Akir Bondar
Mentions:
@HeraldLeon - Leo. Interactions: None
Brewery District - HOCJOC HQ
Akir slapped away at her keyboard trying to bring her screen to life. It eventually buzzed alight, beaming away her tired reflection. Another experiment complete, more results to check. The last cigarette of the pack burned through itself while she pushed the empty packets away from her computer mouse. As the results screen blinked up an unwelcome disruption came from behind.
The male nurse spoke out while glued to his phone. “Did you hear about the raid up in Oliver Fields? Friends in the emergency department are going wild over it.”
Akir still stared at the screen. “Mmm?”
The nurse continued. “This guy just waltzed in alone, unarmed and dealt with ‘em.”
Akir muttered back. “That’s what negotiators do Matt.”
Matt looked at Akir quickly before a vibration tore his eyes back to the phone. “No, I mean he
dealt with them. As in
deleted. You should see the slash wounds on some of these bodies.” Matt rubbed his mouth with his free hand. “This guy isn’t just some loose cannon either, he shielded a hostage using his own body and followed that up by ripping a helicopter trying to take off out of the air.”
Akir scoffed, still scrolling through numbers. “Alright that last part is definitely a lie.”
Matt chuckled. “Yeah alright I’m embellishing a bit, not about blocking fire himself though.” Matt’s tone turned sultry. “And you should see the photos of this fine war hero, I’d be the happiest hostage in the world if-.”
Akir instinctively shot her hand out, scrunched one of the empty cigarette packets and threw it at Matt while still locked to her screen. She was used to reprimanding her staff for inappropriate behaviour while working and the sound of the *
whap* confirmed her aim was as true as ever.
Matt flinched at the hit putting his phone away. “Come on, it's just a bit of fun. Surely the bold adventures of Leon MacAoidh have at least made your day a little more exciting.”
Akir just flicked at the scroll wheel trying to reach the final results of the test while her other hand failed to find another cigarette in the now empty packet. “Matt, the only thing that would excite me is you running off to get me another set of smokes or-.”
She went quiet. Matt stood waiting, eventually speaking up. “Or? Get stuck thinking of something snide? Brain finally melt from staring at that stupid screen?” Akir didn’t respond, Matt walked over to her. “Still alive?’ Matt’s eyes followed hers. “There can’t be anything that interesting in all that-.”
He looked at the results section, sharing the silence now. After digesting what it meant he pointed to the top of the screen. “Let me see the numbers.”
Akir scrolled upwards, reviewing everything she just read. Confirming it was all correct she sat back holding the nub of the cigarette in her hand while Matt just gawked. Feeling a burning at her fingers she stubbed the cigarette into a full tray, still looking at the screen as Matt broke the silence. “Holy shit we did it…”
Akir tilted her head. “No, not quite, but in theory, from this…”
Matt nodded. “We have a drug candidate for the cure to the Gyft.” He stepped away, clearing and preparing synthesizing equipment as if possessed. “We need candidates, samples, procedures and to start testing right away. I can’t believe-.”
Akir raised a hand. “Slow down, that’s all going to take money. A lot of money.”
Matt continued what he was doing. “So ask your brother for the funding.”
Akir shook her head. “We’re lucky he gives what he does, and the price of admission isn’t within our grasp.”
Matt stopped to look at Akir. “What’s the bill we have to foot then?”
Akir sighed. “Roughly? About $200,000
(20 Wealth), and that’s just to test safety, effectiveness and efficiency.” Akir’s eyes darted to the side. “But there might be others who want the same thing.”
Akir rolled her chair to a cleaner desk with a phone, flicking through a notebook of contacts. “Leon, that captain you mentioned. His precinct is associated with the College of Gyfted Studies. That’s a good place to start, then we’ll put out an open call for donors. We’ll be contracted to the largest bidder to provide our results to them so they can synthesize the cure, but we can leak some of the information to any other donors to kickstart their own efforts. I can set something up with Otto to sweeten the pot too. Organise a deal for every donor to get something special from N.DEF. Anyone in this city worth talking to wants flashy new gear and guns.”
Akir found the number for the Burberry Enforcement Bureau and immediately punched it in. As it rang she put her hand over the microphone and offered a rare smile. “Let the kids know the good news. They deserve a bit of hope.”
The phone on the other end picked up. Akir introduced herself. “Yes hello. No this isn’t an emergency. No, I’m trying to reach Captain MacAoidh, is he in? I’m Dr Bondar. No this isn’t Otto Bon- do I sound like a man to you?” An apology sounded over the speaker while Akir glanced over all the empty cigarette packets. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to cut down.
The otherside inquired who she was again. “Yes, Dr Bondar, sister, medical. I’ve an offer to extend to the good captain. You’ll put me through? Excellent, thank you.” The phone went on hold, she tapped her fingers on the back of the handset anticipating whether the captain would be intrigued by her offer.
Leon “Leo” MacAoidh, Akir Bondar
Mentions: None. Interactions:
@Herald Leon - Leo,
@flux Akir Bondar, Otto Bondar.
Burberry - Burberry Enforcement Bureau
Leon set aside the latest reports, the door to his office closed but his blinds partially open so that his officers could see he was always on the job. It was an unspoken rule between him and his officers that everything he did was open to review by his subordinates, the only exception being private information or calls from the commissioner herself or mission sensitive information. The reports he had been reviewing authorized him to operate inside of Oliver Fields, extending his authority over the scattered and dirty remnants of the PD branch that had been responsible for the law. He had signed the arrest warrants himself for half of them after finding out just how many bribes they had taken or dismissed on administrative leave with the threat that if they didn’t go to rehab they would be arrested. The few ‘survivors’ of his purge were being worked into his ranks now, and he promoted three of his field officers to help run the new branch.
Hells he could use a beer. Or six. Not that he ever let himself get drunk anymore. Not since his gyft…
A knock at the door brought him out of his brief respite. He looked over at the trainee officer nervously twisting her hands at the door to his office.
“I don’t bite. Step inside and tell me what you need, Officer… Irinez, right?,” Leon said, leaning back in his chair.
“Yes, sir,” the trainee seemed to take confidence from his ability to remember her name, “call for you on line three, sir. A Miss… Doctor Bondar?”
“Otto Bondar?,” Leon asked, then thought better of it. He put up his hand before the trainee could correct him, “God I need to start doubling up on my coffee. I’ll handle it. Thank you, Officer Irinez.”
He picked up the phone line, keying it over to the third incoming line and waiting until he could hear the clear air of the connection.
“This is Captain MacAoidh of the Burberry Operations Branch. What can we do for you Doctor?,” he said.
Akir smiled. “Pleasure to speak to you Captain, I’ll try not to take up much of your time. I believe my team and I have made a major breakthrough regarding a cure to the Gyft.” She took a breath. “While we have plenty of willing participants for safety and efficiency testing, we unfortunately lack the funds to begin said testing.”
Akir stood and paced around her lab. “In case the Bondar name is familiar to you, Mr Bondar is unfortunately… unwilling to fund such research. He would be willing however to sponsor you according to your monetary input to our efforts in the form of combat equipment. Cutting edge from N.DEF.”
(1 - 2 personnel per Wealth spent).
Akir closed her eye’s, this was the hard part. “Our target budget is $200,000
(20 Wealth). Every bit helps though, and with your association with the College of Gyfted Studies, we thought of offering you the chance of locking us in a contract to receive the cure research if you decide to become our largest donor, at least before we turn to open funding throughout Nocturnia.”
Leon held back a groan when the doctor started talking. Was this a sales call? Seriously? Whoever the hell routed this to him was going to get such a-
Hang on. A cure? For the gyft?
“Doctor, with all due respect… the College of Gyfted studies has had researchers looking into these gifts since they first surfaced. True, some can be suppressed, though usually only by temporary neural disruptive devices or through considerable damage to the gyfted person,” Leon said. He was very protective of the college, well aware that it was one of the few last bastions of higher education in Nocturnia. On top of that, he had quietly been encouraging scientists to research the Gyft through his own private donations, though none had borne any real fruit as of yet.
“I don’t mean to insult you or your research, but these kinds of promises have been flying around almost as long as the Gyft itself. So let me return the favor and be frank with you, do you have any recorded instances that indicate a possibility of real success?,” Leon asked.
Akir replied courteously. “No that's entirely understandable Captain. I am aware of the College’s efforts and its paper’s have helped tremendously. I have a Gyft of my own however that’s provided invaluable insight, one that nullifies the Gyft’s of others in my presence. We’ve been able to measure its emissions and create a drug, almost a vaccine if you will, that has successfully emulated my ability, suppressing the Gyft so far indefinitely in analogue tests outside of my presence. All the results suggest this is a working cure, but of course, we can’t be certain until we trail human participants.”
Akir continued to pace. “The funds would ensure we can establish absolute safety for our patients. While there hasn’t been a shortage of volunteers, we still have to remain ethical to ensure a meaningful result, and with most of the patients being quite young...” Akir paused, looked down and spoke on. “...we want to ensure every measure of safety, and then some.”
Leon was dead silent. For long enough it likely made the doctor wonder if the call had somehow dropped.
“...Doctor, I’m going to say some things now to help you… understand the position you are putting me and by extension yourself in,” Leon finally said, his voice low and reaching for his keyboard to tap out a series of immediate orders to ready a tactical response team.
“What you are proposing is nothing short of miraculous, a gift of your own to every afflicted person that has never been able to control or that fears their own gyft. You are also proposing a method that even a non-graduate of the college like myself can easily see being weaponized. Gyfted individuals represent a percentage of criminal activity that you would find startling, and Gyfted officers are the only checks against their power. Until now this has been balanced enough for us to at least run the semblance of a city as a disguise over the chaos it really is. Give one side or the other a chance to weaponize a substance that can nullify a Gyft, and you could hand someone the whole. Fucking. City,” Leon said, a rare slip his usually calm and collected demeanor.
“So I am going to ask you again, but I want you to be aware of the actions I will take based on your answer. If you tell me this cure is not viable, or that you have been lying to me in the hopes of collecting large amounts of money, this call will end and I will pretend it was a fever dream not worth pursuing. It will end here with the click of a phone call.”
“However, if you tell me that you believe this cure is viable, I will require several things from you with a degree of immediacy and in turn will make several promises. The first is that you will receive any and all of the funding you require, delayed by my ability to acquire it of course. You will receive 24 hour protection for yourself, your researchers, and your facility. Ideally, if you are able to move your operations, I would see you set up at the College itself here in Burberry where I can guarantee stronger protection and additional funding to encourage volunteers for your research, but I understand science can be very sensitive.”
“I want you to pay attention to the next two things that will happen because I am also aware that there are ethical obligations beyond the scope of either of us. If it can be weaponized, I will weaponize it and distribute it among my special tactical teams for use against Gyfted criminals. In exchange, once the cure has been proven stable and safe for the public, you have my word I will continue funding for you to set up… clinics, I suppose would be the best word for them for individuals that wish to be rid of their gifts to visit anonymously, cheaply… even free if economically probable. You will receive full credit for the discovery if that is your wish, but this discovery will be kept classified even from the rest of the world until it is truly ready for use and distribution. Within the next few days I will fund whatever account you designate with half of your requested budget, with more to come of course(10 wealth, $100,000).”
“Now, with all of this in mind, I will ask you again. Is this cure really viable?,” Leon asked, his hand hovering over the keyboard ready to issue the commands to ready his special team.
Akir fell into her chair. This was exactly as she hoped and feared this conversation would go. She closed her eyes, letting a raspy breath fall out of her so that Leon knew she was still on the line. Her thoughts went to Khor, Nep and Otto. Thoughts to her patients. Of everyone suffering the curse of the Gyft.
She lifted her head, eyes motionless. “I admit I am unfortunately familiar with the correlation between crime and the Gyfted. It’s something that has taken some of those I hold dear. I am aware of the position this places myself in, and by correspondence yourself. I know there will be those that hunt us. I have witnessed the evil this city is capable of and what true monsters might do with such a thing. That is why I’ve come to you first, potentially the only honest officer within these walls, or at least honest enough without getting himself killed.”
Akir nodded, continuing on. “I am a Doctor, Captain. I’ve dedicated my life so far to the wellbeing of others. I see no reason to stop now. Our results show a cure is viable, and this research will at the very least get us far closer to achieving it.”
Akir wrote a note with the phone pressed to her ear, lifting it to show Matt reading ‘
Pack your things’, speaking as she did. “Stage one can proceed immediately with the funds you’ve suggested when we’re set up. Stage two will occur at the $150,000 mark and stage three with full funding.”
Akir spun in the chair. “Do note that I will need appropriate space to house my current patients, currently thirteen. They’re only stable in my presence and will require secure housing should I ever be absent.” Akir winced. “Think of somewhere able to withstand up to a thousand degrees in temperature. One of them has a tendency to combust.”
She kicked off back to her work desk. Seat rolling over the floor while dragging the phone along before writing into her own journal noting the Captain’s terms. “Our site is highly secure, so we can remain within HOC JOC HQ if that’s easier logistically, but I will say working in proximity with you would be preferred if you can house us.” Akir dropped the pen palming her forehead. “Oh, sorry, as for labs. I don’t care if it leaks or is decrepit, we’ll work anywhere, so long as it’s adjacent to the patients. Probably best away from Gyfted students so that I don’t disrupt them, as well as anyone that relies on their Gyft for their continued survival.”
Akir rattled her brain, one last thing came to mind. “I don’t care for credit. Give it to the College. They’d benefit more from wearing the achievement.” She leant back in her chair squinting her eyes. “Have I missed anything?”
”No, but if you have patients that are a danger to the facility, I will need details for holding are- Rooms for the patients,” Leon answered, firing off the email to his on duty tactical team to suit up and be ready for deployment immediately
“I’ll assign you a tactical squad as a protection detail and bring them to you in person for introductions within the next two hours. We should be able to adjust one of the larger campus buildings to your needs within the week.”
“For what it’s worth, I am sorry Doctor, but you’ll need to consider my officers to be your shadows until your research is completed. Where you go, they go. Where you sleep, they stand outside the door. You get the point. Same for any critical members of your team. I will try to make things as easy as possible, but the safety and security of the campus are my primary concerns followed closely by the development of this cure” he promised,
“you and I can hash out security details in person. Where can we meet in an hour?”Akir bit her tongue. Holding area’s put her off, but were the conditions any different now? If anything, what he was offering would be luxury for them. She might even be able to take the younger ones outside, let them feel the sun properly and breathe in the fresh air. She shook her head. She was getting ahead of herself. The cure would let them do all of that on their own terms, and Leon was offering everything she needed to make that reality.
She smiled as she spoke. “Please, you’ve no need to apologize. My patients, staff and I are already accustomed to being on extended lock down and you're giving us a chance to finally put an end to that. So long as they’re treated fairly I think you’ll find everyone quite compliant. We’ll talk details when you arrive. We’re currently within the Brewery district, HOC JOC HQ, 9th floor. With luck we’ll be able to keep this transfer somewhat discrete.”
Akir tried to hold her composure, but her voice still broke for a moment all the same. “Thank you captain. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to give them some real hope. I look forward to seeing you soon.”
The line cut, Akir seemed to finish but she didn’t hang up. A definitively male voice spoke to Leon now.
“My name is Otto Bondar. I just witnessed a vast shift in the city over your area of Burberry. While I think my sister has chosen the best candidate per her interest, I’ll be blunt. This is a foolish, likely suicidal endeavour you’ve decided to entertain, however noble it might be. With that being said, if I cannot protect my sister from herself, I will give you the resources to protect her till your dying breath. Deliveries are being dispatched now to begin trickling in as not to arouse suspicion, each filled to the brim with cutting edge armour and weapons systems to multiply your force potential (
15 personnel). Upon completion of the research I will provide you with another trickle of shipments to again ensure her safety.”
Otto’s voice sounded inert despite the content of his words. “I highly suggest fortifying your position and seeking allies you trust with your life, preferably before ending up in a shallow grave. Best of luck Captain.”
The line finally died.
Leon: -10 W, +15 P
SporkoBug
op2024
Noctis
Shu
flux
callmedia
Experiment 249
Alisdragon911
Snowdrops
Otakuforreal