The Essence of Freedom (IC)

[Katelyn]

FIST

The city was bustling with the sounds of disgruntled workers and concerned citizens. The announcement that morning on increased taxes for middle class and upper class citizens had not gone over with the expected support the governmental interns had worked furiously to predict for their latest projection. Democracy had become merely a word used to silence the ignorant and uneducated, losing its power as the politicians who were elected bent and twisted the words and thoughts of the people, using their position as a personal platform to sustain individual wealth.

Eva walked toward the rally, her black heels resounding on the well-worn concrete as her eyes scanned the nearby buildings. Watchdog had assured her moments ago that the vicinity was free from snipers or those that might wish to take her life from an undisclosed location. The only threat would be those that stood before her, looking seemingly harmless. She smoothed her black pencil skirt with her right hand, the feel of her glock on her hip giving her some small sense of comfort. She wanted Robert there, but knew that the team was knee deep in an adventure of their own this afternoon.

A tap on the shoulder caused her to turn and a smile touched her pretty red lips. “Dr. Kramer, what a pleasant surprise.” She reached in and shook the blonde’s hand, a professional welcome amongst colleagues, nothing special unless you knew the derivative relationship.

Allison responded warmly, her handshake firm, her eyes telling Eva that she was in the crowd and ready if her leader should need her. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I suppose I should wish you luck, but that feels a bit unnecessary when you have truth on your side.”

Eva chuckled and tucked her long black hair behind her ear. “That is correct. Let’s have lunch once this is done and catch up a bit.”

Allison agreed and moved out into the crowd, her sunglasses and head wrapping covering the majority of her face while still looking elegant and feminine. She couldn’t allow her identity to be splashed about the six o’clock news, though she desired so much for it to be. Hiding in the shadows was most unpleasant and almost diminished her drive to assist FIST, but she remained focused on the end result and not the necessary sacrifices of the journey.

Eva walked on stage, no papers in her hands and head held high. She needed no prompting to speak to these people as she was one of them. Her platform was coated in the need for change and bathed in the promise of a brighter future where people were part of the equation again. She felt perfectly calm as she stepped up and looked across the crowd, her eyes glittering with excitement as the people before her lifted up a rally cry. They knew what the Sons of Liberty stood for and hungered greatly for a taste of the change to come.

“It was Aristotle who said, democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal. But I would ask you today… this day to search yourselves and tell me, if based on the actions promulgated earlier this morning by the congress you elected, do you believe in the façade of absolute equality?” She paused as the silence rushed in. “Because Sons of Liberty sure as hell doesn’t.”

The crowd exploded as Eva paused, her eyes meeting Allison’s as she winked, a smile playing on the blondes mouth. Nothing like getting a group of pissed off citizens mobilized with words and ready to put up a fight. This was going to be good, as it always was.

[Deamonbane]

Robert Young - FIST

The car moved slowly, in Robert's opinion. He wished they could move faster, but attention was not something that they wanted to attract. Now, anyway. He still wished they could get this over with faster. Once they were in the middle of things, he would be longing for the relative comfort and security of the car ride. Either that, or he would be too occupied with getting the mission done, that he wouldn't have time to think about it. Either way... he tapped the gas pedal a bit harder. Arriving there a few seconds before the SB men arrived. He stepped out alone, FIST remaining in teh car while he talked to the SB leader.

"Everything okay?" He asked, looking at the FNB, Washington D.C. branch.

"You bet," The young man, hardly 25, answered, the zeal, excitement, and blood-thirst apparent in his eyes. The Shackled Brotherhood could be useful, like today, but Robert usually avoided using them. They took stuff to a whole new level, one that FIST tended to avoid. They weren't professionals: They were zealots. And zealots had little to do with what FIST did.

Robert nodded, masking all his feelings on the matter, nodding to the men in both cars. They all knew what they had to do. The men that would be going in with him, along with the guy on which the entire mission depended on, Mouse, gathered around him. He wasn't the kind of guy to give speeches and shit like that. So, quickly the SBs formed loosely around them, and they entered the bank, immediately drawing their weapons as soon as they came in.

Guards reacted, as guards usually did, and were immediately gunned down. Their IT guy had taken down the security systems minutes before, or so he hoped. He had disagreed to having such a withdrawn person in charge of their operations, but he had been overruled. And, until now, the guy hadn't let them down.

But that didn't mean that he wouldn't.

Robert ran his trained eye over the rest of the bank, where the SBs were successfully terrorizing all the people inside into submission. They were the distracting, and cannon fodder should they be needed. FIST was here for one reason, and one reason only.

Robert caught sight of a suited man with his back turned. Robert touched his shoulder lightly, and the suited man spun around, a cellphone in his hand, fear in his eyes. But more than fear.

Recognition.

As fast as he could, Robert drew his side arm, and he saw the man reaching into his coat, to the same end. He fell, a red spot on his forehead, blood spraying the wall behind him.

Okay, now they had to move fast. He pointed to Mouse, and started moving to where he knew, from the floorplans that they had studied in detail for the past week, the vault lay.

[Red Beret]

_____________________________________
C.A.S.T.L.E. - BRAVO Team

"Richards, get yourself a perch somewhere, the rest of you, start moving around the back. I want the rear exits covered. Macon, prepare to make an entrance. We still don't know how many hostages we have, so cool it with the big toys, I don't want any civilians getting hurt."

BRAVO began to move. ALPHA and CHARLIE were still being assembled at Fort Hamilton, but Raleigh knew they wouldn't be much longer. Still, he couldn't wait for them to show up to deploy his team--there were lives at stake here. The PD knew that there were civilians inside the building, and that the Tangoes hadn't left yet... they didn't know what the perps were after, but if they were seriously still trying to get into the vault, then they would be fully surrounded.

Raleigh approached the line of police cars sitting outside the bank, "Who's in charge here?"

"Lieutenant McCullough," said a middle-aged man with a thick moustach, extending his hand, "What can I do for you?"

"Tell me what you know."


_____________________________________
C.A.S.T.L.E. - Gregory Kozak (Lead)

ALPHA and CHARLIE arrived at roughly the same time, but Kozak was the first to reach the line of cars, where a large black man was talking to a (much shorter by comparison) middle-aged police lieutenant. A police chopper flew overhead--it was circling the area to provide an eye in the sky.

"What are we looking at Gerald?"

"Well I'll be damned, if it isn't Gregory Kozak. Nice of you to finally show up."

"You know how it is," Kozak said, shaking his head, "I'm kind of a big deal now that I've taken over ALPHA."

"Yeah, and I see it's gone to your head, too. Been awhile."

"It has. We should grab a drink after this."

"If there's anything to drink about. This one's heavy."

Raleigh gave Kozak the run-down as ALPHA and CHARLIE grabbed their equipment. Apparently, there were about twenty-five people in the bank, eight of them were suspected to be Tangoes operating for the Shackled Brotherhood. They'd gunned down Avery Simmons, CASTLE's lead intelligence analyst, but only after he'd made them and sent out the call.

The Tangoes inside had been less than cooperative at the prospect of negotiations, and it seemed that they were just stalling for time. The PD hadn't sent anyone in yet, because of the potential for hostages being killed, but if it was really the Shackled Brotherhood, they wouldn't fire on unarmed civilians, even to make a point. They relied heavily on people assuming they would. It would be safe enough to move in as long as the teams watched their fire.

"They gunned down the guards with Mac-10s, but switched to rifles, look like 74Us, when SWAT showed up. They haven't hurt any of the civilians inside... yet."

"Other than Simmons," a new voice said, and both of them turned. Joe Donovan, the team lead for CHARLIE, was standing there, and seemed to be up-to-date on the situation. Kozak wondered how long the sneaky bastard had been listening.

"Other than Simmons, but he's not exactly a civilian," Raleigh said pointedly, "I've got Richards up the the building across the street, covering the door here. Lieutenant McCullough's got his boys in blue blocking off the street and surrounding the building, and I'm going to go join my boys as soon as you're ready to take over."

"Go ahead," Kozak said, "Just keep your radio on."

"You know it. See you on the other side."

Raleigh headed off, leaving Kozak with McCullough and Donovan.

"Donovan, mobilize CHARLIE and stand by. I'm going to take ALPHA in through the front and hope to God that the Brotherhood is still respecting the lives of innocents."

"Seems like a ballsy move... lot of people could get hurt if you're wrong."

"I know, Joe... I know."

Kozak returned to the transport and grabbed the SIG 552 that he'd made his own. They'd donned their armor back at the armory, everyone was wearing the heavy Interceptor rig, per standard operating procedure. They were getting ready to enter some heavy shit, and Kozak didn't want to lose anyone because they'd chosen mobility over protection. It wasn't comfortable, but neither was a 7.62 round through the gut.

"All right, listen up," Kozak said as he slapped a fresh mag into his rifle, "We're going in hard. There's no time to waste... we're lucky, they're still fiddling with the vault in there, which means that they'll be less focused on us when we get in. We're all going in, that means you, too, Corvid. Bravo's already got a shooter in place, so I need you on the ground.

"I need you all to watch your fire. It looks like we're dealing with the Shackled Brotherhood here, and they've been known to put up a tough front with hostages, but they won't spill civilian blood if they can help it. They're going to try and make us into the bad guys, but we all know that the real bad guys are in that bank."

Kozak pointed over to a window to the left of the front door, "Spook, take Archer and Pixel. There's an empty office there, you can shatter the glass with a directed charge and enter that way. The noise should be enough to distract them while Corvid and I go through the front door."

"Again, watch your fire. There are still civilians in the bank. No casualties are the best casualties... move out!"

[Mercenary Lord]

Lance Harper - Fist

The old skyscrapers of New York were mostly dangerous places: abandoned, run-down, most of the time cold, and most importantly, generally illegal. Or rather, the place Lance had made camp was illegal. Not only that, but it was practically impossible to get to, unless you possessed nerves of steel, a grappling hook, and a nailgun. It had taken him five whole minutes to get up the the two stories missing stairs, and up on the top floor of the building. He settled down then, flipping open his carrying case, and set to work assembling his rifle. Eva wanted him on the job as a sort of insurance policy. Called him up, cashed in on an old favor, and pulled him into her schemes. Just like that. Still, he always paid his debts, and he had made sure that a bit of cash was in it for him, so there wasn't too much of a problem. Sure, they were being terrorists, but the country was going to hell anyway, so why not?

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a cell phone, texting two short words to Watchdog, a 'business friend' of his who was working with Eva, this time around. In position. Then he relaxed a little, and pulled his hoodie tighter. It really was cold, up here. He'd have thought that being inside would help. Obviously not. He was higher than he should have been, and most of his shots from here would be based on a combination of he scope and natural instinct. None of the other snipers, who were bound to be here somewhere, would be able to track him down from so far up.

He set himself ready again, and loaded a round into the gun. Better hope that someone didn't try to hit his comrades. They'd feel pretty sorry about it, if he had anything to say.

[Capt Kiwi]

Marshall Goodman - FIST

Mouse watched the leader of this operation through the car window, one hand tapping quietly on his knee, the other supporting him against the door. He was excited, though more than usual. He was working with F.I.S.T. now, one of the most elite sections of the Sons of Liberty. He felt honored to work alongside some of the best of the best. The fact that they decided to include him made the feeling even better. In addition to the honor, he was proud. He assumed they saw him as one of the best, why else would they bring him along? A smile ran across his face with the thought. Shortly after, the leader, known as Nailer to the organization, gave a nod to the rest of the group signaling them to exit the cars.

Mouse quickly opened the door and stepped out next the man. He straightened, rolled his shoulders, pulled his backpack tighter, and lifted a bandanna over the lower half of his face. He reached inside his jacket and felt the familiar grip lining the handle of his pistol. He released it and patted the other side of his jacket, checking one last time that he had his silencer with him. He didn't think he would need either of them, but he liked to be prepared anyways.

The men they met on the scene, the Shackled Brotherhood, entered the bank first and the room was quickly cleared of any danger. Mouse walked beside Nailer, as the entered the bank. He passed through the now-useless metal detectors and examined the scene: dead guards, scared civilians, deactivated security measures and men with guns. Everything going according to plan.

As he was scanning the scene, one more loud pop rang to his left. His eyes darted to find the source only to see Nailer with a smoking handgun by his side and a limp body forming a red pool around itself. Nailer pointed to Mouse, signaling that it was time to head for the vault. Mouse jogged past the hostages and through the hallway to find a large metal door sealed with a number pad lock. He set his backpack on the floor in front of the vault and began rifling through the gadgets he brought with him until he found the right tool. He pulled out a small, handheld pad about the size of an iPhone with a few buttons on the front and a small screen, along with a flat-head screwdriver and hammer. He pressed the screw driver between the lock and the wall and hit the end with the hammer. After three hits came that satisfying snap of the case breaking, exposing the wires beneath. He positioned his gadget where the pad would connect and pressed a few buttons causing a yellow light to shine on top. Now it was just a matter of minutes before the safe would be opened.

He took one look around, making sure there was no suspicious activity and looked back towards the lock. The yellow light switched to green and a loud pop came from the inside of the safe. He removed his gadget, put his tools back into his pack and pulled the safe open slightly. Before pulling it all the way open, he looked over to Nailer.

"We're in, boss."

[Countdown0]

CASTLE - Jonathan Benn (Corvid)

"You actually let Bravo take responisibility for sharpshooting?" Jonathan asked, looking at Kozak seriously for a moment. Of every one of CASTLE's field agent, Jonathan believed that he was easily the best marksman. That belief wasn't without merit either. Sniping was his trade. That said, Benn was certainly not opposed to close quarters combat, leaving his .50 calibre rifle in place and instead taking his shotgun, and AA-12, and his assault rifle, and M14 bullpup. It was a pretty good setup, along with his HK-45 sidearm, for indoor combat.

He looked over at the other members of the team then, grinning only a little bit and shaking his head. "Bravo Team..." he said, mostly as a joke. Of course, only one of them would know that he was actually joking, because Jonathan didn't exactly have a tremendous grasp of how to be sarcastic. Not for lack of trying, of course.

[FoxSVK]

Nikolai was always like this before missions. Back in the army ... back in Spetsnaz ... and even in the Sons of Liberty, and later FIST. His head was a constant, chaotic swirl of conflicting emotions, violent memories from his past. Each time, he remembered two places ... the Dubrovka theater and the Beslani school. He took the best from both of these missions, as they formed the man now sitting in the car with the rest of FIST, finally doing something that was worth doing. As soon as the car stopped, he shook his head, took a deep breath, then slowly released it. Every time he did this, he was feeling like all his doubt was leaving him as well. As soon as he finished his breath, he lifted his head, now calm, composed, only focused on the task that awaited him. As Robert left the car to speak with the other man, still a child in Nikolai´s eyes. After a few seconds or few minutes, it felt like eternity, they received the signal to leave the car. It was time to fight for freedom.

Doing a last minute check as he always did, he patted his shoulders, chest, stomach, waist, back and his right leg to check his equipment. Several grenades, ranging from a classical frag grenade, a flash grenade, a grenade to create a smoke screen were in his place. He carried two frag, one flash and one smoke grenade. After that, he checked his main armament, the SCAR-L. He carried three magazines to it, and one already loaded in the gun. He checked his sidearm as well, a Desert Eagle he obtained before leaving Russia. He carried one magazine to it, as well as the one loaded in it. On the small backpack on his back, there were military grade explosives. Just in case.
As he was about to leave the car, he touched his forehead, stomach, right and left side of his chest with his index finger, and mumbled a short saying.
"с нами Бог"

After that, he made his way to the bank with the rest of the group, pinning his SCAR-L to his shoulder, scanning for any possible threats, but he soon realized it was futile, as no threats remained. He lowered his weapon, but not from his hands. Just in case. He walked with the rest of the team towards the vault, finding it in no time thanks to the preparations they made beforehand. As they reached it, he knelt down and guarded one of the corners, looking back to Mouse, as he started to work his magic with the lock. " Should have blown the entire god damn thing up, if you ask my opinion. " he told, a bit louder as he intended to. His Russian accent slightly distorted his English, but the rest of the group already get used to it. A few seconds later, the lock opened. Nikolai slowly turned, looking at Mouse, then nodded his head in acknowledgement of his skills. " Not bad. "

[Red Beret]

"You actually let BRAVO take responsibility for the sharpshooting? BRAVO Team..."

"BRAVO got here first," Kozak said as he and Benn approached the line of police cars at the front door again, "Would take too much time to switch you out... besides, I want ALPHA at my back, not BRAVO or CHARLIE... I train with you guys, I know your profiles and the way you hold your guns... speaking of guns, don't use that thing until you're well and clear of civilians."

He indicated Benn's shotgun as he spoke--it wasn't a bad idea to have an AA-12 around for close-quarters, but combine the spread of a standard round with the fact that it was fully automatic, and any unarmored targets could be quickly reduced to a pulpy mess. It was true that Kozak didn't actually have to say anything about it--they were, after all, highly-trained professionals--but when it came to the safety of civilians... well, it was important not to take any careless risks.

Unfortunately, storming a bank held by the Shackled Brotherhood was an exception to the "careless risks" rule. They moved past the cars and lined up on the far side of the door, waiting for Archer's charge to propel them into action...

[Deamonbane]

Robert Young - FIST

He watched as the men positioned themselves loosely around Mouse, trying to look like they weren't protecting him. There were witnesses, after all, and their real intent here in the bank was not to reach the public. Yet. He watched as the technician worked on the door. SB was here for crown control. FIST was here to take. It bespoke of the real positions of importance that they held in SOL. Robert was proud to be the head of FIST, and he made for damn sure that all of his men felt proud too. They were the shock force of the organization. The proverbial 'hell of wheels'.

"We're in, boss."

Robert nodded, motioning for his men to take up positions around the door while he and Mouse stepped into the vault. He looked around. He had to bust a bunch of the boxes, just to make a show of the fact that it was actually a robbery, and not a precision strike. He lined a bunch of the explosives over the openings of the boxes, random numbers. He made sure to place one over box 2818.

He stepped out, and pulled out the radio," Hey, Merc, make a distraction for us, would you?" He switched it off, and said," Fire in the hole," The men backed away from the wall, and Robert pressed the detonator. A flash, a lot of smoke, and a loud bang reverberated through the bank, and they waited a little before going in, letting the smoke clear," Grab some of the stuff, put it into bags. We need this looking like a real robbery," He waited for their affirmatives when his phone buzzed. Only one person had this line, so he picked it up, and looked at the message.

watchDog428z says: "backed out sec sys. castle here. r u outta there yet?"

CASTLE? How had they gotten a wind of it? His mind falshed back to teh man with the cellphone. The one who was now missing a bit of his face.

"Fuck," Robert whispered.

[VinnyB]

C.A.S.T.L.E - Daniel Edison (Archer):

"Roger that Lead." Archer replied as he approached his entry point, a small window which was barely large enough for him to fit through it. Taking cover against the wall beside it, the man pulled one of his directional breaching charges from his back as ordered by Kozak. In an instant, the charge was being held onto the glass as he looked over at the team he was accompanying to ensure their readiness for the breach as he pulled down a balaclava cross his face.

Pixel and Spook quickly responded with confirming nods and Archer twisted the central handle, which bolted the charge to the window. With a step back, Archer pulled his USP tactical out at the ready in his left hand. The detonator in his right.

"3....2....1....BREACHING!" Danny called out to the rest of Alpha as he detonated the charge, it was only moments before Pixel and Spook were through the window. With Archer not far behind them.