Burberry Branch of Nocturnia Police Department, Briefing Room
Leon and every member of his special tactical squad were present in the briefing room, the wall behind Leon blanketed with pictures of a warehouse in Heavy Crossguard and five somewhat familiar faces. Asterion's picture was off to the side, included because he was a person of interest and therefore important in this operation, but not expected to be relevant. At least, not immediately. The four others were more prominently featured, each one pierced with a tack that held a red string to a corkboard with what precious little information Leon had been able to dig up. Two of them had small white question marks in their photos, while the other two were labeled with the word Riverbend.
A half dozen plans had been shaped and reshaped, all but the most promising discarded as each of the officers took their turn weighing in on the best way to hit this warehouse and secure the evidence. There were reports... though how Leon came across these reports was left unmentioned... of a sizeable force on site with access to automatic weapons, vehicle and aerial support, and potentially sugarcrush. The place was going to be a nightmare to wade through and more than once the option to turn this over to the military had been brought up. If it werent for the urgency of the information, that is likely what Leon would have done.
In the absence of a large scale incursion, their best opportunity was to send in a highly skilled, adaptable, and effective strike team. That was where Hercule squad came in. Each of them had extensive training in urban operations, the use of their own gyfts, and how to counter other gyfts when possible. They couldn't hop to wipe out the Roses, but they should be able to secure evidence and extract safely.
Leon ran a hand through his hair, grumbling at the amount of firepower the gang seemed to wield. He knew there were smugglers in the city, but to operate on this scale?
"From the top. Reddington and Ravilious have been reported by third party contacts in Riverbend," Leon said,
"it doesn't mean they can't interfere, but the odds are better the more of them we can place away from the site. If the Roses are really operating this largely, I sincerely doubt Vincenzo will have dedicated his best to the guarding of a warehouse. Still, pray for heaven. Prepare for hell," he said, gesturing towards the pictures of the men marked Riverbend.
"Which leaves two possible knowns, and about a thousand unknowns, but that sounds like a problem for future Leon," Leon added, drawing out a small chuckle from the squad,
"Macallan and Mayazaki. Macallan can use his gyft to summon monsters... dragons being the common term for them I guess. Still, summoning creatures means little if the man himself is still for all intents and purposes a regular human. Catch him off guard, flank him. Do whatever you need to to get a shot and take it. Until we understand his gyft better, assume he can summon any monster at will. Freya, you're going to be out best shot if it comes to a straight up fight.""Mr. Mayazaki. Really wish we knew more about this 'Time Reversal', but even with that there are some limitations there we can exploit. If he can reverse time, that means it only moves in one direction, giving him a hell of a reset button. Expect him to be unharmed from what you know was mortal wounds. Surprise is the priority with him," Leon said cautiously,
"Roise. Eric. You two will have Gyft EMPs. From what Ms. Smoak tells me they're damnably effective, but indiscriminate in targeting gyft users. Use them if you have to, but keep in mind the friendly fire. No one wants to have to haul my ass out of a firefight. Lion body or normal.""Once the evidence is confirmed on site, our orders are to secure and hold until the rest of the cavalry arrives. From what we've learned of the Roses, I can pretty much guarantee this is going to make the news one way or the other. Commissioner Antonia has given us strict orders to get something on Vincenzo that puts him in a cell asap. And I have a reputation of not disappointing powerful women," Leon said, sounding serious but a grin on his face. These were the men and women that would would literally jump into hell with a cup of water and nothing else for him. He couldn't help but let a little bit of the formality slip.
"There's one more complication. Some super smart computer that Vincenzo got his hands on that can simultaneously monitor camera feeds and cellular devices. Basically anything in their territory with a camera. Leave the bodycams and the cell phones at the office. I've already issued orders to get a blockade in place and the Commissioner will help prevent traffic from passing through her district towards Crossguard as well. We'll insert via van to a spot a half-mile away and then hoof it through the alley roads. It's far from perfect, but as long as we're careful and quick we should make it to the building with no alarms going off."
"Gear up and leave the kids gloves here. If it's a choice between us or them going home, I choose us. If they don't back off, that's their problem," Leon said gravely, reaching for his gear.
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