Black War Syndicate(Started. Open. PM the GM)

[Ganath]

Stefan took a look around the office, careful to not touch the laptop just yet. He found nothing peculiar about the office per say. But eventually, he stumbled upon something underneath the office desk. It was a device, attached to the underside, with wiring leading into the laptop's plugs. It took him a moment to realize what it was, but it suddenly struck him why the guards had allowed themselves some complacency.

"This.. If I'm guessing correctly.. will make every guard in these three buildings aware of us. The mere act of shutting it off or even shooting it would do the same.. needless to say.. that complicates things for us."

It really did. They'd have to make a break for it, most likely. Suddenly, the amount of stealth they had committed to this mission seemed awfully trivial. Eitherway, they wouldn't be leaving without the laptop, that much was certain. Stefan took a moment to look at Caspian.

"I think our best bet is to grab it and run for the open window. The upside is we don't have to be quiet anymore, so I can shoot out the opposite window and we can leap for it. According to the schematics there should be a pipe we can use to descend to a side alleyway from the roof. Going through any doors might as well be suicide after that. Do you still have grenades? Any kind. Erh.. When we break for the window, We could throw one at the stairs. They won't be coming any other way and it'll slow them down."

 

[MortifiedPenguin]

Jacob got out one of his knives, it was the one that Oliver had designed a few years ago before their gang got so big that he had a whole of host of scientists and engineers who could've done it for him. It was started Jacob's fascination with electricity and it's use in torture. The hilt contained a small battery that passes it's current through the blade, on the lower levels it could feel like a burst of static passing through the skin, on higher levels it caused 3rd degree burns.

The man winced as the knife cut into his flesh, the gag preventing him from screaming out loud, but Oliver could see the terror that Jacob had inspired in so many others on his face. Brain mirrored his brothers terror, lunging forward to try and protect him, fraternal instinct taking hold, but the binds of the rope confined him to the chair.

"All we want to know is what your were doing with the militia captain, were you making a deal, trying to get immunity from Black's cull on criminals?" He inquired, "All you need to do is tell and we will stop."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Do you still have grenades? Any kind. Erh.. When we break for the window, we could throw one at the stairs. They won't be coming any other way and it'll slow them down." Stefan asked nervously, after explaining to Caspian that there was a device which connected to the plugs; and once it was removed, would cause an alert. This made all that hard work from the two of them being sneaky, somewhat pointless. It was soon accompanied by a sigh of annoyance.

"I had a feeling that something was fishy about this place; it all seemed a little to easy. We can't just leave without getting the laptop, its why we came here in the first place. Whatever information is on this better be worth it. As for grenades, I have a couple of smoke grenades still on me." Caspian remarked, showing the two grenades that were still on his person. He then looked at the door, then back to Stefan, a slight look of unease on his face.

"Whenever your ready Stefan, lets pull the plug on this operation; and get the hell out of here." Caspian said with a definite smile.

 

[Shadowstar38]

"All we want to know is what your were doing with the militia captain, were you making a deal, trying to get immunity from Black's cull on criminals? All you need to do is tell and we will stop."

Brain made a terrorfied scream through the gang in his mouth. He looked at Oliver and shook his head as if to comply with his demands and waited for the gag to be removed. Once it was off he stated talking as quickly as he could muster.

"I was just paying him. I've been doing it once every two weeks since before Black got elected. Everyone gang in the collective does it so they dont get picked up. Now please...just-just. Untie me and my brother."

 

[Ganath]

Stefan was not too eager to proceed. But he settled himself and decided that it was neccessary. He was however fully confident that Caspian would more than be able to keep up with him as soon as they started and bolted for an escape. He surveyed the box one last time, checking it's plugs and trying to figure out how he might do things otherwise. But the security device was custom rigged if anything, which was the problem at it's core. It would take more time than they had to bypass it. The direct route it was after all. He grabbed the snaking cables, nodding lightly at Caspian before pulling them out. Shortly afterwards, a light on the device turned red. No alarm followed, but he knew the guards were already mobilizing. He scooped up the laptop and went for the door.

A surge of adrenaline went through Almberg, bolting down the hallway with the laptop tucked under his arm, he aimed his gun forward, firing four rounds through the open window, into the window on the opposite side. It cracked from all the bullets, but the glass did not break. His body would do that, albeit painfully. He braced himself and shouted at Caspian just before he leaped out of the window.

"Throw the grenade!"

And then, he was leaping, crashing through painfully in a flurry of broken glass shards and blood. The pain was forced down, as he had more immediate concerns though he looked like shit, with small shards of glass stuck in his clothing and rends on his face and arms. He moved through the side building, already realizing that guards were storming the place too. One of them came rushing down a hallway, most likely having planned to use the window for supportive fire. He never got the chance as Almberg shot the man twice , despite himself, his training made him aim for non-lethal areas, merely causing the guard to spasm out painfully on the floor from shocks. He proceeded up the flight of stairs, giving Caspian point beyond that, as it would be bad if a bullet caught the laptop somehow.

"I'll cover you. Right now, let's make sure my kinetic barrier doesn't break and the laptop accidentally gets shot."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

From the moment that Stefan pulled the plugs from the laptop, they both ran from the soon to be approaching guards. Stefan had shot at the window several times, but the glass didn't break; a problem he resolved by leaping out the window, but not before giving an order to Caspian.

"Throw the grenade!" And so he did, a large field of smoke forming behind Caspian to help cover their tracks. Stefan had leapt through the window, crashing into a field of broken glass. Caspian soon followed behind and they ran on the roof of the side building. More guards had appeared from the third floor, and started to shoot from the windows. Caspian had pulled out his pistol, and started shooting at the windows, hoping to hit the catches so that they would drop, forcing the guards to drop their weapons.

Despite essentially firing blind, he could hear for a moment the guards grunting, and the slight thud as their weapons fell to the floor. Both he and Stefan soon made it to the side building, and Caspian hastily shut the door; only having to continue running as the door became perforated. They proceeded to a flight of stairs.

"I'll cover you. Right now, let's make sure my kinetic barrier doesn't break and the laptop accidentally gets shot."

"Yeah, otherwise this entire operation will have been a complete bust; and chances are Mantis will be displeased due to failure." Caspian remarked as he reloaded his pistol, then holstered it in favour of his Spectre Sub-Machine Gun. He also made sure that his micro-filament wires were ready in case he needed them.

"Lets try and end this operation with a no-kill run shall we?" Caspian rhetorically asked. "Ready."

 

[Ganath]

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go."

Stefan wasted no more time, bolting up the stairs and going through the door, his kinetic barrier was greeted by a small hail of bullets, which caused yellowish energy to flare up where the shots had hit. He quickly noticed one of the guards on the roof of the main building and aligned a shot on him, striking the man with more accuracy than he ever thought he could muster. It had been a while since he last wielded a gun, but his skills with the handgun hadn't fallen behind much at all it seems and everything was rapidly coming back to him.

Nonetheless, the guard was hit in the stomach and collapsed, twitching heavily. The sound of yelling came from down the stairs and people were rapidly engaging on the two. Too many people for his liking, he waves Caspian over and ran towards the drainage pipe, finding it intact much to his relief. The schematics of the place were spot on.

"Here goes nothing, then."

He tucked the gun into it's holster and gripped the pipe, laptop under his arm as he made his descent. He felt some jutting pieces cut up his palm, but right now he couldn't care about that. The descent was swift, and by the time the guards invaded the roof of the side building, Stefan and Caspian very already on the ground. He pulled his gun out again and gestured for Caspian to take the lead.

"Let's get out of here. I'll check on the laptop in the car."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Let's get out of here. I'll check on the laptop in the car." Stefan said, pulling out his gun, gesturing for Caspian to take the lead as they ran towards the car. Caspian noticed that Stefan looked pretty beat up; with all the various cuts and shards of broken glass sticking out of him. Soon as they got back to Mantis's place, he would need immediate medical attention. Both of them soon got inside the car. He quickly started everything up, and got the vehicle in motion, not before taking out his pistol and started firing at the ensemble guards, hoping it would drive them back so they could escape.

"Right, lets get back; and see what is so important about this here laptop." Caspian remarked as they drove away into the countryside.

"Call me Captain Obvious, but you'll need some medical attention once we arrive at the base."

 

[Ganath]

"Hah. Yeah. We'll get to that later. Laptop first."

He opened up the laptop. Unlike the device, the laptop was a pretty standard model and working with it came quickly to Almberg. Besides some pretty basic security software, the laptop in itself wasn't very fortified. Of course, it took at least 10 minutes, but it wasn't precisely a difficult task once he got into it. He had plenty of experience working with tech which was rather taken for granted in this modern age where police had to keep up even with the most modern of criminals.

"I think I got it. Just give me a minute more or so."

He continued to work with the laptop, eager to find out what they had not so subtly risked their lives for. He was vaguely aware that he was in pain, but he suppressed it with no small amount of self control. This would probably be the only chance he'd get to see the laptop's contents and he was obviously curious to no small extent. With a little more work, he was finally free to explore the contents.

"Let's see what was so important then shall we?"

 

[MortifiedPenguin]

"I was just paying him. I've been doing it once every two weeks since before Black got elected. Everyone gang in the collective does it so they dont get picked up. Now please...just-just. Untie me and my brother."

It felt almost too easy, Brain had given up after one cut, this man was supposedly immune to traditional types or torture and interrogation, was brotherly love that strong? Or was the information that Mantis had given them wrong? The thought agitated Oliver, but an answer was an answer. First he told Jacob to stop torturing the man, then he went over to the Doctor and told him to patch up their 'patient' and finally he made sure he was out of earshot and contacted Mantis.

"Duran says he was paying the militia to make sure they weren't arrested, they all are. Is there anything else you need?"

 

[Shadowstar38]

"Duran says he was paying the militia to make sure they weren't arrested, they all are. Is there anything else you need?"

"Perfect. Though, I'm going to need the name of the Captain he did business with. Get me that and you're golden"
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The first file Almberg came to was a map of France, with over 20 locations dotted with red markers. Another file had the street numbers of each location, along with a a gang name, name of the person in charge, and how high they rank on an arrest priority list. All those that had paid Black on time were given low priority status.

 

[MortifiedPenguin]

"Perfect. Though, I'm going to need the name of the Captain he did business with. Get me that and you're golden"

"I'm on it" He replied, mentally chastising himself for forgetting to get the name, it was an obvious thing to do, yet it had slipped from his completely. It had been to long since he did these things himself. He wondered if he relied on Jacob to get the dirty work done too much.

He slipped back into the room where they were holding the two brothers, they had calmed down now the torture had ceased, but were still on edge.

"What is the name of the captain you were paying off?" He asked

 

[Yokillernick]

Byron woke up fully rested after an unusually peaceful sleep. Usually he'd been dreaming about screaming babies and whatnot but this time his head was extremely clear. He went to the chair and from underneath his clothes he picked up the wrist transmitter checking to see if he had missed any messages from Mantis. To his surprise nothing.

Quietly, as to not wake the others he dressed himself in a pair of tracksuit bottoms, a plain shirt and some shoes from his wardrobe. He made his way down to the kitchen and made himself some cereals. As he munched on the flavorless cereals he thought. Maybe Mantis can get some goddamn bacon! . After a couple of minutes he finished eating and made his way to the bathroom to wash his face.

Finally he headed for Mantis' area. Without knocking on the door he entered. "Mantis! I know you're here! Wake up I need to talk to you. Or if you're awake I gotta ask you some life-changing question."

 

[Shadowstar38]

"What is the name of the captain you were paying off?"

"Oh. Right. His name Nicolas Morel. Is that it? Can you let us go?
__________________________________________________________________

Mantis pull a lever next to his chair and turned to face Byron, putting his easdropping on the others on hold for the moment while he dealt with his assosiate.

"Yes Mr. Black. Ask away."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Whilst they drove back to the base, Stefan had accessed some of the files that were on the laptop; and from the looks of things, it was some rather important data. It consisted of a large map of France, with twenty locations scattered across with red markers on them. Attached was a separate document, which detailed the place names, the name of a gang who was stationed there, who was leading them, and a arrest priority list. Some later searching revealed that any and all who paid Black on time, were given low priority.

"Well, that is certainly a piece of interesting information you have found Stefan. Looks like those gangs are paying Black to keep him and his militia off their interests, and to keep them from going to jail. Its almost like back in the Prohibition era, where people would pay gangsters protection money to stop them from destroying their property. And people say that we're crooks."

 

[Yokillernick]

"Yes Mr. Black. Ask away."

Byron thought for a second. " Well Mantis, I couldn't help but notice you not waking us up this morning like you usually do and I wondered what was going on. I also looked around and I haven't found anyone else yet. Are they having trouble with their assignments? Because if they need some help then I would be willing to go out and help them. I don't just like sitting here doing nothing." he paused. "So, how do I hang a air freshener on this, can I be off help with something because hanging around in smelling sewers is just not my thing."

 

[Shadowstar38]

"So, how do I hang a air freshener on this, can I be off help with something because hanging around in smelling sewers is just not my thing."

"Hmm..."

Mantis turned back to the computer and looked up the status of the others.

"Okay. Stefan and Caspian are on their way back without a problem. The others are wrapping up, so nothing there. Except..."

Mantis stared back over at Byron with an idea forming in his head.

"You know what we need Byron? A house. An actual base to operate in instead of"

Mantis pointed to his surroundings.

"Well this. So...why don't you just go to the computer in the main room, bring up a map, and pick us out a neihborhood"

 

[Yokillernick]

So...why don't you just go to the computer in the main room, bring up a map, and pick us out a neihborhood

Byron kept a straight fave and nodded. As he turned around he muttered under his breath, "Sonofabitch wants me to b find him a house, oh I'll find him a house." and with that he left the room.

Quickly he headed into his own room and geared up, checking his weapons and ammo were still intact. Once he was ready he went to Calvin's room who still appeared to be sleeping. Hmm, how should I do this? Byron turned toward the door and slammed it hard.

"Calvin wake up! Get your gear and meet me in the garage. You have 5 minutes, this is important so get your ass moving!" Byron shouted at him before turning around and storming out of the room towards the garage.

From there he pulled out the black car again and got inside waiting for Calvin.

 

[WhyBotherToTry]

"Calvin wake up! Get your gear and meet me in the garage. You have 5 minutes, this is important so get your ass moving!"

Calvin was jerked out of his sleep by the shouting. Wordlessly, he got out of bed, his head still pounding. After dressing, he went into the bathroom to check the cut. After removing the bandage, he saw it was still bleeding slightly. He brought his hand up to touch it, felt very dizzy, and then lowered it. He cursed, cleaned and re-bandaged it and went back to get his equipment. When he had all his gear, he stomped towards the garage and saw Byron in the black car again. Sighing with reluctance, he climbed in.

"Byron you just woke me from the best sleep I've had in ages. My head is killing me, I'm pretty sure I'm concussed, and the cut on my head is still bleeding. This had better be fucking important."

 

[Yokillernick]

"This had better be fucking important."

"Of course it is." Byron said calmly, "We're going house hunting"

Without another word he started the car and they raced out of the garage into the main street.