Blanking the Slate

Nick22 · **Reply #720 on:** October 27, 2018, 11:07:13 PM

Bianca pocketed the credit chip and turned to head out ' i shouldnt be long . 15 minutes tops." she finished and headed out of the door, just as the security cameras went dark.
_ marita was typing away on her computer, and beginning the overload prgran. ' 30 seconds to imput ' Marita said. the lights will be out in a few seconds"

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #721 on:** October 28, 2018, 03:21:42 AM

Bianca's roomba whirred as it escorted Bianca down the front porch.

Inside, the lights died on cue. Kintoki cursed and set his arm cannon to charge up. "Flora!" he shouted. "Come to me, quickly!"

"Give me a gun!" Flora pleaded, as she saw Kintoki sprint into her room. "Something to defend myself!"

He shook his head. "Can't, Bianca has it." Fiddling with the Roomba, he sent it rolling out if the room. "Let's hope they don't get this far," he muttered. "This house has more than a few tricks up its sleeve..."

"Who? Are you sure this isn't just a regular powerout?" Flora asked anxiously, brandishing her bedside lamp.

Outside, Emilena darted across the neighbor's side of the hedge and started vaulting over to enter the backyard. She didnt get far when she heard something robotic priming itself, and several rounds of machine gun ammo sent her scrambling back where she was. The automatic fire ended the second she'd left the safe house premises. What the hell was that? She peeked over the hedge. Whatever spotted her, it was either too dark or too small to see.

Pterano · **Reply #722 on:** October 28, 2018, 01:15:55 PM

Tony moved to cover Emilena on the right, closer towards the front of the house, but he stayed more towards the middle, then drifted left towards the back as he watched Emilena head over the hedge of the neighbor's yard. As he moved to the right angle of the back corner of the house in order to cover her in the background, he heard the same powering up whine.

As he scanned the predawn darkness, the barest hints of light splitting the sky, he narrowed his eyes when gunfire erupted, driving Emilena back over the hedge, and it soon ceased shortly after. As Tony looked to the ground, having noticed the trajectory of the bullets as they buzzed the hedge, he saw a... was that a Roomba? A small vacuum puck on the ground? There looked to be an opening for a gun barrel, and he raised his brows, then took quick aim and fired off two rounds at it from his Glock, the bullets glancing off the armored surface with whirs.

Quickly ducking back behind the hedge, he panted. "Robotic drone guard! Looks like a Roomba!" He whispered to the vulpine. "Armored shell, but the laser may be able to take it out!" he told her.

Serris · **Reply #723 on:** October 30, 2018, 07:34:00 PM

Soren and Anne had taken out the battery backup by the time Awe planted the charges. It was a simple task with Anne and Soren ripping out the wires that connected the rest of the house to the battery shed and its . He hadn't taken the weapon Emilena offered him as he couldn't separate the pruners to turn them into a crude dagger. Instead, he opted for a large rock that he picked up next to the battery housing.

The lights suddenly going out inside the house indicated that Marita's virus had done its work and knocked out the power.

In addition to the robotic guards, two guards, a Human and a Komondor exited and swept over the backyard. The large canine sniffed the air and scowled. "Intruders," he said. His voice had a thick, Hungarian accent, hinting at his homeland.

The Human flipped down his eyepiece and scanned the spacious backyard. There, he saw two hot spots that stood out against the cooler grass. "There!" he said, pointing at a clump of bushes near the backup batteries. He raised his pistol and fired before the Komondor shoved his hand down. "No! Shoot backup power and big fire happens! We get in close!"

The two then ran towards the battery shed.

------------

Soren bit his lip and softly cursed as one of the bullets scraped his arm. "Go!" he growled at Anne.

Anne nodded and they both padded behind the power shed. "Now what?"

Soren held up his rock. "Let's give them something to really worry about!" He gently opened the door and saw the batteries connected to the power grid. The control panel inside was indicating that the wires were broken. He then smashed open one of the batteries, its plastic casing yielding to the rock. Soon, the air was filled with a distinct sweet metallic odor as the clear electrolyte leaked out from the crack. He saw it begin to smolder as it started reacting with the air.

"Hurry!" Anne replied as she heard the footsteps of the approaching guards.

Soren said nothing as he ran after Anne. Hopefully, the fire that was going to erupt would get the guards' attention.

Nick22 · **Reply #724 on:** October 30, 2018, 07:49:12 PM

Bianca walked down the street with the roomba in front of her , she had missed the commotion by literally seconds and had no idea of the goings on behind her. The roomba had acciompanied he before on previous food runs, as a security measure, in this sort of neighborhood, no one was stupid enough to walk out of their house without some security and the sight of roombas leading or trailing people was common. " Bianca was looking at a list of food places within walking distance that were open this earky and had good food.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #725 on:** November 01, 2018, 01:36:28 AM

Emilena gritted her teeth. With Tony's help, she targeted the ground and fired her laser rifle. It missed completely, but the light helped her draw a bead on her target and the next shot blasted the Roomba into a charred husk. Vaulting over the hedge a second time, she smashed her rifle butt against a window and cursed when it proved to be shatterproof. "Bastards. Can you get me some light?" she muttered, fishing a bobby pin out of her pocket and trying to pick the lock. She heard Soren having adventures in the front yard, but she trusted him to keep himself alive.

Nobody had heard from Awe in a while, she wondered if he'd infiltrated the building. But with stealth thoroughly compromised, there was little reason not to try and break in as soon as possible.

----------------------------

Kintoki clicked a flashlight attachment on the upper receiver of his rifle. "Bastards think I can't take them?" he muttered aloud, trying to psyche himself up and sound macho in front of Flora. "Those Purifier thugs are gonna have another thing coming!"

"Oh please," Flora rolled her eyes dismissively. "I've seen these particular Purifiers murder an entire convenience store full of cops. In seconds from now, they'll be on you like flies on honey."

"Shut up!" Kintoki snapped, hitting his radio. "Kranz, Áder! Status report!" he barked. "Do you see anything?" He swung the flashlight beam wildly around the hallway leading out of Flora's room.

"You don't want your last words to be that dumb question, right? Say something poignant, before its too late." Flora smiled, knowing she was agitating him and hoping it helped Emilena's team gain the upper hand.

----------------------------

Bianca's Roomba detected bodies in the Model J and chirped angrily. It readied its machine gun but waited to see evidence of hostile actions. Decades of AI research had managed to create surprisingly versatile defense drones that could detect most ranged weapons and knew to air on the side of caution. However, if Bianca shouted the code word ('Rochambeau') it would treat any nearby humans as hostile threats.

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #726 on:** November 01, 2018, 01:56:02 AM

Awe by this point had infiltrated the building and was clearing it room by room. He hadn't run into any significant resistance so far but he had a feeling that he would soon. He soon came across a guard and crept up behind hind before covering his mouth and jamming his silenced pistol to the guard's head. "You're holding a woman here you're going to take me to her or I'll be the last thing you ever hear."

The guard however decided to play dumb. "What woman?"

"Wrong answer." Awe replied shooting the guard in the foot who let out a muffled scream but due to the tightness of awes hand was barely audible. "Care to try again?"

"She's on the second floor." The guard moaned.

"There, was that so hard?" Awe replied before pistol whipping the guard who fell over unconscious. "She's on the second floor guys." Awe signaled the rest of the group.

Nick22 · **Reply #727 on:** November 01, 2018, 02:07:42 AM

Good work " Marita said ' By my estimation, we've got about 10 minutes before the power comes back on, and whoever owns the place will have security called in, of the 'break your legs and/or neck type. So get up to the second floor, grab Flora and lets get the hell outta here' Marita said .

_ Come on Roomba!' Bianca said " motioning the device to move in front of her " I dont want to have to wait in line at the Breakfast Hole like last time. Last time it took me 20 minutes and the guards reamed me out because the food was cold. I dont want that to happen again, not least because I'll lose my tips." she sighed. " sometimes being a meal gopher sucks " she grumbled as she continued walking down the street, she had reached a crosswalk which led north, the Breakfast Hole was 3 blocks north of her current location, normally this was a quick back and forth kind of job.

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #728 on:** November 01, 2018, 02:22:16 AM

"Copy that." Awe replied before aiming at a guard who was rushing at him firing two shots into him.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #729 on:** November 01, 2018, 08:44:46 AM

Bianca’s roomba chirped and gave up on the Model J, following her past it and down the sidewalk.

Emilena similarly gave up on trying to pick the lock and instead melted the hinges off with the laser rifle. “Keep an eye out for movement,” she warned as she and Tony entered the house, “but make sure it’s not Awe before you—“

She broke off as they came across the body of the guard Awe had knocked out. “Oh sweet, dibs on his gun.” Returning Tony’s laser rifle, she frisked the body and nodded approvingly at his silenced Glock. “Holy crap, this pistol has select fire,” she remarked, turning the selector. “Next bitch I see gets to help me test the full-auto.”

————————

“Not another word, Flora, you hear me?” Kintoki warned, pointing his rifle at her to prove he was serious. “Boss says he needs you alive, but but he didn’t specify anything about your kneecaps.”

He then regarded the door, relishing the stunned silence his threat had earned from his ward. “Whoever’s out there!” he called out, anticipating his foes were approaching. “Maybe we can talk this out? I think we might be able to help each other, settle this like gentlemen...”

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #730 on:** November 01, 2018, 11:05:45 PM

Awe was creeping up on the room from the ceiling. Where he saw guard he knocked them out taking the rifle off of one. He approached a room with a single guard out side. Awe dropped down silently grabbing the guard and covering his mouth. "Nod your head is the woman you're holding in this room?" Awe asked. The guard nervously acknowledged awe's question. Awe put the guard in a sleeper hold and silently set him on the ground before getting a flashbang out. Awe checked to see if the door was unlocked from the side so he wouldn't be in the firing line.

Nick22 · **Reply #731 on:** November 02, 2018, 12:00:40 AM

" marita heard Kintokis voices through her control of the Security systems ' Awe ' Hes willing to negotiate. Remember, we dont want bloodshed if we can avoid it . Tell him, we only want Flora. If he gives her up, We let him go, no harm, no foul. Parley, if you have to. " Marita spoke into her communicator.

Pterano · **Reply #732 on:** November 02, 2018, 12:08:04 AM

As Emilena fragged the Roomba, Tony moved to follow her in, and as they encountered the unconscious guard, Tony was handed the laser rifle back, and gladly took it, putting his Glock away, as he figured it was too small caliber for this operation. Good back up but right now... he needed firepower.

As he covered their backs, moving up to the second floor, he fired off a burst of red light that cut a surprised guard in half who moved around the corner to pop him, having utterly failed to do so as he was now in two pieces, a look of utter anguish and shock on his features as he collapsed cleanly in two. That squishy sound they made when they hit the floor... still drove Tony's stomach in knots.

Backing up the stairs, they arrived outside the door where Flora was being held, Awe joining them out front. Sighing as he heard Kintoki yell from inside, Tony took a knee, aimed the rifle high, and shook his head. Giving one glance to Emilena, he whispered to the vulpine "Fuck talking it out; I could fire one blast through there and likely take his head off." Though the ferret wasn't exactly sure where Flora was, and didn't want to accidentally hit her.

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #733 on:** November 02, 2018, 12:21:41 AM

Awe put the safety on the flashbang. "What are your terms?" he called back to Kintoki.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #734 on:** November 02, 2018, 09:30:19 AM

Emilena was covering their rear; she saw movement coming up the stairs and attempted to scare it with a short burst of suppressing fire, but she wasn't expecting her pistol's insane cyclic rate; it burnt through her entire magazine within a split second. Cussing quietly, she switched it back to single-fire for next time. But this meant she couldn't participate in any firefights Tony and Awe started against Kintoki.

"I can guess why you're here," Kintoki called through the door. While talking, he tapped his helmet and it began scanning their heat signatures. His sensors take a while to penetrate these thick safehouse walls, but in sixty seconds he'd know exactly where his conversation partners were standing, which would give him the advantage if they pushed through the door. "You see this girl as a loose end, and are here to silence her. Well, she's under my protection and I can't let you hurt her. Also, we've had her for months, she's already told us everything of value. You should just walk away, you have nothing to gain from taking this innocent young woman's life!"

Pterano · **Reply #735 on:** November 02, 2018, 10:34:03 AM

As Kintoki spoke, Tony began lining up a shot against where the voice was coming from, trying to triangulate it and keep him talking, but not for too long. The laser beam could easily cut through the door and decapitate him, but he'd need to get the height correct. He'd keep this incredibly brief, so that they wouldn't be wasting time so that the other could get the bearings of their opponent.

"We're not here to kill her! We're here to retrieve her!" Tony called back, keeping his rifle leveled. "Enough of your men have died today! Let's prevent any more senseless bloodshed! She was a part of our group you might say awhile back, and we're here to simply take her back with us. What'll it be?" he asked, keeping his intentions vague; if he gave the speaker a timeframe, that'd just tip him off to when they prepared to storm the room, so Tony held up two claws and then formed a zero with his paw, mouthing the words "seconds" to Awe, to indicate they'd go in in 20 seconds if this guy didn't answer.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #736 on:** November 02, 2018, 08:42:36 PM

The guard attempted to scale the staircase again, so Emilena took advantage of the lights being off and vaulted downward, hitting him in the face with both boots. She didn't see that there were two of them until they were all tumbling down the staircase in a dogpile.

She was seeing stars by the third time her head smashed into a stair, but her element of surprise still helped her recover faster than her targets when they all finally hit the floor. Pinning the one directly underneath her, she dug her teeth into his crotch and ripped out a chunk of flesh, then pounced the other one. He swung a knife and left a large gash in her cheek, and she retaliated by raking her claws through his neck. As he clutched his throat, she wrestled the knife away from him and finished him off, then stabbed his equally-incapacitated partner to death.

Panting in terror, she tried to extricate her from the bodies and slipped on the blood. Hitting her head on the ground a fourth time, she blinked dizzily and gave up on standing right away. She just needed a second to...get her bearings...

------------------------

"Is there any way you could prove to me that you have her best interests at heart?" Kintoki asked, stalling for time. "I care deeply about her safety, and--"

He broke off suddenly as Flora swung her bedside lamp in a wide arc and smashed him directly in the face, breaking his nose and sending his helmet flying off with a loud THUD. "How's that for innocent, you prick?" she snarled as he hit the ground in a daze. "Gonna shoot me in the kneecaps now!?"

Rapidly changing plans, Kintoki decided his best chance of surviving was to pretend he'd been knocked unconscious.

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #737 on:** November 02, 2018, 10:02:39 PM

Awe heard the ruckus going on and broke the door down. He saw presumably the man who they'd been negotiating with and a single woman inside. "You Flora?" He asked as he went to check Kintoki out lowering his pistol.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #738 on:** November 03, 2018, 12:01:47 AM

"Who the hell are you?" Flora asked bluntly, cocking her head to the side. She kept the bloodstained lamp brandished and glanced behind Awe, hoping to see a familiar face before she assumed this newcomer was on her side.

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #739 on:** November 03, 2018, 12:09:01 AM

"Name's Awe. Your friends hired my to help them with their problem and I agreed to accompany them to rescue you." Awe kicked Kintoki to make sure he was unconscious.