Topic: RPG: Biohazard

Disclamer: This RPG is by audition only, meaning send character sheets or ideas to Valthonin@hotmail.com or a PM or to Adeptus through PM or something. We made this RPG together.
Disclamer 2: You may or may not notice that I blatantly take some concepts, ideas, names and/or characters from the movie Blade Runner. Sue me.

RPG: Biohazard

Setting: Chicago, the year 2231. The city is dirty and very industrialized. It has expanded onto Lake Michigan and there are 3 or 4 rivers going through the now gigantic city. Flying cars, but only the authorities and rich and lucky have them, they’re called Spinners. Lots of technology around the city, naturally.

[EDIT: Image no longer online.]

Cryo Corporation Products Incorporated (CCP inc)

An evil corporation that focuses on medical treatments, drugs and stim packs/ serums used by military forces to make their soldiers near superhuman. They have a personal military mercenary force that can be contracted and they have been accused of corruption and foul play in regards to their medical industry numerous times, yet have crushed the allegations with their sheer power and networking. Most people living in Chicago work for them in some way.

General Plot: Chicago is currently a very dystopian city. People are essentially cattle. The government is corrupt, however only in regards to growing monopolies like CCP. At the moment, a top secret convoy consisting of two CCP mercenary cruisers and one Cargo truck are heading into the city to deliver an unknown biological experiment to a private lab owned by CCP. This convoy will begin the main story line, however I encourage you to have mini-plots.

In this RPG, despite it being the future, I really want realism. Meaning no Boba Fetts. The first jet pack I see will incure the wrath of the Lord of the Role Playing Section. Hence the auditions. You can be a regular Chicago Police officer, in which case you can be creative and describe how they are in the future (within limits, no wrist rockets, use Minority Report or the Fifth Element for inspiration) or a CCP mercenary corps, or scientist for CCP, or a SWAT team member when the CCP convoy gets into trouble (which it will) or a renegade robot (keep reading to find out about those) however were only looking for one, it must be evil, humanoid, and used by an experienced RPGer...you know who you are... or you could be a rich board member of CCP (why? money, power, flying car) or you could be a taxi driver or you could be a pedestrian or you could be the future version of your current job or anything in modern or futuristic society. Creativity ppl, use it.

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Looking out his private investigator's office window, Cain saw it was still raining. Not surprising.

He turned back to the paper work in front of him. He had to fill out a full report to give to his client, Mrs. Henderson. Apparently her suspicions were correct: Her husband was cheating on her. Not that Cain blamed him. The woman was a nut.

Cain sighed to himself as he wrote out his synopsis. In this particular case, his client didn't want a computerized report, so he was filling out a carbon copy one. He was getting tired of these 'cheating spouses' and 'embezzling co-workers' cases. They put food on the table, but it was nothing compared to Cain's previous jobs. Now-a-days, he had to wait for the Chicago Police Department, with whom he still had connections, to link him cases to work on that they were having trouble with.

FEEEEEP!  Cain’s desk comm goes off, he reluctantly clicks the mic.

“Yes Becky?” Cain calls to his secretary
“Detective Giff is here to see you, Cain.” She says back
Oh please let it be a worth while case.
“Send him-“ Cain was cut off by Giff letting himself in regardless. Giff, a balding barrel chested version of a former successful detective slams the door of Cain’s office with the attitude of someone who lived there.

“I don’t know why you bother with that girl, Cain. She ain’t stopping anyone from coming in here, especially one of those cheating husbands that may wanna kill ya HEH HEH *COUGH*” Giff said as he made his way straight to the liquor cabinet and poored himself some scotch.

“That’s top shelf stuff, Giff. Not some plastic bottle crap, its single malt cask strength.” Cain said as Giff casually poured the scotch whiskey.

“Oh yeah? Well this ain’t a crap case I’m giving you either. This looks like its gonna be a fun one.” Giff says with a wink and tosses a folder onto Cain’s desk. “This dirt bags been running around anonymously killing ‘seemingly’ random people. There have been few witnesses, all we know is he’s a murderer and his name is Gerric (Giff pronounced it with a hard ‘G’). So… have fun.”

Cain nods at Giff and opens the folder to take a look.

File # 331475b
Name: Gerric

Age: Unknown. Estimated between 20 and 35

Gender: Presumed Male

Appearance: Tall, about 6'0 tall, usually seen wearing a balaclava with orangelit goggles. ( Goggles have possible tacticle display) and a black pinstripe suit, with white shirt, black vest and red tie. Tan Trenchcoat, shin length. Black fedora. Below is an isolated security camera’s image of suspect :

[EDIT: Image no longer online.]

Suspect is highly skilled at martial arts, consider armed and extremely dangerous.

Suspect has been sighted multiple times over the past year, murders are brutal and bloody, no detectable pattern.

Wanted for arson, murder, assault on an officer, resisting arrest

“Real A-class weirdo eh?” Giff adds, downing his drink
“Yeah… yeah…” Cain nods, not looking away from the odd picture as he takes a pill out of a bottle from his pocket and pops it into his mouth.

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Name: Richard Cain
Age: 42
Occupation: Private Investigator
Appearance:

[EDIT: Image no longer online.]

Weapon: Plager Katsumate Series-D Blaster, Model 2019 Chief's Special

[EDIT: Image no longer online.]

History:
-Cain participated in the Second Galactic Rush War when he was 19-21 years old. It was during this conflict that he contracted an advanced strain of Tuberculosis nicknamed “Cold Killer” because of the severe, characteristic chills the subject suffers during outbreaks. Cain’s Military insurance pays for the DM12 pills he takes to keep the chills away and keep him alive, it does not however kill the Tuberculosis outright. Due to this, Cain must take the pills frequently. The DM12 pills are manufactured by CCP.

-Retired Blade Runner. (Blade Runner units were used for many years during the time when robots being used in society [manufactured by South Western Robotics Corp.] would glitch and go renegade, becoming killing machines. 

-Retired Detective (Dismissed due to a previous case in which he accused the Mayor of Chicago of immense corruption and even discovered his taste for young boys. The mayor quickly had Cain dismissed from the force after his 14 years of faithful service. Revenge is imminent.)

The monster was in her home. And she had let him in. All that stood between her and a potential rapist was a thin wooden door, and the monster out side had plenty to break the door down with. Another bang at the door. She flinched, holding a bass candle holder in her hands, waiting to hear the first snap that meant the door was breaking. Another bang, it almost felt like he was just tormenting her, she closed her eyes wand held the candle holder tighter.

She had met the man at a club he bought her a drink, he seemed nice enough so she had decided to take him home. They talked, and then she had stood up. He grabbed her from behind and she managed to get free and run. She grabbed the candle holder on the way, and locked herself in the bathroom. She was trapped without a way to get help. there wasn't even a window.

--

Downstairs the doorman for was as usual, extremely bored. He had forgot his music today and was stuck waiting doing nothing. Dark outside, as usual, and drizzling, so there was no reason for him to be here realy, no one except that woman had left, and she was already back. A man in a trenchcoat and fedora came to the door. His face was masked by shadows, but his eyes seemed to be glowing. Not unusual, a lot of lighted goggles and glasses these days. "Sir, this is private property, if your not a resident or relative, I have to ask you to leave, if your here to inquire about an apartment, please come back during business hours." The man didn't stop. "Sir?" The doorman placed a hand on the mans shoulder. Rock hard, whoever he was he worked out extensively. The man stopped, and turned. He was wearing a mouth less ski-mask or balaclava. "You should let me pass". The doorman did.

--

He was getting through, the door was beginning to splinter

--

The masked man was up the stairs, he had observed the two leaving a club, he knew where the woman's apartment was, his eyes were sharp and his luck was good tonight. He had been hunting this rapist for two weeks. And he finally had him in his grasp. He made it to the right floor and was at the door. He had to move fast. The apartment was a standard, same as the one in the brochure in lay out. bathroom was the only other lockable door in the room. She would probably be there. He busted the door down. The rapist was in the living room, finding something to hit the door with, the lamp he had been using seemingly wasn't fast enough. The masked man hit him in the back of the head hard enough to take his vision away for a moment. He dragged the rapist thorough the apartment, out to the small balcony. The rapist's vision was returning, but only long enough to see the railing as his head was slammed into it. He screamed, and the masked man didn't blame him. His head was slammed into the railing multiple times. until his forehead was nothing but a canyon. The masked man stood looking out into the Chicago cityscape, the dead man heaped on the balcony in a pool of blood and brain matter.

The noise had caused the woman to come out of the bathroom. When she saw the man and the heap that was the dead rapist, luckily concealed by shadow she dropped the candle holder. "Who- who are you?" she asked. The man didn't turn. "You may call me Gerric."

Name: Thomas Holston

Age: 28

Occupation:  Mercenary (Currently employed under the CCP)

Appearance: http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w188/mp5srt/swat.jpg
Based off of the dude on the bottom.  He has blonde hair and blue eyes and is about 6’2”. 

Weapon: http://vincentarnold.com/blog/wp-content/images/30.jpg
M41A Pulse Rifle.  Has 3 fire modes.  Single fire and burst fire.  As you can see there is a grenade launcher on rifle.  Carries a K-Bar type knife.

History: When Tom was a kid he always dreamed of joining the CCP mercenary corps.  But Tom always had a problem with authorities.  Formed a friendship with Matt Bor during training as they were always competing against each other to be top of the class.  They graduated at the top in basically a dead tie.  CCP lent them out for a few minor contracts but they have once again been called in by the CCP to escort some top secret something or other into one of the local CCP lab.

Personality:  Like I said earlier, he has problems taking orders.  Very hard on himself and is constantly pushing himself to do better.  Usually when bored he jokes. But when faced with situations is completely focused and rarely talks.

Name: Matt Bor

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Occupation: CCP Inc. Mercenary

Appearance:  6', bleached long white hair, brown eyes, gunslinger style moustache.

(Bottom guy, just like Sev's)

Weapons:

Misriah Armory M6-G Pistol (12.7x40mm SAPHE)

WST Manufacturing M90 CAWS (0000 Buck 8 Gauge Magnum)

History: Matt was originally from a small town in North Carolina, but moved to Illinois when his father stepped up and took over his uncle's custom rifle manufacturing company. After he finished school, Matt attended many private security (Military Grade) training courses and classes, where he met his best friend, Thomas Holston. He is now employed alongside Tom in the CCP Mercenary Corps.

Personality: Mostly irritable, sometimes the smallest things set him off. He then tries to make better of the situation (whether his fault of not) with sarcasm/jokes. Matt isn't afraid to voice his opinion.

It was raining, as usual, and Leo was starving. This time of year there wasn't too much sunlight, and the local Chinese restaurant was crowded more than any other time of the year. Finally, it was his turn in line.

"You! What you want! Make it snappy, I have hungry people to feed!"

"Noodles. Nothing else."

"Good customer! He make quick order! He know how to succeed! Unlike you, fat boy!" (The cashier goes on and strikes one of the employees for being slow, while giving Leo's order to the cooks.)

Walking into the rain, waiting for a cab with a hot cup of noodles, Leo's phone rang.

"Hartigan."

"Hartigan? Good. Listen, we've got a 118 down on Maynard Street, at Gila Towers. Tracked your GPS, saw you were the only unit nearby. Check it out. Real mess of a case, so I'm told."

"Will do, chief. Hartigan out."

Hailing a cab, Hartigan finished his noodles and set off. About halfway to the hotel, Leo took out his phone again, this time dialing a number he hadn't called in three years.

"Cain? It's Leo. I've got something you might find interesting."

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Name: Leo Hartigan
Age: 36
Occupation: Chicago City Police Officer, Inspector of Homicide Division
Appearance: Leo
Weapon: Ryas XP 556 High-Power Pistol
History: Born and raised in the Windy City, Leo knows the streets well, and thought it would be in his best interests to defend it from crime and poverty. He has worked with Cain in several cases before (this okay Val?), although he has rarely seen the retired detective since his dismissal.

Matt Bor was sprawled out on the comfy leather sofa in center of the main room, cleaning the interworkings of his M6 sidearm. Tom and Griggs were running through a level of an old Sci-Fi Hologame. He glanced up, noting the two were yelling triumphantly over completing a level on 'Legendary Difficulty'.

"Yeah yeah, what was your completion time?" Matt sighed, his record time of just under 17 minutes had yet to be broken.

"Wait for it, wait for it..." The two clutched their rifles anxiously. "...NOOOO!!! BY THREE SECONDS!!!"

Matt laughed as the two dropped to the floor in disappointment. "Slackers!"

"You know Matt, if you're not careful you'll clean the finish off that handgun of yours." Tom walked over to the couch, kicking Matt's leg down off the cushion so he could sit down. "Move over." Griggs sat beside him, flipping the channel to an exotic vehicle show. "Next paycheck, that's mine."

"Yeah alright, change the subject..." Matt re-focused his attention on the partly dismantled gun in his lap.
"That automobile company has been around for 500 years, Tom. Just think, all you're paying for is inflation."

"Yeah well...I can dream can't I?"

"I suppose you have the right to." Matt reattached the slide to the frame of his M6, holstering it for the time being. He walked around the sparsely decorated great room of the apartment, deciding he needed a cup of coffee. Rain always did that, he didn't know why. He peered out the large window that made up the wall of the main living room and kitchen, observing as the wall of rain swept upon the glass. Life as a Merc wasn't so bad, despite working for an increasingly treacherous and corrupt company. It had it's perks, though. Something he wasn't ready to give up just yet.
___

2 hours later
___

The 3 man squad of Mercs were suited and ready for deployment. They had been given a special assignment, yet knew nothing about it, all they could do was guess.

"Ey Griggs, what do you think they'll have us do this time? Damn tedious work they say...have to bring in the best...I'm sure they tell that to everyone."

"Yeah, but Matt, we are the best." Tom said in his 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone.

"No shit dirtbag, I didn't know that..." Matt tossed Tom a belt of grenades. "...you think this will be big? I mean, really worth our time? I'm sick of those stupid druggies walking up asking for a handout."

"I heard FG squad got the same briefing time as us..."

"Aww Griggs...those guys? Stuck up jerks if you ask me..." Matt loaded the mag into his M6, locking the slide closed with a very satisfying *SHHHCLLKK* "...might as well be the 'Fat Guys' squad if you ask me."
Griggs and Tom chuckled, shoving Mags into vest pouches.

"Let me know when we get the call..." Matt walked out of the kitchen and sat in one of those 'ergonomic' plastic chairs out on the balcony, clutching a large thermos of coffee. They weren't very comfortable in his opinion, but they came with the apartment. Besides, in all his gear, it didn't matter anyway, no need in breaking a good habit. He did this every night, drinking a large cup of coffee. It was almost a sense of longing for something else that drove him. Matt watched in silence as the rain danced on the buildings laden with lights and advertisements. It was a testament to how corrupt the city really was, how controlled people's lives were.

Not him.

...I make my own future...

Downing the glass of Tsing Tao, Cain topped the bottle and took it to his liquer cabinet and put it away. He should head home now, Becky had already left and Giff had gone a while ago. He went to the sink in the corner of his office and splashed some water in his face. Tired...

beep beep BEEP

"Ughhh..." Cain wiped the water from his face and took his phone out of his pocket. He put it to his ear without bothering to look at who it was.

"Hello." Cain greated half heartedly

"Cain? It's Leo. I've got something you might find interesting." Called the familiar voice.

"You've got the wrong number."

"Mhm, we've got a 118 on Maynard Street at Gila Towers, an apartment complex. It just doesnt look right apparently. I'd appreciate it if you came down here and spared some of your experience before you croaked."

"I'm tired, i'm going home." Cain said popping a DM12 pill into his mouth.

"Sure. K i'll see you there in about 15." Leo hung up.

Cain was tired...but Leo was somewhat insistant. Well, Cain appreciated an interesting case when he could get them. He grabbed his trench coat from the rack behind his door and his blaster from his desk, clipping it into his holster.

------

Cain pulled up to Gila Towers in his spinner, a token from his days as a Blade Runner and then detective. http://www.rot13.org/~dpavlin/bladerunner/decard_spinner-concept.JPG   It still flew, however after his dismissal from the force he is unauthorized to fly.

He got out of the Spinner, closed the door and was making his way to the lobby doors when something passed his face and hit the floor at his feet. He looked down; a large drop of blood. He looked up; blood was dripping down the side of one of the balconies and had made its way to some other balconies below. Several large drops had made it down to the ground level now.

"Jeez..."

The lobby for Gila Towers was standard. The doorman stood being interviewed by Leo, Cain made his way to him.

Two street cops taking notes from some other residents in the lobby noticed Cain enter, and one was making his way to Cain. Cain recognized him, an idiot. And the officer surely recognized him. Cain's dismissal from the force through the Mayor's power was well known through the different divisions.

"What are you doing here Cain? Nothing for you here." The officer said, unknown symbols flickering through his visor's HUD.

"I'm walking. What are you doing here?"

"I'm arresting you. Thats I'm doing..."

Just then Leo comes from behind the officer and puts his hand on his shoulder. The officer looks to Leo with a face of resignation and walks off giving a skeptical look to Cain. Cain and Leo then began to make their way to the turbo lifts. Their conversation continued through the ride and till they reached the 78th floor.

"Doormans over there. I already talked to him and got a description of a weird perp who walked in here right before the murder. Tall, orangelit goggles, hat, trenchcoat and a black suit. He was wearing a skimask to cover his face and when the guy grabbed his shoulder he felt hard, so he's probably very muscular or wearing body armor of some kind. It matches the description the girl in the apartment gave." Leo explained to Cain. Cain noted the similarity of this suspect to Gerric, but made no mention of it.

"Girl? Who?"

"Its in her apartment. The street cops tell me she was getting raped by the victim when the suspect broke in and beat the guy to a pulp."

"Have you seen the body?"

"No I was getting a print out from some security cams of the suspect. They should be showing up soon. But lets check the body first."

They walked out of the turbo lift and past some crime scene investigators taking clues and data from the scene. They walked down the halls until they reached a door swamped by CSI's and cops and knew they were at the right place. They strode in.

Gristly scene, but both Cain and Leo had seen worse. The girl was on the couch being questioned by Detective Giff, the bathroom door had been nearly bashed in, and the balcony...well the balcony was a mess.

Cain and Leo moved past Giff, not greeting him so he could continue his questioning. They took a look at the door first. It was an older wooden, swinging door. Not a metallic sliding door.

"This was definitely the victim's job. I'm guessing the suspect would have crashed through here with no trouble with what he did to the victim." Leo said taking a look at the body on the balcony in a pool of blood. Cain nodded and Leo beckoned him over to the body.

Leo bent down and examined the mush that was the man's head.

"...this is serious." Cain said. He noticed the rain water drain on the edge of the balcony and now knew how the blood and made its way down.

"Yeah...This guy has weird strength. I'm thinking he got ahold of some CCP strength boosters."

"Maybe... Leo, Giff gave me a case to work on a few hours ago. Its a bunch of random murders commited by a guy with the same description as our perp. This is definitely some of his handywork."

"Do you have the file?"

Cain looks at Leo. "Not on me."

Just then the girl loses it and explodes in anger at Giff's insistant questioning. She begins screaming through her tears.

"STOP! JUST STOP! LEAVE ME ALONE, PLEASE! I'VE TOLD YOU EVERTHING! THE MAN SAVED ME, HIS NAME WAS GERRIC! THATS ALL HE SAID! Please! please...." She yelled at Giff and the CSI's as she sunk onto the couch again and burried her teary face into her hands. A female CSI came and wrapped one of those blankets Cain had always thought were pointless, aroung the girl and comforted her.

He also noticed how the girl pronounced the man's name. Gerric with a "J" sound, like Jerric, despite it being spelled Gerric. Since he had spoken to her, he bet she had it right.

Leo went to talk to Giff to find out what else the girl had told him.

Cain stepped onto the balcony and crouched down to inspect the body. The bashing of the victim's skull in such a way required great strength. There was no signs of a struggle between the man and Gerric, besides the crushed wooden door...but that wasnt between them. Gerric quickly incapacitated the man and bashed his head in without an object, but with his sheer force against the balcony railing. This Gerric was skilled and powerful....and very odd. Saving the girl? Cain was going to have his hands full here.

(Just some ambience music. Click on it and let it play as you read on. The pictures in the video are also good images of the setting of this RPG. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdSeQKcrk-s&feature=related )

Cain stood and looked out into the Chicago cityscape, the dead victim at his feet in a pool of blood and brain matter. Spinners buzzed off in the distance, gracefully flowing through the tall buildings. Somehow, no matter how many window lights and neon signs there were, it never set off the darkness of night-time Chicago. 

Down below, thousands of people clammered through the streets, all trying to make their way through this crazy city...through life. They were all subject to the whims of people like the Mayor, and companies like CCP. Cain wondered if he was one of them, if he was a pawn. A tool for the CCP directors and corrupt politicians. Maybe he was being used just like the people down there and didn't even know it.

Cain knew he was wrong in that. Everyone was a slave, even the CCP board of directors and the Mayor himself. They were all slaves to time, to death; and we all want the same thing, the same answers. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got?

Off in the distance Cain could see the giant CCP headquarters building. A monument to their power and grasp of the city and people. And though it had the most lights of all, it was still somehow the darkest. It was also a monument to their corruption.

Cain reached into his pocket and brought out his bottle of CCP DM12 pills. He tipped the bottle and caught a pill, then popped it into his mouth. Heh... he thought. A pawn, a slave to CCP. As he closed the bottle he realized there were no pills left in this particular bottle. He laughed to himself again, realizing his error once more. He was more a slave to time like the rest. Waiting for his last bottle, his last pill.

Looking out into the noir cityscape once more, Cain heard a light fuzz sound growing louder. He knew what that was...Here it comes...Rain. The constant shower that the city takes to try and clean its dirt, its corruption. Never worked. The lights didnt light up the city. Chicago stayed the way it was, as its people milled about. Waiting, wondering...when. When the life they knew nothing of ended.

The rain picked up, became less of a heavy downpour, more of a light drizzel, and just the annoying shower that the city was victim to frequently. Cain looked down as it washed away the blood, the trace of life from the side of Gila Towers so the building could join the others in the silent, everlasting testament they were to the city as life breathed and died around it.

Cain flipped up the collar of his trenchcoat to protect against the rain. He put his hands in his pockets, and watched the dark city and its little inhabitants, all wondering about how long they've got. Cain didn't know...

Who does?

Another light rain had began to fall.The blood would be mostly washed away from the corpse by now, unfortunate for those under the balcony. The woman was being interogated, and had began to shout at the detective questioning her. All this was watched by Gerric, he saw everything from the adjacent rooftop. The angle was bad of course, he could barely see anything in the room, he was almost unable to see the woman being questiond, and he couldn't even see the detective doing the questioning. He could see the man on the balcony perfectly though, and saw him pull out a bottle of pills, and take one.He wondered who this man was, he didn't conduct himself as a cop.

  He knew they were after him. He wondered how they would feel if they had known he was watching them right now, less then six hundred feet away. He sat in the rain in the darkness, spinners flying by quickly. He continued to watch the police, wondering who this man on the balcony was, and why he was there.

(1st rpg in a long time...

to avoid further complication i am merely a swat team member.

names reg, standard machine gun, pistol, gas grenades, helmet, armor

nice and simple, holler if you need me)

Sighing, she turned from her desk to look out the expansive window. The rain was hitting the panes, silently, creating a veil over the city. From here, everything seemed peaceful, calm. The lights from across the landscape twinkled in the haze of the rain like jewels, similar to the ones on her wrist.

Pleased with her work for the day she filed her loose ends, and stood to leave. As she stood next to the door she took off her lap coat and hung it on the adjacent hook. Never one for traditions, especially since ignoring them had gotten her to this station in life, she dressed less like the brilliant scientist that she was, and more like a runway model. Her revealing dress, showed off her more physical attributes almost as a mask to her staggering scientific mind.

Lifting her communicator she called her driver, instructing him to bring her spinner around to her platform in 3 minuets. First, she would check in with security to make sure her latest and greatest project to date was still safe and ready for transport. She did not trust this task to one of those inferior beings that worked all around her. No, again, she did not achieve so much so fast for being trusting and  foolish. She wasn’t about to start either.

Everything was going well, and she indulged in a rare smirk to herself. As she strode towards her spinner.

“G’evenin’ Ms. D’Aresay” Her driver greeted her as he held the door open to her.

“Home, Jones.”

And with that Jones shut the door, and he climbed into the drivers seat, and took off into the rainy night.

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

Name: Daria D’Aresay
Age: 32
Occupation: CCP Scientist and Board of Directors Member, Science Affairs
Appearance: Tall, Blonde- short and Angled hair. Fashionista.

History: Super intelligent scientist, graduated doctoral program by the age of 21. Sought after by many of CCP’s former competitors, but chose CCP because they conceded to grant her the expansive lab set up that she craved. Created some of the most successful products that CCP had ever seen. Thus, by the age of 28 was on the Board of Directors, leading their scientific division. Thus she has attained high wealth and power with in CCP, and thus society.
Personality: Brutally efficient, and arrogant. Controlling and dominating.

Leo finished interrogating the girl, there was no more need to question her; he had gotten enough. Still, Leo was puzzled as to why this Gerric character hadn't killed the girl as well as hide his identity. Instead, he went and told her his name. Perhaps he wanted us to know. Maybe this is one of those sick bastards that likes to have their names given and tries to play a psychotic game with us. Pulling out a cigarette, Leo walked over and joined Cain as he stood on the balcony, in the rain.

"God damn I hate these cases. We got almost nothing on how to find this guy. Perhaps we should take a look at the file Giff gave ya, maybe we can pull something outta that, eh?"

"Probably. Better than standing here in the rain, doing nothing except looking at the skyline."

"You got that right, Cain. Boy, I tell ya. These weirdos and their drugged-up lives, it's all radical bullshit. Humanity, it seems, has taken a toll for the worse. Or at least here in Chicago. It's a good bet, that, say in four or five years, Cryo will probably run the entire city. Ah, Hell, why am I standing here lecturing to you? Let's go look at that file, I wana find out something at least. Nothing else we can really do here."

"Yeah. Yeah, let's go."

Tom wandered outside into the hall and shouted out to Matt and Griggs.  "Come on people!  Time to get going!  We got a deadline to be there!  'Member last time we were late?"

Griggs stepped into the hall.  "Yah.  Command gave our contract to FG.  Don't want that happening again.  Enough of your philosophical thinking Matt!"

"Just gotta finish the coffee."

Tom snickered.  "You and your coffee man.  They say too much coffee is bad for your health."

"Yah so is a walk through the city."  He chugged the last bit of coffee and made his way to the others.  They headed down to the turbolift where they were let off at the briefing room.  The leader of the CCP mercs and Fargo squad were waiting. 

“Thanks for deciding to show up Tebek.”  The general paced at the front of the room.  “It’s not as if it would kill you to be on time?”

“We try sir.” 

“No backtalk.  Now.  Down to business.  You and Fargo squad have been given an important mission.  On the city limits there should be a cargo truck waiting for the both of you.  It contains some highly classified materials.  Your job is to escort to our laboratories down town.  Simple enough.  We have laid out a course that you will follow and we expect it to be followed and do not under any circumstances leave the area.  Got it?”

“Whatever you say sir.”  Tom jibed. 

“TK squad you are to take up rear.  FG take point.  Once again it is imperative that that truck reach CCP labs.  Dismissed.”  TK squad followed bulked up FG’s out the door.  Fat Guys as Matt liked to call ‘em.  He had it right.  They bulked up to the point of looking obese.  They stepped into the turbolift to the parking lot.  Immediately the squads spotted their respective cruisers. 

"It ain't hard to miss ‘ol Greased Lightning, beauty that she is."  Indeed their cruiser (based off of a humvee) dwarfed all the other executive cars surrounded it.   But next to Greased Lightning was FG’s cruiser.  The fatmobile as Tom liked to call it.  It mirrored its drivers.  This thing could almost be considered a tank.

Tom pulled the keys. 

Matt perked up.  "Shotgun!"

"Damn!  Well looks like I'll be gunning today folks.  Better keep your heads down."  Griggs said with a cheeky smile.  TK chuckled. FG regarded the TKs with stony glances.  Rarely a word was spoken between them.   Soon they were all loaded up and headed out.  It took about a half an hour to reach Chicago’s massive city limits.  And as the map indicated, the cargo truck was right where it was supposed to be.  Tom parked it and stepped out into the rain to greet the driver, which to his immense displeasure was a CCPSF.  He heard Griggs swear from the truck.  Tom shot him a look.

“Hello Private.”  Tom bristled.  CCP mercs officially had no rank, it was based more on experience.  And the SF had this habit as regarding all of the mercs as Private.

"Greetings Major Asshol-  Oh I'm sorry sir.  Excuse me."

The CCPSF glared out from under his helmet.  "That's Corporal Stern ensign."

John Tarner the self proclaimed leader of Fargo squad stepped out.  "How did you get that?  Trained in the academy until you 'earned' it?"

All the mercs snickered.  The SF was getting more frustrated.  "Your mission is to escort my-"

Matt cut him off.  "Yah yah we got it in the briefing.  We need to protect your sweet little ranked keester until you get to the labs.  Easy.  Now get back into your truck or I shall taunt you again."

The SF spun swiftly on his heels and entered the truck.  The mercs burst out laughing.  John gave Tom a nod.  Tom nodded back.  "Alright let's get going."

The mercs headed back into the city as the rain gently spattered onto the windshield.

Cain and Leo strap up in Cain's grounded spinner and the vehicle hisses to a start. The vehicle's computer activates with a beep and the sound of a soothing female voice.

Good evening Detective Cain. All systems are functional, you are clear to proceed.

"Detective?" Leo asks, knowing Cain isnt a detective anymore.

"She doesnt know." Cain replies, Leo nods and snickers.

Cain makes a U-turn and heads for his office so he can show Leo Gerric's file and review it now that they know a little more. Him and Leo make small talk about the homocide division and how its gotten these days. It was pretty late at night, so the streets were relatively empty, yet still dirty.

At a certain point, Cain had to stop at an intersection to make a right turn. He had to wait for a strange convoy to pass. It consisted of two massive armored hummvees and an armored semi truck. The humvees drove in front and behind the truck.

(Truck)

The convoy sped by infront of him and he made the right turn and ended up about 50 feet from the last humvee behind the truck.

"What the...?" Leo asked looking at the military convoy.

"This has definitely gotta be CCP business...best keep our distance." Cain says. At that moment, the truck begins to swerve dangerously, as if the driver is loosing control. The truck is swaying terribly and is in danger of tipping. The CCP mercs in the Humvees begin yelling and try to avoid the truck. Cain hits the brakes just as the truck takes one last sharp swerve, tires screeching and smoke billowing from them, and tips over with a clash of metal against concrete. The truck slides across the street, smashing the front humvee out of the way.

"...this is nuts." Cain says, Leo is speechless.

The truck screeches to a halt and hisses in retaliation. The mercs in both humvees get out of their cruisers and yell at each other while running to the wreck to investigate.

Leo makes a movement to get out of the spinner, but Cain grabs his arm.

"Wait..."

The mercs quiet down and approach the steaming truck cautiouslly.

BANG

The back door to the immense truck slams open onto the street and out pop 3 frantic CCPSF troops.

(CCP Security Force troops)

They clamour out of the exit and spin to quickly let loose some machine gun rounds into the opened door. They shoot into the darkness while the mercs watch in shock.

The CCPSF troops run out of ammo and reluctantly lower their weapons. Everyone on the street watches the opening...

SKREEEEEEEECH!!!!!

From the open door spring forth several creatures the likes of which none of the mercs nor Cain or Leo had ever seen.

The creatures skreech and hiss as they escape and all hell breaks loose. Everyone starts firing as the nearest CCPSF trooper gets mauled relentlessly and the other two make a run for an alley. While one creature rips apart the helpess CCPSF trooper the other 6 creatures escape into the darkness of the city while the mercs try their hardest to shoot them, but they were too fast running on all fours, very dog like.

The mercs turn to the creature eating the downed CCPSF trooper and light it up. It takes a while, and alot of bullets to successfully stop the creature from moving. Two mercs carefully approach the body and examine it from a bit of distance. Cain and Leo cant hear them, but they know what theyre probably saying.

I don't believe this...

What the hell are these things?

The two CCPSF troopers who ran returned from the darkness, with their machine guns leveled at the mercs. Cain and Leo can tell theyre speaking to the mercs. Obviously the mercs were not supposed to see what was inside the truck, and their lives are now forfeit. CCP is going to hunt them down like dogs.

Cain didnt want to suffer the same fate. He put the Spinner in gear and made a screeching U-turn to high tail it out of there before the inevitable fire-fight between the mercs and the aggressive CCPSF's broke out.

Cain could see in his rear camera how the CCPSF troops saw him escape and how the mercs were growing very very trigger happy....

"This is insane, what the hell were those demon things? We've got to tell someone, lemme get Giff on the phone..." Leo said opening his cell phone.

"No" Cain said holding his hand up. "Youre right, we have to tell someone, but who? CCP has their fingers on everyones pulse in the city. We have to find a definite contact or we'll end up hunted like the mercs."

"Yeah but...Giff wouldn't be...I dont know. I'm gonna try Giff, he's been with us for years Cain, I trust him."

"Yeah, i guess i do too. Get him on the phone."

Leo dialed the number and waited for the call. Cain sped away, blasting through the streets of Chicago and sending debris flying around. This was serious...

Zach hated pulling night shift patrol duty.  For one thing, Maintenance never seemed to keep the Force's spinners very clean, and secondly, they were the most stubborn, obnoxious machines in the history of hovercraft.  But this sort of thing was to be expected.  When you're the only somewhat clean cop (okay, so he used CCP's Stimpaks a couple of times, who hadn't?) on the Police Force, you weren't exactly everyone's best friend.  And Zach could swear that Toby, one of the other cops, had it in for him.  So here he was, fighting the mechanical version of a mule, nearly grazing the tops of buildings as he meandered across his patrol route.

Looking out over the lit cityscape, though, his personal angst towards the machine was dropped.  He could have sworn he had heard a- There it was again!  Gunfire.  Sounded bigger than Police grade handgun caliber.  He forced his Spinner in the direction of the firefight.  When he got within visual range, he brought the vehicle to an abrupt halt.  What the heck is that thing? he wondered.  It was definitely not human.  And there were, it seemed, a small group of very heavily armed individuals unloading their ammunition into it.  Zach sat there, frozen with indecision.  Should he report this?  It wasn't really covered in the academy; What to do when encountering hotile nonhuman lfie forms.

Before too long, the decision was taken out of his hands; the creature, whatever it was, dropped to the ground dead, and the armed figures approached it.  He could see a group of CCPSF's approaching the fighters.  What was going on?   Creeped out, and thoroughly disturbed, Zach could only think of one thing to do; get to HQ and report the incident to the Sergeant.  As he fought the Spinner's controls to do so, he noticed on of the CCPSF officers watching him fly away.  He was too scared to care.  Again, he thought, What was that thing?

~~~~
Name: Zach Eagles

Age: 27

Occupation: Beat Cop

Background: Normal guy, normal life.  Graduated university, specializing in mechanics and engineering.  He applied to get training as a Merc, but didn't make the cut, and wound up joining the Police Force.  Doesn't much like Mercs because of this.

Appearance: Tall-ish, dark brown hair, and steel-grey eyes.  Lightly tanned skin.  Usually wear dark clothing, such as blacks and deep reds when not in the standard issue uniform.
((Uniform))
http://theqiwiman.com/Documents/front.jpg
((Imagine that, but blue-ish))

Personality: Overall honest, which puts him at odds with most other cops.  He is sarcastic when confronted with unpleasant situations.  LOVES to tinker with technology, especially firearms, and has personally modified his personal sidearm.  Doesn't trust other people much.  He also has purchased a large stock of Stimpaks for increasing his physical attributes (Agility and strength, primarily), and as such is quite dependant upon them due to prolonged usage.

Weapon of Choice: http://www.scifipropshop.com/pr1001/pr1001.html

The ride into the city was beginning to bore him.  Escort jobs were terrible.  So to speed up the process Tom slid in an archaic Compact disc.  Griggs stared dumbfounded.

"Where in the world did you get that?"

"I had to pull a few strings but I managed to dig some up.  All the golden stuff.  After iPods became implants these nearly went extinct.  But Apple was at the heart of a conspiracy.  The iPods were doubling as trackers.  And the public went into uproar and Apple sales plummeted major causing music sales to decline as well.  People were bringing out these and I managed to find a few."  AC/DC blared out of the Humvee's speakers.

"There we go.  Something to pass the time boys."  The hard rock contrasted to the dismal drizzle outside.  Tom stared outside at the streets and the homeless on the sidewalks.  What a place.  Then things took a turn for the worst. 

The semi swerved suddenly and lost control.  Tom had to pull some moves of his own to avoid colliding.  THe semi finally settled the front end smashed up pretty good.  FG was already out of their car cursing lke drunken sailors.

"What are you thinking!  What kind of driver do you think you are!  It's only a bit of rain!"

John stopped when he saw the inside of the window spattered with red.  TK squad climbed out of their humvee. 

Griggs was yelling.  "What's going on?!  What was that!?  Idiotic SF-"  John waved his hand and motioned to the front window.  TK stopped and immediately weapons were at the ready.  Suddenly the back doors smashed open and 3 CCPSF rolled out and immediately opened fire into the truck.  Tom just looked to the other mercs who were watching in dumb silence.  Finally when their clips are out they stop.  Half a second later a terrible screech is heard making Tom flinch.  6 hellish creatures bolt out of the truck and one goes for the nearest prey.  The two other SF officers bolt into the alleys.  Cowards.   

"SHOOT THEM!  GUN THEM DOWN!"  Matt is yelling simultaneously as his shotgun blasts.  Tom levels his M41A Pulse Rifle and madly fires in at the creatures running away.  Realizing they are long gone Tom turns to the one eviscerating the SF.  They let loose on this...thing.  The thing turns to the mercs but is gunned down after taking a few steps.

Matt and Tom cautiously approach the carcass and Matt gives it a kick.  It just flops. 

Matt turns to the SFs who decided to show their faces.  "What the hell were those things?"

"That's classified information we can't-"

"Don't give me that bull.  We deserve to know what it is that killed one of yours and nearly us as well."

"Look we were briefed on this.  No one was to know the contents and there were to be no witnesses to Project Cerebrus.  Drop your weapons now."

Tom glared daggers at the SF.  "That sounded awfully like a threat to me."  He hefted his rifle.  Matt cocked his shotgun.

The CCPSF stood their ground.  "The is your last chance mercs.  You either drop your weapons or we will open fire."

...ah shit...

The Mercs and SF were now at stalemate. Matt decided to break the ice. "How about that..." He slowly reloaded the ammo tube of his shotgun. "...it's a Mexican standoff..."  Then unsnapped his holster strap. "Only we ain't got no Mexicans."

There was a moment of silence before one of the security force elites spoke up. "I...uh...I'm Mexican..."

"Well now..." Tom raised a brow, not shifting his aim.

"I stand corrected."

"Enough of this garbage."  The other SF trooper raised his SMG, opening up on the group of Mercs.

"Are you kidding?!" Tom fired a grenade from his pulse rifle "Get down!"

*SHZZKKOOM!*

The grenade flew past the SF trooper, exploding into a shop across the street behind them. "FRICK!" Tom dove for an overturned phone booth. He quickly assesed the rest of the squad's location via his Tactical Assistant. It was a small screen mounted on the back of his glove that showed a a grid-like map with waypoints of other mercs. The SF troops had found ammunition and were laying it down in bulk. "Griggs, cover fire!" Tom shouted, only noticing moments before Griggs was right next to him.  He sprinted across the sidewalk to the humvee alongside Matt and Alan Hobbes.

"Where did they get the ammo? I didn't look like they had any on 'em." Matt said dryly.

"New suits." Alan spoke up. "Let's show these guys who they're dealing with."

"Bum rush 'em."  Tom indicated Alan in his heavy body armor.

"Alan you up for it?" Matt nudged his arm, but got no response. "Alan..? Oh no, no no no no no..."

A trickle of blood began absorbing through the tan balaclava Alan was wearing.

Matt's face lost all color. "Cover me." He jolted around behind the humvee, running full speed down the adjacent traffic lane. The rest of Fargo squad had obviously gotten the info and had rushed the trooper, guns blazing. Griggs and Tom were right behind him. The second trooper, who had started the firefight, was shooting in the general direction of Fargo. Matt ejected a shell from the breach, hand loading a Doorbreaching shell in it's place. "Bastard!" He racked the grip forward with a loud *SHCLK* The SF trooper turned, spraying a hail of bullets all around them. "You die!"

Matt leveled the 8 Gauge Magnum M90 at the trooper, pulling the firing stud. It was a grusome slow motion scene. The high temperature white phosphorus shot melted through the man's helmet and neck armor, blowing his head off with a sickening crack, accompanied by a spray of seared brainmatter.

"RRAAAAA!!!" He pumped the slide and fired again *FOOM* *SHKKSHNK*

"That settles it then." Tom said grimly.

"Yeah...it does..." Matt rasped for breath.

"Damnit!" Tarner kicked the body. "Now we're gonna have CCP crawlin' up our asses instead of handing us a paycheck."

"Yeah. Can't risk going back for equipment. We need to get out of here NOW."

"RV at our usual place." Griggs tapped two fingers to his brow. "Bang out."
The squads rushed to their Humvees, getting out of the vicinity as fast as possible.

"We'll have to ditch Lightning eventually..." Tom said, screeching the tires as he shifted the transmission.

It was unfortunate, TK squad had pooled several paychecks to add numerous upgrades to their humvee. Matt rode shotgun in a silent, blank stare in deep thought. Why? How? What was so important about the truck cargo that meant killing 6 highly trained mercenaries? He'd suspected CCP of immense treachery, but those were just stories, right? No, they weren't. The wave of rain hitting the windscreen startled him. Griggs leaned between the seats, putting both hands on their shoulders.

"We'll get through this. We're a squad...We're brothers."

As Cain sped through the barren streets of Chicago, Leo pulled out his phone to call Giff.

"Aha! Speed dial!"

"Just call him already, for Christ's sake!"

Leo held down the numbers 2-4, and Detective Giff was being called. After three rings, Giff picked up.

"Hartigan? What is it this time?"

"Hey, Giff, uh, me and Cain just ran into something big, and if we get caught we're in deep shit. Where are you right now?"

"I just left the crime scene. I can tell by the sound of Cain's spinner you two are driving in a hurry, I imagine. What have you done this time, Leo?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all! It's just that Cain and I were going back to his office to look at the files on that Gerric guy, then these CCPSF trucks came by, one of them tipped over and spilled out something rather nasty. We're not sure what it was, but there were several of them. Can we discuss this in person? It would be a lot safer."

"(sighs) Damn it, Hartigan. Alright, meet me at my office at... 1:00 AM sharp. Otherwise I'm staying out of it. Gabische?"

"Yeah, thanks. We'll see ya there. Hartigan out."

Daria walked into her luxurious penthouse apartment. It occupied the top three floors of the most desirable building in the city. Its profile was known only second to the CCP Offices in the city of Chicago.  It was spacious and filled with antiquities, an Art Deco collection that rivaled the greatest museums in the world. Every outer facing wall was windows over looking the vast urban landscape.  As she came in she hit a few buttons on the home’s controls and in the front sitting area the fire place roared to life, and the lights came to a soft glow.

Daria showered, and donned a white satin robe before she sauntered out to the living area again. She lounged by the fire for a moment, then decided to check the status of her project. She was anxious, and trying to not let is show, even to herself. 

She called the CCPSF convoy directly. No one answered. She could feel her blood begin to boil. “How dare the insolent fools refuse to answer for me. Don’t they know how important I am??!!” she thought. “Well they will soon learn the error of their ways, and then never repeat them.” Her justice was fast and quick, as there was always a few projects in the works that needed a more human touch during the test phases.

Daria then called her department back at CCP.

“WHY ISN’T THE CONVOY ANSWERING? WHAT IS THE STATUS? HAVE THE ARRIVED YET?” She shouted to the hapless individual assigned to take her calls.

“Ma’am the only report I have is that they entered the city limits and are en route to the lab.”

“ That’s not good enough.” And with that she disconnected and immediately contacted CCPSF’s director.

The communicator rang 3 times before he answered in an exasperated tone.  “hello?”

“What’s going on with the convoy? I called and they didn’t answer.”

“Theres been a situation. Project Cerebus has, umm, escaped.”

“WHAT??!!” she screamed, and instantly jumped to look out the windows, to see if she could make out where the convoy should have been. “How is this possible?? I thought you were HIRED to keep shit like this from happening!”

“ Sending all information to you at home ma’am. We’re still sketchy on, everything. All CCPSF were killed, either by the project or the mercs that we hired to run point on the transport. The mercs have conveniently disappeared.”

“BUT THERE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE NO WITNESSES! YOU FAILED.” She was furious. Beyond furious. She had worked too hard to not be.

"Where's the Cerebuses?"

"Ugh, we don't know yet."

"WHAT?!!" She punched the glass of the window and it resounded loudly as it shook. "YOU INCOMPETENT WASTE OF BREATH. SEND ME ALL THE SECURITY CAM FOOTAGE. I'LL BE INCOMING TO TALK TO YOUR SUCCESSOR."

She hurriedly dressed in a super tight black leather cat suit and tall stelleto boots. She called Jones, yelling that she needed to get back to CCP NOW!.

As soon as she got in the spinner she started flipping through the cam footage. The merc's DARED to kill one of her creations. Oh if only they knew how elegantly they had been crafted ever so carefully from their DNA up, their purpose so carefully incepted.

But something else caught her eye. Two men, in a slightly older spinner, but on the ground. Two obviously UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL, WITNESSES to the whole scene. And the looks on their faces was one of shock and horror. The Fools. They would need to be.... dealt with.

((Woo mega-post))

Tom drove on in silence.  Thoughts of their fate barraged his mind.  CCP was everywhere.  They had deeply rooted themselves into the entire of Chicago city.  There weren’t many places that didn’t feel the reach of the CCP.  But fortunately TK knew of a few good places to get lost.  The rain was really putting a dampener of his mood.

“What were those things?”

“I’m just as confused as anyone else Matt.  The SF called it project Cerebrus.  Whatever that means.”

“What is CCP thinking?  What could be the purpose of monsters like that?”  The humvee grew silent as everyone contemplated.  Griggs suddenly groaned.

“Don’t look now boys but we have company.”  The familiar drone of the spinners hummed above them.  An SF leaned out of the window and turned on a voice amplifier.

“Attention TK squad.  Pull over immediately.  If you comply we will not be forced to use force against you.  I repeat pull over immediately.”

Tom checked the mirror.  4 spinners.  Not good. 

“What do you think Griggs?”

“We stop they kill us.  I’ll show ‘em what I think.  Gun it Tom.”  Tom did so and Griggs spun the mounted M2 Browning to the rear and rained .50 caliber death on the spinners.  The lead spinner barely had time to pull up before Griggs tore into it.  It quickly lost altitude and slammed nose first into the ground in a fiery explosion.  Griggs let out an elated whoop.  The other three kept their distance following the humvee.

“Nice shooting Griggs keep it up!”  Griggs had to duck as a trooper leaned out and unleashed his own barrage.  Tom took a hard left plowing over a pedestrian car out late at night.

“Not good not good.”

Matt sat in shotgun giving Tom directions.  “Right right!”  Tom obliged sliding around the corner and gunning it once again.  Griggs was opening fire on the other three forcing them to hang back.  One ventured closer and the trooper managed to get a round into the tires blowing off the rubber.  Griggs found the mark once again and brought the second down.

“Right rear tires gone!  Keep it going!”

“Let me worry about that you just tell me where to go!”

They all flinched as more CCPSF bullets slammed into the sides of the car.  Tom took a sharp left into an alley way   He honked his horn as the homeless dived to the side to avoid the massive humvee.  Trash and garbage cans were flying off the car.  Tom expertly slid back onto the street. Matt looked around.

“Where are they?  Did we lose them?”  As if in response the two spinners emerged from the side street in front of them.  Tom slammed it into reverse and Griggs opened up but the spinners juked and jived around the hail of incoming bullets.  Matt squinted as the passenger of one was reaching into the back of the spinner.

“Aww hell.  Please tell me that isn’t an RPG.”  Tom swore.  This was going to end badly.  He turned the wheel hard left and slammed it into first as the humvee came neatly around and shot forward.  Griggs was shouting down. 

“HE’S AIMING IT! SWERVE LEFT!”  Tom yanked the wheel left and a shower of concrete rained where they were only a moment before. 

Matt pointed to the right.  “Take the next right!  The tunnel!”

Tom drifted the humvee into the side street and gunned it into the tunnel.  One of the spinners barely made the turn and slipped underneath but the other was no so fortunate.  He glanced off the building and began spinning out of control before smashing into the overhang.  The wreckage fell to the ground.

The remaining spinner took advantage of the close quarters and got up right beside the humvee.  The passenger leaned out and fired a few rounds before retreating behind them once again.  Griggs let a yelp of pain.

“I’ve been hit!”

“Hold on Griggs almost out!” 

One again the spinner got up close and began to ram the humvee into the side of the wall.  They were approaching a fork in the tunnel.  At the last possible moment Tom went hard left pushing the spinner into the divider.  Their humvee caught the barricade and spun out of control coming to a rest at the end of the tunnel. 

Tom and Matt stumbled out of the car.  It was totaled.  They climbed up and assisted Griggs in getting out.  Griggs moaned.  A bullet had pierced his left arm.  Tom stared at the Greased Lightning. 

“Well looks like she’s done.  She took one good beating before giving up the ghost.  I’ll go grab any munitions in the car.  The RV shouldn’t be too much farther.”

“About 3 click.”  Matt was helping apply a tourniquet to Griggs arm.

“Good.”  Griggs cautiously flexed his arm.  He winced but hefted his rifle.  “Let’s move out TK before CCP comes snooping again.”

TK began jogging up out of the tunnel and out.  They immediately turned into the side streets.  About 5 minutes later sirens could be heard from the direction of the tunnel.  After about 15 minutes of jogging they finally arrived at the RV.  An old 50’s style diner.  Prime Time Café.  Always open.

As they stepped in Matt took a deep breath.  “Best coffee in town.”

Vinnie the manager came out and saw the mercs.  “Well if it isn’t my favourite customers!”

“Hey Vinnie.  We need to hang out here for a bit.  Until we can come up with a plan.”

“Tell me no more!  I'll give you my bunker free of charge.”  Vinnie always had been a paranoid guy so he built an underground shelter to escape nuclear fallout.  But since it never happened he just uses it as storage.  Or to help out the mercs whenever they needed it.

“Thanks Vin.  Would you mind fixing us the usual?  We’re waiting for some friends.”

“No problem!  I'll fix them up right away!”  Vinnie left for the kitchen.  Oh how Tom craved his usual triple burger with all the fixings.  And Vinnie’s special sauce made it for the best burger in town.  Yet no one really ever came to this place.  Which was probably for the better right now?  The aromatic scents of the Prime Time Café filled his nose as he waited for his meal.

Zach parked the spinner in the hangar, and exited the vehicle with glee.  He hated those things.  But that thought was quickly banished as his mind replayed the carnage he had seen that night.  Thousands of questions whirled aorund his mind, but the only one he focused on was "why".  He walked through the hangar doors, and calmly strode down the white-paneled hallways, mulling over what had happened.  As he walked past the chief's office on his way to the locker room to turn in his uniform, another officer strolled out, slamming right into him.  Zach cursed under his breath; it was Toby.

"Hey Eagles, you got a call.  CCP.  Big stuff.  Someone's in trouble."  Toby grinned maliciously, and Zach was glad his tinted visor prevented Toby from seeing his expression.

"Lay off."

"Heh.  Anyways, they want you at their main office.  Like, now."

Zach sighed.  "Fine."  Luckily for him, the offices weren't far away, and he could easily walk the distance.  This was good; he so enjoyed a good walk.  And so he did.  He walked right out of Police HQ, and onto the dimly lit nighttime streets.  He was aware that he still wore his uniform, but he didn't care too much; potential muggers might be put off at the sight of it, and he really didn't want any more action tonight.

His path trailed lazily through a labyrinth of streets and alleys, and eventually, xiting a narrow, shaded alley, he came within sight of the CCP main offices, in all their shining glory.  He took a deep breath, and started towards them.  As he walked, he noticed a spinner sitting outside the entrance, with  small group of CCPSF's loitering around.  He almost paid them no attention.  Until he saw the size of their guns.  And the fact that none of them had safeties on.  Paranoia engaged, he also realized that they were simply acting casual, much like a cat will act lazy while waiting for a mouse to wander near it.  Maybe it's because of those creatures., he thought.  And then he heard one of them talking to his squadmate.

"When do you think this CPO-3913 will get here, anyways?  I need to head in soon.  Gotta take a leak."

"Can it.  Order were to wait for him, and then make sure that the witness doesn't tell anyone what he saw...ever."

Zach froze. CPO-3913 was his serial number, he got it when he entered the Academy.  It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that they were waiting for him to come, and then shoot him.  He was still fairly close to the building, he'd be noticed very quickly, especially with his uniform, with the serial number conveniently stenciled across the back.  So he followed the only course of action he could think of.  Casually turning to the left, he simply continued walking, as if that was his goal all along.  He tried not to act like a fugitive or criminal, but sometimes acting too casual can give oneself away.  And it did.

One of the CCPSF officers lazily leaned against the spinner, and nearly fell over as he recognized the number on the back of Zach's uniform. he called out to hus buddies, ad shouted over at Zach.  "Hey!  You there!  FREEZE!"  Zach increased his speed slightly.  "I said, STOP."  Zach broke out into a full run, and he heard gunshots behind him; there went the whole 'come in peacefully' solution. 

As he ran, Zach unholstered his gun, and fired a couple shots over his shoulder....only to hear the gun click.  "Dang safety..."  He flipped of the safety, and turned ever so slightly to get a shot off at his pursuers, only to feel what could be escribed as the equivalent of a sledgehammer smash into his shoulder.  The force of the blow spun him around, hard, slamming him right into a wall, leaving a small crack in his visor.  He staggered to hisf eet, and fired back, wincing as a bullet plowed into the wall beside his head.  With this exchange of fire done, and the tell-tale sounds of reloading weapons, Zach continued his mad flight away from the equally mad CCPSF's.

"I need to find cover, NOW," he thought.  "Looking for a door, looking for a door, come on, where's a flipping door?!" 

His prayers were answered, and he saw an unlocked, and slightly ajar door up ahead, to his right.  Without bothering to think of what lay beyond that door, he flung himself inside.  Flattening himself against the wall, he heard the pounding footsteps of the soldeiers as they continued following what they presumed his flight path was.  Zach allowed himself a sigh of relief.  And then he saw what, or rather, who else was in this room.  Staring at him as if he was some sort of alien or something, were no other than the three mercs he had seen earlier, shooting the creatures.

"Of all the miserable--What the heck are they doing here?"  He groaned internally; out of the frying pan, the saying went.  Now it was time to see how hot the fire was...

This skin was odd. He knew others, long ago, who had skin yet they were brought into existence with it already on. He was not accustomed to it, however it would serve its purpose.

Roy sat in the anti chamber of CCP's CEO's office. He was awaiting for Dr. D'Aresay, the head of the Biology Dept. who happened to have created his Endo-skin. They both had a meeting with the CEO to discuss Roy's first assignment, and Daria's first failure.

Roy was a robot. One of the few combat models manufactured by South Western Robotics Corp. He had a glitch in his programming that was exploited when his attack ship was exposed to massive interstellar radiation. The accident caused an interesting side effect: consiousness.

Afterwards, Roy had made his way back to Earth to look for...purpose. Luckily, it had been a while since the other SWRC bots had gone renegade, so the Blade Runner units werent on force and he could sneak around the city despite his appearance before CCP bestowed him with skin.

To truly live, he needed to atleast look human. He infiltrated SWRC head quarters (with much bloodshed) only to find out that the Endo-skins were done by CCP's bio division, not SWRC. They only manufactured him. And so, Roy made his way to CCP. However, as soon as he infiltrated Chicago, CCP tracked him down and brought him to the CEO. Somehow, he knew everything, and they struck a deal. A deal which only the two of them know about.

The catch was that Roy had to do what he was originally programmed to do: kill. The CEO would brief Roy on his mission.

Despite the CEO's office being lavish and on the top of the CCP building, lighting what terrible in the office. Few knew the CEO's true name, and he liked to keep it dark to conceal his looks somewhat. Roy adjusted his black trenchcoat, flipping his collar up. He disliked waiting...

ERRRRR-HISSSSS

Good evening Dr. D'Aresay. Called the unknown female voice that identified the doctor. She entered the anti-chamber in a rush, vividly angry. Wearing a black leather skin-tight outfit, she was as stunning as Roy recalled. Her physical features were near immaculate. Yet her ambition was her most endearing quality...

Daria stormed by Roy and barely noticed him in the darkness of the room. He was trained for stealth, and his brooding and black trenchcoat blended in nicely with the darkness and dancing gloom made by the rain pittering on the large windows. Daria stopped suddenly and turned to Roy, who had a sly smile across his face.

"...Roy?" She called, trying to peer through the darkness. She could just barely see the light in his eyes, the extremely faint twinkle that all robots with Endo-skins had. It glimmered when they felt strong 'emotions', only other robots and the most experienced Blade Runners could see it.

"Fancy meeting you here, Daria." Roy's eyes narrowed in anticipation.

"Roy...I never had the chance to see you after the Endo-skin application."

Roy rose and stalked up to her, his hands deep within his trenchcoat. His appearance was extremely frightening. He was the only thing Daria ever feared. What thoughts, ideas and 'emotions' flickered in Roy's 'mind' Daria could not imagine. She reached up and stroked his face.

"I see the skin fused perfectly to your exoskeleton." Daria said softly

"Due to the excellence of a certain head of the Bio-Division no doubt..." Roy said reaching up and grabbing Daria's hand without her even realizing. He could sense her pulse increase dramatically, her fear aroused him. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Then she caught herself and withdrew her hand, regaining her composure.

"Yes...well I'm sure he's waiting for us." Daria took off for the large double doors leading to the CEO's office, and stopped at them, expecting Roy to open them for her. He walked up and did so, smiling at her as she walked by.

They entered the large, yet simple office, filled with state of the art technology that usually blended in with the desk or large chair. As opposed to most other offices, there was only one large window, behind the desk. This meant the only source of light was from this window, making the CEO a sillouette in his large chair. On his desk in front of him, a touch-screen was built into the desk. He was reviewing pictures and data of the accident. The little amount of blue light from the screen reflected off his rectangular glasses.

There were no chairs for Roy or Daria to sit in, the CEO never spent enough time to have his guests sit. He made everything quick.

"You are aware of the situation Dr. D'Aresay." He said, not looking away from the screen.

"Yes. I take full responsibility." She said. Although in fact, she blamed the CCPSF's yet she knew better.

"Our plans must move forward with this setback. Begin the primary phase of the Stage II Cerebrus creatures."

"At once, sir." Daria said looking down.

"Roy, your first assignment is to eliminate the witnesses of Project Cerebrus. Most notably these two" The CEO presses the screen and it flips up, and spins to face Roy. It is a picture of Cain and Leo in Cain's spinner witnessing the crash. The picture minimizes and profiles of both come up.

"Blade Runner..." Roy notices Cain's former Blade Runner status on his file. This, displeases him.

"That is correct, Roy. Richard Cain is a former Blade Runner, and experienced. However I have no doubt in your abilities." The CEO says as the screen lowers. Roy wasn't a combat model for nothing.

"Roy, you now have access to CCP armories and computer databases to access information on your targets. Your priority are Leo Hartigan and Richard Cain, however if you encounter the former CCP mercenaries you are also to kill them on site. SF troops will be hunting both parties in the mean time. You both have your orders now." The CEO said and his chair turns so he can look out his window and at the dark, twilight abyss of his city.

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

Roy and Daria entered the turbo lift of the top floor.

"Where are you headed?" Daria asked, her hand next to the button display.

"...Delta Labs." Roy said, still glowering silently at Daria. Roy was going to access the advanced armory there.

"Me too..." Daria answered and swiped her keycard in a slot next to the button display, only the highest authorized personnel were allowed into the Delta Labs; the forfront of all high caliber CCP projects. Daria had to initialize the Stage II creatures. The turbo lift doors slammed shut with a hiss.

Name: Alan Decker
Age: 45
Occupation: CEO of CCP
Appearance:
Weapon: Generally a handgun, but he has “other” specialties
History: Decker has a shrouded past, he doesn’t open up to anyone to enlighten them about himself.

He worked his way from the base labs of CCP, through to the Corps and then into the Business Sector. He is a man of many talents and isn’t afraid of eliminating any road blocks that come his way.

He is power hungry and something of a tyrant. His personal goals are not clear to those around him. No one trusts him, but they know better than to betray him.

-

Decker sat at his desk, the lights were out as he studied the dark city outside. It was raining, the droplets running down his window with little resistance. To anyone he looked like a business shark, a tycoon perhaps but Decker had worked his way from the bottom. He’d gotten his hands dirty and still had a habit of doing so.

As if contemplating the blood on his hands Decker lifted his black leather gloves and slid them over his strong fingers. He wasn’t ashamed of what he had done in the past as it had gained him much power and influence, at least within CCP. But Decker was no fool, he knew he’d come as far as he could with CCP, it was time to tip his hand and his knowledge to a competitor.

CCP had a monopoly that seemed unstoppable to the minions in the city below. Decker had access to all sorts of files that would show just how dirty the company was but he had no intention of using such things. If he did it would incriminate him with such crimes as the biological changes made to a certain tuberculosis strain now commonly known as “Cold Killer”.

Decker was much more subtle and cunning. He’d been running his own experiments on the side for years. He was slightly surprised that no one had picked up that he looked around 35 years old rather than his actual 45 years. Decker wasn’t afraid of using what worked. Anti-aging cream was something that truly existed, one simply had to apply it for the rest of their life.

As if to confirm his train of thought his secretary, Alma Dalton, walked into the room carrying a data card. “Some transcripts as you requested, sir.”

Decker gave the shapely blonde a nod as he took the data card. To most Alma was a gorgeous waif and it was precisely why Decker had hired her. Most of his fellow colleges were busy ogling her while he assessed what they wanted and if there were any real threat to his own agenda.

Decker activated the data card and smirked, Daria was doing exactly what he thought she would. The woman was brilliant but also arrogant. He knew that she was gunning for his position in the company, little did she know that he was going to hand it to her on a silver platter when the time was right.

She hated him so completely because he too was a brilliant scientific mind, he understood her lingo when she was trying to outfox the other Board Directors. He simply clarified things much to her annoyance. In some ways they were so similar it was almost destined that they would repel away from each other.

Daria had deployed the convoy, little did she know that Decker had his own specialist tamper with the transports.

It was only an hour or so later that both Daria and Roy appeared in Decker’s office. Daria tried to conceal her glare but Decker was an expert at reading appearances.

The conversation was brief, it didn’t need to be anything else. Once they were gone Decker stood and put on his full length leather coat, it was time to view the secret video feeds from the convoys.

-

Name: Eva Adams
Age: 29
Occupation: Special Agent
Appearance:
Weapon: Custom made pair of pistols
History: Eva has a bad history with CCP. She initially worked for them in their Intelligence sector, however she was fired when she dug a little too deeply into their files. She swore to get her revenge but barely survived her “termination”.

Working together with her boyfriend Gerric, they had planned to take down CCP. But Gerric has been missing for some time. Every so often Eva gets a lead and tries to track him down.

-

Eva’s feet hurt, by now she should have known better than to wear her ankle high boots with their stubby little heels but Eva had been out for information. Like the last few weeks, she’d had to put aside her dirt digging schemes against CCP in order to find out what had happened to Gerric.

In her long red dress, with high split up the side, she was drawing way too much attention for her liking. The flash of her pistol secured to her garter tended to ward off any potential threats but Eva felt another sort of danger.

The sounds of distant gun fire echoed around her. Her skin prickled with goose-bumps as she fingered one of her pistols. There was a scuffle and shouting, then all was quiet.

Annoyed at her curiosity, Eva found herself walking towards the last source of the noise. Perhaps she’d find clues as to Gerric’s whereabouts even as unlikely as it seemed.

**Sorry for the double post, I just figured someone would have posted by now...**

Decker sat and watched the feed from the convoy, the results were as expected. Daria certainly knew how to make things mean. Shame she couldn't see beyond the actual beasts and as to what end they could serve. Not that it was his problem. Decker turned off the feed and paced the room for a moment as he contemplated what was to take place over the next 24 hours.

He had a meeting within the hour with three contacts from Black Pool Pharmaceuticals. Black Pool was not the strongest competitor against CCP but that hardly mattered. Decker made his way to the elevator and took it to the sub-basement level 4. He walked towards his own vehicle but he wasn't about to use it. Instead he moved to the square concrete pillar that stood between his vehicle and the next. At the back he pressed a small indentation that looked like a chip out of the concrete. A secret door opened and Decker stepped inside.

Decker walked along the dark moist corridor as the secret door closed behind him. He held a bright torch in one hand as he made his way through the maze of tunnels. The CCP building had been built over part of an old subway that had long since ceased to be used. The subway walls had crumbled under the weight of the building, however CCP had put in other measures to ensure their building remained stable and unshaken. Decker smiled to himself, a few well placed explosive charges would fix that. Fortunately Decker was one of the last remaining people to even know about the subway problem; otherwise the place would have been obliterated by some crazed protester years ago.

It didn't take long for Decker to reach the exit of the subway he was looking for. The original architect had designed the exits in the subway for emergency purposes, but as time passed they were completely forgotten about as those within the company either climbed the ladder with success blinding them, or fell victim to "termination".

The door opened to an alleyway. Garbage was pushed up against the walls to make a narrow pathway from one end of the alley to the other. A homeless man lay on the ground, either asleep or unconscious, his bottle of whiskey lying on its side leaking out over the crumbling tarmac.

Decker made his way and stepped over the open hand and whiskey bottle, only to have the homeless man's hand lash out and grab his ankle. The homeless man rolled onto his belly and pointed a gun at Decker. "Give me your cash now!"

Decker's face remained impassive, his hand reached under his long leather jacket to his back pocket.

"Easy," said the homeless man as he expected to have a gun pulled on him in return.

Decker smiled reassuringly, deliberately hiding his teeth. He held a square of leather in his hand for the homeless man to see. As the homeless man reached for it, Decker thumbed the press-stud. A mist sprayed into the face of the homeless man. Blemishes suddenly broke out on his exposed skin. The homeless man dropped his gun to claw at his eyes, "Get it off, get it off!" he repeated continuously. Decker watched for a moment in pure fascination as the homeless man continued to struggle against the virus Decker had just exposed him to. Like so many other experiments, Decker had ensured that he was immune before using them on others. His fascination soon faded and he continued on his way.

No one took any notice of the homeless man's cries for help. Such was the norm in this part of town. The weak always fell prey to the strong; it was the nature of the dark city. Decker made his way to the old garage; it had been vacant for some months and had been looted many times. The homeless refused to sleep in the place as there were rumours of plutonium contamination in this particular garage. Decker pushed aside a flimsy wooden door that had been rammed one too many times.

He made his way into the back office that had conveniently been soundproofed as the ex-owner of the building had enjoyed yelling at his employees a little too much. Some said he even beat unpaying customers into submission. Decker didn't care what the purpose was for such a room, it simply served his purposes. As Decker approached the back office he heard voices from inside, the only way this was possible was because they'd left the door open.

"I don't think this is a good idea," a male voice said.

"This is the only way we can progress, CCP is unstoppable as it currently is," reassured another male voice.

A female voice cut in, "Besides if this CCP contact can't deliver what he says, we can always feed him back to the beast he came from."

Decker smiled at that. It was no wonder Black Pool was no real threat to CCP, they didn't have the nous to be cut throat. Taking the opportunity to present himself, Decker stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "Good evening lady and gentlemen," he said with the upturn of the corner of his lips.

The three looked unsettled that they hadn't heard him approach. He recognised each of the figures in the room. The woman was Trista Elfman, Company Secretary. A short portly man who was sweating intensely was Graham Coutts, General Manager and the last, a tall African American, was Keegan Dennison the CEO. Decker didn't bother with introductions, they probably had an inclination as to who he was but Decker didn't promote himself to the public. The few recorded images of him were generally kept in soft focus or shafted in shadow. Clarence Moore, General Manager, tended to be the Poster Boy for CCP.

Coutts was the first to speak up, "So you're our contact?"

Decker rested a hand on the back of a slashed chair, "That I am."

"So what can you give us?" Coutts was quick to say.

Dennison placed a hand on his shorter co-worker's shoulder, "What we really what to know is how this meeting is going to benefit us?"

Decker remained standing, "Your organisation has been floundering for sometime in comparison to my organisation. Your scientists lack the experience and intelligence to bring you in line with my organisation. I can help you resolve this problem."

"Keep talking," Elfman said as she attempted to look bored.

"My organisation is currently in the process of making bio weapons," Decker said and watched the reactions of the three before him. Each gasped in response, Decker continued on. "There's been an accident where the bio weapons have been let loose in the city. Your organisation could come to the rescue by eliminating the bio weapons more efficiently than my organisation can."

"We don't have those kind of resources," Dennison said slowly.

Decker smirked, "No you don't." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial containing a pink viscous substance. "This stuff will burn through the skin of the bio weapons. Once the skin is pierced they are much easier to take down."

All three Black Pool associates stared at the vial. "What do you want in return?" Elfman asked.

"Alesk Island," Decker said simply. The island was one of Black Pool's most secure research sites. It had advanced technology that CCP could only dream of. If there was one thing Black Pool were good at, it was advanced scientific technology.

Coutts spoke up, "But the Police are corrupt, they'll never expose your organisation for what it is."

Decker shook his head, "The Police are easy enough to control."

"For you maybe," Coutts spat.

"We influence them with money and... fear." Decker said with a slight tilt to his head. His sunglasses covering the expression from his eyes.

"Elaborate," Elfman said as she raised a well-manicured hand.

"If your family was to suddenly become ill, you'd be permanently indebted to the organisation that can feed you the cure... especially if it's ongoing treatment." Decker said and watched as understanding dawned on their faces.

Elfman stood, "Give us the vial for testing and we'll come back to you with our answer."

Decker held the vial out to Elfman, as her hand wrapped around the vial he held his grip. "I expect to hear from you in two days. Don't mess me around, I can do far more damage to your organisation that you can imagine."

Dennison laughed, "This whole conversation has been recorded, we can feed you to the wolves back at CCP."

Decker smiled and actually let his teeth show, "The wolves aren't my concern. Hand in the recording if you want."

Dennison had a momentarily look of uncertainty cross his face. "We'll meet again in two days."

"I'll contact you," Decker said releasing the vial into Elfman's hands, then simply and turned his back on them and exited through the door. He had no fear of the Black Pool associates; they were merely pawns in his game.

Tom eyed his burger hungrily as Vinnie brought out the meals.  He had barely bitten into the burger when someone burst inside.  Great, just great.  Tom spun around and groaned inwardly when he saw a police officer.  Although it was pretty humiliating if they were to send a single cop after them.  His hand instinctively went to his rifle.  Same with Griggs and Matt.  The police officer didn't look much better than them.  His visor was cracked and he was bleeding profusely from a wound in his shoulder.  He immediately gasped.

"You!"

"Yah yah.  You're here to take us in and all that jazz, you have a right to remain silent et cetera et cetera.  Not going to happen buddy."  Griggs leveled his rifle.

"No no!  I was there when the things broke out!  I saw what happened."  Griggs relaxed slightly but still held the rifle.

"Or so you say.  Why should we believe you?"

"You think they would send a single police officer after three mercs?"

"Good point.  Pull up a chair and we'll get that patched up."

Tom leaned to Griggs.  "You're just going to trust him that easy?"

"Sure why not?  He'd be an idiot to lie."

"Whatever you say boss."

Matt was chatting with the newcomer.

"What's your name buddy?"

"Yeah, thanks. We'll see ya there. Hartigan out." Leo said and closed his phone. "K we got till 1 to get to his office."

"We've got time then, lets head to my office and check Gerric's file." Cain said, popping a DM12 pill.

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

Cain and Leo walked down the hallway leading to Cain's office carefully. When they reached the door, Cain held up his hand for Leo to stop. They both took out their weapons. Cain slowly opened the door and walked in, blaster first. It was possible CCP already sent for them.

The waiting room was empty, Becky (his secretary) was definitely not in at this hour. Leo came in behind Cain and they then entered Cain's actual office. Empty again. They eased out a sigh of relief and holstered their weapons. Cain took a seat at his desk and Leo sat in a chair opposite.

"Alright lets have a look-see..." Leo said

Cain opened his desk drawer and took out the file, tossing it across the desk. Leo picked it up and started reading a couple segments out loud to himself.

"Yeah this is definitely the guy. Look at the description. Nothing about possible living quarters or locations... Whats this? Known relation to former CCP employee and current Special Agent Eva Adams." Leo said lowering squinting at the paper.

"Wait what???" Cain said extending his hand, he must have skimmed over that in his exhaustion earlier that day, before he got Leo's call, Gerric's odd case wasn't exactly a priority.

Cain took the file and read the line.

"Special Agent Eva Adams...how vague is that? I gotta bring this up to Giff when I see him." Cain said pressing a button on his desk. A computer screen popped up and a keyboard slid out from under.

"You're going to look her up? I can't imagine her own file will be too descriptive either..." Leo said getting up and serving himself a drink from Cain's cabinet.

"All I need is an address, another name...just one lead." Cain said typing 'Eva Adams' into the database he had.

beep beep beep...*sounds of Cain typing*...beep beep beep...zzzzzzzz....beep beep...

"Hmmmm...got a pic here." Cain said and turned the screen, showing it to Leo.

"Mhm," Leo looked and Cain turned the screen again to continue reading

"No known whereabouts...Mentions Gerric, but nothing interesting. But theres also something here about her only living relative, her uncle. 'Vinnie Curlenko'." Cain selected the name and it linked him to Vinnie's file.

"'Vinnie Curlenko, age 57...some other stuff....owner of a 24 hour 1950's style diner: The Prime Time Café. Its down on 57th and Collins. Thats closer than his apartment. Along the way we can get something to eat, i'm starving." Cain said closing the screen and standing up

"Why dont we just eat there?" Leo asked, downing his drink

"I dont make it a point to eat while questioning people."

"Right...we should pick up some energy stim packs too. I'm exhausted." Leo said rubbing his face and holding the door for Cain as he walked through.

"Definitely, we probably wont last the night otherwise." Cain said

----------

Cain parked his spinner as close to the noodles stand as he could and him and Leo got out into the rain. There were many more people around this area of the city, late nighters who lived and ate at this time. As such, it was also dirtier. Cain and Leo made their way to the stand they frequented. Cain went to the stand and Leo went to get drinks.

Cain sits down at the noodle bar and the Counterman, an elderly Japanese, slaps a menu in front of him. No words on the menu, just pictures of sliced fish parts. Cain points to a particular item and holds up four fingers. The Counterman looks at the item on the menu, confirms the order by holding up two fingers. Cain shakes his head "no" and repeats his four fingers. The Counterman nods, corrected and hurries off.

"Tsing Tao?" Leo asks Cain showing him the bottle he just bought and sitting down next to him.

"Tsing Tao." Cain confirms and hands Leo the menu.

Whap. 

The Counterman slaps a bowl of rice and a pot of tea in front of Cain. Then he puts the little bowl with the two slices of fish on the counter. Cain looks at the fish. Two slices of fish. He looks at the Counterman and holds up four fingers. The Counterman looks down at the two slices of fish, looks like two to him.  He looks at Cain as though Cain was a fool and holds up two fingers. He can count!

Cain stares bleakly at the fish. He can't win.

Leo orders, gets his food and the two ate quickly. When they finished, they stopped by a CCP stim pack vendor machine and Cain reluctantly purchased two commercial energy packs. They took the pills and then made their way back to Cain's spinner.

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

Cain and Leo entered the Prime Time Café. It was nearly empty, exept for a group of four people sitting in a dark corner, concealed by the back of their booth. Cain couldnt really see them.

Vinnie walked up to greet them, Cain had seen his picture on file and knew what he looked like.

"MORE hungry late nighters! Take a seat theres plenty of-"

"We're not here for food Mr.Curlenko. Private Investigator Richard Cain (Cain hold up his license), and this is Inspector Leo Hartigan (Leo flashes his badge). We understand you have some relation to a former CCP employee-"

At the mention of 'investigator', 'inspector' and 'CCP' the four men at the back of the restaurant bolted out of their seats and leveled massive guns at Leo and Cain. There was yelling, and Vinnie threw his hands up and yelled back at the four men. Leo kicked over the nearest table and Cain moved behind it, his blaster already out.

Eva walked into the open crossroad, it was eerily quiet and that chill continued to stay with her. The street also seemed unusually dark. Eva noticed that a couple of the street lights were out and that there were signs of a vehicle accident.

On the ground something caught the light and gave a dull flicker but it was enough for Eva to notice. She crouched down to observe and was immediately puzzled. The item looked like a fingernail but it was certainly not human.

Eva pulled a small pack from a concealed section of her dress. From the pack she took a pair of tweezers and a small sterile evidence bag. She picked up the fingernail to observe it more closely. A sharp clang almost made her drop it. Instead she slipped it into her bag and immediately replaced her pack in its hidden sheath.

Eva turned to see a man heading towards her. There was something unnatural about him and every instinct told Eva to run. Yet her training made her hold her ground. “Was there an accident here?” she asked feigning innocence.

The man continued walking towards her. Eva had a moment to recognise the walk of a military trained man but there was something wrong with this one. He kept his eyes lowered and in shadow as he neared her. Eva was compelled to run but she had a feeling that this was exactly what the man wanted.

He stopped within a pace of her and tilted his head slightly. It was enough for her to see the glint of amber tinted eyes. Something flickered through Eva’s memory but before she could analyse it the man had his hand around her throat.

Eva reached for her gun but then man simply said, “Don’t.”

It wasn’t a warning it was a command and Eva knew it. She waited for him to twist his grip and for her life to end but he gently turned her head towards the light as he examined her. “Eva,” he said with newly discovered recognition.

Eva blinked in confusion, she wanted to speak but his grip on her throat was too much.

“He’s dead you know,” the man said simply.

Opening her mouth Eva tried to ask if he meant Gerric. Suddenly the man let her go, “You need to leave right now. Death is coming.”

Eva stumbled back and moved as advised. There was once place that was close that she considered safe. She made her way at a fast jog but she didn’t go directly to her uncle’s, she didn’t want to lead danger to his haven.

Once Eva was satisfied that she wasn’t being followed she made her way through the kitchen entrance into the Prime Time Cafe. Oddly enough the kitchen staff were peering through the swing door windows.

“What’s up?” Eva asked Nelly, one of the long time waitresses.

“We got some CCP creeps wanting to question your uncle, or at least that’s the gist of what we heard.” Nelly informed her.

Eva nodded and made her way to the bar entrance. The two parties outside were so absorbed in watching each other that they didn’t notice as she moved through the bar gate. She slipped off her shoes and padded silently behind them, with both her pistols she placed the barrels under each mans’ jaw, “Drop your weapons boys and nobody dies.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be nobody gets hurt,” one man said, he had the distinct movements of a cop; out of the two men he dropped his weapon.

“Dead or hurt, you get the idea,” Eva said simply as she waited for the other man to drop his weapon. “You don’t like female authority?” Eva asked as she gently nudged the stubborn one to encourage him to drop the gun.

He glared at the men across the room, “I don’t trust your friends.”

“They play nice when asked,” Eva informed him.

For the first time the man looked at her and he immediately lowered his gun. “I came to see you anyway.”

Eva’s brow furrowed as she eased off with her pistols, “Now that I didn’t expect.”

Uncle Vinnie quickly relieved the men of their guns, “You get these back when you leave,” he informed them.

Eva re-holstered her pistols and as usual it drew a lot of male attention.

“Interesting place you keep your weapons,” said the man who was very cop-like.

Eva smiled, “Easy access is always best.”  She turned to the more serious of the two, “So to what do I owe such a spectacular visitor?”

The mercs applied a tourniquet, which stopped the bleeding from his shoulder wound.  He had been in such an adrenaline rush, that he had forgotten all about it.  He sat down, across from the mercs, and they asked what his name was.  Zach barely had time to say, "Name's Zach.  And y--" when the door opened and two figures entered. 

They started talking to the proprietor, and Zach only caught the words, "investigator".  Apparently, so did the three mercs.  The whipped out their guns and leveled them at the strangers, with Zach following suit, aware of how small and weak in comparison his pistol looked.  While the two groups stood off against each other, he heard yet another voice. 

There was now a woman holding two pistols out, aiming at the investigators.  He was too confused to pay too much attention, but was relieved when the proprietor, Vinnie, his name was, relieved the investigators of their weapons.  And even more surprised when the investigators claimed to be looking for the woman.  By this time, Zach had been thoroughly confused, so he did the only thing he could hink of.  He holstered his pitsol, sat down, took off his helmet, and picked up a menu.  All this chaos in one night was making him hungry, and from what he had heard the mercs talking about, this place served some great food.  And the best part was, he could eat, and still try to pay attention to what was being said across the way from him.

As Eva watched the two men rearrange their table to be back where it belonged, she glanced over at the four would-be rescuers of her uncle. She had initially thought they were his normal patrons: Louie, Ned, Todd and Nugget. But her assumption had been wrong. These guys looked to be CCP mercs, yet they were very twitchy at the mention of the company name.

Perhaps, like her, they’d been royally screwed over by the company. She looked over the faces as subtly as possible but she didn’t recognize any of them. For a moment she thought back to her strange encounter that had led her to Vinnie’s.

That man had seemed so familiar, yet she couldn’t put her finger on who he was or how she knew him. She blinked a few times before she realised she was being spoken to.

She returned her attention to the two men who were now seated at their table. She didn’t miss the fact that they sat facing the mercs. Clearly they didn’t trust having a gun to their back, nor did she for that matter. She moved to the chair on the side which gave her access to view the patrons in the café from the decorative mirrors.

“So have you guys got names?” she asked.

“So have you guys got names?” she asked.

"Richard Cain, Private Investigator." Cain absently rubbed his empty holster. He hadnt been in a hostile environment without his PK-D Blaster (Plager Katsumate Series-D Blaster (PK-D)) in a long time.

"Inspector Leo Hartigan." Neither bothered to flash their identification this time.

"Cain....where have I heard that name before?" Eva said, squinting her eyes in reckognition.

Cain sits back in his seat and looks around for an escape.

"Wait, weren't you the detective wrapped up in that scandal with Mayor Pilson?"

*sigh* Cain keeps looking around and Leo holds in a snicker.

"Yeah thats right. Richard Cain: ex-cop, ex-Blade Runner, ex-killer." Eva comments

"You believe everything you hear in the news?" Cain asks

"Not usually. But when I come in here and catch you 'guns-a-blazin' then you kinda fit the description."

"Yeah? Well youre packing some hardware yourself, Special Agent Adams. What agency is it that you work for exactly?" Cain says leaning forward

"Is that what this is all about?"

"No, it isn't." Leo cuts to the chase "We understand you have a relationship with a character named Gerric?"

"Had." Eva says with a serious face.

"What? You two have a falling out?" Cain asks

"You can say that."

"Do you know where we can reach him?"

"No. I'm looking for him too, whats he got himself into thats got you two poking around the city?"

"Serial Murder." Cain states, not phasing. The comment nearly sends Eva's hand to her mouth, but she catches herself. There is a visible pause in the conversation, and Cain can see that she even held her breath for a moment.

"...H-"

"Gerric has been linked to several brutal murders in the city. Eye witness accounts as well as security camera footage conform this, as well as numerous crime scene investigations. I'll ask you again whether or not you know where we can reach him."

"...I dont. And if i did, i dont think I would tell you anyways."

"Then we cant trust your answer can we?"

"I know Gerric better than you. I know-" Eva was cut off by Leo

"What we know is that several hours ago Gerric put in some punks head with his bare hands and sent blood and brain matter cascading down the side of an apartment building. Thats what we know..."

Eva was silent once more.

"Well anyways if you happen to remember anything, or DO come into contact with him again, give me a call will ya?" Cain handed Eva her card and she took it.

"Unlikely..." Eva said looking at the card.

                                   _______________________________________
                                   I                                                                             I
                                   I                        Richard Cain                              I
                                   I                    Private Investigator                          I
                                   I                  (Detective Experience)                      I
                                   I   Call number: DEC-2647  ext.103                      I
                                   I   107th and Flagler, Bradbury Building apt. 103  I
                                   I_______________________________________I

Eva looked at the card but she wasn't focussed on it. She was more intent on the fact that Gerric has supposedly commited murder. It was unthinkable. Gerric had been a lot of things but never a killer. That particular department had occasionally been in her job description.

The two men were almost out the door when Eva suddenly remembered something. She latched onto Cain's jacket sleeve as he collected his weapon from Vinnie. "Where did the murders take place?"

"All around, why do you ask?" Cain said cryptically.

"The last time I saw Gerric was when we were investigating CCP. We were attacked but I was knocked unconscious before I saw what happened to Gerric. I knew he wasn't dead because when I came to, he wasn't there and there was no evidence of a struggle." Eva said telling more than she meant to. The memories were rolling through her head with a renewed vigour.

"Perhaps he took a job with CCP," Cain said menacingly.

Eva raised a brow at that, "He hated CCP with a passion, the only way they'd recruit him is if they drugged him." As soon as the words were out of her mouth Eva suddenly had a revelation. She needed to find the strange man she'd run into earlier, she had a feeling he was the key to this mystery.

Tom was curious.

"Who was his last victim?"

"We believe he was a rapist."

Tom laughed.  "So you guys are worried about some guy that's mopping up the scum you can't put behind bars while there are other..."

Cain pressed on.  "Other what?"

The mercs looked to each other.  Griggs nodded.  Tom continued.

"What do you think of CCP?"

Cain shrugged.  "They're corrupt."

"Corrupt enough to endanger all of Chicago."

"What do you mean?"

"We were recently escorting a CCP cargo truck."  The thing flipped and out spilled these-"

Cain cut him off.  "Creatures.  We know.  We were there."

"Oh?  So you should know that CCP tried to kill us as we were witnesses.  And my guess is that they'll son be coming for you."

Cain and Leo look at one another.

"Thats my guess too. The only chance we've got is that the SF troops didnt get a good look at us, so their helmet cams dont have a visual of us.

"Good luck with that..." The one with the shotgun commented.

"Well if thats the case then we should get to know each other, and maybe stick together." Leo said.

Everyone looked at him and all had the same facial expression: No. Leo shrugged and Eva cut in.

"Relax boys. I'm Eva Adams. These two are Inspector Leo Hartigan and ex-Blade Runner Richard Cain." Eva said pointing at the two. The mercs looked at Cain with interest at learning of his ex-Blade Runner status. Eva motioned towards them to introduce themselves. One of them starts.

"This here is Matt Bor, next to him Thomas Holston, call him Tom. I'm Griggs McMillan, squad leader. We're whats left of Tebek Squad CCP Merc Corps before a platoon of SF troops got to us after the crash. That there is Zach, a street cop who saw the crash from his spinner flying overhead.

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

Not here....disappointing, but not a major issue. Roy stalked through Cain's office. He had broken in quietly, in hopes of surprising the ex-Blade Runner, but he had just left. Roy was growing a little impatient.

Roy DID find a file on Cain's desk that he and the Inspector were probably reviewing before leaving. It was given to him by Detective Giff apparently, from some notes written on the file. Giff was most likey Cain's connection into the detective force, which Roy had learned of after reading Cain's CCP file.

Leaving the office, Roy quietly closed the door and strode through the hallway as if he wasnt carrying several guns underneath his trenchcoat. He would pay Detective Giff a visit...

Gerric had moved. The city, as usual was dark. But Gerric could still see. He could see well enough to see something dart across the street into an alley. A dog. But dogs couldn't climb on walls. The thing had circled back, and was now darting up the wall of a building. It paused momentarily, gazing up into the sky, then continued its ascent. Gerric burst into motion, running as fast as he could, sprinting up a fire escape and climbing onto the roof from the top. There it was. Four buildings away, it was going at a lively pace, but Gerric could tell that for it the pace was nothing. Gerric continued moving, keeping low to keep the creature unaware of his presence. He ducked behind a large pipe, and remained there for a moment. After he thought it was safe he peeked his head out. The creature was gone

  After a short while of looking Gerric had given up. He decided it was best just to go around on the rooftops, safer for him then on the streets. Then, all of a sudden he saw it again. across the street, crawling out of an open window, and going onto the adjacent rooftops. Gerric wanted to know what it had been doing there. He began to move.

Decker knew it was bound to happen but he still wasn’t pleased at the emergency Board Meeting due to the incident. The Board always had to put their nose in even if they refused to acknowledge the dirty work that had to ensue because of their demands. Each of the members would act like flies were being swatted rather than human lives destroyed.

Not that killing worried Decker, it was the questions of how, when and where to dispose of the bodies. Over the years his numerous projects had often needed volunteers to administer doses to. If the side effects included death, well so be it.

Daria was stalking the room. As usual she was immaculately dressed. She showed no signs of distress other than the fact that she was pacing. Director, Ralph Peppers, wore his usual scowl. Nothing they ever did was right in his eyes. But then Peppers had been out of touch with the real world for decades.

“How did the subjects get loose?” Peppers asked for the umpteenth time.

Daria faced Peppers, “As I said before, it’s still under investigation. I’m assuming we’ve had an insider tamper with the security measures taken to prevent such an occurrence-“

Decker cut in, “Rest assured, Director Peppers, we’re currently cleaning up as we speak. The culprit will be dealt with in the usual manner.”

Peppers raised his hand, “No, not this time. I want to speak to this culprit myself.”

To say Decker was surprised was an understatement. The Director never got his hands dirty, “To what end, sir?” he questioned politely.

Peppers turned on Decker with a dark look in his eyes, “Frankly, Mr Decker, I don’t think you’re cutting the mustard on this one. Too many slip ups have been occurring lately; perhaps you need some time off.”

Decker didn’t have to look up to see the satisfied grin on Daria’s face. “My apologies, but I am only as good as those who work with and around me,” Decker replied pointedly.

Clarence Moore, General Manager, spoke up. “We’re doing our best, Director Peppers. It just seems that there’s more adversary towards us now more than ever.”

“Why is that? We own the media, the police and hold influence over the important parts of the government. Shouldn’t we be guaranteed success?” Peppers questioned them as his eyes slid over each Board member.

Decker pointed out the obvious, “The bigger we get the easier it is for single entities to infiltrate our company. We have great security measures but these days people are desperate and will find loopholes to pass through that we may have over looked due to their obscure nature.”

“Then we should increase our security teams,” Moore interjected.

Peppers seemed to mull this over, he didn’t like parting with money unless he absolutely had to. After a few moments he replied, “Perhaps we’re best hiring an independent company to try and infiltrate our systems. That way we’ll know our weaknesses.”

Decker wasn’t pleased at the idea, but he wasn’t about to dissuade the Director.

Moore immediately congratulated the Director on the idea. Daria rolled her eyes subtly and Decker was inclined to agree with her response. The Board quickly voted on the motion and it was approved.

Decker wondered which security company they’d use. There’d be a number of bogus companies popping up at the chance to infiltrate CCP. Decker decided that perhaps it was time to speed up his plans.

**This one be for cannon fodder, feel free to kill him off**

Terrance Christensen was still prying at his face long after the leather coated man had left. Terrance didn’t know what that creep had sprayed in his face but he felt like his body was on fire. He could smell the blood on his fingers, his face was weeping from the constant scratching.

Something strange was happening to Terrance. He felt as though his skin was too tight and his muscles were stretching.

Suddenly a gnawing hunger ripped through Terrance. He knew the best dumpster for scraps was at the back of the Prime Time Cafe and it was only a few blocks away. Staggering with difficulty, Terrance made his way there.

Panting and drooling, Terrance found the dumpster some time later. He reached in to find food but his nose was more interested with the aromas coming from inside the cafe. Limping, Terrance made his way to the front door. He heard the screams but had no idea that they were directed at his appearance.

Terrance looked like some sort of mutant, his body was misshapen, blood and drool continued to run down his face and his muscles pulsated unnaturally.

He opened his mouth to ask for help but only a hiss came out. He reached for a nearby waitress who was so stunned by his appearance that she hadn’t moved. As he went to touch her for assistance the sounds of cocking guns was clearly evident.

For some reason the noise enraged Terrance and he lurched to attack.

"-Yeah, it's got some hefty recoil, but still managable." Zach carefully handed Matt's pistol back to him. "I like it, alot of people say it's overpowered and unnecessary, but it fits my needs." He didn't want to say anything about the cop's sidearm, it looked nice and was known for high accuracy, but the cartridge was a bit small for Matt's taste.

"Yep, get what you like." Zach held up his coffee mug. "Cheers."

Matt raised his mug also. "Cheers."

As if the night couldn't get more interesting, the front door slammed open. Matt instinctively grabbed the M6 off the table, chambered a round and leveled it at the the doorway.

A horribly deformed figure came stumbling in, hissing unnaturally. His eyes were darting back and fourth in a  psychotic motion at the restaurant patrons.

"You alright buddy?" Zach said cautiously.

Without warning, the 'man' leapt at the cop, blood was dripping off his face and hands. Zach quick-drew his P138 sidearm and fired into his legs and lower torso, as did everyone else, hitting the man innumerable times until 'he' dropped to a slashing, convulsive crawl across the black and white checkered tile. Griggs and Tom swiftly went to the man's left and right, shoving their boots hard on his back.

"What the hell...?!"

((Short post... If Val or anyone else wants to post this guy's fate, here's your window.))

Leo stared in awe at the thing that had crawled into the diner, now under the feet of the mercenaries. After waiting for a response, the mercs opened fire, and blew a hole in the floor.

"They don't pay me enough for this job." Leo said as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"What do you suppose this thing is, guys?" said the man called Zach.

"Dunno, but we totally blew him to Hell." said the merc called Tom.

Cain looked at the corpse on the floor, still pointing his PKD at it. This was beyond weird.

"What the hell was it? It came out of no where..." Matt asked, reloading

"It looks like a man who was infected with something, or affected by some kind of radiation and mutated. Could this have a possible connection to CCP's creatures?" Cain asked the group

"I dont think so. The SF trooper that one of the creatures attacked didn't mutate like this. Some else happened to this guy." Griggs answered

Cain walked out of the front door, blaster first, and looked around. There was nothing of interest in sight. Moving back in Cain addressed the group.

"I'm sure some people heard the sound of our guns, they've probably already called the cops. We should all get out of here. I'm sure Vinnie could explain how the thing came in and attacked, but theres going to be trouble if they find us here."

"We can hide out in Vinnie's basement." Matt said

"Alright, me and Leo are going to talk to Detective Giff, a guy we know in the force with some pull. We're going to tell him what happened and see if we can get to the bottom of it...and get all our names off CCP's hit-list." Cain says, holstering his PKD.

"Ok, if things get hairy then we might leave." Tom tells Cain.

"Which is probably what will happen. Its only a matter of time before CCP tracks us down." Matt says

"Lets exchange numbers to keep in touch." Griggs said, taking a cell phone from a pouch on his vest. The group exchanges some numbers and bid Cain and Leo farewell.

As Cain and Leo walked out of the diner, Leo looked down at his wristwatch. Yet, moments before he had a cellphone out that had a digital clock display on it.

"Damn, it's ten to one. We should get going."

"You worry too much. Giff's office is down on 4th and Walsh. We'll make it."

As the two got into the spinner, some newspapers blew around, and a trashcan fell over from the wind. Leo broke the ice, a common thing he was known for.

"So... what do you think happened to that guy? You think it could have been one of those creatures?"

"I don't know, it didn't seem natural, that's for sure. Whatever happened to him, I'm sure it's CCP-related."

"What isn't these days?"

Driving down a few streets, the spinner came to a sudden halt when one of the escaped creatures suddenly leaped onto the windshield, leaving a huge crack as it jumped off and continued to the other side of the street, running into the alley.

"Oh, that's nice! At least this isn't my vehicle, Cain. I'd be sorely pissed if it was."

"Shut up for a sec, okay? I'm gonna check the other side of the street, see if it's still there. You check where it came out from, see if there are anymore of them or anything."

"Alright."

The two left the spinner. With dirt splattered all over, a few dents, and now a crack in the windshield, this spinner looked as if it drove through a riot, hit a few delivery trucks, and went exploring in the jungle.

Leo walked toward the alley where the creature had appeared from, pistol out. Pulling out his flashlight, and staring into the alley, Leo walked down it. He came to a halt when he found a sticky, gooey substance on some newspapers and along the brick wall of the building to his left.

"Hey, Cain, I found something! Not sure what it is, but come take a look!"

No response. Or a sudden rush of feet moving to discover.

"Cain? You alright? Shit.."

Leo started to walk over to the other side of the street, when Cain started shouting back.

"Leo, go on without me. Take the spinner and some of whatever you've found to Giff's, he has a lab there. You can analyze it."

"You sure? What about you?"

"I'm a little caught up. Just go. I'll be fine."

Leo ran over to the spinner, pulled out a small jar and a pencil from the glove compartment, stuck some of the goo on the pencil, and emptied it into the jar. Putting the cap back on it, he securely put it in his overcoat's front pocket. Then, he got into the spinner, and took off, seeing that Cain was embodied by a massive shadow as he continued down the street.

Eva decided it was best to stay with her uncle to explain what had happed when the CCP goons rolled up. The Police arrived first and the questions flew left, right and centre. The mutated body seemed to be evidence enough that the café had been under attack, justifying the need for fire power.

Both Eva and Vinnie left things vague about how many gunmen there were. It didn’t take long for CCP to send in their own investigator.

He looked like something out of the movies with his long trench coat and hat. Eva figured the guy was going for that particular look.

“So Ms Adams, Mr Curlenko you say a mutant came here and attacked the patrons of the café.” The investigator said awaiting confirmation.

Eva looked at him meaningfully, “And you are?”

“Hayden McKellar, Investigator for CCP’s Intelligence Department,” he answered.

Eva smiled wryly, it would only be a matter of time before McKellar figured out that she used to work for that particular department. “Yes Mr McKellar, this thing” Eva pointed at the body, “came in and attacked.”

“Did it speak?” McKellar asked.

Vinne shook his head, “Just hissed, then attacked.”

“Do you know where it came from?” McKellar continued.

Eva shrugged, “It just came through the door on its own accord. Why it did so, is anyone’s guess.”

“So who killed it?” McKellar said with a questioning look.

Vinnie spoke before Eva could, “Some random customer. He wasn’t a regular, so I don’t know his name.”

“Do you have any electronic payments we could use as a trace?” McKellar asked as he looked at the register on the bar.

Vinnie shook his head, “He skipped out as soon as he killed the creature. Mongrel owes me for his dinner.”

McKellar looked at Eva, “Could you give me a description?”

“Uh, he had brown hair, average height, average build and was wearing a maroon sweater. That’s all I really remember.” Eva said once again remaining vague.

“Did you notice what sort of weapon he was carrying?” McKellar queried.

Eva rubbed her chin, “No idea, I’m not that familiar with weapons these days. I think it was something newish.”

“All I know is it left a bloody big hole in my floor,” Vinnie said as he shook his head with dismay.

Eva looked out the window to see the Hazardous Substances team roll up. Looked as though CCP were about to clean up their mess. Eva felt a chill run down her spine, when CCP cleaned they tended to remove all evidence.

John Simmons was wasted. Not that that was an uncommon thing for this particular citizen of Chicago on any particular day of the week, especially as Saturday. Which is probably why he didn't immediately take notice of the broken down door at the end of the hall. Mr. Sander's apartment. He fumbled his keys and dropped them, as he bent down, squinting his eyes against the bright glare in the hallway he looked over and immediately forgot about his keys, the game tomorrow, and the attractive redhead he had attempted to pick up at the bar he frequented. He stumbled and fell down, and tried to drag himself away from the door, eyes wide with fear. He groaned, and felt the burger he had grabbed after getting rejected and deciding to call it a night trying to force its way back into the world. There was blood sprayed across the wall and soaked into the carpet. He saw Mr. Sander, lying on his back with his face smashed in. One of his eyes dangled on the side of what was once his face , resting on part of his ear and seeming to stare at John. "Hey hey John! why don't you come over for poker next Thursday? I'm sure well have a GREAT time!" This last thought seemed to give his burger a little more motivation, and John Simmons vomited all over himself.

--

All available units in the New Bronzeville area, 187 at 173 Evergreen street, Code 3/ Code 11

--

Gerric had made his way into the apartment. It was quiet outside, he never looked out the door, which had been smashed open. The victim of the creature was on the ground, his face smashed open and throat slit, in a pool of his own blood. There were no other marks on the body, the thing hadn't chewed on him at least. Gerric looked around for signs about what the hell the thing was. He didn't know that the police were coming. That was, until he noticed how much louder the seemingly constant sirens were, and heard the hum of the  SR-79 Hunter outside the building.

"YOU ARE SURROUNDED.COME OUT OF THE BUILDING WITH YOUR HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD AND GET DOWN ON THE GROUND"

Gerric bust into motion, sprinting up the stairwell, and busting onto the roof. A light snapped on, and he ran. A group of Special Weapons and Tactics officers had already surrounded him. "DOWN ON THE FLOOR NOW!" Gerric raised his hands. Another officer yelled for him to get down, as the group slowly  closed in on him. One of the officers approached Gerric, some generic SMG in hand. He reached for his belt to grab a shock restraint. And then it began

--

Officer Rojas was behind the suspect, (labeled GERRIC in orange letters on his HUD) when Lt. Jenkins began advancing. One of the SR-79s (this one labeled SR-79 3356a) circled, going behind Lt.Jenkins as he approached. Suddenly the suspect, 'GERRIC', moved, grabbed Jenkins by the arm and threw him, sending him crashing into Rojas.

--

Gerric threw the SWAT into another, and all hell broke loose. The SWAT backed off, spread out and opened fire, by then another one was down, this one suffering from an elbow bent backwards and a crushed hand.  He rushed another and spun behind him, grabbing his hand and using him as a shield as he opened fire on the others. He fired until the clip was spent, wounding two other officers, leaving three. One came at him with a stun baton. Gerric ducked it and knocked the officer out. The other two opened fire, Gerric rushed them and grabbed ones gun, twisting his wrist, probably breaking just about everything it it and hitting him in the face, cracking his visor and probably giving him a concussion. With the pistol he had taken from the officer he just incapacitated, he rushed the other, placed the gun under his chin and fired.

--

The officers were down, Gerric had been hit, but it was fixable. He would be fine. He needed to focus on getting away before more SWATs showed up however. He turned and moved to retrieve his hat, which he had lost during the fight when the door to the stair well was kicked open. "FREEZE!"

Once the shooting had begun, Cain made his way up the fire escape of the next building so he didnt run into any SWAT members.

When he reached the roof, he saw something completely different from what he expected. He had expected to see the SWAT team trying to take down one of the Project Cerebrus creatures. Instead he saw the team engaging Gerric on the opposite roof top. Apparently a murder had been called in and they caught Gerric at the scene. This would solve some problems for Cain...

Gerric quickly made short order of the SWAT team. The last member burst through the fire escape and yelled "FREEZE!". Gerric sprung at him, grabbed him by the throat and threw him AT the Hunter chopper. The body crashed through the windshield and the helicopter was sent wobbling through the buildings until it disappeared. All the SWAT members were now dead or unconscious.

Gerric walked slowly across the rooftop, the pitter-patter of light rain sounding off his trenchcoat. Cain stayed crouched behind a utility vent on the opposite building and watched him. Gerric bent and picked up his hat, shaking some water from the rain off it and placing it on his head.

Gerrice began walking towards the edge of the building, the edge that was 5 feet from Cain's building. Cain crouched a little more so Gerric didnt see him. Gerric jumped the short distance between their buildings and landed just in front of Cain, he continued walking. Cain waited for the right time, then stood up and leveled his PKD blaster at Gerric.

"Gerric..." Cain said calmly. he was debating whether or not to kill him outright. He might be too dangerous.

Gerric was surprised and froze momentarily. His orange goggles flared slightly, and then he turned and made a run for it. Cain didnt hesitate.

BANG-FIZZ-CRACK

Cain nailed him in the leg and it splintered. A blaster shot was much more serious than the common slug shot. Gerric stumbled and crashed onto the roof, his momentum sent him sliding forward until he came to a halt near the edge.

Cain walked up to Gerric, pointing his PKD at his head. Gerric was face down, and slowly flipped himself over. Cain looked at the charred leg he had shot at, and could only see the smoldering pant leg. Cain kept the PKD trained on his face, and was about to squeeze the trigger. Gerric looked at Cain, and Cain looked at Gerric.

"...and so now you kill me." Gerric said, the rain sliding down the orange goggles and seeping into his black skimask.

"Thats right." Cain answered, sure of himself.

"Why?"

"...because you've murdered over 10 people."

"Those that I kill deserve to die."

"You dont know that. Even so, there are laws in this country. Theres a legal system people have the right to go through."

"They do not have the right to commit evil, hence they should lose their rights if they do so."

"And you're the one to take out their sentences? You're the one to decide them worthy of living or not? No human being has that right."

"Including you." Gerric says, referring to the fact that Cain was about to kill him

"And you."

Just then Gerric reaches up slowly, grabs hold of his skimask and slides it off his head. It reveals Gerric's metallic head, orange eyes, slit for a mouth...Gerric was a robot.

(DARK GREY, not green)

"I am no man."

Cain was shocked, needless to say. He reflected on how here he was once more, taking down a renegade robot. It seems he could never escape his Blade Runner status. However, Gerric did not retain the characteristics of the past renegade robots. He was coherent, and apparently had a craving for hard justice. And for one thing...he named himself.

"This is impossible, they fixed the glitches." Cain stated

"I am not a renegade as it is commonly known. My glitch did not cause me to become an insane killing machine. It caused me to...develop consciosness." Gerric answered

"That is impossible Gerric!"

"And yet, here I am..."

Cain thought for a moment. This was something new. He had to hold off on killing him, but he wasnt sure, so he stayed aiming at him.

"I've seen you, I saw you where I dealt with the rapist. You know why I do this." Gerric continued

"I'm not too sure about that. Even so, the way you deal with people isn't exactly virtuous."

"Neither is the way you are about to deal with me. You know I give justice where some escape it."

Cain thought again. He'd have to figure out a little more about Gerric before he decided what to do. Right now, he was too unsure. He lowered his blaster and extended his hand, letting out a low sigh.

Gerric looked at the hand, and looked at Cain. He took the hand and Cain helped him up.

"I'm glad you've seen the light." Gerric said, keeping his weight on his undamaged leg as he slipped on his skimask and put on his hat.

"Dont be so sure. Lets just say, youre up for evaluation, Gerric." Cain said, holstering his blaster.

"Of course, Detective...?"

"Private Investigator. Richard Cain." Cain said handing him his card. Gerric took it and looked at it.

"Interesting..." he said as he slipped it into a pocket.

"Why were the SWAT called here?" Cain asked as he walked towards the stair entrance. Gerric limped behind him. "Sorry about the leg by the way."

"Its fixable. They were called because of the remains of a man found in the building next to us. I saw an extremely odd creature leaving the building, and i sought to investigate. I know it sounds insane, but I saw it leaving the scene. The SWAT arrived, they shot first." Gerric answered. Cain showed no interest in his excuses for attacking the SWAT.

"Odd creature? How would you describe it?" Cain asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Dog like, walking on all fours. Extended cranium, long tail, claws, pinkish skin. Very viscous."

"Mhm...yeah I see you ran into one of the Project Cerebrus creatures that CCP accidently released into the city."

"Accidently?"

"Yes, six of them escaped during transport. All the witnesses, me, a detective friend of mine, a street cop and three CCP mercs are now being hunted as part of CCP's 'clean up'. No one was supposed to know about the bio-weapon."

"What do they intend to use the creatures for?"

"Its CCP, what do you think? Probably some take over scheme they've cooked up. We should get out of here before they realize whats happened here and show up. You got a place where you charge or something?" Cain asked, taking a shot at Gerric being a robot. Gerric was not amused.

"Its not far from here, the basement of an abandoned building. I'll show you."

Vinnie hurried them all into the kitchen were he flicked a switch and his grill moved forward to reveal a trap door.  He held it open while TK squad clambered in.  Once down Griggs flicked the light switch and the single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling grimly light up the small space.  The shelves were lined with canned food and in the corner were two hazmat suits.  Tom chuckled.

"Vinnie always was prepared for absolutely anything."  Everyone chuckled but Griggs quickly shushed them as muffled footsteps and voices were heard overhead.  After about 45 minutes finally most of the heavy footsteps faded away.  The mercs tensed as they heard the grill slide off the trapdoor.  They all kept a hand on their guns as the door was opened. 

"The CCP are gone.  For now."  All the mercs released their breath simultaneously as Vinnie and his niece helped the mercs out of the basement.

"Thanks Vinnie.  We owe you bigtime." 

"Don't mention it.  I have no love for CCP as you do and whenever I can do something to undermine them I will."

Eva shook her head at her uncle, “They may be gone for now, but they’ll be back. They haven’t finished cleaning up the mess yet. It’s odd that they’d leave the cops to do that.”

Vinnie shrugged, “They probably got a more urgent call.”

Eva nodded, they both knew CCP had a number of sinister projects on the go. She headed back out to the dinner area, which was empty, and closed up the café.

“CCP will be back,” Vinnie commented as he looked out the window at the cops making their final notes.

“That’s a certainty,” Eva said as she looked at the men they’d hidden away. “I think it’s best we all leave once the coast is clear.”

-

Hayden McKellar had returned to his office at CCP after he’d finished his first round of questioning. He immediately logged onto his terminal to get some background information on those he’d questioned.

There was nothing particularly surprising until McKellar tried to bring up a file on Eva. Bold, red words shouted at him ‘ACCESS DENIED’. McKellar frowned and tried another angle to access the file but the same results came up.

He shook his head in wonderment. As an Intelligence agent he should have access to almost all files. For this one to be blocked seemed extremely strange. Eva Adams seemed normal enough. Surely if CCP wanted her she’d already be in their custody.

McKellar tried again only to have his phone buzz. He answered it and noted the extension number. The voice on the end of the phone was cold, “You’re denied access to that file for a reason.”

McKellar swallowed. The caller hadn’t identified himself but McKellar was fairly certain that he was speaking to the Internal Security department. “I questioned the subject at a recent incident. I wanted to get some background.”

“What incident was Eva Adams present at?” The voice demanded coolly.

McKellar ran a finger beneath his collar, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “A mutated man was found dead at a local café. I don’t have any results as yet but it looks as though the body may have been going through a transition stage before being killed.”

There was silence for a moment. “So what does Adams have to do with this?”

Closing his eyes, McKellar answered, “She witnessed the mutant being killed.”

“Witnessed or enacted?” came the answer.

“She says witnessed, others concur with her answer.” McKellar told.

“Don’t speak with her again,” the voice commanded.

“Why? She’s part of an investigation.” McKellar said trying to justify his requirements.

“The reasons are complicated and beyond your need to know,” came the cutting answer.

“Who is this?” McKellar demanded.

“Look up your directory, McKellar. Goodbye.” The voice said with a finality that chilled McKellar.

He immediately looked up the number and felt the blood drain from his face.

-

Decker ended the call and watched the security feed with amusement. It was obvious that McKellar had finally worked out that he’d been talking to: the CEO. “So this is what our Intelligence department has come to, no wonder it’s such a mess,” Decker commented to himself.

He looked at Eva’s file. He was the only person to have access. Sure she’d been a bad employee but there were further reasons as to why her file was sealed. Eva and her partner in crime Gerric, had been set on taking down CCP. The truth was they’d come closer to doing it than anyone realised.

Thankfully Decker had sent out one of his own personal squads to bring them in. Both had been unconscious when they’d arrived at CCP. Both of them had been administered with a certain experimental virus at the time. Gerric had been kept for observation while Eva had been replaced where she’d been taken from.

**I won’t say anymore until confirmed with Adeptus…**

(Here are some visuals of the Delta Labs, the most important research facility of the CCP, next to Alpha Labs. Delta Labs is located underneath Alpha Labs, which is underneath the CCP HQ building.)
http://www.visualwalkthroughs.com/doom3/deltalabs2a/3.jpg
http://pcmedia.gamespy.com/pc/image/doom3registration-425_1091867562.jpg
http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c10701/doom-3-2004.jpg
http://pnmedia.gamespy.com/planetdoom.gamespy.com/walkthroughs/s3_4.jpg
http://pnmedia.gamespy.com/planetdoom.gamespy.com/walkthroughs/delta2_9.jpg

Daria pushed her Prada glasses up her nose. The incline of her head as she looked through the microscope made them slide down a little. David, one of her senior scientists stood next to her, awaiting her decision. Daria knew he was staring at her cleavage through her lab coat. She was used to it.

“Its ready. Begin Phase II initialization.” She said rising from the microscope.

David nodded and moved to a computer screen in front of a large window. He pressed the screen several times and Daria moved to look through the window and at the three Phase II Cerebrus creatures in stasis tubes. The computer beeped in acceptance and a warning light next to the stasis tubes flashed momentarily.

Three lab techs in hazmat suits entered the stasis tube chamber and began fiddling around with some controls connected to each stasis tube. Daria and David watched in anticipation. Lights lit up slightly in the tubes and they could see the Phase II creatures clearly and see how they differed from the Phase I creatures. They were black, more humanoid, and stood upright. What you could not see was how much smarter they were.
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee44/Xenomorph02/Xenomorph.jpg

Mechanical arms inside the tubes moved about the creatures, injecting various fluids and, basically, resurrecting them since they were dead until initialized. After a certain point, the creatures began moving groggily as they were suddenly brought to life.

“Begin tranquilization.” Daria said, speaking into a mic that relayed into the stasis chamber. The techs in the hazmat suits nodded in recognition and fiddled with the controls some more.

Stasis tube one now tranquilized. said a soft female voice through the speakers as the first creature was injected and suddenly stopped moving. This part was integral.

Stasis tube three now tranquilized. repeated the voice for the third creature.

“And now for stasis tube two…” David said nervously as they waited. Daria held her arms crossed, her fist to her chin.

Stasis tube two tranquilization not complete. Technical error 1135. Seek mechanical technician for assistance. 

The three hazmat techs immediately went into a craze and began running about the chamber, pressing buttons.

“GOD DAMNIT!” David yelled and stomped towards a comm. receiver on a wall. He held a button down on it. Daria stood solid but inside was furious.

“GET MECHANICAL DIVISION SEVEN ON THE LINE NOW!” David yelled into the comm.

Stasis tube two in danger of re-integration, tranquilize immediately.

The hazmat techs began to run for the door in the chamber. Daria slowly lowered her hand to the controls and flicked a switch. She could not allow the creature to escape through the open door.

The techs slammed the door controls and the door itself, their screams muffled. Eventually one left the door and began banging on the window. Daria looked him in the face and waited. The creature was groggily coming to live.

“DO YOU HEAR ME $#@! HEAD!? GET A TECH FROM DIVISION SEVEN HERE NOW!” David yelled into the comm. He left the comm. in frustration and came back to the main controls. He saw the techs yelling in vain, trying to escape and he looked at Daria in horror.

“What the hell DARIA!” He yelled at her. He went for the release controls, but it was too late.

CRASH

HISSSSS!

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”

The creature ripped apart the tech banging on the special unbreakable window and blood sprayed everywhere. It covered the window and Daria and David could now only see glimpses of what the creature did to the other two techs. Their screams added to the affect.

Daria took her glasses off and slipped them into her coat. She began walking out of the room, she stopped when the door hissed open and she turned to David.

“Deal with this David. Afterwards, begin initializing all the Phase II creatures.” She told him, referring to the small army of creatures in stasis tubes in a very large chamber within Delta Labs. David remained with his face of horror as Daria turned to leave.

BANG…BANG…BANG The creature began banging on the window.

“Gas it before it gets out.” Daria said, annoyed.

“It won’t break through, no worries. It-

CRASH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Daria didn’t need to see what just happened, but needless to say, David was now something that resembled ground beef. She ran out the door and it hisses shut, but the sound was drowned out by the creature’s own hiss.

She ran. She ran as fast as she could, knowing she wouldn’t out run it. She ran through the halls, past bewildered scientists who fell victim to the creature as it pursued her, crashing through obstacles and ripping apart locked doors.

She managed to reach the containment area. If she could time her plan right then it would work perfectly. The entrance to the containment area had a contamination chamber to decontaminate entrees. She ran in and initiated the sequence.

Decontamination sequence initiated. Please stand clear of the ventilation ducts.

The air ducts hissed and in a few seconds the next door opened and she exited. She ran to the controls and opened the other door, where the creature was about to rip it open. It flew in but both doors were already closing, locking it in. She had only moments now.

Decontamination sequence initiated. Please stand clear of the ventilation ducts.

Daria quickly typed some commands into the manual over-ride controls as the creature hissed menacingly. She finished and looked through the small window at the terrifying being.

Contaminant exposed within chamber. Beginning eradication sequence.

The sequence began and an acid bath in the form of gas exploded into the chamber. The creature squealed insanely and thrashed about in the chamber as the gas enveloped it and completely filled the chamber. Daria could not see anything.

The gas was then sucked out and the doors opened. Daria stumbled backward and fell. She looked into the chamber in fear. The creature was destroyed, its remains disappearing through the grate on the floor.

Eradication sequence complete. Welcome to the Delta Labs, have a nice day.

Daria sighed heavily.

Gerric and Cain had managed to get off of the roof unnoticed and grabbed a taxi, after replacing Gerric's balaclava. Gerric had Cain act like he was supporting him, and once in the cab, directed it to one of the older land-based districts, he gave him the adress of a small diner, then proceeded to an old building that looked to be condemned. He climbed over a fence and Cain followed, next was a small broken out window, Cain had a small amount of trouble maneuvering though this. Finally Gerric lifted a sewer grating and climbed down, unlocked a small metal door and entered. This was his home. An old forgotten bunker under an old empty building. This was his sanctuary, where he thought, repaired, readied himself and rested dispite his lack of need for it. This was his, and he had just shown its location to a stranger. If he needed to he would kill him to keep his secret. He would do so without hesitation. Whatever he needed to do.

((Just think of the place from V for Vendetta, but not so extravagant))

McKellar was still thinking about Eva Adams’ file as he made his way home. His curiosity was burning intensely. He wondered what she could have possibly done to have such a secure file. Had she murdered a CCP employee in the past? Had she perhaps sold off ‘Top Secret’ information that had cost the company dearly? Or perhaps she had some dirt on Decker himself.

That made McKellar smile. He had been trying to get into Daria’s good books for some time now and he knew how much the young scientist wanted Decker’s job. Perhaps he could find out more and see if it led to where he suspected. If so he might be able to win over Daria and give her the ammunition she was looking for and he might just get the promotion and recognition he’d been seeking.

He paused before reaching his doorstep. He’d be able to look up Eva’s address on his own home terminal but he knew that Decker was likely to have a tap on the thing. Instead he’d be better off visiting a library or cafe where he could get online.

-

Eva was considering her options. The cops had finally left but Vinnie had just finished making his famous beef stew. Eva and the crew of soldiers each had a bowl of the delicious stew, Matt was noisily slurping away while Zach watched him with an amused smile.

Eva realised that these guys were in the same boat she was in: the one that CCP had lumped it’s rejects in. They wouldn’t be able to go home as CCP would have already evicted their families and confiscated their goods. Eva herself hopped from apartment to apartment to ensure that CCP didn’t track her down, although these days they seemed less interested in her.

When she and Gerric had been piecing together the shards of evidence against CCP they’d been hounded relentlessly by CCP thugs and mercenaries. Eva began to wonder if they thought the threat was gone. Perhaps it was. She had no idea what had happened to Gerric. Cain seemed to think he’d become a killer but the more Eva thought about it the more certain she was that the killer was not her Gerric.

“Are you going to eat that?” Tom asked as he eyed her bowl with interest.

Eva chuckled, “I am planning to. If you want more I’m sure Uncle Vinnie has plenty to go around.”

Tom was on his feet quickly and was followed by Matt. “Gluttons,” Griggs commented with a cheeky grin.

Eva smiled at him, glad to see that they’d kept their sense of humour. They were going to need it. “So what exactly did you guys do to tick off CCP?” she asked.

"We were around at the wrong time.  At least, I was."   Zach replied.  "I was on night-patrol overhead when it happened, so i'm a witness."

"Witness to what?" Eva looked slightly puzzled.

"We don't quite know.  Well, I don't really.  Griggs?"

"We mercs were, ah, running escort to one of CCP's pet projects.  Very hush-hush.  Along the way, the pet projects kinda got loose. The driver was killed, and a buncha SF's came outta the truck and ran for the hills.  Turns out their delivery was about six ceatures.  They were fast, strong, and real tough; took about a full clip of ammo apiece to bring one down.  The other five are still out there.  After we sort of cleaned up their mess, the SF's came back, and tried to eliminated all witnesses.  We didn't like that.  The other merc squad didn't make it, but we made sure that the SF's didn't either."

"Me, I just flew overhead, and happened to catch the breakout at the beginning.  One of the SF's spotted my spinner, and called it in."  Zach put in.

Eva just nodded, looking thoughtful.  Zach took the prime opportunity to devour more of the beef stew.  When this was all over, he'd make himself a regular to the place; the food here was fantastic!  As he chewed, light bulbs went on in his head.

"Hey, guys, I've got an idea.  I know a place, where, as I said earlier, I can get us a ride.  What if we rode up to CCP, and did some digging.  You know, for more info on those creatures or something.  Try to get some answers, or even just a couple more pieces for this messed up jigsaw puzzle. What do you say?"

Eva shrugged, "I guess it would be the last place anyone would look for you guys. After all they'd consider you somewhat suicidal in doing so."

Zach rubbed his nose, "We don't have a lot of options."

Eva nodded, "True. I think that visiting CCP might be the way to go. But there is surveillance everywhere, you'll need to keep your faces covered."

Tom shook his head.  "I don't think we can do this.  We just barely managed to get away from them.  I highly doubt that we could quietly infiltrate their institute after what just happened.  I say we give it a day.  Wait until morning then we'll see from there.  The best option may be to call Cain."

Tom waited for everyone's response.