Into the Black

Serris · **Reply #1040 on:** February 06, 2014, 06:30:43 PM

Suddenly, Anne shot up right in the chair she was reclining in. Inside her head was a faint and staticky voice along with a distinct staticky chime. The words were garbled and indistinct but she knew that sound ó someone in their group had been bugged.

She gulped. "Soren," she said. "Someone's been bugged."

Soren scowled. "Don Stracci."

Anne shook her head. "There's lots of listening devices around here and I can hear their radio transmissions. This is a different frequency and it sounds like the one from the bugs that Kojuuro showed us."

Soren's eye twitched. "When I get my exoskeleton, remind me to shove his head through a concrete wall."

"Easy. Let's have the Straccis' deal with this." Anne got up and made her way to Don Stracci's office. She knocked on the door amd waited for a response.

Pterano · **Reply #1041 on:** February 06, 2014, 06:54:22 PM

"Can I help you?" asked a soldier who was casually standing around in the hallway. He was behind Anne, leaning against the wall. "The don's out at the moment... something you need?" he approached her now.

Serris · **Reply #1042 on:** February 06, 2014, 07:25:30 PM

Anne spooked in place but she regained her composure. "Someone has bugged our group and I have a feeling I know who it is.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1043 on:** February 06, 2014, 08:21:35 PM

THIS was the Don Stracci she'd heard so much about. Emilena folded her arms. "You clearly don't know just how many times I've already been shot in the last 48 hours," she challenged. "Torture doesn't have a great success rate on me."

She glanced at Axel. "But if even Axel's putting his faith in you, fine. It's a completely moronic decision, and I'm not sure why I'm the only one in the room who doesn't want to trust a mafia don, but if you bring me a map of the forest I'll show you where the spot is. Then you can go excavate it, run sensors through it, and try to control its power for yourself after you've shot all of us through the head for knowing too much."

Pterano · **Reply #1044 on:** February 07, 2014, 12:20:30 AM

The don smirked at this, happy she'd seen things his way. Stryker wouldn't have killed her with the first shot... nor the second, or the third, or the fourth. It would've taken her awhile to die, if she died at all... of course... he could take her even further downstairs to the "special" room, and introduce her to all of Stryker's "toys."

"Well... that's not going to happen. I gave my word I would help these nice folks for helping my son... and I intend to stick to that." he stated now. "I won't be putting a bullet in any of their heads, nor will any of my associates. I mean come on... I would've done so already. Anyway... Mr. Fontana..." he snapped his claws at his consigliere. The iguana approached Emelina now and held out a data pad.

"Just press the location on the map... we'll investigate it and confirm your story." he informed her.

"Now my guests, I do owe... and a don's word is always good when it comes to assistance to those he owes favors too... but you? I need to make sure of first." Don Stracci was glad for the support, even from Axel. It seemed paranoia always won out over friendship... but that was true in really any situation in which friends weren't real "friends." "At least you're reasonable about it... I'd hate to introduce you to what Mr. Stryker likes to call his 'toys.'" The don's smile was thin here, and not at all kind.

"I can say my dad wouldn't do that either... from what I know at least." Tony came to his father's support now. "if he promises you something... you get it, trust me." he said now, nodding at Axel. "She's just trying to make us afraid of the alternative... there's nothing to be afraid of." Tony said softly.

"Oh... a bug?" the soldier asked, reaching into his coat and pulling out a remote. "That ain't no thing." he said nonchalantly, and pressed a red button on the remote. This activated the house's ultra high-frequency emitter, totally above the range of almost any humans or animals to detect, and promptly overloaded any external bugs with ruthless efficiency. Kojuuro's bugs were soon nothing more than a memory as they crackled out of existence, the extremely high-pitched whine overwhelming their circuitry. "Problem solved." he said in a bored fashion. The house's bugs were all protected by shielding devices built in that would switch them off temporarily while the frequency was emitted. "Who dared bug us, then?" he asked. "It wasn't by any chance the guy who tripped our wall alarm when he left the premises a short while ago, was it? See we don't really care if someone is leaving the Heights and triggers the alarm, but if someone's entering... that's another story." he said now.

Serris · **Reply #1045 on:** February 07, 2014, 12:54:19 AM

The brief burst of radio waves made itself known in Anne's head as a whine but the microprocesser associated with her implant quickly filtered it out.

The chiming and faded static in Anne's head was soon replaced by the hum of Don Stracci's own bugs. A mental command shut down her horn.

Anne scratched her horn as she tried to place the noise. "The chime I heard sounded similar to that of when this Wolf, Kojuuro I think his name was, showed me the bugs. Anyways, thanks."

She walked off and returned to the study. "Kojuuro's bugs have been destroyed."

Soren sipped his glass of water and smiled. "Now to turn the tables on him..."

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The van arrived at the edge of The Heights. "All right, let's roll."

Aware that weapons would be easily detected, he opted to leave his pistol in the truck. He climbed out of the vehicle and waited for Agent Extasis to follow.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1046 on:** February 07, 2014, 01:13:35 AM

Exstasis led the way to the guardposts. "We're here for our free room and board!" he announced, then immediately shut up.

"I forgot, you're supposed to do the talking..." he muttered to Sanjay. "Errr, you take it from here."

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Emi circled a tiny portion of the map after zipping around it for a while. "That's as good as you're gonna get; it was the middle of the night and I still haven't slept since traversing the entire forest floor."

She handed the data pad back to the iguana. "So what constitutes 'checking my story out'? Considering I have no idea what you're hoping to find there, and neither do you. Are you gonna kill me unless there's a newspaper stand full of the latest editions of Psionics Monthly and a glowing green aura straight from Close Encounters of the Third Kind?"

Serris · **Reply #1047 on:** February 07, 2014, 01:22:41 AM

Sanjay slithered up to the intercom. "Please parden my partner's rudeness. I am Agent Bhat with Agent Extasis and we are here to meet with Officer Echo."

He looked around as he waited for a response.

Pterano · **Reply #1048 on:** February 07, 2014, 02:26:21 AM

((Done with full permission))

The intercom buzzed back, Oscar Gambino's voice coming through. "You're here to see who?" he asked, then a pause. "Oh yes!" he declared, tone changing to friendly. "Yes, of course! One moment please." he said, and pressed the button allowing them access to the manor. The big crocodile capo stood before them as the doors swung open, and he was hulking even by Exstasis's standards. "Please... this way." he said, dripping charm as he showed them towards the scanner.

Down below them, Don Stracci smirked. "No... but we need to find something substantial... that corroborates your story... ah!" he said now, grinning. "It seems the government hacks have arrived!" He declared, hearing Gambino's report in his ear. "One moment, Ms. Echo." he said politely enough. "Mr. Fontana, check that out." he ordered the iguana, who nodded and headed off with the data pad.

Remarkably, thanks to a slip of the tongue, the don was immediately informed of some incredibly useful information by Gambino. He didn't show it immediately, but then, after a moment, an actual grin spread across his features. He had them now! He even let out a short laugh. "Hahah! Well now... this is fortuitous!" he exclaimed. "It seems your idiot friends have just accidentally given you away, Ms. Echo! You're nothing but one of Lupis's twit hacks! Mr. Stryker!" he ordered quickly, and the lizard's left hand (the one not holding the pistol) suddenly produced a taser, proving the sungazer was ambidextrous as he didn't miss a beat.

The taser's wire was special, as it was high-tensile for hauling in its victims. The darts shot out and struck Emelina's chest, then proceeded to deliver 75,000 volts through her body, enough to knock any human out cold, to say nothing of the fox standing before the lizard now. She was quickly reeled in by the wire, to where she would fall right at Stryker's feet as the electricity ended.

"Take her below, Mr. Stryker... find out what you can... and then... we're gonna go after Lupis." the don ordered coldly. The powerful lizard nodded once and picked up her prone form before he began coolly walking off. "See?" the don asked, looking at them. "Seems I was right... one of those idiot government agents visiting from your good friend Lupis said he was here to see... and I quote... 'Officer Echo.' That enough proof for you?" he asked, looking around the room.

Tony gasped. "What? She was just one of Lupis's... really?" he asked.

"It came from one of my capos... Mr. Gambino, Tony... no mistake." the don said in a steely voice. "She's just another one of Lupis's lapdogs! I knew he was behind this! Trying to screw with me! Well I'll screw with him first!" the don shouted now, his temper actually rising before he seemed to catch himself, and calmed down, a smile spreading over his features again. "What are you willing to bet that location she gave us is nothing but a bunch of horseshit?" he asked now, smirking.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1049 on:** February 07, 2014, 02:38:43 AM

The look on Emilena's face was indescribable when Don Stracci revealed that the government agents had blown her cover.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me--" was as far as she got before the full brunt of 75,000 volts sent her reeling to the floor with a strangled cry. In seconds she had been knocked completely unconscious.

Lily shrieked when she saw a sudden display of violence around her. In seconds, her claws were bared and the tazer flew out of Stryker's hand of its own accord. A second later, she squealed and started shaking uncontrollably, hyperventilating. Sprinting on all fours, Lily ran for an exit and punched through the closest one, leading upstairs. In seconds, she was gone, leaving a trail of splinters behind what used to be a fine oaken postern.

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Exstasis nodded as he was led into the interior of the mansion.

"How did you know Officer Echo was here?" he asked Sanjay curiously, keeping his voice to a low mutter so the flanking guards wouldn't hear.

Pterano · **Reply #1050 on:** February 07, 2014, 02:56:01 AM

"Shit!" Tony exclaimed as Lily bolted. "Come on!" he said to Axel. "We can't have her running around the house with government agents about!" he waved his paw, and took off after her.

"I'll activate some of the house's less lethal traps!" his father called after him, pulling out a remote to do just that.

Stryker meanwhile had quickly caught the flying taser with his tail, and shoved it back into his coat as if nothing had happened (though inwardly, he'd been surprised). Right... time to get to work then... he entered a secret door and headed for the basement's "fun house" as it was called with Emilena in tow, locking the door electronically behind him.

Serris · **Reply #1051 on:** February 07, 2014, 03:33:58 AM

(OOC - As for why Sanjay said Officer Echo. Out of universe, I screwed up. In universe, Sanjay hates her. He wants to get her on the bad side of the Stracci Family. As for why he knew about Emilena being there, he assumed that Emilena wanted to get "buddy-buddy" with the local crime lords. He's aware that Lanthae cops are very corrupt, even by this universe's standards.)

Sanjay didn't hear Agent Extasis. He slithered after the Rhino, keeping a eye on the flanking guards.

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Soren jumped as he heard something breaking from underneath him. "Fuck this! I'm out of here!"

He bolted from the room and made his way to the exit. In his panic, he went down the wrong stairwell and ended up going into the basement where everyone was.

Anne, who was slightly drunk, followed him. And prepared to drag him to safety if need be.

bushwacked · **Reply #1052 on:** February 07, 2014, 04:00:45 AM

Axel gaped in shock as Lily tore out of the room, then sprinted after her, hot on Tony's heels. Taking the stairs two at a time, he could make out deep gauges in the stairs where Lily's claws had torn through in her attempt to escape. As Axel and Tony reached the top, the sound of something rocketing down the corridor to their left told them which direction she'd gone. A side table had been knocked down, the vase of flowers on its surface smashed on the floor and water pooling around it.

"Come on!" he urged the ferret, taking off after her. "Can't you warn your guards or something?! They're gonna shoot her!"

Pterano · **Reply #1053 on:** February 07, 2014, 10:05:57 AM

"Uh, yeah!" Tony replied, fumbling with his phone and trying to remember what the number was as they raced up the stairs. "Come on...!" he said to himself, wishing he had the radio system that kept his family connected (which he hadn't received yet since coming back). He dialed what he hoped was the number (it was saved but it was kind of hard to run, look where you were going and dial all at the same time) and yelled "Don't shoot the... creature running around!" He hoped his father would've taken care of that too...

Downstairs, the don almost ran into Soren and Anne as he was starting to head upstairs. "Ah! Soren, was it?" he asked. "I'm not sure if you fully distrusted Ms. Echo or not, but it seems you were right to do so. Turns out she was just another one of Agent Lupis's stooges. We're dealing with that though, don't worry." he reassured him.

Upstairs, it was very fortunate that Lily was towards the rear of the substantial house, as Sanjay and Exstasis were still at the front. Gambino was leading them towards the dining room. "It seems Officer Echo is freshening up at the moment." he informed them. "The don will however be with you shortly. Can I interest you in your... 'free room and board?'" he used Exstasis's words now. "Particularly the latter? I can radio in your food so that it will be ready faster." he informed them. He was ever alert however in case Lily decided to come this way.

In the "fun house" deep within the manor, Stryker was busy chaining Emelina to a contraption that hung from the ceiling. The device was a series of chains and manacles which would keep her hovering at a 45-degree angle off the floor, as they were all connected to a hook. She wouldn't be able to move her limbs, as the chains were taut with no give to them. The hands would be brought to a bit off her sides, and her legs would be spread slightly apart.

As Stryker activated the device and began winching her up, he smacked her head. "Time to wake up..." he said, his voice low, somewhat raspy, and very menacing. There was a slight hint of a Germanic accent in there as well, but unless the observer was trained, it would be hard to pick out from which country it originated. She wouldn't be able to see much in here, as it was very dark, and only a dim, low-powered light shined almost directly in her face from across the room. Another thing she'd notice would be the heat... it was like a sweat box in this room, though it didn't seem to be bothering Stryker. In fact, prisoners could be slowly killed down here simply by letting them sweat to death by losing enough fluids, though that of course wasn't what the lizard had in mind.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1054 on:** February 07, 2014, 11:44:51 AM

(OOC: Eh, don' worry 'bout it. Any excuse to get Emi tortured is a good one in my book!)

Lily tore down a hallway, sending a maid (the same one that had found her in the bathroom) flying screaming into a large walk-in closet. A pair of guards saw her coming, but having received the warning not to shoot her, had little choice but attempt a physical barricade, which Lily effortlessly smashed through.

The next room appeared to be a sort of office, with the only window steel-barricaded. When she opened the door, a turret rose from the corner audibly and flashily. <PASSWORD NOT IDENTIFIED> it informed her pleasantly and then began firing blanks; it was designed to frighten, not actually harm.

In a panic, Lily tried to escape back out the door she'd just entered, only to hit a large stun field that had sprouted up over the entrance. As she fell to the ground, a trapdoor opened up to deliver her to a titanium-reinforced net of electrically-woven fabrics, designed to incapacitate the victim through random electrical stimulation of nerves across their body. She would twitch and spasm uncontrollably until somebody came to rescue her, and until then everyone in the vicinity could listen to her screaming.

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

Emilena groaned when something smacked her upside the head. Slowly coming to her senses, she took in her situation with only mild surprise.

"Well, that went downhill fast..." she muttered, testing her bonds and finding them unsurprisingly solid. "At least I get to keep my pants this time."

She then noticed Stryker hovering over her. "You don't get to make any demoralizing quips about me being stupid," she warned him, "because this totally isn't my fault."

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"That would be excellent!" beamed Exstasis. "I'm starving!"

bushwacked · **Reply #1055 on:** February 07, 2014, 02:20:18 PM

Axel sprinted after her, overtaking Tony as he slowed to dial his phone, dashing past the walk-in closet from which the maid's panicked cries were emanating. He rounded the corner and jumped over the two dazed guards who were getting to their feet, trying to process in his mind that it was Lily who was causing this mayhem... or whatever she was becoming, at least.

The sudden sound of her screams reached him, and he picked up speed, hurtling towards the open door at the end. "Lily, stop-" he started to shout... then gasped as he made out the light blue tinge of the stun field blocking the door, his trainers squeaking on the polished wooden floor as he skidded to a halt, stopping inches from it. The energy radiation from it was enough to make his fur tingle. Her screams continued to cut through the air, churning Axel's stomach - he was close enough now to see she'd fallen through a hole in the floor, though he couldn't make out what was causing her to shout.

Axel heard Tony catching up, and he turned desperately. "How the hell do you turn this off?! Come on, she's in pain!"

Pterano · **Reply #1056 on:** February 07, 2014, 02:53:56 PM

Tony slid to a halt beside Axel, noting the chaos Lily had caused in her passing. "Uh! Hold on!" Tony said, going for his phone now and trying to remember the numbers to press to deactivate the traps. "Uhh... one moment..." He said, holding his forehead. "Right!" he quickly keyed in the three digit code, and the pit trap deactivated. "Come on!" he said now, reaching down to grab hold of one of Lily's arms while he waited for Axel to do the same. They started to haul her up now and back onto the floor.

When she was safely deposited on solid ground once again, Tony wiped his brow and exhaled in relief. "I think she's OK... the field wasn't designed to seriously hurt anyone." he explained. "Don't worry Axel... she's going to be fine." he said reassuringly, trying to get the rat to look at him for a moment.

Gambino smiled at how... easily led Exstasis was. Turning the corner into the expansive dining room, the crocodile capo showed the rhino to a particular seat along the table. "Please, Mr. Exstasis, right here." he said, waving his hand to the particular chair. "Your food will be out shortly. Do you like pasta?" he asked.

"And you, Mr. Bhat, sit wherever you like." Gambino offered. Sanjay would be spared what was coming next, though Exstasis had his seat specially prepared ahead of time. Nothing out of the ordinary could be seen on it though; it appeared like just a normal seat. It was in fact the seat Soren had sat in earlier tonight, and he'd been just fine.

Stryker laughed in a whispering fashion, smiling at her words. "Yes... I would agree with you on that." he said softly, his words echoing in the enclosed room. "In this instance... you have your idiot friends to thank for your current predicament." he stood up now, going for the hanging control panel. "Your pants? Sounds like your last torture session ended well for someone." he commented, pushing another button on the yellow box, which was suspended in mid-air thanks to anti-gravity technology. "Let's make you a bit more comfortable... shall we?" he asked, smiling as a giant steel weight fell from the ceiling and landed none too softly on her backside. It would stretch her spine as her body would be pushed forward, and would gradually get heavier every ten minutes, increasing its mass through nanotechnology. As her body had literally nowhere to go, she'd been feeling the full brunt of the weight as it continually grew.

Stryker avoided his "toys" for the moment, but he did reach into his coat pocket and produce something that looked like a mechanical bug. He studied it for a minute, but did noting further with it at present. "Comfortable?" he asked, looking over at Emilena. "It seems your little friends... weren't as smart or as loyal as you were probably hoping... but even I admit... I didn't expect Agent Lupis to be this stupid. So first things first... what's really out there? In those woods?" He asked, rolling the little "bug" around in his fingers. "And what were your plans when we got out there?" He then began rubbing his hands together slowly, rolling the bot around between them. "You know... the Spanish were geniuses when it came to the art of inflicting pain... mutilating their targets, and forcing even the strongest 'heretics' to confess. I'm a particular fan of some of their more brutal methods... and you'll soon find out some of these for yourself if you don't cooperate." he said now, sitting down in a chair to watch her.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1057 on:** February 07, 2014, 03:34:13 PM

"Do you have a direct line to Lupis?" Emilena asked, gritting her teeth and panting; the position also made it difficult to breathe. "Lets call him and we can all tell him what an idiot he is. I took this gig for one reason: to get out of Purifier prison. With that snake Sanjay Bhat. Do you know what my job was? 'Just keep your mouth shut and keep Bhat alive, he's a master strategist and he can do all the talking.' Well that turned to work really damn well!"

She grimaced as the weights were pressed on her. "Errrgghh...I didn't have any plans for the forest. That was just me trying to get Lily out of here because I trust the mafia about as much as I should have trusted Lupis. That spot story is totally legit though, you should go wiretap it. Bring divining rods."

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Lily's body was still twitching uncontrollably; it would take some time before she'd be able to regain control of her motor functions.

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Ex stasis sat down excitedly. "I love pasta!" He said excitedly. "The saucier the better!"

Serris · **Reply #1058 on:** February 07, 2014, 03:51:01 PM

Sanjay looked at his uniform. "Excuse me, but I have just slithered through some rather unclean environments and I don't think it's polite for me to sit on such an expensive chair." Inwardly, he had his suspicions about this place."

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Soren's eye twitched. "She used a fake warrent to try and arrest me and deatroy my business and before that, she beat me up! Why wouldn't I distrust her!?"

He then took a breath. "Look, I kinda don't care about Lily right now. I just want to make sure Officer Echo and her stooges don't try to fuck me over."

Anne tapped Tony's shoulder. "You may want to speak to Kojuuro. It seems he snuck bugs onto us. Luckily, it seems the house's defense systems have disabled them."

Soren facepalmed. "Him too!? Ugh! What's next?"

Pterano · **Reply #1059 on:** February 07, 2014, 04:00:34 PM

Tony looked at Anne. "Bugs? Really?" he asked, but knew his father's home defenses could handle those. "Where is he now?"

Don Stracci clapped Soren on the shoulder. "Don't worry, son. Ms. Echo is being... dealt with... rather efficiently." he said reassuringly, giving the human a smile and a nod. "As are our two guests. As for Mr. Kojuuro... don't concern yourself with him... he slipped away earlier over the wall." Don Stracci said in a bored fashion. "Left his weapons behind too, apparently. I doubt he heard anything useful."

Stryker smiled at her words, grinning a little bit as he shook his head, his body convulsing as another whispering laugh overtook him. He got out of his chair now. "Is that really all there is to it? Get out of Purifier prison? Keep your mouth shut? Help out Sanjay Bhat, whom by the way, is the one who blew your cover." he said now, wagging a claw at her as he disappeared into the darkness to retrieve some of his "toys."

He reappeared a few moments later, carrying what seemed to be two large two-pronged forks tied together with a leather collar, and a pear shaped device, about double the size of a human fist. "These are two of my favorites!" he exclaimed, giving her a winning smile as he strode over to her. "Having trouble breathing?" he asked, noticing what the weight was doing to her. "You'll have even more trouble in a few seconds. While what you say about the forest we'll confirm in a matter of time, I don't think I like your attitude about it very much. So I'll ask again..." He said now, as he took the forks in his hands. "This is called a heretic's fork..." He roughly grabbed her ears, and yanked her head back so that it was craned against her body as far as it would go. "It was designed..." He continued, strapping the fork underneath her neck and fastening the leather buckle tight, so that her head was basically forced to stay in its full back position. "To make breathing very difficult... and to cause the neck extreme discomfort with extended use... imagine having this on you... for hours." He whispered in her ear. She would now barely get enough oxygen to speak, but Stryker was an expert and knew just now much pressure to apply with the fork, in order to keep his victims getting the bare minimum oxygen they needed.

He held the pear up in front of her eyes now. "This... they call a pear of anguish... or... a choke pear, depending on where it was used." he said, waving it in front of her. "It opens up... like so." He twisted a screw at the bottom of the pear, demonstrating for her as the pear split into four leaves which separated gradually away from the center before he twisted them back down. "Now... there are..." he pretended to think a moment. "Three orifices on your body where this can safely go." he bopped her nose lightly with it. "Care to guess which one I'm going to insert it into?" he smiled cruelly again, his eyes boring into hers. "I'll ask again... what's out there, in the woods? Does it pose a danger to our men... and how much does Lupis know about it?" he inquired.

Sanjay didn't go for the trap, but it didn't matter. The proverbial tablecloth was swiftly yanked out from under them.

As Exstasis sat down, he suddenly found himself in free fall, his chair dropping out from under him and dumping his body onto a metal slide which had been greased to create minimal friction. The slide ended in a giant vat of bubbling green acid a hundred feet or so below him. It would've taken less than five seconds since his drop for him to reach the vat, whose contents were strong enough to dissolve even bones...

Sanjay suddenly found a gun pointed directly at the back of his head from Gambino, and other rifles leveled at him from two other soldiers. "Now, Mr. Bhat. I'm afraid dinner plans have been irrevocably changed, for the evening." Gambino said calmly.