[IC] The Division | Mao Mao & Andreyich

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_{the division: phoenix - playlist}

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[Mao Mao]

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_{"When society falls, we rise."}

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LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS

When it was announced that New York City was going to be under lockdown, thousands of people packed their belongings and tried to flee via the bridges and tunnels. One of the busiest tunnels was the Lincoln Tunnel, and it got bad enough that people ditched their cars to walk. The problem was that the tunnel was the primary supply line for food, medicines, and supplies from the outside world. So when the military had to turn away desperate people, a massive riot engulfed and overwhelmed the forces. It was one of the first cases where military personnel opened fire upon people, killing six.

Then, it became a frequent target for raids to obtain any remaining supplies. And once trade ceased for good, the Joint Task Force abandoned the checkpoint and retreated further into the city. Now, it was a reminder of their failure and of the past.

A lone soul exited out of the dark tunnel and quickly embraced the clear skies with a long breath. He was dressed like a soldier ready for a fight, carrying around his SCAR-L. But, he wasn't a soldier. Instead, Nathan Bates was an agent of the newly formed Strategic Homeland Division (SHD), and he came to the Big Apple with orders: scout out the Lincoln Tunnel checkpoint and retake it. It was significant from the SHD to maintain it if the city was to survive another day.

Unsurprisingly, there was no resistance or signs of anyone recently living in the area. Agent Bates felt relieved and disappointed that no one was in the area; but, the nearby building had one of its garage doors lifted slightly. He pulled out his pistol and a flashlight before carefully entering inside. There still was nothing to indicate trouble. And when he got in the empty office space, Bates put away the pistol and began his hunt for clues as to the whereabouts of the JTF. So far, it was picked clean; yet, there was a security camera above. It meant that ECHO could be able to provide valuable intel.

Agent Bates activated the system, and it started to download the cloud data and then surveillance data before analyzing it. Reconstruction was done in a matter of seconds. Bates was still impressed with how much-advanced tech the SHD had in their arsenal. From the seekers to ECHO and ISAC, they were prepared for every single scenario imaginable. But, there wasn't time to wonder. Bates had to complete his objective, and he only needed to sit back and watch the holograms in action:

There were two JTF soldiers in the office space. One of them was sitting in front of a computer while the other was on their phone. They were keeping to themselves until an alarm went off, causing them to stop in place. Then, a JTF officer ran in and yelled out. "Gather your things, we are leaving!"

"Leaving?!" one of the soldiers stood up from the chair and looked at the officer. "Where in the world are we going?"

"Regrouping with the remaining JTF forces at the James A. Farley Building." the officer answered while gathering some papers on a desk. "Destroy anything crucial to the JFT if it can't be taken. Another squad will come to help us with the generator in fifteen.

Once the officer left the room, both soldiers stopped what they were doing and made their way towards the barracks. But, one of the soldiers stopped in place, looked at the computer, and ran back towards it. The other soldier looked in disbelief and bluntly asked. "What the hell are you doing?!"

The soldier quickly typed something, sent it, and turned off the computer. "Saying goodbye."

Bates finished writing down the name of the building onto a torn piece of paper and shoved it into his pocket. It was good to know that JTF was still fighting tooth and nail for this city. Hopefully, they were still around at the postal service building. He stood up and looked around for any other clues, but anything useful was either taken or destroyed. Like what the officer wanted. So with nothing else, it was time for Bates to get in contact with Overlord about his findings.

"Overload, this is Firefly. Standby for report. Over." Bates grabbed ahold of the radio from his holster. There was a moment of silence before Overload responded.

"Firefly, send your traffic. Over."

"JTF forces regrouped at the James A. Farley Building. Lincoln checkpoint was left abandoned with no signs of life. Do you copy?"

"Solid copy, Firefly." Overload answered before going silent for a moment. "Firefly, standby at current location. Badger is making their way towards you. Over."

"Copy, Overload. Standing by for Bader. Over." Bates responded and shoved the radio back into its holster. He took a seat on a nearby desk, facing towards the entrance. Now, he needed to only wait.

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[Andreyich]

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HUDSON YARDS

Click. Click. Click. Click. Don knew for a fact he wasn't crazy. Having served he knew many a former brother in arms that lost it after a tour of duty and blew their brains out... or somebody else's if that was their fancy. But he knew he wasn't one of them. The former serviceman felt completely lucid, the flicking of his rifle's select-fire the only real oddity about him. This wasn't some sort of manic episode, this was the call of duty. He didn't remember getting those orders jammed into his head but that didn't matter. Everything around him and the more recent communication with command was a-posteriori proof that he was doing the right thing. It was easy for him really, just dig up the guns and then connect all his armour and gadgets to his carrier rig and backpack. It must have been quite different for more grounded people with families. Yeah, all the people selected for the Division would have had their loved ones know who they were with and would by now be used to them going off to fight. But this wasn't the ordinary serviceman experience. This was a threat at home, rather than overseas. Depending on how long all this shit went on, Don reckoned that this would sooner or later become a liability. Even the most devout of servicemen would have trouble fighting in these stone jungles with little to show for it when their very own families would almost certainly be under some sort of danger. For now there were far more pressing issues though.

For now Donald kept himself in civilian clothing, for now quite sure this was the right idea. Yes, it meant that hypothetical comrades might mistake him for a looter and marauder. But it also meant that he was beneath notice for many people. He had his M4 of course, but the plate carrier and all else was hidden beneath his clothes to make sure he wouldn't be a juicy target for the vast majority of this new world's ne'erdowells. Besides, his M4 was furnished to look like a rather simple civilian AR rather than the high end piece of military equipment that it was. If all the sent orders were right, they'd know it was him coming rather than some random scavenger and wouldn't blow his brains out. Approaching the building Badger put away his rifle and drew his pistol for the tight indoor confines. That said he kept the safety on for now, more or less confident that his fellow Agent would have cleared any threats that the building might have housed, it was simply that a bit of caution never hurt; better safe than sorry, the saying goes. As Donald cleared the rooms and walkways of the building he felt somewhat sickened. The place was ransacked, every single thing that was A) not too heavy to carry away and B) possible to pawn off for a few bucks was gone. As a sort of experiment he opened a cupboard, and he growled faintly as it seemed someone had even taken the stationery. He knew now wasn't the time to dwell on hatred for the scum of the world like some discount vigilante, he had a job to do. Sighing he made his way over to Firefly, nodding respectfully to his counterpart. Don went through the same routine his counterpart had, introducing himself meanwhile. "Its good to see you Agent. I'm Badger. Ready to move?"

[Mao Mao]

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LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS

Bates took a moment to scan Badger as a way to make sure that he was the one command sent. The smartwatch was a safe bet that he was indeed a Division agent. While the civilian clothing was a questionable choice, there weren't many options that SHD had given the world is still on fire. Bates got up from the desk and responded, "Nice to see you, Badger. I am Firefly."

After the introductions, Bates got into contact with command to confirm the meetup and started heading outside. There were a few seconds of silence before Overload told both him and Badger their new objective. "Head for the Post Office and search for any remaining JTF survivors. If there are none, attempt to find out what happened. Over."

"Over." Bates answered before asking a question. "What about the checkpoint? Over."

"Another team is on route to get it back online. Focus on the new objectives. Over." Overload went dark shortly after giving the answer, leaving the pair on their own. Once outside, Bates pulled up the map to check out their current position. It was going to take them fifteen minutes of walking to get there, but there weren't any other alternatives. He noticed that the nearby bus terminal was safe to enter, while several adjacent buildings were marked as contamination zones (meaning they were infected with Green Flu). Bates took a moment to calibrate a route in his head and turned towards Badger.

"The best option is if we went on Forty Street and walked straight down Eighth Avenue to the post office. If we need to rest, the ideal places are either the bus terminal nearby or one of the buildings along the avenue. Just tell me whenever and we can visit there." Bates said to his new partner while the map disappeared and then started walking towards their destination. But, they were in for a wakeup call once they finally exited out of Interstate 495. Hundreds of vehicles were left abandoned by their owners as several dozen nearby buildings, including a church, were marked as contaminated with Dollar Flu.

However, the Port Authority Bus Terminal became one of many quarantine zones. Even then, it seemed like the truth was hidden from everyone, including the Division agents. Bates was horrified to see the city that he often visited in such disrepair. It was difficult to react to his first time seeing New York City in person other than video. He was about to say something when gunshots rang out and forced Bates to find cover behind a taxi. Several citizens were fleeing from the terminal as the gunshots kept ongoing for ten seconds. Two more (both men) ran out of the building, but they were gunned down.

One of them was dying on top of a car hood while the other tried to crawl towards him. But, two NYPD officers came outside and approached him. The man on the hood attempted to get up but was swiftly executed by one of the officers. The other cried out and desperately tried to escape for them; however, the officer placed his foot on his back. "We are going to ask the last time. Where are your friends hiding?"

"I won't want to upset Officer Mckinney, dude." the other officer said while searching the citizen's body for something. "She's a bitch if you go against her."

"Go.. to hell." the civilian mumbled and then spat on the officer. He received the boot to the face, breaking some of his teeth and nose.

"Well, it seems like you earned a spot in my to-kill list." Bates was still surprised to see the brutality of those officers. Even if they were in the right (which appeared to not be the case), they were breaking the oath made to protect and serve the city. He wasn't going to stand around and let them kill an incident. So, he came out of hiding and called out the NYPD officers. Both of them were quick to aim their pistols towards him.

"Freeze!"

Bates paused and slowly put his hands up as a sign of trust. "Listen, I am Agent Nathan Bates of the Strategic Homeland Division. I want to talk to you, but you have to leave the citizen alone."

The officers looked at each other and then started laughing. Mckinney avoided the offer and started arresting the citizen. She took a quick glance at Bates and said in a dismissive tone, "Pal, I have heard dozens of people calming to be in the military. You aren't the first. Now, leave us be, or you'll regret it."

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[Andreyich]

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LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS

Badger didn't waste any time following Firefly outside. He winced a few tears from his eyes as the sun momentarily blinded him, but just as quickly as he adjusted to the darker interior he adjusted to the outdoor lighting. Listening to the orders from command Don nodded, taking out his M4 now that they were outside and flicking it to single fire. The announcement that another team being sent to take care of the checkpoint mollified the only concern that Don had, and so he nodded with renewed dedication to this new objective.

With the map Bates pulled out Don knew that the man had a head start on figuring out a path and so he didn't really bother trying to do likewise, instead kneeling down and taking a look at the scene through the optics of his rifle. He hadn't seen anybody on the way here, but he never heard of anybody dying of caution. Dying to people you didn't know were there because you forgot to do a second sweep of a place happened very often, on the other hand. When his counterpart came up with a route Hayes simply nodded and stood up. "I'm easy, and I already had a long rest before I made my way here I'm good to go. Lead the way." he said, gesturing with his left hand.

Donald kept quiet on the way through the highway, and although he wasn't quite expecting what he came upon with his comrade it wasn't particularly surprising either. This line of thought was very quickly interrupted when the distinct report of firearms was heard, and much like his partner the warrior went for cover. Experience from SWAT told the man that most civilian cars were unreliable cover with most rifle and even a good chunk of pistol bullets easily going through their doors and trunks, and so instead a heavier truck was sought out. Peeking out revealed that these men were just police officers with service pistols however, which cars would more or less stop, not to mention the plate carriers of the duo. The rifles of the agents however would more than readily go through any civilian cars, which in addition to the other advantages of the agents made any sort of confrontation a done deal more or less.

These were cops though, and they weren't even SWAT officers. Blasting random people wasn't their duty, however this wasn't the time and the place to be confronting them, and Don started to say "wait" but he was too late. "Fuck." was all he could say, rubbing his forehead wearily. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." he muttered again, the expletives somehow calming. It was rather suspicious that a man in actual military gear was not believed when he said he was military, though. Something was really fishy here and quite frankly Don was suspecting these people were only impersonating law enforcement officers — the only evidence to the contrary was that they used the term "officer" between each other before they knew the SHD Agents were present.

"Hold on, I'll flank them, I'll let you know when I'm in position. Tell me if you think it's going to shit, over." Don communicated, before crouching down and doing the closest thing he could to a run whilst keeping his head below the level of the cars. Ideally he wanted to make it behind the two NYPD Officers but even being at the side to insure he had the drop on them with his rifle would really be enough given it seemed these were the only two present. He just hoped Firefly would be able to diffuse the situation, or at least keep the cops talking long enough for him to be in position to take them out with two quick taps on the trigger. He'd probably aim for their thighs or stomach depending the urgency of the situation, neither shot instantly lethal allowing for a quick questioning of the men but the latter being eventually mortal as blood loss, shock, and other complications soon got to you. Well, at least this was a heroic story he'd be able to tell the grandkids, of how he saved some poor citizen from being executed by rogue police officers in this trying time. With the way things were going Badger reckoned there'd be quite a lot more before things got better though, and he really didn't believe this little act of heroism would pay off when there was a more urgent objective. He'd have to raise his concerns with Bates when they were out of a volatile scenario later.

[Mao Mao]

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LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS

Bates was thankful that his partner remained undetected, giving him a much-needed advantage over the officers. He had to come up with something to distract them on the spot. But, one of the officers grew impatience and fired three shots towards the car near him. "Those were the only warning shots you get." she said before turning her pistol towards him. The other officer got ready for a firefight and couldn't resist smiling at the thought. So, he opened fire and caused Bates to dive towards a nearby car for protection. Bates understood that talking with them was out of the question and had to defend himself. Hopefully, Badger was able to get into position.

With no warnings given, Bates took a moment to breathe, raised his rifle, and opened fire at the officers. The excited officer didn't have time to respond before being struck by several bullets, falling to the ground. Mckinney was horrified to see her friend getting shot and responded by firing back at the stranger. She went back to cover and tried to care for her dying friend. And in the last moments, the officer was trying to say something. Instead, he started coughing blood and then stopped breathing altogether. Enraged by her colleague's death, Mckinney rose from cover and started firing at the car where Bates hid behind. She didn't care about the criminal nor the reason for being here. All she cared about now was getting revenge.

And because of that, Mckinney wasn't paying attention to her surroundings.

Click, a single trigger pull towards the woman's belly came from Badger, the stationary target leaving herself open to being little more than practice. After the bullet hit Don stood up, making sure the officer was out of action and wouldn't be able to shoot back. He started making his way over to her, while calling out to Firefly. "You alright?" he probably was, but it never hurt to check.

"Yeah..." Bates responded while getting out of hiding and making his way towards Badger. He turned to the woman, who was leaning against the pickup truck and looking at her dead friend. There was regret that things ended badly, but he understood that he had no choice. Life or death. Mckinney looked up and gave a weak smile at Bates.

"You weren't lying..."

Bates caught her before she collapsed and carefully placed her against the truck. He took a brief moment to look at her uniform and saw her badge. A little dirty, but it contained her last name along with the shield number. It confirmed the ugly truth: she was an NYPD officer that killed innocents. That was when he realized that the situation here was worse than ever expected. There was a sense that something was wrong upon exiting the tunnel. But he never imagined police officers breaking their oath to the city.

Then, he realized that her friend was most likely also an officer, but Bates wanted to be sure. So, he ordered Badger to check the badge. There were many questions, but Mckinney was losing blood. So, he started with a simple question. "Why did you kill that innocent civilian?"

"Innocent?" Mckinney tried to laugh, but it was too painful. "He was a criminal with blood on his hands."

Bates looked at the body and turned towards her. "Explain."

"He and the degenerates murdered this great city-our home-with their poison! Of course, they weren't content with the city. Oh no, they went after the real innocents!" Mckinney looked down, and tears started to flow down her cheeks. "My own family... taken because of the filth! Now, it's our job to cleanse the scum from our city. To do that, we need to be severe."

"Good lord..." Bates was speechless.

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[Andreyich]

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LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS

Again there were gunshots, but from the taunt of the woman Badger could readily surmise they hadn't hit his comrade and so he continued moving to his position. However by the sounds of movement it seemed that the following shots were aimed to kill Bates, and he could just about make out the sound of subsonic munitions leaving a suppressed firearm. Well, they were only handguns, but Don still couldn't allow his comrade to come under threat.

Badger nodded at Bates's response, looking about the scene. Only one of the four firearms active just now were silenced and the noise of guns echoed across the area. This in turn presented a danger, several dangers in fact. The buddies of these cops could easily be around some corner and they would not be happy to see two armed men over the corpses of their fellow officers. But even if that wasn't the case, there could be lots of other vultures attracted to the sound. All hell was breaking loose and marauders of all sorts would flock here in hopes of finding some dead to pick apart for valuables.

Having finally made it to the shot policemen Badger first removed the magazine from his M4 and replaced the spent round. Then he would squat down and take their pistols along with their munitions, belts, and vests into his backpack. Even if he didn't need them it was better they came with him rather than end up in the hands of some scavenger. If he couldn't eventually find someone worthwhile to hand over the equipment to then he would just throw them into some sewer or stash them with some trash where they wouldn't be found. It might of course seem somewhat ghoulish to already start looting the woman when she was still alive, but Badger didn't particularly care. The country was fucking collapsing, there were more important things to be thinking about than some sensibilities right now.

The shot woman was clearly a real cop according to a cursory examination... well, a badge and other ID could be faked and while it was unlikely the consideration should still be on the table, and examining the friend of Officer McKinney would likely reveal more or less the same as with her, although two badges would certainly be harder to fake than one. The short interrogation that happened did confuse the Agent somewhat. While the woman's idea of cleansing the city eerily mirrored his own, he wasn't sure if he could really consider himself akin to the officer. The Agent couldn't really believe what he was hearing, and he wasn't even sure he wanted to. With the bloodloss she'd be undergoing there were only moments left, and Badger shook her a little to keep her from slipping into unconsciousness.

"What do you mean? Did these people spread the disease intentionally?" he demanded, the thought that they might have very well made it not even crossing his mind; he made sure he kept his voice down in case somebody was already closing in on the position of the duo. Regardless of exactly what her explanation was, Badger would look quizzically to Firefly, the fact he wasn't sure the woman's story should be believed all over the face.

Then it hit him. "Firefly. The civilian. Where is he?" He stood up, flicking his assault rifle to fully automatic. If the woman was in fact telling the truth then they had to know where the arrested citizen was and apprehend him as fast as possible. If they didn't, then the duo would be responsible for a very, very dangerous man escaping justice. Though he made sure not to show it, a soft panic started to set into the Agent.

[Mao Mao]

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LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS

Bates sighed and then turned towards Badger. He was disappointed that his partner actually thought those people spread the virus. "She meant it figuratively. And as for the lost civilian, leave them be. They have already suffered enough."

"Our politicians failed us when we needed them the most. Now, it's up to us to fix their mistake." Mckinney tried to crack a smile but lost consciousness. At first, Bates thought that she had lost too much blood for the wounds; however, after examining her, she was barely alive. So, he grabbed a nearby stick and shoved it into her wound, causing her to awake with a bloodcurdling scream. Quite frankly, she deserved worse but he needed to know about the NYPD's fate. There was no way that the entire department became corrupt.

Bates stood over her. "What happened to the rest of the force?"

Mckinney looked up at the agent and tried once more to laugh. "My brothers in blue are working to restore what was taken for us. You will see them soon enough."

Firefly had enough of the disgraced officer and crouched down. "By going back against what your brothers stand for, you have failed this city and your badge. No amount of loss can justify killing innocents becaus-"

"Failed?!" Tears were rolling down Mckinney's face as she looked up at the agent. "I was on duty when the city was falling apart! When the degenerates were bitching about every little thing we did! When... my family died from the virus. I have been loyal to this badge and my friends! Everyone that betrayed us warrants a painful death. Just like the ones you and your friend will get."

Suddenly, police sirens were heard near as several gunshots rang out in quick succession. The missing citizen fell to the ground on the intersection, bleeding to death. Mckinney tried to say something else, but she collapsed for the blood loss. Bates got his weapon ready for a possible fight, but he preferred to not kill any more police officers. He scanned the area for an escape route and found one. It was an alleyway filled with trash bags and other garbage, but it was an ideal hiding spot. He ran towards it to make sure the path was clear and then called out his partner.

"Over here before they spot you!"

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[Andreyich]

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LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS

Figuratively. Fucking figuratively. This is what Marines meant when they said Army eats crayons. He had fallen into the stereotype of a grunt that had shooting as his only ability and fell for such nonsense. The Agent was angry as all hell, though his face didn't twitch the slightest amount to reflect this.

The man raised his rifle, thoughtfully deciding that this creature wasn't worth a bullet and that all the suffering of her last moments would be more than deserved. Once more the woman's speech seemed to be ever so similar to Don's own beliefs regarding criminality, but deep down he also knew that there was a fine line between himself and the officer. Namely, there was the fact of those he likewise considered "degenerates" would be rather few that the woman and her comrades did. Still, this moment was sobering. Badger made sure he'd keep this event at the back of his mind so that he wouldn't stoop to the levels of Ms. McKinney.

What the woman said was not very informative to be frank, at most it revealed there was a good deal more rogue policemen about the city which was a natural following from the fact that already two were corrupt enough to shoot innocents.

Just as these thoughts ran through the head of the soldier there was soon the sound of more police coming to the scene, clearly ready to kill after having been attracted to the scene by the sound of gunfire. The encounter with the officer still kept a seething hatred in the heart of Badger, and he wanted to fight these bastards; after all, they were just coppers with soft armour and pistols. But he knew he couldn't. There was no time to waste, and if he did stand and fight then he'd be a hyppocrite given how recently he considered chastising his partner for even bothering with this fiasco when there was a more urgent task at hand.

Thus the man nodded in concurrence, giving the wounded police officer a harsh kick on the head to make sure she wouldn't be able to recount to her comrades where the two agents had gone. With that done he ran over to Bates with rifle in hand. Well, now was a better time than any he supposed. "We shouldn't have done that, playing hero. There's a job we had to do, saving a single person - especially when they just get shot right afterwards - isn't worth it when completing our current objective might save a lot more." The whispered words were extremely utilitarian, but Badger meant them wholeheartedly and (although admittedly he had never run into such a situation) he would not let personal feelings get in the way of his duty; even if that civilian was from his family he would have known that the right thing to do was think of the greater good.

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[Mao Mao]

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LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS

Bates paused for a moment to reflect what Badger said and sighed. There was a point to be made given the current situation. With everything that happened only a few minutes ago, he had nearly forgotten about the post office. But, the sight of police officers gunning down citizens was wrong, and he had to do something. He turned towards his partner and whispered back, "I know what has to be done. I... wasn't exactly expecting rogue police officers right away."

"Whatever. Shit happens. Let's just keep our eyes on the job from now on." and - as far as Agent Hayes was concerned - that was that.

Both of them made their way farther away from the scene, hoping that nobody spotted them fleeing. The trash and waste helped somewhat disguised their presence. And once they were in the clear, Bates pulled out the map to see their current location. The attack on 40th Street brought a lot of attention, meaning they had to find another way to the post office. After a minute of figuring out a way, Bates had a plan to avoid getting noticed. "Okay, we are going to keep taking the alleyways until 38th Street. That's when we follow it until we get near the luxury apartments and then taking every possible shortcut. And once we get to 34th, we should be in the clear to the objective. Understand?"

"Right." Badger replied once Bates announced his plan, again flicking the select-fire of his rifle. "I'd just be on the lookout for more little friends along the way. I doubt those boys in blue were the only local outfits looking for trouble; got to be ready to change course right away."

"Sounds good." Firefly nodded. Then, both agents began moving to the objective location, hoping for no more trouble.

For now.

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“Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemos.” — Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose.

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PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // JAMES FARLEY POST OFFICE

Ever since leaving the tunnel, Bates was immediately uneased with the quiet streets and empty sidewalks. New York City was supposed to be the city that never sleeps, but it seemed that it finally took an eternal slumber. Yet, there were hints of life struggling to survive. A young couple was playing some cards on the balcony of the luxury apartments. One of them watched Bates and his partner passing below before telling the other to rush inside. It was brief, but the sight of citizens gave him hope for the first time in a while.

Of course, that moment was shortlived by sudden loud bursts of gunshots. Firefly got the rifle ready for a fight and started moving faster. Then, he heard police sirens and instantly hid behind a delivery truck. He questioned if it was the officers from earlier, hoping it wasn't them. Instead, he watched as three police cars and an armored vehicle drove past them, heading in the direction of the post office. It was when Firefly had an idea of what was happening. And it was terrible.

"We need to move now." Firefly turned his partner and started sprinting towards the objective. While making his way, he managed to patch into the local JTF radio channels. And when he was in view, he saw NYPD officers setting siege to the post office while its occupants fought back defensively. With the arrival of additional officers, the JTF soldiers were outnumbered and surrounded. Even with the odds against them, they kept on fighting for as long as possible.

"Additional officers have arrived along with... an ESU team!? Shit!"

"We have to retreat! Get any citizens to safety while we hold the ground inside. Hopefully, we can at least take a f-argh fuck!"

"Romero has been hit!"

"I-I am fine! Get inside and prepare to fight!" Nearly the entire JTF force retreated inside while a few stayed behind to stall the threat. Firefly, without hesitation, opened fire upon the officers and dropped a seeker mine. The mine detected a nearby squad of hostiles that spotted the agent and rolled towards them. When it was close enough, the mine detonated and released chaff into the air. Before the officers had time to respond, the chaffs caught on fire and began burning them alive.

Firefly rushed towards one of the police cars and used it as cover. He hoped that stunt provided relief to the JTF soldiers and attracted attention. But to make sure, he pressed his earpiece to get in contact with Badger. "We have to make sure that the officers don't have a chance of entering the post office. Do whatever to get their attention!"

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[Andreyich]

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // JAMES FARLEY POST OFFICE

In the tunnel Badger was fairly relaxed, for with a flashlight on him the threat of ambushes was minimal and it was simply a relaxing walk. But the moment the light of day struck the man he became tense, alert. This was the modern day Vietnam or Afghanistan; you were surrounded by civilians but just because they didn't wear uniforms that didn't mean they were non-combatants. To make it worse, the power tripping fucks of the police were now just another gang. Except this gang had experience shooting, and they carried high end weapons rather than zip-guns of all sorts. The people enjoying some fresh air entertainment? Those could easily have been snipers ready to end either agent's life from afar.

The caution about his surroundings seemed to prove itself to be well founded only moments later when the sounds of gunfire broke out. From the sheer amount of it, he decided it was wise to flick the select-fire of his rifle to full auto. The enemy came into view quickly and by God there were a lot of them. They had helmets, vests and automatic carbines. But they had the misfortune in context of being law enforcement, which would mean that while their helmets and vests would be rated for pistols, they weren't rated for rifle rounds and thus both 5,56 and 5,7 would easily chew through the false sense of security their soldier-boy outfits might give them.

Running for cover Badger didn't make a noise. But Firefly said that they had to get their attention, which made the man groan faintly. He would have preferred to use the fact they were in a good position to crossfire to wipe out these traitors in one go, but he supposed this time a more humanitarian approach was technically more important.

Thus, he stood up with his ballistic shield and assault rifle, spraying his entire magazine towards the cops to suppress them and catch their attention. With that he dropped the weapon, getting his entire body behind the shield. He knew some less experienced or simply more gung-ho agents tried to shoot with a pistol while holding one but Badger considered them stupid. What was the point of a shield if you were going to nevertheless expose a chunk of yourself so visibly to overwhelming firepower? Thus instead he approached the foe calmly, making sure his entire body was always behind the shield, ready to throw a sticky bomb come the moment he was close enough to do so accurately.

The enemy was of course moving in to outflank him, they weren't stupid enough to just waste ammo trying to break the shield with volume of fire. But the Agent hoped his action would be enough to catch the attention of the renegades just long enough for Firefly and the other JTF warriors to either reposition and mount a counterattack or to at the very least evacuate.

[Mao Mao]

---

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // JAMES FARLEY POST OFFICE

Once the police officers realized there was someone else, it was already too late to react. Overwhelmed and surrounded, there was no other option than to retreat. A few officers sacrificed themselves to ensure that everyone else was able to escape without harm. And after killing the last remaining officer, Firefly understood that it would be a waste of them chasing after them and decided to let them run away. Now, his attention was on the base and the soldiers outside. He tried to make his way up to the stairs, but guns were immediately drawn upon him and his partner. One of them, a young woman, slowly got out of her cover and cautiously looked around her surroundings. "While we are grateful for your assistance, it doesn't mean you're allowed to approach us. Who are you?"

Firefly lowered his rifle and slowly held his hands up. "I am Division Agent Bates, empowered and authorized by Executive Order and DHS Directive 51. We are here to help."

There was some mumbling between the JTF soldiers while the woman examined the agents. Of course, she didn't believe it. Given the current state of the city, Bates was understandable of the distrust and was prepared to earn their trust. He was about to respond until the solider was alerted by her comms. She signaled one of the other soldiers to keep an eye on the strangers and head inside the base. An awkward silence followed for seconds. Then, the doors opened wide, and the soldier told them to follow her.

Firefly nodded and made his way inside, but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. A dozen casualties filled the entrance while the few doctors and nurses were doing their best. He did his best to avoid the dire situation and kept on following the soldier. Eventually, they arrived at the makeshift command center, where another doctor was treating a soldier's gunshot wound. No doubt it was Romero. She noticed the strangers and turned towards the doctor.

"We can continue this later, doc."

"But, I wasn't done-"

"We can continue it later." The last word came out sharper than intended, but it got the point across. The doctor said nothing but it was clear that she was unpleased with the demand. And when it only the three of them, Romero took a moment to examine the strangers before introduction herself. "I was told that a pair of well-equipped men saved our asses from death. Now, I don't know if you are a blessing or a curse in disguise. I guess we will find out eventually. Introduce yourselves."

"I am Division Agent Bates, empowered and authorized by Executive Order and DHS Directive 51." Firefly extended his hand out to her, but it became immediately apparent that Romero didn't trust them. He put his hand down, and awkwardly continued talking. "And this is-"

Romero put her hand up to interrupt him. "Can't he talk?"

"Well, yes-"

"Then, let him speak." Romero turned her attention towards Badger, waiting for a response.

---

[Andreyich]

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // JAMES FARLEY POST OFFICE

Between the crossfire, the explosives lobbed at them, and the disadvantage of the attacker the rogue police were overwhelmed and forced to retreat. In a way it was humourous how some gave themselves up such that their comrades would be able to escape. They had enough of a sense of heroism to sacrifice themselves for their friends, but not enough to actually continue to protect and to serve.

Though Badger didn't give chase to the fleeing renegades he made sure to keep on firing at them as they pulled out in an effort to make sure as few of them as possible got away, their cowardice and treachery not left unpunished... of course there was also the pragmatic side of the matter, wherein by eliminating these men he would make the efforts of bringing peace and order back into the city much easier.

Having made sure the foe was fully routed, Badger reloaded all his weapons and flicked them to safety before putting them away. Approaching the defenders with his counterpart, Badger examined the scene while the others spoke. Following Bates into the depths of the building the picture painted was not a very pretty one. If this was what remained of people loyal to the government then hope - valuable as it could be - was forlorn.

When Romero told the Doctor to leave rather than finish tending to her Badger raised an eyebrow, though he didn't say anything. In his opinion it was a shitty little display of one's ego's hopes at making an image of a badass that had a good chance of repercussions be it an infection or undue bloodloss. Not being a man of very many words Don didn't mind having Firefly introduce Badger for himself but he supposed the woman had to hear it from himself to help make sure she could trust the duo before herself.

"Agent Donald Hayes, ma'am." He said, saluting with the aim of a little sycophantry so they could get the introductions over with faster.

[Mao Mao]

---

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // JAMES FARLEY POST OFFICE

"Nice to meet you, Hayes." Romero looked at the agent a bit longer than expected before making her way to the soldier. Bates knew that she was planning something. "Gather a squad and advance towards the Garden. Wait until the agents arrive."

With the new orders, the young soldier dismissed herself, leaving the three of them alone. Even with the introductions, there was some tension left in the room. Bates understood that Romero was still suspicious of their presence. And she wanted to make sure that he and Hayes weren't liars. So, the agent turned towards the captain and tried to move the convention along.

"What's the Garden?"

Romero chuckled at the question. "You know, the massive arena next door. You most likely call it the Madison Square Garden. When the hospitals began filling up with infected, temporary hospitals were set up by the city to ease up pressure. The Garden was one of the largest in the city. That was until City Hall happened." Bates noticed that the captain said the last sentence with a hint of sadness in her voice. It was something worthwhile to note for later.

"We remained in operations since then. But that was until the power went out about a day or two ago. And with everything around me falling apart, I had no choice but to abandon the hospital." Romero was silent for a moment before looking at her wound. It wasn't getting any better. "That's why I need you two to collect any remaining fuel given it hasn't been taken already. We planned on gathering as much as possible, but then... well, you saw what happened."

Bates still wasn't unable to believe that the situation got worse than expected. It was clear that he had to help out. Even if the hospital's already picked clean. "Don't worry. We will come back with plenty of fuel."

"Thanks-" Suddenly, Romero cried out in pain and saw that her wound had reopened. The doctor from earlier busted in and attended to her patient. She seemed to whisper something, but the captain wasn't able to talk. Bates knew that it was time to depart for the Garden. Then, his smartwatch lit up as ISAC alerted him of an urgent call for headquarters. Overload asked if their objective was fruitful, expecting to be disappointed.

"We found JTF forces along with its leader, Romero. But I regret to report that several NYPD officers were setting siege to their base upon our arrival. We had to take them out. Earlier, we were also under attack by two police officers after they opened fire on unarmed civilians. Over." Bates answered. Overload was about to respond until someone interrupted him. He spoke with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Understood... You will have to explain it to the commander once she arrives. Over."

"Wait, what for?!" Bates tried to ask the reason for her presence, but Overload ended comms before he could've said a word. Did it have something to do with him killing the police? It wasn't like they were given any choice besides getting killed. Or maybe it was something else entirely unrelated? The thoughts were driving him paranoid. For now, though, he had to focus on retrieving the fuel from the arena. But he had to utter a curse word under his breath before heading outside.

---

[Andreyich]

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // JAMES FARLEY POST OFFICE

---

"Likewise, Ma'am." Badger replied, lowering his saluting hand. He wasn't a particularly big sports fan, unless one considered chess as such which his past comrades didn't. This meant he had not in the past had much time spent around the Madison Square Garden, so he had little idea what he might be getting into there (especially with recent changes). Still, duty was duty and if he'd be sent into the depths of hell he'd only ask for a spare magazine.

Nodding as the assignment was made clear to them, Badger raised an eyebrow as the woman expressed her suffering. He very, very much wanted to make a snarky comment about pretending to be hot shit when you have a wound but he restrained himself. Saluting again to the woman he stepped out, letting Firefly get through the bullshit of talking to brass. Leaning on a wall he filed his nails as he waited for his comrade to come out, believing the world having fallen to anarchy was not an excuse for being poorly groomed.

Putting away his little vanity objects he once more unslung his rifle and spoke while moving to save time. "I say we get up on the rooftops in the area first. See what we're getting into. Scavengers might have already picked everything clean, and if not there's a good chance we won't be the only ones looking for the fuel. Could easily be a rat's nest of some sort, ambushes and traps at every corner."

The fuel was needed urgently otherwise they wouldn't ask of it. But if they barged in trying to get it as fast as possible they'd die and not get the fuel anyway so as far as Don saw there really wasn't a reason to rush things, one of the stories of Aesop coming to mind now. The only difference was that the hare would step on a landmine or get its throat cut by someone in an alley whereas the tortoise would make it to the end of the race on a pile of ne'erdowells' corpses. Badger of course saw himself as the tortoise, not fancying bullets in himself. "Of course, once we get an idea of what we're up against we should act as fast as possible, high speed and low drag, in and out, push any bastards we come up against as hard as possible and force them off of what's ours."

---

[Mao Mao]

---

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // JAMES FARLEY POST OFFICE

Bates agreed with Badger's plan and tried to walk towards the backside of the building. Until the soldier from earlier stopped them in their tracks. "Don't bother trying to look for another way in. We made sure to destroy access to the roof from outside. To prevent any intruders from breaking in. Follow me."

It was a smart plan, Bates noted to himself until the power went out. He kept on walking until he was at the entrance to the arena. There were three more soldiers, making sure that nobody entered and exited the building. Bates had wondered about the layout and asked the soldier about it.

"Just follow the signs, and go up the escalators. You should be able to enter the security room and then the field hospital itself."

"Alright." Bates nodded and thanked the soldier. "We will go in and gather whatever fuel remains."

Upon entering the square, he saw and heard nothing. It was dead quiet besides the sound of the wind. Bates looked around to make sure that nobody was waiting to abuse them or hiding for them. He then walked up the escalator, and nothing was suspicious. But then, he saw a bloody handprint on the door to the security room. It was still fresh. The agent turned to his partner and signaled him to get his weapon ready.

Bates raised his rifle and rushed in the room, seeing two dead police officers on the ground. One of them bled out while the other was shot in the head, killing him instantly. He noticed that the security cameras were still working despite the building having no power. That was when he saw a doctor on one of the feeds, talking to himself while writing notes. The audio wasn't working, so Bates wasn't able to listen in. That was when he realized that the doctor wasn't at the field hospital, but another room. Was Bates kept in the dark?

The agent looked at his partner once more and asked, "What the hell do you think is going on? Two dead officers and a doctor, but nobody else. Do you think we should investigate further?"

---

[Andreyich]

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // JAMES FARLEY POST OFFICE

---

Walking along Badger nodded to the soldier who approached them. "Thanks for the heads up." He said, even if he wasn't particularly thankful. "Gotcha."

Following Bates close behind, Badger kept low in a semi-crouch. They were still close to what one could consider safety, but considering that every step brought the team further and further away from it he felt that a little bit of caution now would be justified, especially if later it would pave the ground for some aggression.

Though he hadn't been here before, Don knew this place was supposed to be loud. There was supposed to be the cheering of crowds and the snickering of bookies, there were supposed to be announcements and vendors making their rounds. But this ghost-town? Well... Though not exactly afraid, the Agent certainly was unnerved.

As there was blood on the door to the security room it seemed that the Agent's suspicions of this place being a rat's nest were getting more and more proofs. Nodding as Firefly prepared to breach the room Badger likewise pushed the imaginary foe within, but it turned out the place was uninhabited.

"I don't know." Agent Hayes replied to his partner's question, deciding to search the bodies of the police officers for anything of interest. "But I don't want to stick around for too long to end up just like these two pricks. Let's just make a quick note of this and move on. Time is short, and we need that fuel now."

---

[Mao Mao]

---

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // JAMES FARLEY POST OFFICE

"Right." Bates agreed and made his way out of the security room. He entered the ramp and kept on following the signs pointing in the direction of the field hospital. There were a few more dead police officers with bullet wounds similar to those in the security room. Then, he made his way to the entrance and read the sign above the door:

Field Hospital
Critical Treatment

Bates had to take a moment to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to see. It wasn't going to be pretty, but it was definitely going to be worst. He turned to his partner and advised, "No matter what we see, we keep moving. Even if there are people... still here. There's nothing we can't do for them for now."

"...Let's go." Bates moved forward and entered the arena, which was filled with rows of hospital beds. There were only a few mobile rooms built due to the size. And of course, there were still patients too injured and left for dead. He looked away for the bodies and kept on moving. It seemed like an eternity, but he made through the hospital. And a working elevator was waiting for them. Bates entered it and waited for his partner before pressing the button. Once the door closed and it started moving, Bates closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"What a fucking mess. I thought things were bad, but this... this is something else entirely—rogue police officers, a declining safe haven, and a makeshift hospital that's now just an abandoned morgue. Either command didn't know the full extent of the situation or... we were lied to and sent on this suicide mission."

---

[Andreyich]

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // JAMES FARLEY POST OFFICE

---

As they went further through the building the fact the people who had shot the police officers found it necessary to go for the head like the first ones the Agents had seen, Badger at least felt a little more confident for it might suggest they lacked long-rifles to penetrate the body armour of the Agents. Of course that was probably wishful thinking and whoever had done this massacre was probably just either A) saving bullets or B) making absolute sure that their opponents were dead. The former of the two options meant that the stinginess of the opponent could be levered against them, whilst the latter would insure that if one of the Agents got taken out of action then they wouldn't recover, for this foe would make sure to execute them as they had the now dead men at their feet.

---

Badger stood impassively as Firefly spoke, nodding to his counterpart as he finished. To him it seemed that the man was speaking this warning as much for himself as for Don who knew he didn't really need it. He was well aware he was a cold utilitarian bastard; the only thing he would consider offering the souls that would be there might be a bullet of mercy, but even that was likely out of the question given that with all the factories closed down the ammunition the agents had was to be rationed.

They went through the scene, and though it was a harsh sight the Agent calmly did his duty looking side to side making sure no threats were hidden between the pictures of misery. Eventually they made it to the elevator, Don frankly quite surprised it was still operational given the state of disrepair of everything else. In fact, he was rather suspicious. "Weird that the elevator's working, when everything else is so fucked." Of course given the security room was still functional it wasn't that much a surprise, but still something to think about.

When the topic of the men being sent here was broached, something like a smile finally went on Badger's lips. "From how it sounded I was certain the answer is 'C: All of the above.' even as they were briefing us. They simply couldn't know exactly what is going on here, but they likely guessed its a rat-trap with ninety-nine percent efficiency, money back guaranteed. Chances one of us are going to be part of a mortality statistic are pretty high I think, but I don't think that's the fault of the pricks that sent us here. Look around, there's no more coffee runs to be done, everything is a suicide mission, and amongst them this isn't that bad. I think a bullet to the brains is nicer than having some dipshit use a baseball bat to turn my ribs into aspic."

---

[Mao Mao]

---

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // MADISON SQUARE FIELD HOSPITAL

The elevator came to a stop and the door opened, but Bates sighed and thanked his partner. "Thanks for that... Now, let's find out what the hell is going on here."

Upon reaching the partially opened door, Bates pulled out his pistol and slowly pushed it. But, he felt something blocking it and began pushing it with all of his strength. He made his into the room and saw the firefight that recently took place. Seven more NYPD officers laid dead on the floor with bullet holes throughout the body. The blood suggested that the killings took place recently. Then, Bates saw the scientist from the feed still working on something despite his dying state. It was oblivious that something was wrong with him. Before Bates was able to say something, the scientist picked up the pistol and blindly fired in their direction.

Instead of returning fire, Bates made sure to hide behind cover and tried to reason with him. "Hold on, we aren't here to kill you! Captain Romero sent us here to get some fuel. Do you know her?"

The scientist put his pistol back on the tablet and began to violently cough up blood. "Yeah... she was the one that abandoned them."

"Who?"

"The people that sought our help and we just gave up without putting up a fight." the scientist turned around and approached the window that divided the rooms. "My name is Doctor Elliot Horton. I used to work at the Bellevue Hospital before I was transferred to this field hospital, assigned to research the virus and find possible treatments. I...I think that I am the only one left for the team."

"Were they killed by the officers?"

"Oh, no. My associates either ran away or died from the virus itself. I was in the lab when the officers were trying to get access to the supplies. I knew they were looking for blood, so I acted first." Elliot once again coughed violently that he nearly lost his balance. Bates asked if he was alright, but there was no response. He asked again, but still no response. Before he asked for the third time, the scientist sighed after wiping the blood from his mouth.

"I... I'm infected and its slowly killing me."

---

[Andreyich]

PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA // MADISON SQUARE FIELD HOSPITAL

---

Badger chuckled, giving a lovetap to his comrade in the relative security of the moment. "Bullets' not so scary when you know its coming. The Japanese thought it is the ones who go into battle hoping to die that will live, the rest will perish. I'm not a teen virgin to be obsessed with samurai but I think there's value in that."

It would have become by now clear to Firefly that Badger (rather appropriately) considered himself as a hard bastard but he nevertheless failed to restrain a retch as the smell hit him. He was a warrior not a coroner, and though these deaths were fairly recent they nevertheless had been about now to accumulate a stench.

After a moment the Agent managed to brace himself however, and he followed suit. The man hit the deck as gunfire erupted against the duo and was about to end the life of their assailant before his comrade's voice rang out. Keeping his firearm trained upon the gunman Badger eventually relaxed as it seemed Firefly was able to talk the person down, and eventually he stood up looking about. A thought came over the man that he should be documenting this. After all, nobody else as and all that was happening couldn't just be forgotten. Though he considered himself to not be ghoulish enough to take photos while a man was dying before his eyes, Badger nevertheless took his phone from his pocket to make sure there was enough charge on it that some pictures could be taken; the history books of centuries later would have high-res photographs oh yes.

But there were more urgent matters to attend to. Thus Don turned to the Doctor and lowered his mask a little out of deference, before asking quite bluntly: "Fuel. Where is it?"

---