Into the Black

Nick22 · **Reply #1420 on:** March 30, 2014, 01:56:22 AM

Smores it is then" marita replied , i
ll be back in a coupler minutes Marita said. Marie and Rose mucehed n ther fres, while Ulsa took a bite of her burgers. Marita went inside the resteraunt and soon came out with two smores cusards. the custard had looked so good she had decided to get one for herself. he set hers down in the couholder by the drivers seat, then went to the trailer and knocked on the door" i've got your custard Tony" she said" Open up please!"

Pterano · **Reply #1421 on:** March 30, 2014, 02:28:54 AM

Tony reached over, and opened the door up, not moving off the couch as he retrieved the proffered custard. "Thanks!" he said gratefully, then eagerly dug in. He still was a bit peeved that his attempt to get some alone time hadn't entirely worked out, but he was still angling it around in his head. "Hmmmm... the bakery could work, yeah." Tony nodded here. He had to admit... he was kind of hoping to move this conference along, as he was still high, and still thinking about this short-term relationship. But he didn't want to come off like Nairda had at his father's place, after all.

Leaning over, he whispered to Anne. "If I had known it would've taken this long, I would've stayed at the clinic and asked you to remain behind... gotta have someone watching over me, right?" he joked with a wink.

"Well the plan sounds good to me." he said in a louder tone here, taking a bite out of his custard. "If you pull it off, we'll get some good info. Anything else?" he asked, looking around the trailer.

bushwacked · **Reply #1422 on:** March 30, 2014, 05:12:50 AM

Axel saw as Tony leaned over and whispered something in Anne's ear, winking. Is something going on between them? he thought, sensing how eager he seemed to speed this meeting up. Axel remembered how they'd rushed into the trailer, alone, and he blinked.

"Alright then, I think I'll just... go check on the, ah... the others in the car," he stated lamely, feeling decidedly like the fourth-wheel, and hurried out of the trailer, moving across to the Pierce-Arrow. "Soren's got a plan to catch a Purifier and grill him for information," he explained to the others as he let himself into the back. "We can't screw things up this time." Looking to the side, Axel saw he was sitting next to Nairda, and immediately began feeling uncomfortable. "Oh, er. Hello... ah... dawg?"

Nick22 · **Reply #1423 on:** March 30, 2014, 01:29:43 PM

marita had returned to the arrow and was tucking in to her fries, which were still hot, and very tasty. " Once we all eat.. excuse me, these fries are good- we'll tackle grabbing one of those guys' She said to Axel. ' you hungry/ i got plenty of food' she said.
this burger is delicious' " ulsa said between bites.. ' so you lot are anti-purifiers huh.. eh i dont care if you have augments or not, so long as you arent a hoodlum or anything like that..
_ rose ate a hash brown, and took a sip from her soda.. ' hadnt eaten much since the don's house.' she said.
- is there any way i can.. atone for my mistake? kojuuro said as broadstreet leaned back in his chair. 'look i saw the broadcast about those nutjobs on tv.. and i'm willing to help if you cut me some slack..' what do you take me for, a gullible idiot? broadstreet replied. theres no way i'm letting you out on your own recognizance.. not with your history.you've got quite the rap sheet here, of course most of those we cant charge you with, due to the statute of limitations being expired and all.' i'll post bail, look take all my possessions as collateral, except for what i have on me' kojuuro said.'including my apartment..' the bail is 1 million credits, given your flight risk ' broadstreet said. he reached into a bag that was confiscated from kojuuro and dumped out a number of bugs, the kind kojuuro had used to bug the group at Don Straccis. he held one up..;' by rights i should shove this up your ass for all the trouble you've caused us over the years Kojuuro. by rights you should be spending years in prison with little chance of parole.. on the other hand these lunatics want to overthrow the government and make this place unlivable for anyone who doesnt hew to their warped view. they make the Khmer roughe look like pikers.so, heres the deal. you want to help, you wear this tracker at all times so we know where you are. you take it off, my officers will be ordered to put a bullet through your head.no questions, no mercy, no back to the police station. you help stop these guys, then maybe. MAYBE, you'll get a clean slate, i cant make any guarantees. so thats the deal. you take it, you wear this bug and you go back out there and serve as a police liaison. or, you can turn me down in wghich case its a holding cell for the next week while you're arraigned on charges.

Serris · **Reply #1424 on:** March 30, 2014, 01:53:51 PM

Anne finished off her tempeh burger and stuck a few fries into her mouth. She blushed as Tony blatantly hit on her.

"Uh, anyways," she said, her ears splaying back in embarassment. "The wildcard is how many Purifiers show up. If only a few show up, we're good. If like thirty show up, we're fucked."

Soren took a sip of the tea he had brewed in the trailer. "Which is why we have to be careful what we say as a tip. If we say it's a pro-Augment rally, we might get a huge, heavily armed horde. Say its a small augment shop or factory and we might just get a team of arsonists."

Pterano · **Reply #1425 on:** March 30, 2014, 04:32:34 PM

Tony munched on his custard, then got up from the chair, and headed for the trailer's door. "OK guys... I'll drive us over to the bakery. I'll have Axel direct me." he said, and shut the two in before heading around to the driver side door of the Pierce-Arrow.

"All right Marita... I'm taking over." Tony said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. "I'm gonna drive us over to an abandoned bakery to capture those Purifiers. And before you argue... I'm fine. Not the first time I've driven while on painkillers, after all." he told her. "Now SOMEONE will have to move into the trailer, because there's only room for six up front, and I definitely want Axel up here because I need to discuss a few things with him." Why is some random secretary from the clinic coming with us? he thought to himself as he noticed her in the Berline.

"So yeah, don't worry about my driving. I feel up to it." he said sincerely, whipping out his phone and beginning to compose a text to Axel as he waited for Marita to exit the driver's side.

Nick22 · **Reply #1426 on:** March 30, 2014, 05:46:33 PM

you folks can drop me off on 17th street. my apartments there Ulsa said.
Marita grabbed her food , went back to the trailer and climbed in.' well guys i'll be back here with you for a little bit.' she said.
_ rose and marie finished their food and but their garbage into one of the bags and put it at thier feet.

Pterano · **Reply #1427 on:** March 30, 2014, 06:50:43 PM

"Thanks for being a sport, Marita." Tony replied, sliding in behind the wheel, and feeling that sudden thrill of being in command of the V-12 once again. Nothing could beat an internal combustion engine! Turning the key in the ignition, he listened to the throaty roar of the V-12 spring to life. Better than the Lincolns, Packards, and Cadillacs that had come out with V-12s in the same era, Pierce-Arrow had beaten them all, and were renowned for their longevity and power.

Tony turned the radio on as he began to pull out of the lot, looking out the window so he could merge into traffic. Fall Out Boy's "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark" was currently playing, and Tony drummed his paws on the steering wheel and the driver's side door in time to the rhythm as he drove out into the main street. This was unbeatable right now, as nothing could top driving a classic car to great tunes.

As he pulled onto the corner of 17th Street, he waved farewell to Ulsa (but wasn't her name Zula? Or maybe even Zulu?). "Cheers, miss!" he called, and then accelerated back into traffic. He hit send on his phone before they reached their next destination however, getting the directions to the bakery from Axel. Turning up the radio a bit, Tony bobbed his head and wove through traffic, making the turns Axel pointed out to him rather smoothly and driving surprisingly well for someone who was stoned. Driving was something Tony took insanely seriously, and he went into massive focus mode whenever he did it.

Approaching the abandoned bakery now, Tony slowed it down, and gradually rolled to a stop on the street. Turning the radio down, he pushed the intercom to the trailer. "We have reached our destination, ladies and gentlemen." Turning to Axel, he raised his brows. "Got my message?" he asked without elaborating. Tony kept the car idling, not turning it off just yet. "So I was thinking..." he said, back into the intercom. "We're gonna need eyes and ears on the Purifier base. You guys are gonna need Anne to make the call, and Marita's hacking to make it seem convincing. So why don't Axel, Vergil and myself drive down to the base and conduct some recon, see what kind of defenses they've set up since our last visit, and keep you posted while you get the info?" he suggested now. "This way, you got enough left behind to overwhelm the Purifier contingent, and only a minimal number will be going to reconnoiter the base." he outlined. "Sound good?"

Nick22 · **Reply #1428 on:** March 30, 2014, 07:12:01 PM

I'll start hecking right away' marita said ' give me two minutes, to create something plausible.. you guys should be able to do a proper recon. Let me know if you need anything ' she added.

bushwacked · **Reply #1429 on:** March 30, 2014, 07:30:48 PM

Axel nodded. "We're running short on time. If we split up, we can see what the situation's like at the base, you guys can try and get as much new information as you can, then we can meet up again just before we..." he swallowed. "... Before we finish this. It's the most efficient way of doing things."

He leaned closer to the intercom. "We can keep in contact with you, Soren. If something turns up at the base, we'll let you know."

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1430 on:** March 30, 2014, 09:23:03 PM

"We be seein you later Ulsa!" Said Nairda cheerily. "Say, what happened ta Zula? Where did she go?"

He had settled for some bowl of Chinese food, and when he finished it he sent it frisbeeing to the trashcan, where it missed by a mile and skittered to the floor amongst other litter.

Serris · **Reply #1431 on:** March 31, 2014, 01:50:16 AM

"Gotcha!" Soren said into the intercom. He then looked at the group around him. "All right, first things first is we see what we've got. But before that..."

He went into the weapons locker, got out the rifle, combat helmet and ballistic vest he had worn before.

Anne pulled the Luger out of her dress. She pushed the door opened and looked over the factory. It was quite obviously an industrial bakery with a dilapidated sign proudly boasting of "Lanthae's finest algae crisps". The windows had been shot out and debris was scattered over the weed choked lot. The forced open door indicated that it had been hit by looters at least once. "The lot's choked with weeds but I don't think it matters. But the doors have been forced open."

Soren sighed. "Great. That means we gotta sweep to make sure there's no bums or anything that could fuck this up."

Interestingly, the factory wasn't at ground level, but it was on an elevated platform a few hundred feet up.

Pterano · **Reply #1432 on:** March 31, 2014, 11:19:51 AM

Tony waited for the others to exit the trailer and the car, and then waved at the group. "We'll stay in contact! See ya soon!" he called, honking as he drove off. Vergil was in the back seat, and Axel in the front passenger side. "Hoo! OK... hope you didn't think ill of this but... I'm just worried Lily might not have a lot of time." the ferret explained. "Thanks for agreeing to go along." he told the rat.

"Besides, we'll see what's going down at the base, and try and get a read on the situation. I won't be jumping the gun unless it's absolutely necessary." Tony outlined. He started heading for the highway that would take them to the Purifier compound, knowing this would likely be their last chance at getting Lily out of there.

bushwacked · **Reply #1433 on:** March 31, 2014, 12:21:21 PM

Axel glanced at Tony and nodded. "No, you're right. We can't screw things up... this is it. I don't want to take any chances - we have to know exactly what we're heading into." He let out a trembling breath and stared out the window as the highway rushed past, his jaw clenching. "If they've hurt her, I'll kill all of them." As he spoke, Emilena's tracer gun dug into his back, and for a second he considered if he should let Tony and Vergil know about Emilena, and the plan that he was hoping, praying would work. But if the others found out... especially Soren, who likely couldn't see past his hatred of her... if any harm came to Emilena, the whole plan would fall apart. And that wasn't a chance Axel thought he could take. The rat sighed and rubbed his face, suddenly feeling drained.

After a moment, Axel raised his eyes again. "And jesus... killing all the augmented in Lanthae?! Just... fuck, this is crazy..."

Pterano · **Reply #1434 on:** March 31, 2014, 09:45:16 PM

"Take it easy." Tony cautioned as he sped down the highway. "We don't know anything just yet, and going on a killing spree might not be the best thing to keep you alive." he pointed out. "You CAN'T let your emotions run away with you... I know that sucks to hear, but... at least initially, you gotta keep a cool head."

"He's right." Vergil put in. "Losing your head is precisely what they're hoping you'll do, I'm sure. Call me impartial, but from what I can remember of my life, it's never a good idea to go too crazy with your emotions."

"Well hey... I just don't wanna see you dead over this, that's all." Tony continued. "Especially if she's still alive... but only hurt. Remember... the exploding reactor and my father's men will take care of all of them... no exceptions. Either way, they're going to die. Just keep that in mind. MOST important thing is NOT killing them if they've hurt Lily... but getting Lily out of there first and foremost. Any vendetta you have should come secondary to saving her."

"Tony, might I borrow your cell phone?" Vergil asked here.

"Uh... what for?" the ferret replied.

"Internet search." Vergil responded.

"Well... all right. Here." Tony took it out and held it out for the gecko to take, which he did, beginning to tap through it as he did some research.

"Anyway... just let the rest of us handle killing them... cause believe me... I owe them some payback too." the ferret said resolutely. He swallowed as he saw the Purifier complex looming large in the distance. Putting his directional on, he took the Pierce-Arrow down the exit towards the ruined industrial part of the city. Exhaling, he began slowing down the closer he got. "There's an old high rise that overlooks the factory... we could set up in there. What do you think?" Tony asked Axel.

Vergil had found what he'd been looking for, and was reading with some fascination as he started absorbing this new information. This red gecko... was he his old superior officer?

bushwacked · **Reply #1435 on:** April 01, 2014, 03:38:47 PM

As the Purifier's base reared up ahead of them, frustrated tears blurred Axel's vision. Being this close to her, not knowing whether she was alive or dead, was driving him crazy. Get a grip on yourself... Grinding his teeth, he took a deep breath and blinked them away. "Don't worry, I'm... I know I need to keep a clear head about this." He looked around at Tony and Vergil. "And I've got no arguments against you killing as many of them as you can. But just... just be careful. I want you guys to make it out too." His mouth twitched, an attempt at a smile. "I want all of us to make it out."

When Tony suggested the high rise, Axel craned his neck to look up at it. The ferret was right, it would give them a good overview of the compound. He nodded. "Yeah, let's go for it." The industrial area surrounding the base was a mess. As they drove through its empty streets, the wrecked and abandoned buildings flanked them on either side, the smashed windows and broken doors gaping like mouths. Axel shivered, his imagination running wild and making him feel like they were being watched.

As they neared the high rise, the sound of Vergil tapping away at the phone drew Axel's attention. "You okay?" he asked, looking back at the gecko, an amused expression flicking across his features. "Checking out what you've missed since you were stuck in that... tube thing?"

Pterano · **Reply #1436 on:** April 02, 2014, 01:10:14 AM

Tony felt much the same way as Axel did, and it was an easy thing for the imagination to run away with you in an area like this. He drove more slowly here, not wanting to attract any unnecessary attention.

"Dammit!" Vergil exclaimed from the back seat. "No... I was trying to find a red gecko from my memories... and it turns out he's dead. Died several years ago. I recalled him being my superior officer or something. Turns out he was one of the most famous warlords ever from the Scorched Earth War. He almost single-handedly ended it, using at times questionable tactics, but he was lauded as a hero... then he went rogue. Him and this other guy called Kalis, who was another hero of the war. They started terrorizing the planet for a few years with their accumulated forces, but finally, a great naval battle was fought between much of the world's remaining forces and the massive fleet of Kalis and this gecko. Kalis betrayed his former comrade, and fired on the gecko's flagship, killing him in the process as Kalis assumed command of the forces and still leads them to this day. I remember that memory specifically... I could see this gecko battling a female on the bridge of his ship... and then... fire and explosions... how did I survive?" Vergil wondered aloud, shaking his head.

"Anyway... as fascinating and compelling as this story is... he was my one lead, and he's dead. The only other person I can think of is maybe Kalis, but he sounds like a really evil dude, from what I'm reading. I wonder... was I part of the world's navies back then?" he mused aloud. "I just can't... remember." he sighed here, closing his eyes. "This has brought up more questions than answers, I'm afraid."

Tony pulled the car to a stop next to the high rise, and killed the engine. "OK... here we are. Really fascinating, Vergil. Sorry about your lead being dead, though. Hey Axel, you and Vergil check the place out while I lock up the car and trailer and get us some weapons. Be careful, OK?" the ferret cautioned. "The Purifiers sometimes come in here, but it's not very frequently, so we should be good."

bushwacked · **Reply #1437 on:** April 02, 2014, 06:25:14 AM

Axel pulled out the Luger and nodded apprehensively. "On it. You watch it too, okay? If you see someone coming, call for us." He let himself out, then walked around to the entrance of the high rise and waited for Vergil to join him. Peering through the dusty glass, he couldn't see anything but darkness. Hearing light footsteps next to him, Axel looked down at the gecko. "Hey, I'm sorry you're out of ideas about... you know, who you are. If you ever need any help, then... I'll be there. I mean, it's the least I can do for your help now." He swallowed and shook his head. "As long as we don't all, ah, die in the next few hours. Anyway... you ready? Let's do this..."

Axel pushed the door in, and it slowly opened, the rusted hinges squealing in protest. He winced, and stopped pushing once the door was just open wide enough, then slipped through. The small lobby room was cloaked in shadow beyond the light that leaked through the doorway, the pungent smell of damp clinging to the air along with what seemed to be years worth of dust. Axel fished his phone out of his pocket and flicked it on, using the low blue light as a torch. Shining the light around revealed a dusty tile floor, a moldy couch propped in the corner, and a rotting wooden desk. After checking to make sure nobody was hiding behind it, Axel turned his attention to the set of stairs in front of them that led up... and a small red light to the side caught his eye. Swinging the phone's light to it, he saw it was the elevator's 'Up' button. Why give power to the lift? he wondered.

Turning to Vergil, he pointed towards the elevator. "This has power... Should we take it, or walk?" Axel looked at his small legs with a quick grin. "I'm guessing you're not exactly Speedy Gonzales with taking stairs, huh?"

Nick22 · **Reply #1438 on:** April 02, 2014, 02:12:59 PM

Marita entered the open doowar and listened for noises above her and below her. marie and rose followed her, both looked around narvously as they went up the stairs. ' so whats the plan guys / rose asked. ' we grab some purifiers question them, and form a plan of attack' Marita said..

Serris · **Reply #1439 on:** April 02, 2014, 08:00:40 PM

Soren followed. He used his rifle's built in tac light to peer around. Nothing, just various mixers, bread slicers, ovens and other bakery equipment lying around in various states of disrepair.

The catwalk overhead was dilapidated; he dared not climb up there for fear it would collapse.

"All right," Soren said. "We only have five people so we need to position ourselves so we can shoot the Purifiers as they funnel through the entrance. Remember, leave at least one alive."

Anne looked around. "We could just hide behind the bakery equipment." She tapped her horn. "All right, I'm ready to transmit."