[IC] Government: Friend or Foe?

[Commander]

Night had fallen and a cool breeze blew off the water near an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Averton. Old rusty shipping crates and fencing created a scene that was a reflection of the South Brook sector of the city, however this warehouse was far from abandoned. A black vehicle pulled up alongside the warehouse, the xenon headlamps cutting through the dark before they shut off, and the engine fell to silence. The mayor of Averton stepped out and glanced around before shutting the car door and approaching the front door, knocking twice, pausing, then knocking twice again. It opened from the inside.

"Mr. Mayor it's good to see you, we have the present all tied up." an ASF officer clad in body armor stated, with a grin. A few other officers carrying assault rifles dotted the complex. The two walked to the center of the warehouse, where a member of a resistance faction sat tied to a chair.

"So I've been told you're not talking, how surprising. I hear there's a rather large shipment of weapons and special ammunition coming to town and I'd like to know when and where." the mayor asked, crossing his arms and looking at the man.

"Go fuck yourself, I don't know anything." the man replied, with a cold stare.

"That's not what intelligence says. We're going to find it one way or another, but I'd appreciate it if you'd make it easier for us." the mayor responded, giving the ASF officer a nod whom then smashed the end of his assault rifle into the resistance member's face.

The tied up man turned his head and spit some blood onto the ground, "Ain't gonna happen stud, I got all night."

"By the looks of things..." the mayor stated, taking a few steps away, gently running his hand over an array of tools on a cart, "...you're going to have a very, very, very long night. Now if you'll excuse me, I have dinner reservations." He continued out the front door, which slammed shut behind him. That's one resistance member you'll never see again.

---

The following morning at nine o'clock, citizens and cars alike hustled along Averton's Downtown Sector. By five after, all the jumbo screens cleared and a live feed of the mayor appeared. He wore a smile as he began to address the city.

"Hello and good morning citizens of Averton, what a beautiful day. I have a few important announcements I'd like to make and I sincerely appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules to listen. It is with great pleasure that I announce a large, illegal shipment of assault weapons and ammunition was intercepted by Averton Security Forces personnel late last night. I commend the brave officers of our city for remaining diligent and vigorous in their duties while in the face of danger, to ensure all of our families are safe."

"These resistance factions are a threat to your families, their safety, their prosperity and their happiness. Not a day goes by that they don't cause harm to our great city. As I continue to follow the vision of my father, I reiterate my promise that I will do everything within my power to clean the streets of these ruthless criminals. You should not fear your commute to work, you should not fear your child's well being on the way to or home from school, you should not fear whether your homes will be hit by those who do not care about you."

"Together we will continue taking back the city we love and you always play a vital role. Please report any suspicious activity to ASF headquarters or speak with any ASF officer you come across. No issue is too small, not when it comes to your safety and that of your family. Let me continue on to the fun stuff. Join me this Friday night at Tibber's Italian Bistro on 2nd and Washington this Friday, where I will personally be paying half of every tab, the entire night! Yes you heard correctly, so I'd love for you to come downtown and experience this magnificent establishment, not to mention I am very excited to meet a number of you in person, so we can discuss your concerns and suggestions for Averton.. It is going to be such a great night and I look forward to seeing you there. Lastly, it's with my great honor, in conjunction with Averton Security Forces and the Department of Technology to introduce our latest enhancement in public safety."

The screen then changes to show an image of this new contraption for a minute before switching back to the mayor.

"The Riot Control Mech or RCM for short, is an officer-controlled device that will greatly aid in our efforts to control the city's crime issue, all while keeping the officer inside safe. Currently we only have a limited number of units and we'll be dispatching two to South Brook this week to give them a test run, so please do not be intimidated by these. I assure you they're vital in ensuring that the resistance factions are pushed back and removed from the city so you and your families can enjoy all sectors of the city without the fear that they continually cast over us. Your well being is my number one priority, it always has been and always will be. That's one thing you can count on with the City of Averton. May each and every one of you have a wonderful day. Thank you again for listening and remember, my door is always open. Take care."

With a finally smile, the screen reverts back to advertisements and people slowly begin to go back to what they were doing, all while talking about what they just heard. The fight has only just begun. Welcome to Averton.

[urukhai]

The dim light, carried over from the city, bathed the warehouses in an eerie glow. The two ASF officers stood out front of warehouse 19, the red glow of a cigarette lighting up one of their faces, and outlining the other in its pale light. "God will you just put that thing out already?" The nonsmoker asked the other, coughing and waving his hand in front of his face to clear the smoke "It's almost like you want to get written up again." The other cleared his lungs, a smoke cloud drifting away from him when he did so. "And what are they going to write me up for? huh? Smoking on the most boring guard duty assignment in history? I mean what are we guarding, bunches of crates o'nothing. Thats what." He took a long drag, once more illuminating the two.

From his vantage point above, Simon had no trouble making out the two, his goggles cutting through the night like a lamp. He was flanked by two "associates", each dressed similarly to him. All three waiting. Finally the comm-set each had crackled to life, "S1, this is watcher. They bit hard with James, they must think the poor sap knows something special, I swear I just saw the mayor leave."

Keying his own Simon spoke in a low an quietly, as to not alert the arguing guards bellow "Roger, see if your team can extract him.While he doesn't know anything of particular value about us or our operation, it might be best to deny them the victory of catching a small time crook."

"Roger" was the quick reply

Turning to his two fellows, he tapped his mic twice and then turned his hand over flat, The signal for a comms blackout. As one the switched their head sets off and moved the mic to the resting position. After this, each one of the men slowly slid off of the roof, and onto the second story ledge. Inching forward slightly, Simon positioned himself over the smoker. Flicking his knife from its holster, he hung from the small ledge and dropped the last three feet to the ground. Years of training taught him how to absorb the impact enough that a slit tap was all the guards head, and considering how absorbed into their argument on regs, it was no surprise they didn't hear. Working his way forward, Simon seized the smoker from behind, his left hand clamped over his mouth as his knife was driven home through his back. The non smoker jumped, but didn't even get to utter a word before one of the others was on him. After wiping the blood off on the guards uniform, Simon made his way to the front door. Opening it slowly he crept inside the darkened Warehouse. After it had been sufficiently cleared the three gathered in the main storage room. Immediately Simon began searching for something. As he was doing this one of the others spoke "Sir? What exactly are we looking for in here? Looks like nothing but clothing imports. Explains the lack of guards."

"For something that doesn't belong, yet dose. We are looking for three of them in fact." He replied as he search a stack of new arrival crates. Finally after less than two minutes he found what he was looking for, a crate that was slightly bigger than the others, and had a barely noticeable seem running along part of it. Motioning the others to help him They lifted the box above the seam, the result was a normal sized box of cloths and one other box. "Tell me." Simon said as they lifted the box, "What is the best way to hide something?" Sliding open the lid on the newly uncovered box he was presented by various, military grade firearms and ammunition. "In plain sight my friend, in plain sight. Now go get the truck." The shipment was the second of five scheduled ones, each in a different warehouse, each delivered by a different ship, each disguised and smuggled aboard at the last moment so they wouldn't show up on the manifest as being oversize.

As he waited for his associate to bring the disguised repair van they used for transport, Simon reactivated his comm, and waited for the Watcher to report back. He didn't have to wait long as he received a signal "S1, this is watcher. Well they killed him, must have figured out he knew nothing or he reached his max. New orders?"

Simon sighed "Alright activate Phoenix protocol, he served our needs well. This time, make it look like and electrical fire, were trying to leave a small footprint."

As he was waiting for a reply the van pulled up, the was driver already in his street clothes, having changed before going back to the watched streets as to not arouse suspicion. Simon had to grin a bit, at the fake tattoo the wound it's way around his subordinates neck and glasses. Opening the back he threw two bags of clothes at the two still in Tac armor. Quickly they changed and applied the fake scars and various other small changes to their appearance enough to fool the camera shots that might be taken of them. Storing the Bags of Tac armor in the back the three, newly clothed night workers set about carrying the three half crates and stacking them in the back of the van. After which they disposed of the bodies by spraying them with ammonia and dumping them in the bay, they also sprayed any blood on the ground .

Objectives completed they all piled into the van and began to fall back to their base, that was when watcher came back. "S1, Phoenix is lit. it's going to burn for a while. Getting out of here. See you at home." A glow in the far distance told Simon that the building had indeed been set alight.

_______
The dawn was breaking when they pulled into the underground parking garage in one of the "Resistance districts".

Pulling around to the back of the Parking Garage the van stopped in front of a large exhaust grate, and unloaded its passengers who began changing out the plates on the van, removing any fake damage and even simulating dirt on the tops of some the tire rims. After this was done two of the passengers began unloading, while the third punched a code into a hidden keypad. A click was heard as the exaust grate and fan slid aside to reveal a tunnel. After a few twists and turns, an opening another door, this time a blast door made of thick steel and rick to look like just another dead end in the tunnel maze, while remaining strong, they came to the main hideout. As the two other Shadow Hunt operatives and the newly returned Watcher finished carrying in the crates, Simon slumped down on the couch, not even bothering to take a shower to remove the fake identifiers, there would be time enough for that after a nap.

[Commander]

In the downtown area, closer to the South Brook sector, a new "supplemental public safety device" had been installed. These are very common in North Brook, and some of downtown, because people gradually came to accept them as being necessary to assist in public safety and to help deter crime. They're rare once you start getting closer to South Brook, even in the downtown sector.

A member of a resistance faction was kneeling at the base of the large pole, having pried open a panel he casually inspected the wiring and circuitry of the device not knowing that behind him, silently hovering in the air was an ASF Mak II drone. Hearing some people down the block arguing, the man looked towards them and that's when he noticed the drone. With the sound of a click, the front of the wings that were adorned with LEDs, and they began alternating between blue and red.

"You are in violation of code 157.23c, tampering with city property. A unit has been dispatched to these coordinates, for your safety please remain where you are. This unit is authorized to use force should you not comply." the flat tone of the drone dispatching the instructions, as it slowly hovered up and down. So, what was this resistance member going to do?

[Commander]

(doh meant to hit ooc)

[urukhai]

The Resistance member froze,with deliberate slowness he put the panel he was holding back. Holding his hands up he slowly rose to his feet "Ah, about that im afraid I can't... ahem... stick around" he said with a worried grin before bolting down the crowded street. Dodging back in forth in an erratic pattern he prevented the Drone from taking a straight shot at him, he combined this with weaving through the crowds, obscuring the Drone's vision on him as well. As he was dashing wildly down the streets, turning this way and that, he was quietly counting down from 15

"...12...11...10"

Each number brought him closer to the zero he was told to count to after he had dropped off the package he was instructed to. Sure enough he had at least accomplished that before the drone had interrupted him, even know the brick sized object sat snugly in the bottom of the camera pole. As his count reached zero, he made one last effort to evade the drone by turning down an alleyway, the vehicle he had used to get to this point sat their. It was an old two seat car, built for speed, not for looks. He didn't;t care about style, especially now as his count crossed one and a large explosion was heard, the source of which was without a doubt the 'package' he was instructed to deliver.

[GrandDM2]

The installation of Supplemental Public Safety Devices, while on the surface appearing to be a move by the government to ensure the safety of their citizens, was in reality the doing of Omicron. The SPSDs' were eyes and ears all across the city. Omicron was inside every camera, every satellite, every transmission. No piece of information, no query or confirmation or message, passed through established channels without Omicron knowing of it.

For instance, a rather excellent picture of one of the Resistance members.

Hitting a button on the keyboard, Omicron opened a call on the private line to the Mayor.

"Sir, they've made the move. I'm beginning the Gambit now."

Terminating the call, a second key press opened up the Broadcast window. From here, every single television transmission could be controlled.

Omicron started typing.

---

Earlier today, a member of the terrorist group known as the "Resistance" bombed a public area. Though there were no casualties, there has been expensive damage to both government and private property. We urge all loyal citizens to contact us on the following number should you see the following individual responsible for the bombing.

The newsflash, simultaneously shown on every screen in the city, ended with a picture of the Resistance member and a phone number. It lingered for a good ten seconds before normal programming resumed, often with a babble of chatter about the unscheduled broadcast that had hijacked their channel.

---

Sitting back in the chair, Omicron smiled.

"Your move."

[Commander]

The drone scanned through the different people crowding the sidewalk before locking onto the resistance member. It silently entered pursuit and as soon as the resistance member turned into an alleyway the explosion went off, the drone stopped and zipped back to the location to investigate, scan and send back information about the incident. Sure the guy got away, but he was caught on camera prior, something that could come back to haunt him in the future now that he was displayed for the city to see.

---

Meanwhile, back at city hall the Mayor had a brief call from Omicron.

"So who is that guy, it looks like he's just broadcasting what he wants." an aide stated, as the two watched a flat panel TV in the mayor's office.

"Does it matter? We don't bother him and he doesn't bother us. If you ask me, that's a very nice relationship, unlike the resistance whom often try the opposite." the mayor replied, leaning back in his chair and resting his hands behind his head.

"I figured that SPSD would have been fine, but I think they're pushing their territory further into downtown. What do you think?" the aide asked.

"I think you're right. We need to keep them contained in South Brook, and now that we have two RCMs dispatched down there, that will help with such a goal. Call the warden over at the ADC, I need to set something up with him." the Mayor gave his instruction and the lady gave a nod and went out to her desk.

---

A few nights later, on a cool Friday evening, people downtown were lining up at Tibber's Italian Bistro in anticipation for the Mayor. Drones dotted the sky in the area, and ASF squad cars lined the street on the opposite side of the restaurant, ASF officers stood guard at various points in the vicinity. The display never seemed to really phase people, as they talked, laughed and took in the smell of delicious food coming from the restaurant. It wasn't long before three black SUVs rolled up outside the restaurant, officers jumped out of the first and last, before the Mayor stepped out of the middle vehicle. He fastened one button on his suit jacket before flashing a smile and waving at the excited crowd.

"What a turn out! You're all just wonderful and it means so much that you're here. Come on lets get inside and we can do some talking and order some signature food." he beamed, pointing at a few people with a smile, shaking hands, embracing a few others. The crowd, along with the Mayor and some ASF officers went inside the establishment. Inside citizens and reporters gathered up to ask questions, one notable reporter being Jennifer Wells. She was notorious for in-depth investigating and questioning when it came to anything government related.

"Mister Mayor, could you give us details on the recent warehouse fire? Apparently there were ASF officers present." Jennifer asked, loudly.

"A lot of the recent details are still coming in, so I'll have to defer that question to the Commander of the ASF." the Mayor stated politely, giving her a smile.

As he pointed to another reporter for a question, the lights in the restaurant and a four block radius of the building went out, followed by the sound of automatic weapons being discharged somewhere outside.

[GrandDM2]

As the lights go out, three of the waiters rip off their uniforms to reveal compact bulletproof vests and several pistols. They quickly move to cover the door and the windows in the direction of the gunfire. Each of them has an Omicron symbol (an O) on their vests.

"Sir, please don't be alarmed. Omicron stationed us here for your protection."

The Mayor's phone will suddenly begin to ring. If he answers it, he'll find a digitally distorted voice on the other end. In the background, two of the waiters are firing through the windows at the attacking Resistance members. Nearly every shot is marked by a scream.

"Mr. Mayor, please follow the instructions of the three men. They will convey you through the escape route I have set up to a safe location where you can await the conclusion of the Resistance ambush."

The call is terminated, and the lead waiter moves over quickly.

"Sir, follow me. The escape route is this way."

[urukhai]

A grin came across Simon's face as the lights began to go out and the fire fight began. The plan had suffered a few set backs, the police picking up the overzealous bomber, had caused a need for more stealth than was previously thought, the second being that the recent arrest had sapped the confidence of some of the leaders of the various splinter factions making it necessary to 'persuade' some to agree to this, but eventually they did. The amount of discipline they lacked was incredible, but after supplying them with a few military grade weapons they were all to willing to assault what was going to be the most secure building for the night. But they were doing their job and distracting the guards and drawing attention to themselves, most of them probably wouldn't make it out, but that just meant less competition in the long run. The Shadow Hunt team moved quickly, moving in behind the quickly forming skirmish lines, moving from shadow to shadow and alley to alley.

Quickly reaching the backdoor to the restaurant the team spread out, each silently making their way forward. Each of the officers that were left to guard the back, after the rest had gone off to fight the others, began to fall noiselessly to slit throats or suppressed bullet wounds as the masked shadows made their way to the door. Opening it slowly they dispatched the officers in the kitchen and slowly crept to the entrance to the dining room proper. After motioning with his hand, they all flipped off the night vision goggles, and pulled a grenade from each of their belts. Pulling the pins they ll tossed them into the room, at differing lengths, and shut their eyes. After a few blinding flashes and deafening bangs, all of the Assassin's eyes flew open and each activated their night vision before quickly setting about their grim work. Storming into the room, suppressed gunshots dropped any armed guard, leaving the blinded reporters alone. Continuing their grim work the Hunters cut towards the head table.

Upon reaching it Simon began to look around at the figures that were now coming out of the effects of the Flash-bangs. "He's not here, a shame." he thought to himself as he saw the Mayor wasn't among the cowering figures "At least their is always plan B" Marching behind the table he grabbed a few people and yanked them back to look at their face. He did this until he found who he needed, the confused and slightly whimpering face of the Dep. director of the ASF. Hauling him to his feet, simon made a show of dusting off the confused man's jacket. "P-p-please dont kill me" he stammered into the dark

"Now, now. Not to worry" Simon reassured the man "I have no intention of killing you, as of this moment, that would cause too much... stress too early. Now what I do need you to do, is give this to your mayor when you meet him next." He handed over a thin envelope, the contents of which were only a thin piece of paper that read in flowing script Death is not the worst that can happen to men.. Taking it the man nodded frantically to the figure he could barely see "Good man. Now I must apologize for this next part, it's going to be a bit... uncomfortable." Grabbing the man's hand he slammed it to the table, and pulled out his knife. Cutting quickly he removed the mans right middle finger.

"Why!!" the man screamed as he clutched the bleeding appendage

"To reinforce the message in that envelope" Simon said calmly as he reached over and took a bucket that contained ice and a champagne bottle, set the bottle outside the bucket and dropped the finger, wrapped in a napkin, into the ice. Standing he left the man and moved to the front door, the sounds of battle were winding down outside, a clear indicator to leave, as he gather his team one of them dragged a body over "Hey S1, you might want a look at this." The body was that of one of the armed waiters , Simon looked over it to see what was different about it from other undercover guards. That was when he saw the O. Leaning down he examined the symbol closely, [i]"Very interesting"/i] Simon mused as he looked over the symbol "Are any of these guards still alive?"

"That one actually" the agent said as he gave him a slight kick "Barely too, by the looks of it if we leave him here he'll die from blood loss."

"That's no good, I want to... talk to him. Were taking him with us." Simon ordered as he moved back to the back entrance. When he and his team, including one who had the guard thrown over one of his shoulders reached the entrance, Simon flicked on his radio. "Watcher this is S1, we are ready to leave. Mind clearing our dance card and getting the others out of here?"

"Certainly, S1. Wait one." The sound of detonation after detonation filled the air as the small explosives, quietly placed in the camera poles lining the street for blocks detonated. "S1, I do have good news and bad news to report."

"Whats the good news first." Simon said as they continued down the path they came in on

"Well sir B team was able to thermite at least 3 of the walkers that have been patrolling our part of town."

"What's the bad news?"

Watcher hesitated before answering, as if she was unsure of how to continue "Sir, Jenson and Andra were caught a couple times by some ASF gunfire, Andra's armor saved her life but Jeson is currently in critical condition, the Doc is looking him over but..."

Simon sighed, that was a new wrinkle that he didn't need, a much larger one than the Mayor. "Understood Watcher S1 out." As they reached their escape vehicles, all different cars and artificially marked up he stopped "Take sleeping beauty to W-4, sweep him for bugs and trackers on your way there. If he has any subdermal trackers, cut them out attach them to a stray cat or bird and let it loose." nodding their understanding, three members of the team iled into one vehicle and sped off. Simon moved to his vehicle and went his own way back to base, making sure to keep from looking too conspicuous, or too obvious.

[Commander]

Hell broke loose once again as the sounds of automatic weapons echoed through the downtown area as members of both sides exchanged shots. Inside the restaurant, chaos and confusion unfolded however, the mayor was escorted away from the front of the restaurant as he listened to a distorted message over his phone. After the call was finished he tucked the phone back in his suit jacket and began moving through the crowd to the rear of the restaurant, as more screams were heard followed by the sound of shattering glass.

"Son of a bitch... get me out of here!" he exclaimed, and Omicron's men did just that and apparently, just in the nick of time. Some hours later, after spending time in an undisclosed location to ride out the attack, he was brought back to City Hall where inside, members of his cabinet were gathered in a large conference room.

"This is insane. It has to stop. I need to implement a few more standards and send a clear message." the mayor stated, running a hand across his face.

"How's the deputy director's finger?" A member, Janet, had asked.

"Probably being reattached at the medical center. He knew what he was getting into when he accepted the position. Lets focus on... actually, clear the room please." the mayor requested, obviously irritated. A few moments later the room was empty and he initiated a secure teleconference call with the Commander of the ASF.

"Sir, my apologies for what happened tonight." the man said, right off the bat.

"If you were sorry your men would have done a better job. I'm getting fed up with these assholes so it's time to up the ante. First off, I want your intelligence unit to start running down any friends and relatives of known resistance members. Have your officers pull them over and be stern when asking them out of the vehicle and if they resist, tag em and bag em. If they don't resist, then find some class X narcotics on them and bring them to the detention center. Second, I want an RCM to that 'bakery' you've been investigating. Wipe that fucker off the map." he instructed, staring coldly at the large television screen.

"Can do sir, consider it done." the Commander replied, before they ended the call. The Mayor then placed a call to the SAF.

"Director Porter, how's the Adjustment Facility these days?" the Mayor asked, casually.

"Mister Mayor, things are splendid, in fact I have great news. A decent number of resistance members here have been, reprogrammed, if you will. On the outside they'll be acting as per usual, however in the inside, on an unconscious level, they'll be loyal to us. It's like having our own little army of infiltrators. It's a whole new system but it's proving to be very effective. I should mention, it didn't work on everybody, there's a small group that had no effect." the director explained, with some hesitation.

"My my, this is great news, perhaps you've earned a salary bump. I want those refurbished assholes released tomorrow morning and I want the bus carrying them to break down and I want them to escape. ASF will be slow to respond as to allow them to scurry back to their respective hideouts. As for that second group, inject them now and put the feed on my other screen." the Mayor demanded. A few moments later a camera feed showed up on his second screen, showing a line of men strapped to chairs. A small device lowered behind the first man, the arm of the machine was equipped with a needle, which was thrust into the back of the man's neck. The machine would glide along a rail, repeating the same action until the whole row of men were leaning forward, dead. The Mayor then terminated the call.

Thirty minutes later, in South Brook, a large black helicopter hovered in the night sky, slowly lowering an RCM onto the street below, before flying off and returning to the ASF headquarters. Back at City Hall, the Mayor watched as a live feed from one of the RCM's cameras popped up on a screen, showing a building at the street corner, before he heard the operator's voice.

"I was told you wanted to handle the instructions, sir." the officer stated.

"That's correct, in fact, do whatever you want. Trash the place. I don't want ANY survivors." he almost barked out the demand.

The operator flipped a few switches, as large flood lamps on the front illuminated the building and various red and blue lights starting dancing around on the front of the machine. Hitting a few more switches and grabbing two handles, the operator began following his instructions, all while the Mayor watched. Three metal panels on the front of the RCM slid to the side, one producing a six-barrel laser gun, the second an eight-barrel rotating gun and a four-barrel tear gas cannon. First the lasers were fired, taking out chunks of the brick building and busting out windows and the large glass panes of the first floor, followed by accurate rounds of the tear gas canisters into the building. A few moments later, the eight-barrel weapon began slowly spinning before picking up speed and letting loose a barrage of bullets. It began tearing through the building and resistance members that were coming out the front door, destroying garbage cans, a blue postal box, and ultimately blowing up two vehicles parked outside before the rotating gun came to a stop.

"Marvelous!" the Mayor said with a hearty laugh, "Perfect, now do a sweep and go home." Within five minutes, a few large armored vehicles rolled up and a decent sized group of men combed the building, killing any survivors and clearing the place of weapons and drugs.

"You seemed to enjoy that more than you should, mister Mayor." the lady aide in his office chimed in. The Mayor placed his hands behind his head and turned in his chair to face her.

"Watch your mouth. I'm doing my constituents a service here. That place was a weapon and drug hotspot and it's no longer a problem." he informed her, with a stern voice. "Besides, they made an attempt to kill me today and I'm not very fond of that."

[Sturmgewehr]

Bradley West
Location: Sons of Averton hide-out

The secret location of the SoA wasn't so secret as the government thinks it is. If those fools only knew... Bradley thought it was a good idea to relocate the SoA into an underground VIP bunker previously captured and used by a former rebel group, currently annihilated by the government. This bunker was raided by government troops ten years ago. Many have died, and the place was bombed. What the government dosen't know is that this underground bunker for VIP's wasn't destroyed completely by the explosion. Only about 60 percent. While the rest still stands. The SoA have been using this 40 percent that remains for about 6 months now. Bradley did the relocation because their previous hideout just wasn't suitable anymore. While here things are a whole lot better.(1.0, 2.0)

Bradley was in his quarters. Alone. He liked it that way. The situation with his wife was bothering more and more with each passing day. Last month the stealthily entered in the apartment they once shared and tried again to convince her. She attacked him. Bradley barely got out alive. With only a gunshot wound in his left leg. Ever since then Bradley started to drink heavily and get himself drunk almost every night. His fellow group members are getting more and more worried about his situation. Some even said that a new leader should be elected. Bradley was sitting at a desk, with a bottle of whisky and a glass in front of him. Also on his right side there was an old Smith and Wesson 686 revolver, chambered in .357 Magnum bullets. It was Bradley's favorite weapon. And one that he carried with him pretty much everywhere. Sure in these modern times when weapons technology is continously advancing these kind of weapons were now antiques found only in the collections of enthusiasts.

Bradley had one though. He bought it from the black market. Bullets where very hard to get but not impossible. The TV was open but he wasn't paying attention to it. Instead he was glaring down on a picture of his wife. "Why Angela?" Why do you hate me? I love you damn it!" He muttered with the voice of a half drunk man. All of a sudden the TV finally caught his attention as the mayor started speaking... "Hello and good morning citizens of Averton, what a beautiful day. I have a few important announcements I'd like to make and I sincerely appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules to listen. It is with great pleasure that I announce a large, illegal shipment of assault weapons and ammunition was intercepted by Averton Security Forces personnel late last night. I commend the brave officers of our city for remaining diligent and vigorous in their duties while in the face of danger, to ensure all of our families are safe."

Bradley was looking as the mayor was doing his usual thing. Feeding people with lies. It made him sick. He turned his vision away from the TV and started pouring whisky down ion his glass as he was hearing the mayor continue his disgusting speech, this time hitting the resistance groups problem. "These resistance factions are a threat to your families, their safety, their prosperity and their happiness. Not a day goes by that they don't cause harm to our great city. As I continue to follow the vision of my father, I reiterate my promise that I will do everything within my power to clean the streets of these ruthless criminals. You should not fear your commute to work, you should not fear your child's well being on the way to or home from school, you should not fear whether your homes will be hit by those who do not care about you."

As he poured the whisky down his neck and left the glass down, Bradley could feel the blood boiling in his veins as he was hearing all the crap that the mayor was pouring out of his mouth. He and those that follow him where the only criminals here. Well, he couldn't speak on behalf of the other resistance groups, but his was definetly good intentioned as they helped citizens plenty of times. He grabbed the whisky bottle wanting to pour in the glass again but had a change of heart as he let down the bottle and started staring at the TV again, grabbing his revolver, pointing it in the direction of the TV and cocking the hammer. "Together we will continue taking back the city we love and you always play a vital role. Please report any suspicious activity to ASF headquarters or speak with any ASF officer you come across. No issue is too small, not when it comes to your safety and that of your family. Let me continue on to the fun stuff. Join me this Friday night at Tibber's Italian Bistro on 2nd and Washington this Friday, where I will personally be paying half of every tab, the entire night! Yes you heard correctly, so I'd love..."

He pushed the trigger as the bullet traveled forward and destroyed the TV, putting a hole in it. He then got up as if nothing happened and put the revolver in his holster. The loud BANG echoed through the hallways of the hideout as some people gathered at the door to Bradley's quarters, fearing the worst. A tall and well bult man makes his way through the mass of people. His name was Clay. Clay is Bradley's best friend, 2nd in command and former ASF operative like him. He is one of those 3 ASF operatives that chose to defect along with Bradley, when he did in the first place, after that event involving those rebels, when he killed his team leader and another team member and delivered that threatening message in front of the cameras.

Clay enters Bradley's quarters, closing the door behind him. Bradley looks at him with an empty look. "Really man? It's like the 4th TV already. I know you hate the guy but that dosen't mean you have to destroy the TV everytime he speaks. You can change the channel, or close it." Said Clay as he crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, it's just that, all the bullshit he's speaking...makes me sick. We've been idle for like what? A month?" He asks Clay. "Yeah! Ever since you've made another attempt to recruit your wife. And after it failed and you nearly got yourself killed. You started drinking like a moron and getting yourself drunk every day." Responded Clay with an obvious displeasure in his voice. "Tomorow we attack the weapons depot. If we succeed then it will be a great victory for us. I know we've aldeady tried that once and failed and our leader Billy died, because we had a mole in the group. But that's not the case anymore, the spy has been killed. I know this time we can succeed. They're not expecting us to attack the same place twice. And that's gonna be their downfall..." Said Bradley.

"Okay. I'm all for that! I always thought Billy's death needs to be avenged. He was a good leader for us. He didn't deserve to go down like that." Approved Clay as he left the quarters. After walking around for a few more seconds Bradley opens the door and looks at everyone. "I'm allright brothers. That gunshot didn't meant me killing myslef. That's probably the last thing i'll ever do. I'm not a coward." Said Bradley as he closed back the door.

[Commander]

The government had set up false communication between the two major faction leaders and set up a meeting between the two under the guise of making a collaborated plan to eliminate the government forces and hopefully the Mayor. Unfortunately they had no way of knowing it was a trap. On a cold Friday night, the two resistance leaders and some of their men met at an empty parking garage in downtown, near the south border. Over at the ASF headquarters, the Mayor and ASF Commander watched the meeting from various cameras.

"Look at them all, thinking they'll actually unite and destroy everything we've worked so hard for." the Mayor stated, before glancing to the head honcho of the ASF, "From what I can tell the two leaders are there, so do it, now." he commanded.

"Yes sir, mister Mayor," the ASF Commander said as he pressed a few buttons on a control panel. "Here come the fireworks." With that, the place began to crumble. Earlier, ASF forces rigged the place with lots of C4 and now they were all going off. Concrete began flying all over as the explosives went off, the floors of the parking ramp began falling down on one another until the whole thing collapsed. As the dust settled, the area was secured and they started to remove the bodies, including that of the two major resistance leaders. It was a large blow to the resistance factions, and a boost in morale for those on the other side. Who knows what would happen next.