[IC] 𝓒𝓲𝓽𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓦𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓼

[MissCapnCrunch]

𝓔𝓭𝓮𝓷

Morvai in the midst of Summer consisted of sweltering heat. The wind from the Pacific Ocean was delightful but not easily felt through the perimeter walls and buildings that blocked the inner sanctions. Eden included, but all residents had air conditioning or were able to cool off in their personal pools during these waves. Temperatures this Saturday had reached well over 100 degrees, and the mood swings of all sanctions were high. There is a reason that ice cream sales and murders were correlated.

The president of MorCo was no exception as he could be found in his high rise wearing nothing but his boxers and a light grey cotton tee shirt. His shirt was damp with sweat as his hand was deep inside his bottoms, going to work. "Oh Ana.." he murmured, the latest VR googles adorning his face as he watched the adult content flash in front of his eyes. Joseph was enjoying himself greatly while his world below him was suffering. Chaos exploded as a group of activists had successfully pulled off their latest stunt. They had set fire to THREE central locations through out Morvai. One in Eden being the main meeting center. The other two places to be set aflame were an apartment complex in Korven as well as a entry zone between the two sanctions.

A young female assistant came rushing into the suite, she had been given the entry code after serving MorCo for several years. "Sir!" the young woman gasped seeing their leader in such a state. Joseph used his free hand to remove the goggles as he removed his other hand from his pants and wiped it onto the couch that sat underneath him. What did I tell you about coming into my home during these hours?" The assistant nodded her head but began to speak quickly, "I'm sorry sir but there has been an emergency!" she swiped a few pages on her tablet as a holographic screen popped up showing the people running around as the fire began to engulf their belongings. "Send all the first respondents to the center, than send some to the border so that people don't sneak in without proper paperwork." A few more swipes of her tablet sent out the people needed for such an emergency.

"What about the apartment Sir?" the assistant asked meekly, as she watched Joseph stand up. "Their people are setting their own homes on fire for what? They are mad about what? Try working harder or being rich. I'll take any of these young women in this movement, fuck them good and turn them into something important. But no, they'd rather live like shit and set fire to the beds they sleep on." Joseph put on a button up shirt and a clip on tie as he walked over to his broadcasting system. His pants still gone. He smiled as the program booted up.

Soon his face would be casted on several large screens through out the city, as well as any and all television sets and proclaimed radio stations. "Good morning Morvai! The weather sure is hot!" he chuckled, "Due to this extreme heat it seems that mother nature has gotten the best of us and set some areas on fire. Please remember to cool your homes with MorCold Central Air and Heating Systems." A commercial would than be played for the previously named product. Joseph would appear back on screen for a moment, "Help will be sent as soon as possible. Please remember MorCo thanks you for your participation, have a great day!"

The broadcast ended as Joseph took off his top and threw it onto the floor, he turned to his assistant with a smirk "Send someone to clean me and my couch up." he demanded as he went to put the goggles back on his head, and settled back down.

𝓚𝓸𝓻𝓿𝓮𝓷

Back in Korven, people young and old tuned into the broadcast, while one apartment in particular fought for their lives. Screaming and coughing could be heard as people tried to help one another make sure not only their family was out safe but as much as their belongings as they could manage. The only available help would be one another until some sort of authority could arrive, which by then might be too late to salvage anything.

"Hey that's MY shit man!"

A young woman yelled at another woman who had been taking this trying moment as a time to increase her own pocket value. A purse containing a few hygienic products had been taken out of her hands in the midst of movement, "I'm sorry Monique." a man said, placing his hand on Monique's shoulder. She had been crashing at his apartment for the last week. "Not your fault. I'm sorry about your apartment.. shit man, what are you going to do?" she asked, the two of them outside as they watched it go up in smoke. "I'll go live with my parents or something, what are YOU going to do?" he asked as Monique adjusted her backpack on her small frame. A backpack containing her entire's life worth of material items. "I'm sure work will let me stay there for awhile again, I'm scared once I have to quit though, they won't want any pregnant chicks working, unless it's some real specific shit." she laughed with a genuinely sad tone as the two embraced.

"Keep in touch with me man, I'm going to head to work, if your parents don't let you come back I'll find something for you." the man nodded, as he turned back to the apartment and then once back to her. "Take care of yourself Mo, I wanna see that baby when it comes too, don't you go and sell that shit, I'll raise it if I have to." Monique nodded, waving as she headed to the dance club she worked at. It would be hours before the place would open, but she could work as a maid in the mean time and maybe convince the owner for her to stay there a few months while she figured a new living arrangement out.

[Firecracker_]

Hues of light blues and grays melded just ahead of Ret’s eyes, as his body sat afloat in the abyss. Slowly, screams and cries of distress began to permeate the walls around him, and he began to fidget as the cries began to annoy and discomfort him. The cries, though, only got closer and more clear, and Ret could feel his spine cold with sweat as anxiety began to grip him, pushing him further and further into his corner, as the abyss grew angry and malevolent, feeling like it was doing to toss him into the air. As Ret backed into the walls, the crying and screaming reached it’s fever pitch, and finally, the abyss dropped him, eliciting a scream from his mouth as he tumbled to the floor, his chair toppling over besides him.

Scrambling around on the floor of his apartment, Ret rushed to get his arms under him, raising his torso off the floor, his eyes squinting at the light above him. He took a deep breath as the image and source of noises became more clear, helping reality return to Ret’s mind more quickly.

On the screen in front of him was an emergency broadcast on the new channel, smoke clouding the image as various people rushed past the camera, the operator of which appeared to be sprinting in the opposite direction, towards whatever had driven so many fearful people away. Ret wiped the crust from his still heavy eyes as he stood up, picking up the chair that had thrown by his sleepy leaning. Realizing what smoke and screaming probably meant, Ret quickly slid into his computer chair, bringing up various windows and news feeds.

”Apartment fire in Korven, at least 3 dead!”

”Unknown activists set fire to apartment in Korven, response to be seen.

Shit.

Ret’s fingers typed away, his eyes speeding through various security screens and lines of code, as he desperately tried to find the correct area of Korven to access.

They must’ve beefed up security since the last time I did this.

His thoughts flew by a mach speed, as he tried time and again to find the correct cluster of cameras. Finally, one feed popped up, partially obscured by smoke, but not so much that Ret could not see the mass of scattering bodies. As the feed stabilized and clarified, Ret could see an altercation, as an older man had a noticeably younger and larger man by his collar. The older man only seemed to be trying to feebly shake the other, as he yelled something inaudible over the chaos in the square. The man had tears in his eyes as he shaked, and the younger man seemed to be stunned. The younger had three companions around him, all pulling masks down from their faces to scream at the pair, hands motioning to the younger one that it was time to go, yelling and waving their arms in a heated fervor. He tried his best to read their lips.

R-.....Red? No….Reed. Reed. he mumbled aloud to himself, his nose nearly pressed against the screen.

Finally, the younger man took the older’s hands and tore them off his collar, tossing the man down as he ran towards the rest of his group, the other three following him. As they turned, he could see an insignia crudely painted on their back in orange, but it was difficult to make out details in their movement.

A skull, maybe?...... And something on top of the skull.

What was atop the skull, Ret could not make out before they left the screen. Although, what he could make out was the street they were going down. They were escaping towards a rather more quiet and deserted part of Korven. Ret’s hand rushed to the keyboard to try to find a different set of cameras, but they froze when he realized something.

They’re headed towards here, my part of town.

Ret shot out of his chair, grabbing his gun, and pulling on a pair of running shoes before he ran upstairs to access the roof of his apartment. Screeching to a halt, Ret made sure to grab a mask for his face before stuffing his gun in his waistband and running up a set of stairs to the roof.

Shoving the door open, Ret burst on to the roof, quickling making his way to the narrow scaffolding that reached across the other roofs, knowing the street they had taken was just a few blocks away from his house. As he jogged across roofs and scaffolding, his main focus was on the streets below, trying to find the jackets or faces of those he had seen on the camera feed amongst all the other rushing bodies. The fire really seemed to have driven a lot of foot traffic into Ret’s usually silent part of town. Hopefully it wouldn’t last all day.

Suddenly, Ret could see a small pack of bodies making their way through the narrow alleyways below him, and as they passed his vantage point, he spotted their bright orange insignia, which now appeared to Ret to be a skull with an upwardly pointing arrow sitting atop it. Ret quickly shifted directions and began to follow the group as they shoved past locals, toppling a few over.

When the group reached a small intersection in the alleys, they unexpectedly split, each going one direction. Ret spotted the one he recognized as Reed, and followed him along the rooftop, approximately 60 feet above his target. He was following confidently, as he was 60 feet up, and well out of clear sight of the man, who was rushing ahead, his vision tunneled.

Once the target slowed down and began looking around, he took his jacket and mask off, apparently overwhelmed by the heat, which was also beginning to exhaust Ret. Taking the chance, Ret rushed down a nearby set of scaffolding as the target rested. It led down to a small entrance to the building, where he could feel the stray blowing of oscillating fans, cooling his hot skin, wet with sweat.

When Ret reemerged from the building, he had found an exit in an even smaller alley flanking the target. He slowly drew his gun, making sure his sole magazine was loaded and safety was off, and slowly slid out from the shadows, behind the target, who was scanning various directions to see if he had been followed. Ret slowly approached, and figuring he couldn’t risk an escape, took aim at the target’s legs. It was only once the gun rang out, deafening Ret momentarily, that he realized he hadn’t even checked for a suppressor. The weapon’s kick and noise stunned Ret for a second, but the target had already landed on the ground, screaming in pain and cradling his leg.

Shaking the stun away, Ret approached, gun still pointed, until he was close enough to step on the targets legs and arm, pointing his weapon in Reed’s wincing face.

”Alright, Reed, you’re going to tell me who you’re working for, and the names of your little buddies who helped you set that fire, or you die.”

Reed cried as Ret dug his foot into the bleeding wound, and grasped at Ret’s ankle, but his hands were kicked away roughly.

Ret ignored his aching wrist and ringing ears as he gave his head another quick shake, and spoke again through his mask.

”Answers, Reed! Now!

”H-How do you know my name?!” The young man choked through his pained groans.

Ret’s jaw tightened, the same as his hands around the weapon. ”I said answers, Reed, not more questions! You’re getting real close to dying!

”Th- the Upenders! We’re the Upenders! I work for the Upenders, and it was G- Garland, Richie and Lytra who set the fires! I’m brand new man, I just got mixed up with them, I don’t want to die!”

”Very nice, Reed. You guys got a place you all meet at or what?” Ret questioned calmly, easing up on Reed’s wound a bit.

”N-no! We just meet up in different places all the time, makes it harder for them to catch us!

”Hmm. Nice. Smart.” Ret leaned down and grabbed the arm that held the man’s brand and ran his hand slowly over it. He was doing literally nothing.

”Looks like my scanner has been working correctly. I kinda figured when I had your name right, but it’s nice to have solid proof. You know how this goes, this never happened. That hole in your leg was courtesy of some of these fine people in these parts that don’t take kindly to having their homes burned. Understand?”

”Y-yeah, I got it.

”Good.

Ret stood up, wound back, and gave Reed a solid kick to the side of his head, knocking him out. He spun around, ready to leave, and noticed a small crowd had come out to observe the shooting that had just occurred. He simply replied to their curious stares with a waving of his gun, as they all scattered and scurried away, back into their respective shanties and houses, allowing Ret to make his escape.

[Polaris North]

---

Klaus entered a certain meeting room inside his house - one that was furnished better than the rest of his house. It was reserved for when he had to meet with the scientists but had no time to drop by to actually physically meet with them. Grabbing a pair of glasses and an earpiece and putting them on, seven people appeared before him and was sitting down on some of the chairs. They were bright minds - though not as bright as the other scientists going forth with creating prosthetics and medicine, but this was another field entirely anyway. Half of them were from Korven, and one secretly from Lisden. Sometimes, the smartest people can be found in the most unexpected of places.

"Welcome sir." The woman in front said as she nodded at him. Klaus waved back in response as he sat down at the end of the table before leaning forward.

He took a deep breath as he eyed the people in front of him. "Now, tell me. What kind of breakthrough have you made to warrant an emergency meeting this early in the morning?" Don't mistake his wording for anger. In fact, he was quite pleased that his men were still working even though it was three o'clock in the morning. However, to call for an emergency meeting like this meant that it had to be big and important.

The first man to the right stood up - Lawrence. "You see sir, we have reports about the latest design for our new assault rifle..."

Klaus listened intently to their reports, watching as the holographic images popped up to explain the intricate details of each malfunction. They droned on and on and Klaus replied in turn. It did cause a headache for the older man, who had just woken up minutes before the meeting started and he already had to kick open his mind to help solve the problems that had arisen due to some miscalculations in their parts.

The meeting came to a close two hours later and Klaus was already mentally exhausted. They all bid farewell and appreciated the fact that he had helped before he took off his glasses and earpiece. He leaned back into his chair and rubbed his temples. What a bother, but such was life. He plunged into this job knowing the consequences, and he was more than happy to take it on. Yawning rather loudly, he stood up and headed down to his living room to be met by his two companions in this house that wasn't family - Jared and Leila - but both integral part of his household. He found the two a long time ago, back when Leila was just a baby and Jared was still in Korven. He took them in after a deal and they've been serving him since then.

"Good morning Sir Klaus." Leila chirped happily - already energetic so early in the morning. "A cup of coffee I assume?" She questioned as she already headed towards the kitchen.

Klaus nodded. "Yes, thank you Leila." He replied before heading over to the dining room where Jared had already set up breakfast. "Already done with yours?"

"Yes sir." Jared replied with a small smile before bowing and letting him be.

The day went on but Klaus was working home this day. After all, he had to go visit Jacqueline's grave later and he'd rather not go to the company building first or else he knew he was going to get stuck there until well into the night. He was in his living room, typing letter after letter about deliveries and deals to be made - his phone ringing every other e-mail sent. Meanwhile, Leila and Jared were making themselves busy with rearranging the papers Klaus was messing up because of his work, and they sometimes even go ahead to take some of the work load off their master.

That was when an emergency message popped up from a holographic screen to his side - though it was more of a real time report coming from one of the journalists he was following. Curiosity getting the best of him, he looked over to read what has happened so far. In the midst of Summer, someone decided to set fire to three places. Klaus couldn't help but groan. Like it wasn't hot enough already. His house wasn't anywhere near these places, and certainly not around his other buildings, so he didn't feel too worried. But certainly, everything was growing chaotic.

"Jared." The man called out without looking up from the article. As he heard the footsteps stopped, he continued. "Get a squad to help out with the fire on the entry point. We can't have that place too chaotic, or else we'll have to rely on New Osaka more than we already have."

"Right away sir."

Klaus usually had trucks transporting important metals from Lisden to Korven to Eden - and he would often use New Osaka for a safer passage. But he felt as if he was intruding too much on The Unseen territory, so he would sometimes use normal routes to get there. They weren't as safe, but it was still convenient. If that place closed down, then it would cause a headache for him more than he already has. He had a thought of sending someone to help with the apartment building fire in Korven, but that would be too much and he didn't actually have anything to gain from that.

The television's show shifted and he could hear Leila's confusion. The girl was a teenager after all, and would often stop to watch her regular TV shows. It didn't bother him very much, it wasn't like he needed them on their feet twenty-four seven... always. Klaus turned his attention to the show and saw Morvai's face there. He groaned. Klaus didn't actually like the guy, but he would never say that out loud. He would avoid any sort of personal meetings with him, and he was sure that the president reciprocated the feeling.

"Oh, it's President of MorCo." Leila said and she didn't seem to notice Klaus hovering near her as they watched the speech. Joseph went on about how hot it was and then telling everyone to buy their products, followed by an advertisement, before going on to say that help was on the way.

"Of course that man would prioritize an advertisement over helping his fellow citizens." He commented with a shake of his head. While he, himself, was no better, he at least wouldn't just go around and flaunting his weapons when there's a disaster happening. Then again, he was pretty damn sure the person doesn't care about anyone else but himself and his money. Who knows.

Leila sighed in relief though. "At least he sent help. The apartment fire in Korven might spread if it isn't stopped you know?"

Klaus looked at her for a moment. "Do you really think that he would send someone to Korven? I'm sure they can handle it themselves, because if they don't, well... There's around a point something percent in Eden's population who cares about them, no one would help." Klaus knew everything about that. He was from Lisden, after all, and he knew just how the people in Eden wouldn't even come close to any of them without scrunching up their faces or having something between them. His fellow citizens of Eden didn't care. He knew that much.

Her eyes widened. "I know that but..." She then slumped back onto the couch. "Can they really help themselves?"

The black haired male couldn't help but smile at that. "The people of Korven are more resilient than you think. Way better than those who live here at the very least. They'll survive."

Leila didn't seem too convinced, but Klaus already said his piece. He left the girl alone and then sat back down on his couch to continue his work. Work hard and get rich, he remembered Joseph saying that before, like it was the easiest thing in the world to do. Klaus had given everything he had to get here now, and that was only because he was lucky. Not everyone could do it. If it was so easy, then the entire population would have been in Eden already.

Sighing, he took out his phone and called Jared. "Go take a look at the situation in Korven. Looks like your daughter's a little worried about it."

There was a chuckle on the other side of the phone. "Whatever you say sir."

Wonder what would happen now. After his visit to his late wife's grave, maybe he should head over to New Osaka to talk with his associate within The Unseen. Maybe that would help to give him a direction to do for this day. It would be lovely to get away from the work for a little while, as it also seemed that things have stabilized in both the company and the research department. Well, that was for now, at the very least.

[Simple Unicycle]

Pico Boulevard.

Pico was essentially the red light district of this part of Korven, being about a half mile away from the bustling sub-district of New Osaka. A few vendors were lined up along the street, selling anything from kebabs to trinkets to knives. Girls strutted up and down the sidewalk, propositioning men and women alike to see if they wanted their services; some accepted, a few didn't have the money, and the rest just shook their heads in disgust and wandered on.

Cameron Campbell watched the bustling activity of the street, chuckling to himself for a moment before tossing his cigarette onto the asphalt. His sneakers extinguished the still burning cancer stick as he walked down the road, replaying the events of last night in his mind. He had gotten thoroughly plastered, and some suit business suit type had approached him and asked him to handle a job. Some business rival of his or something or other.

It had been years since he did any assassinations in the business world, though he always missed capping corrupt corporate fucks. Businessmen were never his type of people, greedy and lazy, extorting those in lower positions and reaping the profits afterwards. Morvai would be a lot better without them, especially Dicktator Joe, the fat bastard.

But enough thinking. It was time to act. The club was a block away, and the glowing green neon sign lit up the dark street. The booming bass of the music playing within the nightclub shook the sidewalks nearby, and a surly bouncer stood at the head of a long line to enter, arms crossed.

"Hm. Looks like I'll be taking the back," Cam muttered to himself wryly, before slipping into the back alley and entering the club through the supply room exit. He maneuvered his way past various boxes filled with booze, cigarettes, and less legal things, before opening the door and heading into the club proper.

TECHNOIR

(Recommended Listening)

This place reeks of broken dreams and alcoholism, not just from the patrons but from the bartenders, the girls dancing onstage, hell, even the guards. Cam felt he'd be doing a favor killing every last one of them. Freeing them from the torment of their lives. But that's not his job. His job is to take out some fat, greedy, selfish snob.

He looked at the photo one last time. Middle-aged, greying ginger hair in a combover, a staggeringly large gut. This guy'd be easy to spot. Cam scanned through the club, spotting the guy sitting with two women who were half his age on either side of him. Their faces said 'I love you'. Their eyes said 'get me out of here'. The man didn't catch onto their eyes.

Cam approached the table, watching the fat man grab at both women's crotches in sync. One gave him a slap. The other a sucker punch straight to the jaw. The women, disgusted, got up and left. He looked hurt almost, pathetic, like a puppy lost in the rain. His day was about to get a whole helluva lot worse.

Cam walked up to the man. The man looked up at him, sadness in his eyes.

"... Yeah? What is it?"

Wordlessly, Cam pulled out his pistol and fired off three rounds into the man's face. It didn't quite blow his head off. It made his head into ground beef.

No screams erupted. No patrons ran away. No one even cast a glance at the scene. They were all drunk as an Irishman or high as a kite, or, in some cases, both.

The guards, however, noticed.

Cam burst into a sprint, running back to the supply room. Two guards followed, guns at the ready but not risking a shot, no, not while he's zigzagging around patrons. Any collateral damage and they'd get their pay docked, and they didn't want that.

The door was turned into splinters by Cam's bulky frame, and the other didn't stand a chance against his running kick. Soon he was running through the alley, veins pumping battery acid and muscles screaming for rest. Shots went off behind him. One got him right in the shoulder. He kept running.

Eventually he lost them. It took ducking into more than a few sidealleys, and clambering onto more than one rooftop, but he did it. And now he didn't know where the hell he was.

"Not like I was planning on going home tonight anyway," Cam laughed, shaking his head. He hissed slightly in pain as he rolled his shoulders, bullet still in there. Damn. Wasn't a clean penetration. He'd need to get it out somehow.

"Well... At least it was good exercise."

[eclecticwitch]

The summer heat was delicious. The rays of sun beat down on her already bronzed skin, causing a sheen of sweat to make her glitter. Despite this heat she had decided to go shopping. It was of no consequence to her. She had a chore to get done and she would do it no matter the cost. The market was fairly deserted for this time of day but she could still get basic necessities. She ultimately preferred the outside stalls where the people of Korven sold their wares as opposed to the staunch groceries. They were all white and pristine and you couldn't haggle. She could get a better deal here. Esperanza wore very little - a wide-brimmed sunhat, absurdly short cloth shorts, and a white tank top that clung to her skin. The areas where sweat soaked through showed skin and a hint of a white lacy bra. Her hair was placed in a low, messy bun. Stray hairs stuck to her neck.

She picked up a large, red apple, turning it over in thin fingers. It felt strange, perhaps waxy? The heat made it stick to her fingers a little too. Using a thumbnail she scraped it across the surface of the apple and a thin layer of a white substance came with it. The vendor watched her hesitantly. Esperanza held up the evidence to him. "What the fuck is this?" she asked, her voice even and calm.

"It must just be the heat, causing the outer layer of skin to come off. I'll give you a special discount, $1.50 per apple," he said in a conspiratorial way, leaning closer to Esperanza. Espie smiled and leaned in as well, placing the apple back into the basket with its brothers.
"I have been doing the shopping since I was seven years old, puta. This trick is older than this city. Thirty cents per apple and I don't blow your secret." Her tone was sweet and chipper and her face betrayed none of the threat her words held. The man blanched slightly.

"At thirty cents I would be taking a loss, my dear girl."

"At zero cents you would be as well. You overcharge for apples anyway, good luck." She straightened and waved a hand before placing it back on her crutch. She turned, moving the smooth wooden apparatus so that she could hop her way to the next stall.
"Wait! Forty cents." She looked back toward him.

"Thirty five and I will also buy this avocado, but for two thirds full price."

"You drive a hard bargain. Deal." There was nothing better than winning the battle of wits with these stall vendors. She knew they lived for it too. She never asked for less than what she felt the food was worth. As she placed her apples into her basket and was about to look for the perfect avocado (a rare and very expensive delicacy) she heard a crack that shook the earth. She almost lost her balance. The vendor rushed from his stall, past her.

Espie turned and saw a furl of black smoke not too far away. She dropped her basket, forgetting thoughts of bargains. She hopped as fast as she could, which was pretty darn quick considering she only had one leg. People rushed past her. The smarter ones ran away. It did not take long before she reached the scene of the fire. The heat had already been unbearable but the fire overwhelmed. It threw waves of shimmer across the people. Some were helping survivors away from the building. The roof seemed to have fallen in.

Her heart sank. Life in Korven was tough enough already. Where were these people to live now? She heard the screams and sobbing of a child to her right. Something snapped and she pushed her way through crowds of people until she reached a toddler. She stood on her own, face blackened from the fire. Her clothes were in bad shape and she smelled distinctly of burning.

Espie threw down her crutch and knelt before the child. She removed her hat and shirt. Using the shirt she wiped the black from the girls face along with tears and snot. She then placed the hat on the girl's head to keep her safe from the sun. "Where are your mami and papi," she asked gently. The child seemed to be calming down.

"I don't know... I think maybe they are still inside." She replied through sobs.

"My name is Espie, what is yours?"

"Anika."

"All right Anika. I'll stay with you until we find them. Okay?" The girl nodded and put her arms around Esperanza's neck. Using the crutch and holding the girl tight, Esperanza clumsily stood. The child wiped her runny nose on her bare should as tears ran down her back. Espie did not notice or mind. She would need to talk to the other members of Our Lady of Solace to see about getting donations. Perhaps she could convince her boss to set up a donation fund for these people. Her church could allocate the funds properly. She would be willing to work extra hard to ensure these people's safety and comfort. Anything it took.

She watched in horror as the building burned and the people of her community were left in despair.

[CaptainSully]

The air was pungent, the smell of stale sweat and rotting flesh tearing at the nostrils of anyone unfortunate enough to smell it. The walls of the small room were stained with months worth of blood to the point it was freely peeling from it in places. Several shafts of light pierced through holes in the curtain that covered the only window in the room. The beams did little to illuminate the scene but that was likely for the best given the little that could be seen.

"So you think it's ok to slaughter people from our district?" There was muted scream of panic as Sully gripped a squirming man with his left hand. The term man would be used very loosely in this case, this person was responsible for the murder of several women from New Osaka. He would charm them with his boyish good looks, throw them a smile and ply them with drinks. Once back at his apartment he would knock them unconscious and begin to slowly cut them apart. It wasn't organ harvesting or even an attempt to play doctor, it for a deep seeded perversion that Sully was going to pull out with his fists.

There was a loud thud as Sully slammed his fist firmly into the eye socket of the cowering man. The feeling of bone fracturing beneath his fists was something he had experienced many time before and was something he rarely took pleasure from...this was an exception. Sully took hold off the mans hair and threw him out into the illuminated hallway, each end blocked by a pair of Unseen donning pristine black suits. The man hit the floorboards hard and began to try crawling away, his legs trailing behind him. There was another loud thud, this time followed by a sickening crack and almost inhuman wail. Sully brushed his hair back behind his head and lifted his foot from the mans now shattered ankle.

"If you think you have suffered so far, then you truly are in for a surprise." Sully walked in front of the man and crouched down. He took a handful of his hair in his hand and yanked his head upwards so he could see his face.
"Those girls you killed, they worked for me. More than that, they were part of our family in this district." Sully looked at the already swollen eye of his quarry and smiled. He drew back his free hand and began to unloaded a flurry of punches into the undamaged eye. Blood sprayed in every direction, the walls, floor and even Sully's suit receiving a fresh coat of crimson paint.

The man in his grip weeped heavily as pain wracked his body, his mouth quivering as he attempted to beg for mercy. Sully's expression turned to one of sheer rage and he drove his fist into the jaw of the man, separating it from his skull. A audibly pain filled cry echoed throughout the hallway as the jaw hung loosely from the mans face. "Don't you ever fucking dare ask for mercy you cunt!" Sully's rage filled voice became quieter as the sincerity of his words took over. "They were harmless...and you did that to them?" Sully leaned in closer, baring his teeth like a wild animal ready to take the killing bite from it's prey. "You do not need to worry about dying...we are going to keep you alive for a very...very...long time." A smile crossed the gangsters face before drilling his forehead deep into the nose of the man in his grip. Blood began to pour to the floor from the clearly broken nose left on the mans face. Sully let go of the tuft of hair in his hand and took pleasure at the sound of the head hitting the floor beneath.

"Take him to where we keep the rapists and touchers..." The pairs of suited men at either end of the corridor picked the man up and carried him away to a waiting car outside. Sully let out a sigh and looked down at his bloodied knuckles, clenching his fists tight as the anger at the mans actions still flowed within. He reached into his chest pocket removing his pocket square, using it to wipe the blood away from his hands. He threw it to the floor and made his way downstairs.

There was a thick smell of smoke in the air as Sully made his way outside, clearly there was a fairly serious fire nearby. As he scoured the skyline for smoke his phone began to ring, wasting no time in answering it. "Yeah?" The voice on the other end was one that always filled him with a sense of comfort. "Sully you need to get to the Kobe Apartment complex now. There are flames everywhere and we just don't know how many people are still inside." Sully paused a second to think. "Remmy get as many of the guys to the apartment as you can, we need to make sure the public knows we are doing everything we can."

Several hours later the fire had been dealt with but a large part of the apartment building had been destroyed. The streets were littered with Unseen and members of the public alike, suited thugs helping the old and tending to minor wounds of others. Considering that the gang ran New Osaka with an iron fist, it was refreshing for the people to see some level of compassion. Even with the devastation there were some smiles from former resident of the apartment block, more through appreciation than joy.

Through the crowd Sully spotted the familiar figure of Marcus, his long time friend and someone he considered a brother. He approached quickly, making his way through the sea of people. "Marcus..." His friend turned at the sound of his name and smiled, not saying anything, instead choosing to let Sully continue. "We need to get these people off the street as soon as we can. While we look at repairs and relocation put them up at Mantis, Pagoda and the prize fighting arena. It's not ideal but it'll do." Marcus nodded and began to bark orders to the gang members around him.

Within an hour Sully was left standing in front of the burnt out building alone... What the hell happened?

[SuperNova9000]

The soft cushion of the mattress is tempting, perhaps she could just lie down for a while and no one would notice? She could feel a heat rising around her as a sense of urgency kicked in. Suddenly, her eyes are wide open. The once quiet setting of the apartment was suddenly engulfed in flames! She jumps out of bed, covering her mouth instinctively, and runs to a panel on the wall. She frantically hammers the touch screen. "Fire suppression was remotely disabled, shit!" She takes a moment to look around, searching for answers in the chaos. She runs to the door but stops short. The front door stands closed as if in defiance. Her face contorts in exasperation as the fires consume the world around her. She tries the door panel but it's black, as dead as she'll be soon if she doesn't get out soon. "Oh, for fuck's sake..." She reaches under a table close by, retrieves a pistol, cocks the slide back, and puts two rounds in the panel by the door in a smooth motion. The door panel shorts and sparks loudly as the door itself hisses to life. Finally, she escapes. She presses against a space behind her ear as she briskly jogs down the hall away from the disaster. "Badou, pull the surveillance from my building, I want network records access too, and get down here with a car."

"AND CUT! Great job everyone, that's a wrap for today lets set up for tomorrow and get the hell outta here. Ana, you're amazing..." The director, a man in his late thirties named Arthur Williams, continues dishing out orders to the crew as Ana exits the set.

The holographic flames flicker off and Ana walks over to make-up as the MUAs flutter around her getting rid of the pounds of foundation and fake soot from the fake fire. "Linda?" A young woman briskly walks over from across the set and stands in view of the vanity so Ana knows she's there. "What's up Ana?" Linda replies, face buried in a tablet about twice the size of your average smartphone. "Can you call a car so it's ready when this is done?" Ana motions with her arms at her face with what little range is permitted when two make up artists are scrubbing you down. Linda gives a barely audible 'mhmm' and makes a few motions at her tablet, efficiently performing her tasks as always. "Going home, right?" Linda asks without looking up from her tablet. "Yeah I think so..." Ana pauses as an MUA removes her lipstick. "It's so hot today I might go for a swim too."

Once the MUAs had finished removing the glam she was back to her normal self, which frankly, was still a sight to see. She returned her white tank top and panties to the costume designer and donned a flowing sky blue summer dress, a pair of sandal wedges, a wide brim sun hat, her purse for the day, and the traditional 'I'm a super famous actress but please don't notice me right now' oversize black shades. A fairly typical outfit for someone her age in Eden. By the time she had finished the car had arrived to take her home. Linda lived in the same penthouse with Ana, because Ana didn't like to live alone, so they shared the ride. Once again she left behind the lights, cameras, green rooms, and voice-over booths of the industry. The rather large complex of TV and movie studios was intimidating at first, now that she was a star it was even more so. There were more eyes on her than almost anyone in Morvai and the pressure was an ever-present weight on her shoulders.

The car itself was rather simple yet luxurious, the ride was mostly quiet as both of them were decompressing from the day. Ana was leaning on Linda's shoulder staring at her phone with the contact list open. She was focusing on a single name Klaus Devin Jarsdel. Linda glances over for a moment. "Just call him." Ana makes a cute moan and rubs her face into Linda's shoulder. "What am I supposed to say!" Linda rolls her eyes. "Have you considered hello?" Ana let's out another cute moan. "Then what? We haven't had a real conversation in over a year! Besides, he's probably in a business meeting or something..."

Linda is more distracted then usual so Ana gives her a inquisitive nudge. "Look at this-" Linda presents her ever-present tablet to Ana with a broadcast playing from MorCo. "-some terrorists thought it was a good idea to set things on fire today, I wish they would do peaceful protests or something instead of destroying people's homes. What do they think this will get them?" Linda's face was one of disgust. "Maybe it's like in season two when the cyber-terrorist group, Black Cell, uses hacked maid androids to kidnap a dignitary?" Linda looks baffled. "What?" Ana let's out a hardy laugh. "You don't watch my shows at all!" Linda get's flush."Of course I do! I just haven't gotten around to watching season two yet.... or season one." Ana reaches into her purse for a vape pen, takes a drag, and blows it in Linda's face. Linda pretends to be disgusted but it's actually quite a sweet scent. "Anyway, in the show Black Cell uses the kidnapping to divert government resources away from the actual objective of diving into the treasury funds and stealing bank information from the whole country." Linda gives an inquisitve look. "You think the fires are a distraction?" Ana takes another drag of sweet honey-scented vapor. "I dunno, maybe? I mean terrorists are generally upset with the people in power right? So why attack civilian locations?"

"Who can say..."The car pulls up to the curb of their building, a towering spire of glass and luxury, and the door is opened by an attendant waiting for them. Ana hops out enthusiastically and smiles in passing at the young man standing in the hot sun dressed in a suit, sans jacket. Linda follows closely behind as they walk through the enormous lobby. "Call him." The walls are lined with expensive art, a very bored young woman sits behind a service desk seemingly wishing to be anywhere else at the moment. Across the large foyer the gold lined lifts wait to take the two up to their home. They enter the lift and Ana places her hand on a touchpad, it responds with an outline of her hand and turns green. "Penthouse floor." The touchpad chirps a confirmation and the lift rises quickly. "You really should call your dad, I bet he misses you." Ana shifts uncomfortably in the lift as it slows to a stop. It opens to reveal the penthouse, an entire floor dedicated to a single owner (plus one). Despite it's luxurious style it's rather welcoming. The living space takes up the largest portion of the first floor and is surrounded by crystal clear glass windows that pour in natural light. The kitchen takes up a quarter of the first floor and is fully stocked with every amenity imaginable. The second floor was mostly bedrooms and access to the upper garden. Outside on the deck the pool could be seen through the glass walls as well as the lower garden. Everything was modern in style. The penthouse has four bedrooms but the two unoccupied rooms were converted into an office for Linda and a VR gaming room for Ana. The two threw their purses onto a nearby sofa in unison and plopped down. "Here I'll help!" Without warning Linda presses the call button on Ana's phone and scurries off upstairs. "Traitor!" With the deed done all she can do is wait for someone to pick up...

@Polaris North

[Gelatinous Cube]

Gotta love a joint that smells like so much stale smoke you light up just to get a fresh breath.
This place wasn't exactly the Floating Lotus, but it had heart where it counted. Quint Casey never was one to cry about standards, just don't water down his drinks and he was a happy man.
Well, not happy but...well, you know. Less miserable?
The ceiling fans did only a little to alleviate the summer heat, but he didn't mind too much. Today he was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and light blue collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Small moisture stains had sprung up around his pits, but for the most part he was comfortable.

He took a casual sip of his beer and held the chill in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. Summer was going to make him an alcoholic.
Though he would be careful not to indulge too heavily today. Today was all about business.
One of his regular friends and clients, Miguel Hidalgo, had phoned him to meet him here about a job. Quint knew Miguel was good for the money, and Miguel knew Quint was good for the skills. They had a casual, easy friendship marked by a shared love of the same alcohol and a shared interest of mutual company.
Quint loved listening to Esperanza sing, and Miguel loved protecting her.

It was then that the immaculately present Hidalgo arrived.
Quint raised his glass to him as a way of greeting and gestured for another drink to be brought to the table.
"Miguel, always a pleasure. I hear you've got a friend in need."

[Cleverbird]

---

---

Hider

The wet thud of a fist connecting with flesh filled the air, followed by the roaring cheer of the spectating crowd. The world spun and for a moment the brutish thug multiplied.

"Aw come on now girly, you had such a big mouth just minutes ago!" He scoffed, before grinning lecherously. "Or maybe you use that pretty mouth for something else?"

Shaking her head, Jolie brought the world back into focus. Before her stood a towering mountain of muscle, no doubt partially chemically enhanced. Comparing her lithe form to his grotesque form hardly seemed like the fight would be fair; the man was nearly twice her weight class! But like so many others living off the streets, he relied on nothing but brute force and no technique.

Jolie had held her own surprisingly well given the size difference, deflecting most of the force behind each blow. Compared to the shit she went through during her time in LEVEL-9, this was child's play.

"C'mon then, I thought y'were tryin' to fuckin' hit me!" She scoffed, spitting out a bloody phlegm onto the sweat and bloodstained ground before flashing the man a bloody grin. The man grunted like some wild animal as he came at her with a wide swing, the kind she had been angling for this entire time. Striking like a coiled viper, Jolie grabbed the man's arm mid-swing and used his lumbering weight against him as she twisted to his side; twisting his arm in the process.

The man cried out as Jolie twisted his wrist, her other hand resting on his elbow; forcing him down onto a knee. "Right, big guy... Y'owe me a fuckin' apology!" She grunted as the man was really putting on a fight.

"Fuck you, you bitch!" He spat at her, trying to take a swing at her with his free arm; but the position just made him flail his arm around uselessly. "I'll beat you within an inch of your goddamn life and ra-"

His rant was cut off mid sentence as Jolie pulled her hand away from his elbow, only to deliver a punishing open palm blow on the joint. The sickeningly wet crack that followed as the man's arm bent in ways no god had ever designed it for was followed by a thunderous roar of cheers by the crowd, who by now were practically climbing up the chain-link fences surrounding the crude fighter's pit to get a better view of the action.

The man was reduced to a crying ball of muscle as he curled up into a fetal position, clutching his now noodley arm. "Oh come on now, y'had such a big mouth seconds ago!" Jo scoffed, delivering a kick to his gut that knocked the wind out of him and reduced his cries to almost comically high pitched wheezes.

Rolling the man over with her foot, Jolie straddled his waist. "Isn't his what y'wanted, lover boy?" She grunted with a wicked grin as the man weakly pawed at her, his broken arm limply flopping around. His still functional hand caught onto the band covering Jolie's left upper-arm, tugging it down and revealing the pitch black LEVEL-9 brand. Even in his dazed state his eyes widened with recognition, before Jolie smacked her fist into the side of his temple. Thud of her fists grew wetter and wetter as sprays of blood splattered across the dirty floor.

The crowd cheered.

The crowed roared.

The crowed screamed...

Like a fire spreading, panic began to grip the onlookers. Looking up from the bloody mess she had made, Jolie watched as the crowd all began to surge away from the front entrance, pushing one another out of the way or even outright trampling over those that couldn't keep up as they all ran towards the back exit like a herd of wildebeest. While most of the racket they made was gibberish, there was one prevalent word she could clearly pick up time and again.

Morse.

It was Korven slang for MorSec, or Morvai Security.

"Motherfucker, fuckfuckfuck!" She cursed through clenched teeth, jumping off the blood coughing man and sprinting her way to the cage exit. Kicking the door off its rusty hinges, she ran towards the lockers where she had stored what little she had brought with her. What was MorSec doing here? This was Unseen territory, way out of MorSec jurisdiction.

"Sweep the area." Came deep voice from near the entrance, the once boisterous club now quiet aside from the groans of those who were trampled by the horde. The mountain of muscle had gone eerily quiet. Jolie barely had the time to pull her belongings - some keys, a jacket and her pistol - from the crude locker when she heard the heavy footsteps of armed Peacekeepers make their way towards the cage. Cursing internally, she ducked behind the make-shift bar and peeked around the corner.

Five heavily armed Peacekeepers slowly made their way into the arena, silenced SMGs raised. The fuck were they doing here? While near the border of Unseen territory, it was still way out of any MorSec patrol route. Which meant they were here for either two things. A) they were here for her. It was no secret she didn't along with MorSec and her last stint with the bastards had led them both on a weeklong merry chase of armed cat and armed mouse, culminating in MorSec blowing up her goddamn apartment; forcing her to stay in one of Cameron's safehouses for the time being. A fact he was incessantly reminding her of, mind you. But no one knew that she would specifically be here, the only reason she even was here in the first place was simply because she wanted to drink some cheap booze and bust some heads. Leading to the more likely option, B) They were here on their own accord, leading a personal raid. Even a dingy tent like this place had plenty of cash pumping through it.

Releasing the safety, Jo winced as the pistol readout gave a measly 12 bullets. Not having expected any major trouble, she of course hadn't brought any space magazines or any larger ordinance. Not to mention the pistol was loaded with hollow-point and the Peacekeepers were decked out in body armor.

"Fucking hell, happened to him?" One of the Peacekeepers called out as two of them stood at the edge of the figgting cage, observing the now lifeless, bloodied corpse of the mountain of muscle. "Savages... The whole lot of them." Her partner scoffed, before joining his other partners in securing the place.

It wouldn't be long before they'd check the bar, leaving Jo with two options. 1. Shoot her way out, which was a guaranteed death sentence. She didn't fancy her chances against 5 submachinegun wielding Peacekeepers. 2. Find a way to distract them and sneak out the back entrance like the crowd had done. The back entrance was only 8 meters away from where she was currently hiding, but there was nothing in between here and there, leaving her a running target. And with a submachinegun, you didn't really need good aim to hit your target.

The answer to many of her life's problems just happened to be within reach, as an unlabeled bottle of watered down hooch rolled up against her foot. Gripping the bottle with her still bloodied hands, Jo took a quick swig of the terrible tasting crap; before peeking around the corner and awaited the perfect opportunity to carefully toss the bottle across the room.

There was almost a sort of elegance to it as the bottle swirled in the air, before crashing down violently against the back wall. All five Peacekeepers immediately pointed their weapons in the direction of the sound, prompting Jo's rush for the beaten down door.

"Hey, you! Stop!" Jo hadn't even made it halfway to the door when one of the Peacekeepers spotted her. With no intention of stopping, she simply raised her pistol and pulled the trigger three times. She wasn't really trying to hit anybody, though that would've been a nice bonus. She simply needed them to duck for cover. "Fuck! Shoot her!" The earlier gruff voice called out, as a symphony of silenced gunfire erupted; turning the doorway Jo was currently ducking through into a cloud of dust as splinters of concrete pelted her skin.

Skidding to a halt, Jo quickly patted herself down and let out a sigh of relief as she wasn't any worse for wear. Looking up, she found herself in a dimly lit hallway that acted as the main supply route for the bar up front; and judging from the trails of dried up blood, the main exit for fighters that couldn't stand anymore.

Scrambling to her feet, Jo began a desperate sprint to the last door in the hallway which had a beaten down exit sign hanging above it at a crooked angle. "GET HER! YOU FUCKING KILL HER!" The gruff voice boomed out with an impressive clarity. Turning around, Jo fire pulled the trigger twice, catching one of the Peacekeepers who had wildly rounded the corner in his chest carrier. As was expected, it didn't seem like the bullet penetrated; but with .45 caliber you could be damned sure that the Peacekeeper felt it as the air was knocked out of him. The others didn't seem quite as willing to follow Jo now.

Bursting through the door, Jo found herself in the balmy heat of summer; sweat and blood causing her clothes to cling to her. Another orchestra of silenced gunfire erupted behind her, barely letting her jump to the side. Not intending on sticking around any longer, Jo rushed down the grimy alleyway. After a minute of running, she didn't hear any footsteps behind her; causing her to slow her pace a little and catch her breath. The fact they weren't after her, or that there wasn't a second team waiting for her at the exit, confirmed her earlier suspicions that this was in fact a personal raid. With the racket they had made, the Peacekeepers were by now probably more worried about Unseen showing up than chasing after a single person.

"Motherfuckers..." She sighed, wiping some of the slick blood from her face... Though mostly just smearing it across her face. Holstering her pistol, she carefully made her way back towards the more crowded streets of New Osaka; where the bustling people seemed to pay little mind to the heavily bloodied woman walking among them.

It wasn't until an hour later that Jo made it back to the safehouse, after having made damned sure nobody was actually following her. The last thing she needed now was to have MorSec blow up this place as well and indebt her even further to Cameron... First order of business: a long, well deserved shower to wash off all the grime that clung to her.

Refreshed, naked and still dripping wet, Jo made her way up to the window as she saw an enormous plume of black smoke rising up into the air not too far from where she currently was. "This motherfuckin' city..." She sighed, simply shaking her head.

Live to fight another day...

[eclecticwitch]

Miguel loathed the summer. The heat made his suits almost unbearable. Today being a particular hot one he was just miserable. The dry air pressed down on him and he was glad he had left his suit jack at home. He opted for a light grey three piece. The vest fitted over his form nicely and the sleeves of his white button up were rolled to his elbow exposing a rather expensive gold watch. The tie he wore was a fun blue color with white unicorns on it. The unicorns were so small they looked like white dots unless one was up close. In his blonde hair he wore a grey feather attached at the end to a thin braid.

As he walked through the streets he became more desperate to reach his destination. Only a few more steps until he entered the dirty looking dive bar. Inside was cooler than the outdoors, but not by much. It was still a relief to be out of the sun. He brushed back his hair, allowing the moving air to dry the sweat on his face and neck. It did not take him long to find the person he had come to meet. A large grin exposed perfect white teeth. He waved before taking a seat at the bar. "Wonderful to see you again Quint. It has been a bit." He held up a finger and ordered himself a beer. "I do indeed. And as we both know, a friend in need is a friend indeed. A friend with cash." He chuckled lightly as the beer was placed in front of him. He took a sip from the cold, frothy beverage.

"We can discuss business in a moment though, how have you been since the last time I saw you?" He turned in his bar stool, leaning slightly against the bar. He was a very open, warm sort of person. His smile was never faltering and manner of speech genuine. "Been by the Lotus recently?" He sipped his drink again.

As Quint responded to him, Miguel's phone began to ring. He subtly pulled it from his pocket to see who it was that called. Work. "I sincerely apologize, my good friend, but I must take this. When the boss calls, you know." He winked before answering the device. As he listened to the man on the other end, his face fell. He looked at Quint with darkness creeping into his features. "Of course, I'm not too far. I'll be right there." He hung up the phone and tucked it back into his pocket. "Sorry Quint. There's a fire nearby. The boss man wants all hands on deck. I'm afraid we'll have to postpone our chat a bit. Of course, if you would like to come along and help you will certainly be compensated." Miguel downed his beer before standing. He offered the barman his arm so that he could accept payment.

The two men left the bar at a run. It was not hard to see where the fire was coming from. Black smoke billowed into the air and the heat only intensified the closer they came to the fire. As he arrived he began the process of helping people away from the building. Some needed first aid and he helped as much as he could. As he knelt, wrapping a shirt around a fairly serious burn on an older woman he noticed a very familiar form not too far away.

"Esperanza?" he shouted. Hastily he finished the wrap job and approached his sister. She was holding a child who appeared to have been recently crying. "What are you doing here? Where's your shirt?" He removed his vest and helped her place it over her nearly bare torso. "Who is this?" When the twins were around each other their usually light spanish accents became more thick, as if they were feeding off of each other.

"Hola hermano." She accepted his vest and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Hiya Quint." She flashed the other man a quick smile. "Anika has lost her parents. Help me find them. I can't get through all these fucking rubber neckers very well." Espie shifted the child in her arms so she sat more evenly on her hips. Unfortunately having only one leg made that difficult and she wobbled a bit.

"I have to keep helping. Quint, do you think you can help Espie out?" Miguel tried to take the child from Esperanza but she clung with a death grip to his sister and screamed. He immediately removed his hands and sighed. "I'll be back for you as soon as I'm done." He kissed his sister's cheek and ran off to continue the work of ensuring the survivors safety.

He approached the building to find his boss. Miguel had a deep respect for Sully. It wasn't very often that the head of an organization would be out with his crew getting dirty. "What happened?" he asked, hoping Sullivan might know.

[McHaggis]

.

[Ejected]

_{Eating seeds as a pastime activity
The toxicity of our city, of our city}

---

---

THE SWELTERING SUMMER HEAT and humidity made Tommy Patrick’s day job just a little bit harder. After spending a little above three hours running around under the beaming sun, the young woman’s skin had turned from its usual cool, caramel color to an even deeper, slightly red, tone. Her hair, which had been tied up into a ponytail before she set out for the day, had begun to frizz from her profuse sweating; the same sweat had run down the length of her body, soaking through her light gray wife beater and coming to an uncomfortable rest inside of her damp sneakers. It was in that moment, as Tommy made her way back towards her apartment building in the outskirts of New Osaka, that she wished she’d remembered to put on a pair of socks before she left.

Slung around her shoulder was a large duffel bag; it was nearly empty now with the exception of a few water bottles and a spare pair of shoes to make it seem as though she'd just come from the gym, but had previously been filled to its capacity with severed left and right arms. Tommy had started off her day the same as any other: she woke up at the crack of dawn, showered, got dressed, and headed down to the abandoned warehouse, which was nestled just a little ways away from the Lisden and Korven border and was where her usual team conducted the majority of their business. The Collectors is what they called themselves, even though Tommy thought that it was a pretty stupid name for a bunch of limb amputators. Unfortunately, that name didn’t have as great of a ring to it as the former. Nevertheless, Tommy went along with it all; she was always where she needed to be, machete and glock tucked away on her person and a large duffel bag slung over her shoulder. At seven o’clock on the dot, she’d arrive at the warehouse to meet The Boss before pairing up with another Collector and heading out to Lisden where they did the unthinkable.

In Lisden she was a monster; not only did she help murder dozens of Lisden residents, but she also aided in their dismemberment. In fact, she'd gotten even better at it as time went on; she knew how to capture them without having to put up much of a fight, she knew how to sever their arms without being coated in blood in the process, and she knew how to dispose of the bodies so that they wouldn't be found for another couple of days. Tommy had learned all of this and more in a span of four years. Tommy did not know to whom most the arms she’d collected were being sold as they were usually being handled by another Collector, but she didn’t question it as long as she got her money at the end of it all. As promised, one hundred bucks had been deposited into her bank account when the job was finished; that was all she really cared about. In her head, she calculated how much money would be coming out of her bank account for her share of the rent before deciding that she had more than enough left over to grab a few drinks at the bar and maybe even a dime bag from a local dealer.

When Tommy stepped foot into her shabby apartment it was unusually silent, the only noise coming from the small television set that was mounted on the living room wall. Letting out a sigh, the young woman threw her duffel bag onto the floor next to the door and plopped down onto the couch, letting her head rest against the cushions. She'd only had her eyes closed for a few minutes before someone came storming through the front door. "Did you hear about what happened?" Tasha Patrick said as she slammed the door shut, causing Tommy to jump.

"Good afternoon to you too, sis," Tommy said. Tasha, as usual, ignored her sister and took a seat next to her on the sofa. "Hear about what?"

"The fires! They're literally talking about it on the TV, idiot." As Tasha spoke, she pulled the remote control from between the seat cushions and turned up the volume. Sure enough, the face of the president of MorCo popped onto the screen, his voice filling the silence and growing louder as Tasha turned up the volume. Tommy listened as their asshole of a leader addressed the fires, claiming that "mother nature" had struck again. When he said that, Tommy's sister groaned and rolled her eyes. "He knows damn well that this wasn't the work of mother nature." Even Tommy couldn't stop herself from chuckling and shaking her head at the mention of MorCold Central Air and Heating Systems.

"Sure, throw in an advertisement. That's obviously more important than your people who are dying and losing their homes." As Tommy spoke, she stood from her seat on the sofa and headed towards the front door, not wanting to listen any further. "I'm going out, don't wait up." Before waiting for a response from her sister, Tommy walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her. The last thing she wanted to think about the raging fires that had popped up within the last few hours, or the blank faces of her victims as she hacked away at their bodies with a rusty machete. So she headed down the street towards the bar, the only place where she could escape from the troubles of everyday life all while drinking her weight in beer.

[Gelatinous Cube]

"Wonderful to see you again Quint. It has been a bit." He held up a finger and ordered himself a beer. "I do indeed. And as we both know, a friend in need is a friend indeed. A friend with cash."

"Well, that's the most important part, isn't it?" Quint offered casually. As well-mannered and pleasant as he seemed, he still had to pay the rent. Besides, one does not gain a reputation for quality without attaching an appropriate value to their skills.

"We can discuss business in a moment though, how have you been since the last time I saw you?" He turned in his bar stool, leaning slightly against the bar. He was a very open, warm sort of person. His smile was never faltering and manner of speech genuine. "Been by the Lotus recently?" He sipped his drink again.

"Oh, you know. Keeping out of trouble, making sure I don't step on too many toes. Did a job for your boss about a month ago, had a bug up his ass about some creep." Of course, Quint was none the wiser that Connor "Sully" Sullivan had just wet his fists with said "creeps" blood only a short time ago, but such was the nature of Quint's work. Don't ask too many questions. People expected a certain amount of discretion, and he made sure his guarantee was airtight. He liked his and Sully's relationship. It was professional, respectful and almost never difficult.
"Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to hit the Lotus as often as I like, but I'm sure I'll be around sooner or later."
It had been far too long since he had the pleasure of hearing Esperanza sing, or the pleasure of her company in a more private setting. He liked her a lot, but he knew that any sort of romantic pursuit was a fools game. He could try and believe there was something there, but once all was said and done and the money transferred it was all over. Besides, as cordial as he and Miguel were, he did not think the overprotective brother would approve.

As Quint responded to him, Miguel's phone began to ring. He subtly pulled it from his pocket to see who it was that called. Work. "I sincerely apologize, my good friend, but I must take this. When the boss calls, you know." He winked before answering the device.

Quint waved it off casually, "Business as usual, far be it from me to get in the way." He sat alone again and drank his beer, savoring the cool, crisp taste of it. He really should pay a visit to the Lotus sometime soon. Normally he wasn't too picky about his watering holes, but nothing beat air-conditioning and good entertainment.

"Sorry Quint. There's a fire nearby. The boss man wants all hands on deck. I'm afraid we'll have to postpone our chat a bit. Of course, if you would like to come along and help you will certainly be compensated."

As calm as Miguel seemed, Quint could see the worry in his eyes. If it was enough for everyone to be called in to help, then it had to be serious. There was more than that, though. Miguel had the look about him that somebody important to him was in danger, and that could only mean one thing. Suddenly Quint had a vested interest as well.
"Of course," he said, wasting no time in springing to action. There was no need to stop by the bartender, he always pre-paid his drinks if it was a business meeting. He hated the interruption, and it made the client feel more comfortable knowing they had his full attention.

In no time at all, they arrived at the scene. Smoke billowed from the building and countless displaced, tear streaked faces milled about not knowing what to do or where to go. It was pandemonium, but through it all he saw the stoic and calm figure of Connor Sullivan controlling the situation. No wonder that man had risen through the ranks, he was a natural leader.
Miguel and Quint quickly got to work, doing what they could with limited resources and preparation. It wasn't much, but those they managed to aid were grateful.

Eventually, Miguel met up with Esperanza, who was cradling a distressed child.
"Esperanza" Quint nodded as she greeted him, still somehow managing to smile in spite of the intense situation around them.
Miguel asked him to look after her, and of course he obliged. He could do no less, "You have my word."
He turned to Esperanza and the child and tried to speak softly to the little girl, "Hey sweetheart. Don't worry about a thing, we're going to find your parents and everything will be okay. My name's Quint, but my friends sometimes call me Quinsey."
She didn't seem terribly receptive, but at the same time she wasn't panicked so that had to count for something. Quint had little to no experience with children, but knowing he had been rescued from a baby farm he felt a need to help them when he could.
"Come on, Esperanza. Let's see if we can't get her some place quieter, calm her down a bit. Connor and Miguel will handle everything."

[SilverPaw]

Eleonara woke up in the very early morning, several hours before sunrise, as was her habit in the summertime. She didn’t much care for the heat and enjoyed the times of the day she could naturally enjoy the relative coolness, such as late evenings, nights and early mornings. Her roommate Kim was still sleeping soundly on a hammock above her, snoring softly, her usual cuteness somewhat ruined by the saliva steadily dripping from the side of her mouth and way she scrunched her nose as if she were disgusted by something. Possibly she was just dreaming. Ceasing the observation of her unfortunately very straight female flatmate, Leona shucked off her thin long sleeping shirt and put on a jogging outfit, stashing her weapons in the pockets-refitted-into-holsters; their usual place. She had very few trousers without those pockets and whenever she wore one of those (or a skirt), she still had several belts she could use for her precious offensive gear. Being armed in Korven, after all, wasn’t something one would get a second glance for.

So outfitted, she went for a jog, sunlight still nowhere in sight, though the sky was steadily getting less dark. Eleonara ran, following a twisting route from her flat, which was smack in the middle of the Kings’ territory and also fairly central as far as the whole of Korven was considered, and to the studio which she owned bordering on Eden, not strictly (officially) part of her gang’s territory, but often used for their business anyway. Along the way, she had the privilege of observing all those other people, who already had to get ready for their day, though unlike her, most of them wallowed in some degree of misery. Leona cherished the sight, smug to feel so good when this many others didn’t. So what if that made her kind of a bitch? Those other people just needed to learn to take pleasure into their own hands, however they could. Really, they should take her as an example.

Pleased from the hour-long exercise, she arrived at her studio, stretched, then took a shower and put on some spare clothes. Having a personal water source for bathing was a luxury she enjoyed; the flat she had in the center had a communal one she was forced to endure occasionally. And the fun that could be had from observing other naked bodies (those well-shaped ones, at least) was outweighed by the feeling of filthiness sharing a resource with so many others invariable caused. Besides the additional space, this studio also had the perk of somewhat cleaner air, always a nice addition, though something she could just as easily do without. At the end of the day, she was a true born and bred Korvenite, well used to the sanction’s various quirks. She spent the next few hours managing her finances, checking her existing investments, exchanging some stocks etc.. After that dull but productive chunk of time, she took a motorbike, which she had Robert take to the studio the previous night, and drove back to her flat in Korven, saw Kim was gone already, and went to one of the Kings’ bars/clubs on her own.

[CaptainSully]

As he surveyed the devastation before him a familiar voice grabbed his attention, the distinctive hispanic accent of Miguel giving away who spoke. "What happened?" Sully turned around to see Miguel standing behind him as the last few remnants of the crowd were dispersed. Even with the heat from the sun and the inevitable sweat it brought, Miguels hair still remained in perfect place. In all his years Sully had never met someone so concerned about their appearance, but it didn't matter, he was good at what The Unseen used him for. "Good to see you here Miguel. I know it's not quite where your talents lie but we need everyone involved with the clean up." Sully continued as he began to walk towards the smouldering remnants of the apartment.

"In all my years I have never seen three fires burning simultaneously in this city." Sully crouched down and picked up a book, it's cover blackened and edges disintegrating with the smallest movement. He threw it to the ground, kicking up a plume of ash. "This is clearly someone trying to send a message to everyone in Morvai. Their mistake is that they think they can get away with attacking us." Standing back up Sully turned back towards Miguel, rubbing his hands together to remove the ash from them. "I don't care what it takes, we will find..." Sully was cut off by the ringtone of his phone.

"Yeah?" The voice on the other end was Marcus. "Connor I think you should come to the Lotus. We've got someone locked up in the office who i'm sure you'll want to speak to." Years of being raised by Kazuo meant that both men knew what the other was thinking, even in this case with such a vague sentence. He didn't respond to Marcus and simply put the phone down, looking at Miguel with a pleased expression across his face. "Marcus has the prick who did this at the Lotus. How about we go and pay him a visit?"

It took ten minutes to walk to the Flying Lotus, the surrounding area almost deserted. The street outside was often filled with patrons taking in a smoke or people queuing to get in, but the fire meant most people were doing what they could to help those affected. The bright neon lights of the bar were shut off and the front doors were firmly shut leaving Sully and Miguel to use the back entrance.

Once inside the pair made their way to the office to find a small framed man strapped to a chair, his face coated in his own blood as Marcus laid into him with his granite like fists. The beating stopped when Marcus realised Sully had entered the room. Sully glared at the man on the chair, a bright orange band around his arm standing out amongst the rest of his clothing. "Don't stop on my account Marcus," he joked. Marcus smiled putting his suit jacket back on, his top button undone. "He hasn't said a word yet, but I thought i'd just warm him up ready for you." Sully let out a laugh and crossed the room towards the battered, blood covered man. "Just in case you don't know, my name is Connor but the majority of this city know me as Sully. I just want you to know that the rumours you hear about me...they are all very much true."

Sully's hand shot forward and he took a firm grip on his captives throat, squeezing tight. He spoke baring his teeth aggressively, "Tell me everything! What is this all about? Who is involved? Where can we find them? Then maybe we'll consider letting you go." The man gargled and whined as he tried to breath, Sully letting go so he could speak. He coughed and spluttered blood onto the floor as he tried to breathe. He looked up at Sully with tear filled eyes, blood from a wound on his head running into the corner of them. "We...we're the Upenders...you...your kind...the corporations...you're going to burn..." A bloodied and broken tooth filled smile was presented to Sully as the man spoke. Responding to the mans brave but stupid retort, Connor let out a sigh. "You come into our district and try to kill the innocent people here? I can't let that stand..." In a quick movement Sully reached inside his coat and brought his clenched fist down onto the mans bent knee. A pain filled roar echoed throughout the bar, Sully loosened his fist to reveal the handle of a knife. The blade had perfectly cut behind the mans knee cap, causing him excrutiating pain.

"Tell me who else is involved and I can stop." The man shook as he tried his utmost to block out the pain. He shouted, "Go fuck yourself!" strands of bloodied saliva hung from the mans chin, slowly stretching towards his chest. Sully closed his eyes and sighed once more. "Fine...if that's how it is..."

Sully reached down and grabbed the knifes handle, his other hand once again taking a firm grip on the mans throat. With a forceful rotation of his wrist Sully began to twist the knife, the mans muffled screams stuck behind his torturers crushing hold on his throat. Connor ceased for a moment, letting go of the grip on the mans neck and taking the blades handle into both hands. Connor drove his arms forward forcing the knife to come loose. The floor at the mans feet became covered in blood as his knee cap hit it with a horrific splat. His cries were loud enough to make some of the lower level members in the room cover their ears, the high pitch of them making the screams even worse.

"Tell me now or i'm taking the leg!" The man tried to compose himself but the pain wouldn't allow it, that was until he saw Sully move his knife back towards his now exposed knee. "STOP! PLEASE! NO MORE!" Sully used a clean portion of the mans trousers to wipe the blade of his knife clean, placing it back within his jacket. "Talk." Connor didn't need to say much else as he had achieved what he wanted albeit in a way that he hadn't used for years.

"My name's Richie...I...I was told to burn it down..." Richie as he revealed his name to be, was struggling to string words together, but he knew that he had to or he was going to lose at least his leg. "I'm from the...Upenders...we are fed up of being treated like slaves...better to fight than serve..." He took a deep breath and soon found himself talking a bit easier. "I've never met our leader. He speaks to us through another member called Garland. Garland arranges the meet ups and was the one who gave the order to set the fires. He works in the northern part of Korven outside of Unseen and Kings territory. Beyond that I know nothing...I swear." As Richie finished he wept heavily, the sincerity behind his tears signalling to Sully he was telling the truth.

Connor ran his hand over Richies head in an almost comforting manner. "I believe you..." Richie raised his head once more looking Sully in the eye, "Thank y..." The words of the captive man did not finish, stopped by a smoking barrel inches from his chest. His body slumped forward, his tied arms the only thing stopping him from falling from the chair. Sully returned his gun to his holster and turned to Miguel. "Miguel I want you to get rid of this body and then come and meet me in the bar. You're coming with me and Marcus to pay this Garland a visit." Soon after dishing his order to Miguel, he turned his attention to Marcus. "Get in touch with our surveillance team and see if anyone has entered New Osaka at our checkpoints with an ID featuring the name or alias Garland. Come to the bar once you're done and we can talk next steps." Sully moved to the door, his thirst beginning to bite at the back of his throat. "The rest of you, clean the mess."

[Polaris North]

---

Klaus got a message from Jared that stated that both of the places were being secured - or at least, the one at the border was. The one in Korven was being evacuated and he reported that he could see some from The Unseen helping out. It had been burnt down to the ground - completely - leaving many homeless for now. After interaction with some of the Unseen members, it had become known that they were going to take them in and put them in a temporary shelter. Klaus was rather impressed at how quickly they mobilized, but then again, this was a rather big gang.

He ordered Jared and his team to pull out soon after that. There would be no need to extend their help to these people. Besides, even if he were planning on helping them out more than that, he wasn't sure if he could afford to take in more at the current state of the Korven Barracks. It had been stamped as full, and he doubted any of them would be willing to live in Lisden despite the security of the place. He wouldn't blame them. Despite everything, it was still in Lisden - and he knows fully well just how dangerous Lisden is.

Now, he had his work phone pressed onto his ear - listening to the drone one of his members complain to him about the current state of the business. It was mostly technical stuff that could be easily resolved and Klaus had to stop himself from telling the man off. It would be for the best if he didn't anger one of his board members. However, as the man continued to speak, his personal phone began to ring rather loudly. A blessing in disguise isn't it? "Stop right there Harvey. This is one of our clients, I have to take it." He smoothly lied.

"B-But sir-"

Before he could speak any further, Klaus cut the phone call short. He let out a disgruntled sigh and rubbed his temples. What a pain. He then picked up his personal phone and was rather surprised to see his daughter's name as the caller ID. If he wasn't mistaken, his last real interaction with her was little over a year ago. Yes, he was aware that this wasn't ideal, but she was already a big girl herself and she would come if she wanted to talk. Was that how parenting work? Klaus wasn't really sure.

As per usual, Klaus answered. What kind of person would he be if he ignored his own? Surely, nothing humane. He would be no better than his own parents if he ignored his daughter. Right? There was a small pause between him answering and him speaking. "Hello, Anastasia." He started before pausing again as he leaned back on the sofa. "How have you been?" He questioned after a while. Of course, he has been following whatever news featured her as a supportive parent should be, but those news articles rarely tell the truth - just as his own words often get distorted by some journalists out there.

@SuperNova9000

[eclecticwitch]

Anika drew back from Quint, unsure about this strange man. She clung more desperately to Espie and caused her to cough a little. Anika let up her hold but continued to half glare in suspicion of the stranger.

Esperanza watched as her brother ran off to continue helping those in need. While she disliked his occupation, she had to admit that it did quite a lot to help the community. She sighed, looking at the child in her arms. Anika was still very much distressed about the situation but had calmed down in the safety of Espie's arms. She glanced back at Quint as she took into consideration his suggestion. Anika clung to her and Espie did not have too much by way balance. It would be most helpful if they could get the girl to walk on her own. "That's a good idea, lets head that way." She jerked her chin toward a street just slightly out of the way. The buildings would block the site of the wreckage.

Slowly she made her way toward it, having to take very careful steps in an attempt to hop and balance a child. It was slow going. In exasperation she looked over her should toward Quint. "Could you hold my waist to help make sure I don't fall? Just stand to my right here and wrap your arm around. I'm not used to doing this shit." She grinned and waited for him to help her movement. She directed him a bit to help her walk more comfortable. Anika was at first afraid of the man being so close, but grew more comfortable as Espie sang a spanish song to her.

"Los pollitos dicen, pio pio pio. Cuando tienen hambre, cuando tienen frio," she soothed in her soft, lilting alto. "La gallina busca, el maiz y el trigo. Les da la comida y les presta abrigo. Bajo sus dos alas. Acurrucaditos, hasta el otro dia duerman los pollitos." They had finally reached the area Espie had suggested and attempted to set Anika down. She screamed and clung to Espie's neck. "Poco amor," she whispered softly into Anika's hair. "I cannot hold you for long. I need you to be strong and walk so that we can find your parents." She moved so she could lean her back against the wall and offered her crutch to Quint. "Could you hold this please?" Once the crutch was taken she used a hand to stroke the child's hair, making soft shushing noises to help calm her.

"I very much want to help you Anika. Can you help me?" The child pulled her face from Espie's neck and wiped snot on the back of her arm. Glancing toward the area which had been burning but that she could no longer see, she finally nodded. Espie let her down and slid down the wall so she could be at face level with Anika. "What are your parent's names?"

"Mommy and Daddy." Well, that was little help.

"Do you know your last name?"

"Belgar," Anika responded. Something they could work with.

"Do you think you can walk with me? Or will you let Quinsey carry you?" The child seemed to consider it, looking between the both of them. "Quinsey is a very dear friend of mine. He would never hurt you. He knows if he did I would chop his huevos off." She smiled kindly to the child and Anika walked to Quint, lifting up her arms in a request to be carried. Esperanza used the wall to stand up and took her crutch back. "Well, I guess we look for Mister and Mrs. Belgar."

@Gelatinous Cube

[Gelatinous Cube]

Quint did as he was asked and slipped his arm around Esperanza's waist. The scene around them was pandemonium, the chances of finding the little girls parents were slim. He hoped dearly that they weren't caught in the fire. Morvai had enough orphans to speak of, Quint knew too well. He also knew what happened to the kids that didn't make it into an orphanage.
Thankfully he had the sound of Esperanza's ambrosia voice to take those morbid thoughts away. They were soon behind the cover of buildings, blocking the sight and some of the sound.

Quint couldn't help but be amazed at how Esperanza was handling the situation. He was known to keep his cool while staring down the barrel of guns, but in this instance he was clueless. It was little wonder the kid wasn't completely freaking out, Esperanza just had that effect on people.
At last she had convinced Anika to cooperate with them, and she approached Quint with her arms up. He dutifully stooped down to pick her up and she took up a very similar position to how Esperanza had held her.
"Well, I guess we'll be doing this the old fashioned way, huh? We've gotta go out into that crowd and find them," Quint turned to speak to the girl in a soft, calm voice, "Don't you worry at all sweetheart. We'll find them."
I really hope they're still alive anyway...

[Master Crim]

Derrick stood a moment looking at the blinking light on his terminal while putting on his pants. He glanced at the clock next to his bed; 6:35 AM. "Who would have contacted me before seven?" He thought aloud. His employer made it clear to all the members that Derrick operates from 7:00AM to Midnight, and not to attempt to contact him during off hours. With that Derrick ignored the light for the time being and made his way to the kitchen where he started a pot of coffee and grabbed the leftover steak from the fridge. Popping the steak into the microwave Derrick returned to the fridge briefly to grab a couple eggs and began to fry them while the steak heated and the coffee finished. Now with his plate and mug in hand he proceeded to the terminal where the blinking light was beckoning like a worried fairy. Opening the message he found it was about his current job, and that his client wanted to meet with some new development that pushed up the timeline. He sighed as he navigated to the news that he would read while he finished his meal.
Stepping out of the apartment he was given for the assignment, Derrick could feel on the morning air that it was going to be hot. There was very little humidity, and the wind was almost non-existent in the inner parts of Korven making even the shaded parts of town uncomfortably warm, even in the morning hours. walking a few blocks into the more metropolitan area Derrick contacted his client via his cellphone.
"Why didn't you contact me earlier?" His client asked annoyed rather then a normal greeting.
"You said you had Deadline information?" Derrick asked flatly, ignoring the man's question.
"Wha- You li-." A grunt of dissatisfaction followed. "The rabble it planning something rash. The apartment where the mark is staying is one of the target locations for said 'demonstration', and could prove to make it easier."
"What is the catch?" Derrick was now in an supermarket perusing the alcohol scanning the tops of the low shelves before resting on his mark at where he normally was at this time.
"You see, the demonstration is today, around noon, and your mark has-"
"A meeting with his under-boss." Derrick cut the man off.
"Wait, the under-boss?" The man sounded confused. "That is not what our source said. He is supposed to meet with an envoy."
"It was last minute, I assume." Derrick was now back on the street tailing his mark. "He picked up a $350 bottle of wine, and two $235 bottles of champagne."
"Well, he must be doing well. Anyway, That is the situation. He has already rented out a high-end condo for the evening. Make sure he doesn't get there. If he gets this promotion it could spell trouble."
"Affirmative, over and out." Derrick hung-up his phone and continued to tail the mark
Derrick's mark this time around was a middle management gang member by the name of Theodore Larson, or Theo as he is known by the other gang members, and is in charge of training new members of the fast rising small time gang. He is an ex-martial arts instructor who was fired after being charged with two accounts of murder, and one attempted murder with a deadly weapon. It was after a tournament he lost that he felt he was cheated by the judging panel; he killed two of the judges with his bare hands, and went after the one other with a kendo stick. Derrick was here to stop Theo from getting the promotion to Lead Military Trainer for the gang. It would make toppling them a lot harder due to his training abilities and that he would then be spending most of his time in militarized locations making him a near impossible target. Now armed with the new information Derrick knew that he would have to take on the mark in a way he hated most; in his own home. Trying to kill a mark in this way was like trying to kill a man in a castle he has constructed. You can scout all you want and think that you know the place, but there is always something that only the tenant knows. It was hard, but not impossible. Tailing Theo for a little longer Derrick formulated a plan for taking him down incorporating the demonstration that was to take place. This was double edged sword for Derrick, in the fact that he wouldn't have to clean up the evidence too much as it would all be taken care of, but also that he had to somehow get the mark back to his apartment before it happened in just a few hours. Breaking off from the mark Derrick began to head to Theo's place to get his plan into motion, and ready himself for what he assumed would be a challenging fight.
Heading to a more upbeat area of Korven Derrick made his was to the fourth floor of an apartment building where Theo resided. Upon exiting the elevator Derrick could tell that something wasn't right. Two people hurriedly entered the elevator before he could get out, bumping into him as the did so, while three men fit to be bouncers stared at Derrick with a gaze that told him to drop dead or leave as the stood by Theo's door. I think we had this info all wrong. Derrick thought to himself as the glaring man began to walk towards him down the hallway. He could hear two more people throwing things around in what sounded like Theo's place making them a total of five, as the one bouncer was closing the distance between him and Derrick he raised his hand in a pointing gesture behind Derrick.
"Hold the elevator, this guy is on the wrong-" He stopped short, eyes narrowed as Derrick moved quickly against him. The man reached for his side where he had a .40 caliber holstered, but wasn't fast enough as Derrick's K-bar slipped silently underneath his rib-cage, through his diaphragm, and into his lung, probably poking his heart a little as well. The big man let out a bloody grunt as he slowly looked down at the knife then back to Derrick.
"Oh, you were so close..." The other two men were standing at attention guns drawn. The now wounded man tried to yell back to them, but Derrick twisted the knife as he reached for the man's gun. The elevator let out a faint ding as the doors closed and the elevator began moving. "I don't think you need this anymore." Pointing under the cover of the man's jacket he fired a shot.
"Boss, whats-" BANG The shot hit right in the center of his collar bone, spraying his buddy with blood who was unfazed as he opened fire. Derrick used the first guy as a meat shield, knife still in him as he grunted and gasped for breath. as the steady shots came out three landing the his meat shields back, two in his leg, one grazed his head, and two missing down the hall. The two men in the room could be heard cursing as they tried to find out what was going on, and the last man in the hall dropped his mag to reload. So they are using compacts, only eight shots. Good to know. Shoving off his meat shield the man fell like a dead pig from a meat hook as Derrick, now more then acceptably blood covered fired two more shots into the upper chest of the last standing bouncer who fell in much the same fashion as he partner.
Hearing the other two stack against Theo's door, Derrick laid down with the first bouncer he killed with his knife half laying on top of him. There was a moment of silence as the smell of blood and gun smoke hung in the air of the hall. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG. eight shots came through the wall into the hallway, four near the door and four at more of an angle towards the elevator before the two men rushed from the room back to back guns drawn. Really, your going to make it that easy? Derrick thought as he cocked his head, raised his arm catching a surprised look on the face of the man facing him before letting out a single shot through the man's throat and into his partner behind him. They both dropped, bits of brain, skull, and blood spattering the walls. Derrick rolled the man off of him and rose to a kneeling position to retrieve his knife. The man groaned lightly as the knife exited his chest cavity."Resilient shithead aren't you?" Grabbing the man's extra two mags he Derrick stood and fired one more round into the man before reloading.
carefully stepping over the bodies Derrick began to peer into the room. Everything was a mess, papers all over the floor, boxes thrown about, it looked like a hurricane came through, minus the gun smoke creeping in from the hall. Satisfied with what he saw Derrick slowly entered the room to have a look at what was going on. Odd that they would send a group like this to his place when they know he wouldn't be here. What were they- Then is clicked, He Theo made an unplanned trip to the market to buy wine and champagne. He knew he was going, because he had been tailing him. These guys were sent out today meaning they wanted to escort him? Slowly the pieces were coming together confirmed when he got a sudden text alert from his client and some pictures on Theo's coffee table.

John D.: The boss just got into the area. Looks like our intel was off. He brought with him two kill squads.
Tim J.: Yeah it looks like he is here as a show of dominance. I found some really nice pictures of the bosses girl here in Teddy's place.
John D.: Never play around with another man's girl. My accountant will contact you shortly. You know how this goes?
Tim J.: Yeah, untouched is only 70%. Signing out.

Derrick grabbed a rag from the counter, wiped off the gun, and placed it into the oven. He then set the oven to 450 and wiped down the oven where he touched it then through the rag in as well closing the oven door with his foot. He made his way to the stares walking down and out of the complex. After walking a few blocks he could hear a muffled explosion in the distance and as he turned and saw a plume of smoke from where he was. looking on with indifference he shortly continued his trek back to his temporary place where he was greeted with an email about his job.

Derrick,
thank you for your services and aid in the Safety Division. Your recent visit to our newly opened hotel in Korven was most insightful as well as greatly appreciated. We hope that your job continues to help save the lives of many citizens as safety is a top priority for all of our locations and services.

Safety Inspection Account Payable
_____________________________________________________________
Travel/Meal Reimbursement - - - $10,000.00
Inspection rate of $550.00/hr
for 4 days of 10 hour shifts - - - $22,000.00
Tools Required - - - $600.00
Safety changes/Manual labor - - - $2,400.00

Amount paid - - - $35,000.00

The leftover total amount payable for the service provided has been transferred to the company account as requested.

Thank you,
Chris L.

Packing up his terminal, handgun, and other odds and ends he brought Derrick went over his check list once more before putting on a clean jacket and heading out. At the door there was a cab waiting for him manned by a member of the Unseen per usual after a travel job was finished, but Derrick didn't get into the car. Derrick through his bag into the back seat and leaned on the open window of the passenger side. "Take this to the loft." He looked around as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a locker key and a wad of cash, tossing it to the driver."I will pick it up from there."
"You got it, have a good one my man." The driver then drove off as Derrick turned and walked the other way. Pulling out his phone He flipped through his contacts all under sudo names. He stopped on the one titled Jo the contact said last text was over two weeks ago.
Hey, hows it going? what are you up to?

@Cleverbird

Personal Account: $90,391.00 || Offshore: $12,783,892.00

[Heat]

After arriving at her place of business expertise, Monique noted quickly that bouncer who usually watched the front door was not present any longer. "Weird, King must be out today." she commented out loud before entering inside TECHNOIR was not known for it's cleanliness or good reputation. The money was good though, and the other dancers weren't too bad of people as far as Monique was concerned.

Walking in the smell of bleach hit her nostrils like a brick. Her nose scrunched up in disgust as she walked towards the bar. "It stinks in here.." she stated bluntly, taking off her backpack and sliding it up and over the bar top. The bartender chuckled, ”You missed the action earlier today, Boss got murked. Now I’m the boss.” he gleaned, Mo raised her eyebrows curiously. That kind of changed her plans for staying there for the next few weeks. She shrugged. It was discouraging that people had so little concern about life in Morvai.

Moving towards the back of the bar, Monique entered the room where the girls were getting ready and talking about what was to happen next because of their boss being killed. The mood of the room was pretty happy, despite the situation. "Ladies.." she cooed, tying her mess of dark curls high up on her head. She removed her top, as she changed into a new pair of clothes that resided in her locker. ”Cute shorts!” a girl commented as she tugged at the bottom of Monique’s grey shorts. Mo smirked, "Nah, I’m a hot mess. In more ways than one." she pointed up towards the fans that were barely working, making the back room unbearable to stay in.

She replaced her top with a swimsuit top resembling a dark grey bikini. It would be cooler to work in, and get her some better tips. She left the back room and got back to the bar, the music still blaring over the sound system. Starting some basic cleaning of tables- wiping up some blood splatter with the same wash cloth that she cleaned the tables with.

The busy city streets bustled with activity, a metal door came open slowly then rattled shut as Elliot Connolly emerged from inside of his home. The gentle breeze tingled his short brown hair and he took a long blink as intense summer heat hit him powerfully. The private investigator was not a fan of this type of weather, though hopefully it would cool down as the sun set in the sky. A group of children ran by him, hollering excitedly as they went to play soccer on such a beautiful day.

He started to walk along the sidewalk, clad in attire atypical of many citizens during such a warm season. But he was a man of consistency, especially when out in public. He adjusted his tie, having left his overcoat in his home. It was far too hot for that. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his pistol sat tucked in his ankle holster, hidden by his pant leg. Elliot had done the work he needed to inside, his attention like many others in the sector having turned towards the three fires throughout the walled city. His mind always went to arson when an incident like this occured, the blistering hot and dry weather was perfect cover for such an act. He’d seen more than enough arsons during his time as a policeman, arrested multiple firestarters who often used it as a form of protest.

This was different, this was more akin to terrorism if indeed was an arson. An apartment complex full of innocent people? Children would perish, as would other innocents. People who had done nothing to deserve such a brutal fate. Elliot blinked again, shaking his head in an attempt to remove the morbid thoughts of burning corpses. As he walked along the street he continued to hear news of the incident, three separate fires. Undoubtedly all connected to have occured on the same day. He stepped carefully through a group of denizens crowded around a television, images of the flames on the screen as a reporter spoke live from the scene. The roads were congested with vehicles, he was better off walking to his destination.

TECHNOIR was a dirty bar, but such a place was often perfect for finding information. He was not investigating the fires, though he was certain that at sometime in the coming days an affected person might ask him to do so. Instead his current investigation was finding a missing person who frequented the bar, a son of a well known restaurant owner in Korven. That man was the one who had asked him to look into the disappearance, offering a generous payment to do so. The police were often hesitant going into the dirtier parts of Korven, which TECHNOIR was situated in. This hesitation was no problem for Elliot, he was entirely independent. He’d spent the last two days since receiving the ‘mission’ attempting to piece together the man’s last whereabouts

Elliot sighed, then continued his walk towards the bar, not exactly excited to soon be finding himself inside such a wicked place. But he had a promise to keep, and a concerned family to help the best he could. In such a case any conclusion of the son’s whereabouts was what he needed. Though he hoped he could report the young man was still alive, and wouldn’t have to suggest they made funeral arrangements.

---

Monique had taken a good look at the man who had walked in. He was a little too well dressed to be in a place like this. That meant one of two things; he was a cop or he was going to give big tips. Monique hadn’t done anything wrong lately, so she made her rounds to that end of the bar as she wiped up around the area where he was sitting. She noticed the blood stains on the rag as she quickly rolled it up into a ball so he could barely see. "Thirsty?" she smiled, her bright round eyes matching his.

“I’ll take a Coke, thanks.” Elliot answered with a nod, locking eyes with the pretty bartender for a moment. Around him people were getting drunk and rowdy, though he’d rather not join them. Having seen far too often the effects alcohol had on people. Fortunately, drunks tended to blabber and speak their minds.

Her mouth pursed. "A Coke?" she hit the top of the bar top to get the attention of the man behind it. "Yo, Chris. This guy wants a Coke!" she said, loudly over the music. Chris turned and shook his head. The bartender really didn’t want to deal with customers who weren’t drinking, because it meant they weren’t going to do much else at the establishment. "Fucking asshole.." she groaned as she boosted herself up onto the bar and turned herself around to slip onto the other side. "Sorry." Monique admitted, pulling up the tab to fill a glass with an ice cold drink. She slid it over to him, "You sure you don’t want anything else? We got a lot of other fun things if you’re not a drinker."

”You don’t have to apologize. I don’t normally come in a place such as this, I was looking for a friend who frequented here. Haven’t seen him in a few days.” Elliot replied as he grasped the drink, sipping it as he looked at the girl who served him.

”What other services are there and what is your name?” He asked her, feeling bad for her that she worked in such a tough place. He’d heard stories and tales of this bar, people ending up dead, fights breaking out at seemingly random. This girl was nice, seemingly not in a way that she was just doing to get a nice tip.

She gave a hearty laugh. It was very apparent that he didn’t come to these type of places often, but she thought it was pleasant that he had to tell her so. "Oh your friend? I know everybody here, and everybody knows me." Monique poured herself a glass of cold water to keep cool. "What does your friend look like?" she questioned, leaning on the bar in a relaxed action. She wasn’t really on duty per say, so no one really would be there to complain. Plus her real boss had just been killed so it wasn’t too big of a problem either way.

Monique didn’t want to tell the man what other services they had here suddenly. She was almost embarrassed to be saying what kind of place it was, though she was sure he already knew. "Oh you know, just singing and dancing. Nothing too crazy." a nervous giggled fell from her lips as she threw back the water before refilling her glass and taking more of the delicious liquid down her throat. "My friends call me Mo. You can call me Monique until otherwise."

”I’m Elliot, nice to meet you Monique.” Elliot said as he stuck his hand out for a shake, giving a rare smile to her.

Monique looked at his outstretched hand awkwardly."We ain’t doing business baby, I don’t need to shake your hand.”" she laughed, trying not to embarass her new found friend too much. ”You’re a funny one Elliot." she smiled.

“Sorry, my parents raised me that way. Old fashioned and I guess out of place here,” Elliot said as he released her hand then smirked once more. Then he spoke again, scratching the back of his neck. “I used to be funnier.”

”I’m sure, just singing and dancing. Not lap dances or the like. I’m good right now with just a drink and talking to you, M.,” He added, raising his eyebrows slightly to show that he knew there was more going on than she said did, then taking another drink. He was enjoying talking to this girl, though he still tried to put his task at hand as his focus.

”My friend’s name is John Costa. His family owns The Olive Lounge a few blocks away, he’s a little shorter than me, with brown eyes, tan skin and short black hair. Has a few tattoos on his right arm. Nice kid, kind of a party animal, young though. Think he might have gone on a bender and ended up somewhere unfamiliar.” The investigator added, trying to give a suitable description of his ‘friend’, he’d never met the kid in his life but it would seem strange if he admitted he was investigating a disappearance. Might get him thrown out of the bar.

A gentle smile was exchanged, "Don’t apologize for good manners. My grandparents would have loved you. They told me our family line was originally from some place called ‘The South’ and I guess they were big about manners, but maybe it skipped a few generations now and again."

Elliot seemed like a gentle soul, Monique had no intentions now on fucking him over as she did when she first laid eyes on him as he entered TECHNOIR. She ignored his comments about lap dancing and the like, she didn’t want to bring the topic back up now she placed him in the category of ‘gentleman’. The name John Costa rang a bell with Monique, and the description to follow set it in stone. "Oh." she let out with a bit of a huff of breath. John had visited her often and was a fun guy indeed. Her brain traced over the tattoos that were inked into his arm, the arm that wrapped around her as the two had made love several times. "I don’t know where he went. I know him, he did come around here a lot but, I haven’t seen him in just over a month." Monique admitted, her voice kind of somber in tone. Monique was not sure if John had been the father of the child she had growing inside of her, but he was a possibility. "The Olive Lounge has good food too!" she chimed in, her stomach empty from earlier this morning.

”I’m sorry if its a rough subject, he’s a good kid, I’m sure he’s okay. I haven’t heard from him in a while, I’m going to try to find him.” Elliot replied as he took notice of Mo’s reaction. It seemed she knew him well, and showed genuine concern for his well being.

“The Lounge is one of the top restaurants in the city, the couple that owns it is the sweetest, last thing I’d want is for them to have to deal with any more worry over their son’s disappearance. I hope that he didn’t get tied up in the wrong kind of people,” Elliot stated as he looked briefly around the bar. Then back towards Mo, locking eyes with her. “The police aren’t any help, they barely tried to look for him. His family is worried sick, so is his wife.”