire could do it by making a Fine Thrall rather than a Renfield -- but again:  Fine Thralls take time, and I'd expect if he went missing for that long they'd disable his access.

[Speaking of fine thralls] Enthralling someone also requires a lot of time and empathy, neither of which has been readily available to Mavra.

Chapter 27 of Blood Rites

I'm don't think a Blampire can make a fine thrall.