@CarlsbergMay 3rd, 3:34 am, Downtown New Athens Gunrat and her accomplice, Jiao, had been searching the area for over an hour, with no sign of their target. Letting out a sigh of frustration, Gunrat leaned against a wall and put her fingers to her right ear.
“Zhang”, she grunted.
“Yes ma'am?”, a timid voice responded.
“The damn thing got away. Any sign on police comms?”
“Just the corpses she reanimated, ma'am, and it sounds like they've all been taken care of by now.”
“Alright”, Xiu grumbled conclusively. “Guess we're heading home for the night. Tell the cops the area's clear, and they can start cleaning up.”
“Yes ma'am”.
With that, the two vigilantes made their way out of the building, and down an alley to Jiao's parked van. Hopping in, they began their drive back to HQ. Xiu crouched in the back and began undressing, checking over her body for damage. She found minor scrapes and scratches along her arms and shins, as well as a sizeable purple splotch under her left arm. With enough time, Xiu knew her ribs would heal on their own. Taking a quick look at her jacket, it was almost entirely undamaged. Clearly, most of the shock had been transferred straight into her.
“Hey Jaio.” she called to the driver
“
Wei shima?” the slender Chinese man responded.
“Tell Qing to make the next jacket with thicker padding.”
“
Wo hui.” he confirmed.
A few moments later, the van screeched to a halt in an inconspicuous garage, at the base of a weathered three-story building. Past the broken elevator, up the staircase to the third floor, Xiu entered the suite, brushed past Zhang with a lazy wave, and collapsed on her bed in the next room.
May 3rd, 2:17 pm Xiu sat on the side of her bed, rag in one hand, an unloaded revolver in the other. The Ghoul had gotten blood on her gun, and she hoped to fully clean and re-oil it. As she scrubbed away, she heard Zhang shout from the other room.
“Ma'am!”
“What is it, Zhang?” she shouted back.
“We've got another hit. NABC HQ! Police comms are going wild!”
“Ghoul?” she inquired.
“No ma'am. They're not sure what this is. Reports of civilians being flung through windows. Looks like they've already called the SWAT team.”
“
Tian'a!” Gunrat exlaimed. “Jiao, start the van! We're moving!”
From across the suite, Gunrat heard thumping as her driver bounded to the stairs. Putting her uniform on, holstering her pistols, and slinging her rifle across her shoulder, Xiu was out the door right behind Jiao.
Across Town The van pulled into a junk-filled alley, just beneith a fire escape. Gunrat hopped from the roof of the van to the fire escape, and made her way up the building. Taking position at the top, across the street from the NABC building, Gunrat peered through her rifle's scope. Jiao stayed below, guarding the van, assault rifle in hand. Through the window she could see a great deal of commotion. Gunshots were going off right and left, and the lower floors were littered with bodies.
“Any word on the target?” Gunrat asked.
“Yes ma'am” Zhang responded through her earpiece. “Security footage shows blue hair, black clothes, mask covering her lower face.”
“And how is she surviving all these gunshots I'm hearing?”
“Can't confirm, ma'am, but looks like psychokinetics of some sort.”
“Well,” Gunrat whispered into her earpiece. “time to say hello.”
“Ma'am?”
Gunrat locked her sights on a sprinkler head, protruding from the building's ceiling, just barely visible from her vantage point. At once, the offices of the NABC began showering themselves with water.
“Zhang. I want you to cut the power to that building. Kill as much of the grid as you have to. I want my target to be wandering in the dark.”
“Yes ma'am.”