Yankee

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

Okaaaay I got one more collab Esty and I did to post later and I think I'll be all set for this round.
and thank you to everyone that wrote with me!

I had so much fun writing it, I hope Flux and Yankee felt the same ahaha
Webb is definitely under threat of adoption; he's just a little guy!

@SporkoBug

I most certainly did

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

Clinic, Waterfront Vale

_{Mentions: - || Interactions: -}

---

Where Griffon went, a billowing wind followed. She always preferred being outside instead of cooped up in the office, and the best part about the season changing into winter was that no one could tell whether the cold bluster was her gyft or nature's doing. Sometimes when the winds swirled together, even she didn't know.

She had donned a puffy black coat just for appearances' sake, not that worried about the cold while she scooted around the battle zones into Waterfront Vale. Although she had insisted on going to check the area out, she didn't have any unrealistic expectations about finding something. Darter had already made it to the spot in Brewery by the time she'd arrived and reported back what they'd mostly expected: nothing useful.

That was about what Griffon was finding too. She checked her phone every now and then, little updates from the others as she walked the river bank (and only kind of wished she'd been there to question the little spider herself). She moved backward between the switch's oldest transmissions, from a humble park to a street corner on the south side. She wasn't a detective or anything, but she'd been around the block, had a keen eye. Unfortunately it wouldn't help her if there wasn't anything suspect in the first place.

She shuffled around a little clinic, considering whether to go in and ask some questions. There were members of the Order milling about the immediate area (or people she assumed were part of the Order at least), which wasn't really surprising considering the location. She would have thought they'd have commandeered hospitals and such closer to the fighting, but whatever. Eventually, probably after making herself look suspicious by pacing and loitering, she popped inside and asked if they'd seen a 'skinny, brown-haired white guy.' Not exactly the most unique description, or the most inconspicuous action, but Griffon was doing her best.

They kicked her out, gently, when she started overstaying her welcome with a few more incessant questions.

And that was that. Some fresh air, some exercise, and nothing else to show for it. She really hadn't expected to find anything; she had just hoped she would.

The wind howled. Griffon took a deep breath and turned her face up before just yelling into the air with it. She startled a few passersby who then gave the woman a wide berth. The sound was loud and drawn out, a quick and easy way to vent her frustration. When her breath ran out she glared at the sky before sighing.

Back to the office.

---

Over the Radio

_{Mentions: Adel, Akula Crew, Matthias || Interactions: Martin (in collaboration with @flux)}

---

It was easy enough to slip away from everyone as the day wore on. The canaries all had their hands full with scouring the city, keeping their eyes on every war zone, seeking cells of the Akula Crew and any leads on their missing boss. It was that situation, Adel's disappearance, which concerned Eagle the longer it went on. It impacted his own, new mission.

The backroom Del Guarde's comms equipment was stored in was all but forgotten by everyone save for Alex Gonzalez. He made sure everything was plugged in and working, putting the headset to his ears and dialing in the frequency that his unit had used before their destruction. The Master Sergeant had said that he'd be in contact, but considering what was going on Eagle felt he should probably check in. He only hoped the connection still worked both ways.

"Golf 1, this is Golf 10. Acknowledge? Over."

For a moment there was only static, then a sudden response. “Golf unit? Golf unit was disbanded who-.” The operator stopped, the sound of papers flicking before the voice cut in again. “Gonzalez? Del G- Gonzalez! You’re still alive?” The operator finally collected himself. “Your unit was recorded KIA, what’s your status?” The operator seemed stunned to hear from Eagle.

Eagle did a quiet little fist pump, thanking God that he'd managed to get through. He took a moment just to breathe before he replied.

"Alive, for one," he said, sounding glad to be so. "I got lucky. Sergeant Glyde and a few other officers are MIA. Everyone else... no one else made it, to my knowledge. I'm holed up in the center of the city, safe for now."

It was such a conflicting feeling, the shame of not being there to help the rest of his unit when Kairo had attacked, but also the sheer relief that he hadn't been. He loved his brothers and sisters in arms, but he had a family he had to make it back to. And he would make it back to them, whatever it took.

"What's the situation outside?" he asked. They had obviously sent more men into Nocturnia since he'd met Sergeant Luthen that morning, but he had no idea of the scale of whatever new operation was going on.

The operator sounded somewhat relieved, replying out of order himself forgetting protocol. “Best news I’ve heard today. Only leadership got the reports but the rumours… it’s a good thing you got away Gonzal- Golf 10. Things aren’t great out here, all hell is breaking loose in a couple districts and we just got a report of an armored vehicle opening fire in the city. First time that’s happened in decades. Shame you didn’t message in any earlier. We might've been able to route them through to you but they’re pinned in Riverbend. Don’t think we’ll be sending another aid convoy or anyone else in for a while either. As far as I know, you're it.” The operator paused, his voice returning more gentle than before. “It sounds like you're safe. Just stay safe. We’ll figure something out.”

"Sooner than later I hope," Eagle joked weakly.

He definitely didn't have any plans to die in here. If even aid would stop coming in then the military was taking this gang war seriously. Although, it wasn't just him in here. There was Luthen. It wasn't a surprise that the man hadn't reported finding a survivor among Del Guarde yet, but surely the units stationed outside had sent him in, or were aware of his infiltration.

"What about Master Sergeant Luthen? He still okay with the fighting going on?"

The operator responded after a delay. “Uhm, yeah I’m sure the Master Sergeant’s fine. No casualty reports coming in for him to gloom over. You know something we don’t-?” A distant shout from the operator's side, the operator speaking to someone new in the room. “Sir? A survivor, sir. Dismissed? Sorry sir but-.”

There was a scuffling over the microphone and soon a new voice. “Get the hell out of this room corporal!” The new man sat to address Eagle now. “Communications lieutenant Joshua. Who am I speaking to?”

Joshua didn’t wait, noticing the file in front of him. “Private. Listen to me very carefully. After your unit shit the bed the people’s opinion of us has dropped to a record low. If the populace learns we have active assets within the wall that aren’t flying under a red cross handing out biscuits and blankets they might just start another war. Not this play pretend bullshit they’re having out currently, but a real, goddamn war.”

Joshua took a breath. “No one can know of the Sergeants presence in the city. Not after what happened to your team. Not after what happened in Riverbend. If the people think we’re responsible for what we saw today or it turns out to be transmittable-.” A pause, almost long enough to ask if he was still there. Joshua eventually spoke up. “I’ll give you Martin’s frequency, but he will not be happy to hear you have it. Stick with him, stay alive. If you hear sirens from the walls-.”

A moment as Joshua tried to find the words, giving up after a sigh. “Start praying. Out.”

The line died. A new frequency on the screen to be recorded mentally or manually.

Eagle just stared for a moment, taking in the ominous words he was left with. "What the fuck...?"

This was a mess. Everything was a mess - and every time he felt he learned one thing, something else ended up happening that shifted his view. He had kind of had an inkling that Sergeant Luthen's own mission was a secret one and he wasn't about to tell anyone inside the city about it, but it kind of sounded like it was so need-to-know that Eagle himself shouldn't have even found out. Then again, the man had reached out to Eagle specifically. If he needed allies in Nocturnia then Eagle wasn't about to let him down, especially when he agreed that Martin was his best chance at staying alive and getting out.

Eagle rubbed a hand over his forehead and then looked around for something to jot the frequency down. After a few seconds he recalled that he had that printout from earlier stuffed into his pocket, withdrew it and un-crumpled it, and copied the numbers before they disappeared. He was going to have to commit them to memory soon, but he knew there was no way he'd be able to do it right now.

He also considered not even calling Sergeant Luthen. If the man was going to be pissed then he really didn't want to risk Martin taking his offer back and abandoning him here. But if there's already a complication then he should know about it, Eagle argued with himself.

It was a few minutes before he decided, switching the radio frequency over to the new one. It wasn't like he'd asked for the contact, so if anyone was really gonna be in trouble it was the comms lieutenant for giving it out. He took a deep breath.

"Unknown station, this is Golf 10. Acknowledge, over."

The line stayed silent for a moment before Martin picked up. “I told you to wait until I contacted you.” Martin could’ve slapped his face if they weren’t soiled with his current work. Basic, fucking, orders. Maintain silence until notified. More concerning was how he found his frequency. Someone back at base probably let it slip. He sighed. Things were so much simpler back when you could have a man shot for something as simple as incompetence, but over the years the Military response had gone soft. The world had gone soft.

He gathered his breath, there was no point chewing Eagle out now, he was on the line for a reason. “What do you need, Private?”

"Yes sir, sorry sir," Eagle said first. He could practically feel the other man's irritation over the radio, but it was a bit late to second guess his decision now. No use making excuses either. Still, he winced slightly even if Martin couldn't see it.

"Regarding the objective you gave me, there's already been a complication. Canary's folks recently learned he was picked up by another party." He said it quickly and matter-of-factually, trying not to get on the Sergeant's nerves any more than he probably already was. He still felt the fact that the Silver Canary was not just a subject of interest to Martin, but this other group as well was something the man should know. "Location unknown, status unknown. Working on it, but figured you might want to know ASAP."

Martin stopped what he was doing, scalpel resting in the specimen. This was critical information. His mouth curled to abuse Eagle but he stopped himself. Eagle had the gumption and intuition to circumvent all protocol to ensure he received this report. That took guts. His opinion of the Private was beginning to form. “You made the right call. I wish you were able to keep the target secure but I’ll assume that was well outside any reasonable ability to do so.”

Martin knelt for a moment. Letting Eagle in further on his plans might allow him to better react in the future. The Private was brash, but obviously loyal and motivated. He’d also shown an ability to make what shouldn’t be possible happen, whether that was surviving the fall of Del Guarde or getting classified information such as his frequency. He chewed the thought, settling on taking a risk. “Alright Private. How much do you know about the history of the city?” Something wet squelched as Martin's other hand levered a probe to expose the top of a monster's spine.

The history of Nocturnia. Eagle had learned some about it in school, the story of the mysterious superpower city the government had to wall off. He'd also been briefed before his unit had infiltrated it, though that was mostly on how they should operate and what they could expect rather than a classroom lesson on its past. He didn't know what Martin could be getting at with the question, but after a moment he responded.

"More than I want to, but I'm guessing less than I should," he said.

Martin huffed a laugh. “You know enough to blend in and survive, so I’ll spare you the quiz. This city is full of secrets. There’s one I’ve been chasing for a long time. Something that, if I’m right, could solve the global energy crisis, global warming, stop the rising tensions before we purge ourselves with nuclear hellfire.”

The probe finally snapped back. Martin reached in to retrieve and inspect the amber gem previously embedded while still speaking to Eagle. “Something that could put some goddamn sense into peoples minds, at least long enough to wipe up after the mess they’ve made. This isn’t just about Nocturnia. This isn’t just about your country. It’s about everything Private. Everything we know as real and protecting what that is.”

Martin cut to the point. “Those you know as Akula’s used to be revolutionary insurgents. They went far too deep underground in preparing their fortifications, finding what I’m looking for. There were three ‘leaders’ beforehand, each of them wrote a book regarding what, where and how to control the objective. I have the first book containing ‘where’ it is, acquired after Rebel leader was shot by his own kid. The third book, written by Madened leader, is in Matthias’s hands, containing the ‘what’. The second I know is deep below with the beast and whatever is left of Traitor leader. The ‘how’ is in that book, I’m certain.”

Martin didn’t give Eagle anytime to process. “The Silver Canary is the information broker of the city. He’s the only one I’ve concluded being able to source the missing data before we prepare an expedition of locals. If he cooperates, he will be coming with me out of the city. If not.” Martin shrugged, pocketing the gem. “He comes with me either way.”

It was a lot to take in. Eagle blinked, not saying anything as he tried to wrap his mind around everything Martin had said. He didn't question how the Master Sergeant had so much information -he was twice Eagle's age, and had been involved in Warzone 13 operations for most if not all of his career from what Eagle knew of him- but it was still a surprise to hear. Was there really something that could, effectively, help achieve world stability if not peace in this city? This brutal city?

It must have been related to the people's gyfts, and that's why they'd never gone ahead with a full scale invasion to capture this power. The rest of the story felt almost like someone describing an adventure tale with the mention of beasts and books, but... truth was usually stranger than fiction, right?

"That's... if something like that's here, that's incredible," Eagle eventually said when he realized that his pause was growing long. It also sounded like the Sergeant was getting close too. Now Eagle understood the absolute secrecy the man was trying to maintain. "So as soon as you get the last piece of the puzzle..."

Which was what he needed Adel for. Eagle hadn't heard any of the canaries mention anything even close to what Martin was describing, but then again it had only been a few days. It was possible the Silver Canary already knew, or likely could find out. "...I'll get him to cooperate. As soon as we find him."

Martin nodded. “Glad to hear it Private. You’re putting humanity first. You should be proud of that.” Martin went to close the line, stopping to reflect on Eagle’s will to assist without hesitation. Maybe there were still real soldiers out there after all.

He made one final comment. “You ever need me, don’t hesitate to make contact. Good hunting son.” And with that Martin went on to his next objective, eying an access ladder back to the surface.

He spoke quietly to himself. “Alright Matty you crazy bastard. Let's see if you and me can have a chat without killing each other.” He stopped. “If we can have a chat.” A shrug. “Eh, worst case, recon.” He began to clamber up to the surface again.

---

Front Office, Silverside

_{Mentions: Adel, Vincent, Ezra || Interactions: Cyrus (in collaboration with @Estylwen)}

---

A black car rolled up in the sunny afternoon, right in front of the gallery that concealed the offices of the Silver Canary. As it idled, a familiar face stepped out. Cyrus, a grin on his face and a cigarette in between his teeth.

He walked over to the back door, opening it for a little kid with fiery red hair - none other than Noah. He seemed fairly well-kept, and only a little apprehensive.

Cyrus wrapped an arm around Noah, steering the kid gently towards the big, bright building, and walked into the lobby.

”Afternoon, fellas! You'll never guess who I found!”

The sound of Cyrus' familiar voice drew people's attention to him as he entered with his charge. Of course, none reacted as strongly as Griffon - she sped around a corner into the room as soon as she'd heard the man, and there was relief plain on her face.

"Cyrus Levine I could fucking kiss you right now–" she started, her eyes tracking him, and a spot near him in the open air, until she paused in confusion and her gaze fell a few feet down to the boy Cyrus had with him. "–never mind. Who the hell is this?"

The few Omakase men in the room snapped to attention, taking in sharp breaths. ”It's little Noah-”

“Oh my God-”

“I'm fuckin’ seeing things now-” Came the blurted outbursts, one immediately reaching for a phone, obviously to inform Pops. The other two had hands eager to snatch up Noah, but were very wary of Cyrus.

Cyrus merely chuckled, nudging Noah toward them. ”Go on, kid.”

Noah gave a wide-eyed stare to Cyrus, before he walked ahead, right into the arms of Omakase’s men, who held him like they'd never let the kid go.

Cyrus gave a light whistle, before his eyes rolled towards Griffon. ”Hey hon’. Not who you were expecting?”

"Uh, not really," she admitted, coming to stand beside Cyrus to give Noah and his 'family' space. Her brows were furrowed, but with the happy reunion in front of her she couldn't stay that upset.

She was quiet for longer than she normally was though, her arms crossed over her chest. She was thinking. She could be a little smart when she tried to be. She recalled that last night after Omakase got here, her boss and theirs had locked themselves in Adel's office for a while. She hadn't known what they talked about, but... maybe it included this? A missing Omakase kid? Among other things, she assumed. It might be part of the reason why Omakase had integrated with the canaries in the first place, because otherwise she had no clue why they’d agree to it. Naturally, the only two who did know hadn’t said a word.

Griffon cut a sideways glance at Cyrus. "Who told you about the kid? Did that Mother Goose hire two different info brokers to find him or something?"

Cyrus still had that easy smile. ”Like I said, Griffon. I found ‘em.”

She let out an amused puff of breath. "Whoa, sorry, I forgot sugar baby doesn't like it when people question his methods."

Her slight smile faded quickly. She tapped her fingers on her arms, thinking something else over. Eventually she shifted on her feet and looked at Cyrus again.

"Hey, actually, can I talk to you about something? We can use one of the rooms."

Cyrus gave an easy shrug, hooded eyes already glancing over the offices, before returning her gaze. ”Sure, hon’. Lead the way.”

The two of them stepped out of the lobby into the same side room they'd used before, when Cyrus had come to sell his information on M.PHAT. He wouldn't be getting any coffee today, as practically the canaries' whole stock had been drained. Griffon closed the door behind her after one last look at the Omakase. She took a breath. She looked at Cyrus.

"...okay, so, remember you said to come to you more often if we have questions?" she asked, not really remembering how he'd phrased it figured that was close enough. She crossed her arms again, pacing a few steps one way before turning and doing it again the other. "Well I got a question for you."

It felt really weird to be asking it though, which is what made her hesitate. Swift had actually mentioned Cyrus as a possible source of information if the canaries' leads turned up nothing, and so far they had, although.... It hadn't even been twenty four hours. Then again, the situation was just so strange that none of them wanted to ignore it for long. So, Cyrus. And the man was right here. But... god, really? Not only was it weird, it was embarrassing. He was kind of like their business rival.

"But first. You have to promise not tell anyone else about what I'm gonna ask. Okay? For real. I'm serious. Don't sell it to anyone else. I will find you, boytoy."

Cyrus leaned his back against the table, arms folded across his chest. Eyes on the floor for a moment, digesting Griffon's words, before he met her gaze. ”You have my word, hon’. What's discussed in this room does not leave this room, eh?”

His gaze softened a bit. ”What's on your mind?”

Griffon held Cyrus' eyes for a moment longer, just making sure he was telling the truth. She decided that he was, and her shoulders slumped slightly in relief.

Despite the teasing, occasional bullying, a few fights, and the rivalry (mostly on Griffon and a few other canaries' parts, Adel rarely entertained it), Griffon actually liked Cyrus. He was fun, and she trusted him. Like her boss, he made good on his deals. If he said he wouldn't tell anyone else, then he wouldn't.

...and if he did, she was pretty sure she could break a few of his bones before he could portal away.

"Have you... spoken to Adel lately?" she started with. Even though she trusted Cyrus, she didn't want to just jump right in to admitting that they thought he was missing missing. "He stormed out of here kind of pissed yesterday and I haven't heard from him in a while."

Cyrus looked at Griffon, really looked at her. He couldn't lie to her, that wouldn't sit with him right. But he also couldn't tell her the truth.

So he took a breath, jaw jutting out a bit. ”I can't say.”

That was not the response Griffon expected. She blinked in surprise at Cyrus, then her expression turned upset. It was all too clear that he knew something.

"You can't say?" She repeated, taking a few steps closer to the informant. "That's your job, Cyrus. Wh- do you want money or something?"

She controlled her tone, trying not to be angry with the man in front of her. With the scale of the battles breaking out all over the city, she was sure information brokers were high in demand. The canaries were, with the calls and requests piling up. Cyrus was probably just covering his ass, and she couldn't blame him for that, but this was Adel, her boss, the one she liked, who paid her good and treated a ruffian like her well.

She searched Cyrus' face, her voice dipping lower with concern. "Is he in trouble? ...are you in trouble?"

A pause before Cyrus responded. “...When someone wants something in this city, what do they do? …They take it, yeah?”

Cyrus gave her a pained look. “Trust, me you're better off forgetting about the Canary, and waiting.”

Griffon seized the man by his collar, inhaling sharply. As she breathed the air in the room moved with her, pulling at their clothes and hair. The temperature dropped slightly. She had never been very good at controlling her gyft, and now Cyrus' had all but confirmed what she and the others had feared.

"What happened," she demanded, more protective than angry. He knew she couldn't just wait around. "If someone's threatening you not to say, I'll help you. I'll whip up a tornado and rip them apart, or fling them halfway across the country. If you really can't say then point me toward someone who can!"

Cyrus’ only movement was to slowly unfurl his arms, not resisting as Griffon had him by the collar. He didn't make a move, even as the air whipped around them. His only real response was for his easy smile to harden into something that betrayed a lot of emotional pain in him.

”You think I want to be in this position, hon’? You think I want to be the one to tell you, ‘oh, he’s dead’, or ‘oh, he’s gone forever’? Trust me, the less you interfere, the better chances your man has of getting out of this.”

His voice dropped a note. “...Lemme go, Griffon.”

Instead of letting him go, Griffon's grip tightened. Her fist shook. The wind chill turned biting. Behind her eyes there was a maelstrom of emotions. Someone had gotten to Cyrus, and that already was enough to piss her off. As far as she was concerned, she was the only one that should be allowed to mess with the people she took a liking to - which included her boss, because worse than someone getting to Cyrus, someone had gotten to Adel. And it had already escalated to the point of real danger, if she was hearing Cyrus right.

"Do you really expect me to sit around with my thumb up my ass if something happened to him?" She said. "Give me anything, Cyrus. Please."

A grimace crossed Cyrus’ face. Not from the wind chilling him to the bone, or the grip Griffon had on his collar. No, it stemmed from the pain in Griffon's voice. He wished he could help her, really. Hell, he'd do this one job for free.

Before a dark look crossed his face, evidently remembering something entirely unpleasant if he even thought about opening his mouth.

So, instead, he grit his teeth a little, voice pained. ”I'm sorry, hon’. I can't.”

This isn't happening, Griffon thought. Who the hell had spooked Cyrus this badly? Adel so badly last night? She tore her eyes away from Cyrus' face as she sorted through what she knew. There were a lot of people that Adel was involved with recently, but not all of them could have pulled this off. Someone with resources, and the power to back up their threats. Someone that would stand to gain something, probably someone involved in the war that had just kicked off. So was it the Order? The Thorned Roses? Or was it actually the Dark Aces as Swift had thought…?

Griffon cursed under her breath. Adel rarely told her, or anyone, much of anything and she was unlikely to get anything out of Cyrus if she couldn't back up her own promise to help him out.

Just then the door clicked open softly. A man stepped inside, one that usually stayed away from the face work of the canaries. Tall and fit, with tanned skin and a dark smudge of hair, he didn't seem the least bit surprised to see the situation in front of him as he closed the door behind him and leaned his back against it.

"Lovers’ quarrel?" he asked, his tongue poking out slightly between his teeth as he smiled. His eyes slid to Griffon. "You're scaring the people out there, Griffs. The draft's fuckin' cold."

Griffon's hold on Cyrus loosened, but she didn't release him. She didn't even look at Darter when she acknowledged him. "This isn't the time, Darter. We'll be done soon."

The man seemed amused at that answer. His bright eyes fell on Cyrus. "Want me to take a crack at him? I didn't get to play bad cop earlier when that spider kid was here, I'm really missing out."

Cyrus’ eyes slid over to Darter, ”Darter, why am I not surprised. Hate to take you away from your work.”

He was very aware of Griffon’s lack of release. And with Darter in the room, Cyrus could feel the tingle of trepidation enter his system. But instead of leaning into it, he instead fixed Darter with that easy grin of his, only the clench of his teeth betraying the muscle tension in his body.

”Whatever you're gonna do, get it over with.”

Darter's own smile widened. Griffon finally looked over at the man, snapping at him, "stay out of this!"

"Whaaat, but he just gave me permission himself," Darter pointed out, slinking toward the two of them. He took in what was going on with a glance, his movements loose and casual, hands in his pockets. "You're trying to see what he knows about Dawson, right? It's all over your face. Your problem, Griffon, is you're a big softie. And you, Levine, well you made the lady here upset. Can't just let that go, right?"

In truth, Darter could not care less about if Griffon was upset or not. He used it only as an excuse, and Griffon knew that. She was seething, and actually jerked Cyrus away from her fellow canary. "Fuck off," she warned. She could hardly deal with the current situation, she didn't need Darter to make things worse and make her blow the roof off the building.

But Darter was already too close. He slipped his hand, and his knife, out of his pocket and pressed it deep into the ferryman's side. Darter's eyebrows were drawn up in mock surprise, as if he hadn't meant to just stab the man out of nowhere. "Whoops," he chuckled, holding the blade there, a quiet threat. "One wrong move and things could get really messy."

Cyrus let out a strangled cry through gritted teeth, one hand gripping on Darter's sinful wrist, the other clenching the lip of the table behind him. His breathing was laboured and shallow, immediately attempting to move as little as possible.

Griffon stared at Darter with half a mind to tear the man's head from his body. But she didn't move. If she moved with Cyrus he could be hurt a lot worse. If she let Cyrus go, he might run, and she'd lose her chance to find out what was going on.

"You little snake," she spat at Darter. The man ignored her insult, because there was satisfaction rolling off of him. The snakebird was, after all, his chosen namesake.

"This is how you get info, Griffs. No bribery, just the old fashioned way," he said, keeping his stare on Cyrus. "So? Have something to say to her, Levine?"

A bead of sweat dripped down Cyrus’ face, teeth clenched, trying to stifle the moan of pain that wanted to tear its way out of his throat. His hand on Darter's wrist was strong, but it certainly wasn't strong enough to stop Darter from cutting more, or heaven forbid, doing that again. Griffon would be able to feel the tremble of muscle and bone under her hands as Cyrus desperately tried to think past the pain.

His squinted gaze landed on Darter, trying to catch his breath before spitting out, ”You're… a real bastard, ya know that… Darter?”

His teeth gritted. ”I fuckin' said I can't talk!”

"I have been told that before, yeah," Darter said around a smile. "And, I mean, you're talkin' right now, aren't you? So what's the problem? More scared of what's in store for you in the future than being filleted right here and now?"

The wind picked up. It was unlikely Griffon would allow that to happen, but it wasn't impossible if Darter was too quick. Griffon's rage was struggling against her concern, for both info brokers, and she trembled with barely contained emotion.

"Keep this up, and since Adel's not here, no one can stop me from finally putting you in the ground," she hissed at Darter. He snickered, eyes flicking back to Griffon briefly.

"It's since he's not here that I get to have some fun for once." Who really liked playing by all those rules anyway? Certainly not Darter. Violence was like, his second resort, and he rarely got to indulge anymore. Although, he did actually have to worry about Griffon coming after him now. Maybe he should have put some more thought into this. Oh well. Time to try and guilt trip her into forgetting about him. "You're not letting him go, so you're on my side, Griffon! Come on, he knows something, don't he? Aren't you worried?"

Anger flared in Griffon, but Darter's words had the intended effect. She looked back at Cyrus, torn between wanting to set him free and wanting to help Adel.

"Cyrus, I'm sorry, I-" she said, but swallowed the rest of her apology. It really didn't mean shit, since Darter was right. "Just give us anything, I promise we'll let you go and I'll have someone look after your wound. We'll help you too, just, please, whatever you can say."

Cyrus sucked in another ragged breath between his teeth, his grip on Darter's wrist wavering a bit. He could feel his shirt getting soaked around the wound, worsening with every beat of his heart.

His eyes pinched shut, considering his options. Getting filleted really sounded like a terrible situation. Yeah, I'd be a goner, huh. Darter already had the blade sticking in him; it would take surprisingly minimal effort to slide it one way or the other.

When he opened his eyes, he was looking at Griffon. Lips parted, teeth clenched, before he sighed, and finally spilled the beans.

”It was a job. Moving Adel from one place to another…”

Another shallow breath, wincing at the ragged pain in his side.

”Vincent wiped my mind of the location. All I know… is that Ezra has him… M'kay?”

And just like that the blade disappeared from his side, sliding out easily if not gently. Darter stepped away, looking smug as he stashed the knife back into his pocket. "Now was that so hard–"

Cyrus was released just before there was a hard thwacking noise and Darter stumbled backward, clutching his nose. Blood gushed out between his fingers, and he glared at Griffon. She pulled her fist back for another go until Darter's eyes pointedly flicked to Cyrus, and she spun around to face the red head.

"Cyrus," she hissed, her hands hovering over the man's abdomen. "I'm so fucking mad at you, I can't believe you would– ugh, shit, I'm sorry, we shouldn't have– but then you wouldn't have–! Fuck! Fuck!"

Griffon tried to calm herself down as the wind whirled around the room. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she knew it was the truth. So now she had to figure out how to find her boss and launch a rescue attempt. And she should probably punch Cyrus too for good measure considering the part he'd played, but since he was currently bleeding it could wait.

"We got a little medical office, I'll stitch you up, okay? Or I'll get someone else to. Just– God damn it, Cyrus!"

Cyrus relaxed a bit, now that the knife was out of him. Somehow smiled too, as Griffon's punch made its mark. He was leaned up the desk good now, as if he would seriously struggle standing if it weren't there. A hand pressed against his side, hardly stemming the blood that now freely flowed, soaking his fingers.

He cursed quietly, before setting his eyes back on Griffon. ”...I'm sorry, hon’. It's a real shitty situation. ‘S why I didn't wanna tell ya. Suppose I deserve a little stabby; been a while since I was on the receiving end…

“Yeah… stitches sound good… I'll uh, follow you…”

Before his gaze slid over to Darter. Had a few fiery words on his tongue. But restrained himself, and instead shrugged it off, focusing instead on Griffon.

She ushered him out, blustering wind following her as she steered Cyrus out the door and down a hall. The gusts only died down a little given how amped up Griffon still was, and they pushed at anyone that so much as looked at her or Cyrus. Needless to say, most people scattered. Behind them Darter did not dare follow to the tiny office infirmary, choosing instead to go plug up his nose in a bathroom after clicking his tongue after the two of them.

The canaries did not employ a dedicated nurse, though it was something they'd talked about before. Griffon sat Cyrus down on a little stool and dug around in the cabinets for the suture needles and thread. She practically radiated tension, her shoulders still shaking with anger and frustration. She wanted to thank Cyrus for telling her, but she also wanted to cuss him out. And worse.

She flung a packaged antiseptic wipe at him instead.

“None of them are gonna know you told us,” she said, her back still turned. As far as peace of mind went, the fact that they weren’t going to advertise that Cyrus had made his piece in this abduction known probably wouldn't amount to much. “Your life better have been on the line though, if you did this for money then I swear I…!”

She stopped, squeezing her hands around a few bandages she’d dug out.

Cyrus was already attempting to shrug off his bloodied suit, free hand unbuttoning the dress shirt.

”When you're dealing with those two… Your life is always on the line.”

A harsh breath and the cabinet doors in front of Griffon rattled dangerously. She took a moment to force her gyft and her feelings back under her control. She had a lot to do now, a lot to think about. How to find out where Adel was and make sure he was okay, bring him home preferably in one piece. And Cyrus was right, of course. All the stories she'd heard... if it had been anyone else involved, she wouldn't have blamed the man for what he did. But it wasn't.

She turned and sat down in front of Cyrus, helping him undress and patching him up with steady hands. The rest of her quivered in angry anticipation.

Hell on Earth: Supernatural & Demonic Detectives

---

_{With: Everyone
Location: Saniwa Family Estate}

---

Al's sketch was pretty unnerving, but Barbatos guessed that's what made his art so good. Eliciting feelings and all that. Barbatos squinted at the drawing and tilted his head. He didn't recall seeing anyone with eyes like that, false or otherwise, but he'd pay more attention going forward. With the preliminary investigation winding down Barbatos finished his latte (that he'd gratefully accepted) and crumpled the cup, tossing it into the 'incinerator' too. Time to split up, like usual.

"The suspense, chief, always with the suspense," he said before starting to shuffle towards the exit. He really wanted to see the crime-mobile, but he'd get another chance. Besides, riding with Kelly probably wouldn't be the best use of his time or talents, what few he had. Barbatos met Lorelei's look with a grin.

"Of course!" he chirped. "I got a rapport with a lot of them over there."

Okay he hadn't meant that to sound as skeevy as it did, but it was true. Many hosts, hostesses and working girls appreciated a regular conversation between clients, and oh man, the stories they told. Chatting with them was fun, and if he was a little extra free security for them when he was around there was nothing wrong with that... and if on the rare occasion he got pushed by a club matron to support the business a little more directly then, you know, stuff happened. All good.

Speaking of stories though, Barbatos turned his grin at Dezzie as he and the pair of ladies made their way to Lorelei's ride. "You guys can tell me about when you worked together before!"

---

_{With: Lorelei, Dezzie
Location: Shoppiiiiiing}

---

Barbatos blinked down at the positively casual outfit he was wearing. Then down further at the socks and sandals combo (you weren't supposed to be open toed at a crime scene but that's what the socks were for). After a beat he looked back at Lorelei with a smile that was part sheepish, part appreciative.

"You think I look like a cop right now?" he asked, light-hearted. "Aww, thanks."

His tail was raised slightly off the floor so any patron of the store moving around wouldn't trip over it. He hadn't expected the stop for clothes and was now a little out of his element. Of course since Lorelei had fed him like she usually did, he wasn't about to complain about her plans - especially if she was offering to pay. He kiiiiiinda wanted to take her up on that, but she already did so much for the team.

"You don't have to, Lor. I paid off some debts last month so I'm good." He seemed pleased about it. "Oh! I should take you out to dinner after the case wraps up to pay you back for the thing. You too Dezzie, it'll be fun."

And what the hell, he'd probably invite Yam as well. Unfortunately he wasn't made of money and the Section 7 salary wasn't that great, so the guys would have to pay their own way if they found out and tagged along.

Still, despite saying all of that Barbatos hardly moved. He eyed a few pieces and a few price tags, but otherwise seemed content to just stand there with his dumb smile. Maybe waiting for Dezzie to pick something first, or maybe seeing if Lorelei might let him off the hook.

Hi!

Welcome~! I was on Gaia for a loooong time too.

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

Someone's gonna have to make an artificial beach, we land locked in here :')

Part of Asterion's lil utopia, a faux beach?

Greetings (from the now dead Roleplaygateway)

Hey there! Sorry to hear about your old site, but allow me to extend you a welcome to a different RPG!

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

For sure. I'm so excited to see everything coming up too!

Also can't believe Khor got got, joining her failboy BFF in getting kidnapped. WHERE ARE THE COPS WHEN YOU NEED THEM

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

Akula Gun Team Clover

---

Music that’s unfortunately not on youtube. Clicky this or image to listen to on Soundcloud!

---

Underground, Brewery

_{Mentions: - || Interactions: -}

---

Donkey’s elbow tapped Puddles shoulder. “Gun ready. We don’t know what we’ll find today.”

Snaptrap kicked debris along from behind, some falling into the vicious current of the rushing water they walked beside. “Dude we’re under the Brewery. Relax. Aren’t no boogiemen here. Only boogieman you should be worried about is me.” He started to gently rock his hips to a beat in his head. “Boogie so hard bustin’ moves so fresh your old ass will shrivel up at the sight of them.”

Puddle did as he was instructed, shouldering his weapon but leaving it lowered, moving forward slowly to the side behind Donkey who waved his massive machine gun around every corner ready to fire. They continued along until Snaptrap’s frustration began to boil over. “Fuck it, fuck this. Enough of the drill shit man. Throwing me out of bed is one thing but we take R&R so we’re fresh for the fight, you’re compromising us you stubborn old fu-.”

Screaming. Echoing off the walls a distance away. Snaptrap ripped the bolt on his weapon and raised it ready to kill, pushing past Donkey and Puddle, on point where he belonged. Peeking the next corner he soon leant back to Donkey whose eyes didn’t even carry a sense of ‘I told you so’, he just nodded and Snaptrap led under Donkey’s careful gaze, Puddle bringing up the rear whispering. “What the fuck was that? Only Akula’s are down here, right?”

Donkey nodded slowly, eyes never peeling off his sights. “Yeah, that’s exactly what worries me so much about those sounds.”

Snaptrap soon raised a fist. The three kneeled, listening. Footsteps thundering. Laboured breath. Panic, pure and absolute. The trio’s weapons floated over the corner ready to react. A stumbling fall. Akula red and white. The man’s eyes met them and shortly after his rifle. Both he and weapon screaming. Bullets ricocheting wild through the tunnel. The three dropped flat, screaming back. “FRIENDLYFRIENDLYFRIENDLYCEASEFIRE!”

A dead man’s click. The three raised their weapons in shock. The man just kept grabbing at the trigger with no thought to reload. “Stay the fuck away from me!”

Snaptrap was the first to slowly stand up. “Wha- Greaser? Dude Greaser it’s Clover.” He raised his hands with his weapon. “What the fuck are you doing man? What’s wrong?”

Greaser pulled his handgun. Another wild shot. “STAY AWAY!”

Snaptrap instinctively dropped flat. Donkey shouted next. “Settle down or we’ll put you down! What’s going on?”

Greaser looked over the men with wild eyes. “Just stay away, just…” He swallowed. “Mental, Blaster, Hero. They’re fucking dead man, they’re fucking dead. Ripped them apart. The rest of Gopher tore them apart with their bare hands. Hung him with his own guts…” A whimpering. “Fuck why would they do that man?”

Donkey now began to stand, leaving his machine gun on the ground, both hands raised. “I don’t know son, but it’s alright now yeah. We’ll get you someplace safe and you can tell us what happened. Just walk on over. It’ll be alright.” Donkey’s eyes went soft. “Come on now. We’ve got you. We’re Akula’s. We always have each other.”

The pistol in Greaser’s hands shivered, then rested at his side. Heavy breathing, then what sounded like crying. “Ok… ok just. Slow. Please. Don’t rush.”

Snaptrap nodded. “Whatever you need Greaser. We’re right here. Just walk on over.”

Greaser hesitated, then nodded in response. He took a step and went flying to the side. Another body tackling him. The screaming again. “OH GOD NO-!”

Donkey scrambled for his gun, Snaptrap to his feet, running weapon raised at the interloper. “Get off! Get off him motherfucker!”

The two on the ground scuffled. Another Akula. Munchkin. Greaser found his knife. Plunging it repeatedly into Munchkin’s side. Instead of flinching, screaming, dying, Munchkin just replied without tone, calm and cold as ice. “You have to come with me.”

And as quickly as Munchkin arrived he threw both himself and Greaser into the torrential water disappearing into the depths in an instant. Snaptrap almost dropped his rifle. “Fuck, Greaser. That was Munchkin. Where’d Munchkin take him?”

Puddle started running forward while Donkey called out to Snaptrap. “Doesn’t matter, we have to go. Now.”
Snaptrap picked up his pace to the water's edge. “We can’t leave him-, them down here. We need to get them out they’ll drown. Greaser and Munchkin they’re drowning-!”

Puddle dove and caught Snaptrap as he prepared to reach into the water. Donkey soon caught up and wrestled him well back onto the landing. “You reach into that, and you drown with them! They’re Dead! Gone! Nothing we can do.”

Snaptrap stopped resisting, just started trying to blink through the shock. “He was right there we had him. Munchkin. Munchkin was a sweetheart why would he do that?”

Puddle spoke next, standing and raising his rifle to more sounds down the tunnel. “I don’t know but if we stick around we’ll find out a lot quicker than we’d like to.” He crouched down to offer Snaptrap a hand. “Come on. We don’t need to die down here too.”

Snaptrap focussed on Puddle’s hand. Grounding back into reality he clasped at it to be wrenched back to his feet. The trio ran back the way they came. Donkey hardly slowing down to duck and scoop up his machine gun. Long later the trio hunched over panting through respirators, Snaptrap beginning to unravel. “What do we do? Where do we go? Could be fucking cannibals. Worse even. We’re screwed. We’re so fucking screw-.”

Donkey shot out. “Shut up Snap. We’re not dead. We’re still breathing.”

Puddle shook his head. “He’s right though. We can’t keep running like that. I’m fucked. He’s fucked. Your fucked. We don’t find some friends soon we’re all double fucked to hell.”

Donkey. “Good thing we got friends in high places. Misty’s got a rally point. Silverside. We’re almost there boys. Just a little longer. We have to tell her asap. It’s worse than we thought. Worse than we could have ever thought.”

Puddle’s eyes darted to Donkey. “What? What’s worse than us killing each other?”

Donkey waved off a hand. “I don’t have the breath, focus or time to tell you here kid. Short story? Barman fucked us. Antonio fucked us.” He shook his head. “How he has us killing each other though...” The shaking intensified. “Argh this is fucked. Just keep running. Can’t do anything here. Sooner Misty knows. The more Akula’s live. Fight another day. Come on quick double time lets go.”

The three men took off for another dead mans sprint. Tired bodies begging for rest and threatening to fail, but the terror hunting their kind below ensured boots continued to slap down the mortared halls. To slow down was to die, something the trio wasn’t quite ready to accept yet. So, they ran.

It was all they could do.

---

Front Office, Silverside

_{Mentions: Adel, Webb, Various (in passing) || Interactions: -}

---

The day went on. A little later and Misty had arrived. Swift greeted her at the door and led her into the office proper, though she forewent a tour for the sake of getting right down to business. The underground was the Akula's domain, and the canaries would be hard pressed to find them down there, but a few brave men and women had taken to the sewers to see what they could do. The ones that operated above ground had more luck so far, keeping a close watch on any and all Akula cells they'd located already. These reports came back to Swift, who passed them all to Misty, and left the woman to speak with a few canaries who had returned after confirming the status of cells they managed to find. Some weren’t good.

In the meantime, Swift went into another room where three people waited for her. Griffon, Darter, and Eagle. Normally, Griffon operated from the lobby as a glorified bouncer as she liked to put it, but she did technically have an office, and that was where the four canaries found themselves now.

"This is getting weird," Griffon bit out. Her arms were crossed and she was only barely keeping her foot from tapping on the ground. "He should have been here by now, or at least called and bossed some people around."

The longer the day went with no notice, the more concerned she was growing. Swift seemed to share that concern, but the men were less open if they felt it at all. Eagle had taken a seat and was fiddling with the computer at one of the two desks in the room. Now that Griffon had shown him a little more of the system, he figured he could just... well, check where the boss was. He worked on it as the others talked, discussing their theories, their frustrations. Their plans for the rest of the day if Adel didn't show up.

"Hey, I think his switch is offline."

The room grew quiet. Griffon, previously more animated in her concern, had gone still until she turned to Eagle. Her expression was dark.

"What?"

Eagle had only been part of the team for a couple of days, but the change in Griffon still unnerved him. He glanced at Swift, only to find that the shorter woman had the same expression. The other man in the room with them, the one he'd heard called Darter, brought a hand up to scratch at the back of his head.

"That ain't good," he snickered, then let out a hard oof when Griffon shoved him out of her way as she rounded on Eagle. She grabbed the seat Eagle was in and wrenched it away from the desk, sending the man tumbling to the ground as she grabbed the monitor to confirm for herself.

"What the hell, Eagle!" she said, and Eagle got to his feet as he retorted, "What? I didn't shut it off, I don't know how to do that!"

"They don't shut off."

It was Swift who'd spoken, her voice quiet and cold. She brought her hands up to grip both of her arms tightly. "They aren't designed that way. If it isn't transmitting... then..."

Griffon's hold on the monitor tightened, making the colors on the screen twist. She let go with an angry grunt and smashed her hands to the keyboard, typing away at it. Eagle understood what Swift was getting at. The boss' panic switch should show no matter where it was in the city, so if it wasn't then the only explanation was that it couldn't anymore. In other words... it had been destroyed.

He was starting to feel some of the concern that his "co-workers" were, but for a different reason. He had complicated feelings about the Silver Canary, but generally he didn't wish any ill on the guy. However, having just met with Sergeant Luthen and given the mission to keep an eye on and eventually secure the man, then... if Adel was missing he had kind of already failed, right? Which put his chances of getting out of Nocturnia in jeopardy.

"Can you pull up the last transmitted locations?" He asked Griffon. She growled back at him, likely already on it. Darter rubbed at his chest where Griffon had shoved him and snickered again.

"Don't know how useful that'll really be," he said with a shrug. "I'm sure she already explained it to ya new guy. GPS in the switches are delayed, so if some spooky bad guy happens to get into our system they won't be able to see where any of our birds currently are. Security measure I guess. Only sends live data if the panic button gets pressed."

Darter smiled thinly, turning and pointing at Griffon with one hand in the shape of a gun. "And let me guess, Dawson never hit his switch. Never does."

"Can you please shut the fuck up," Griffon said, pressing the enter key violently. Of course, Darter was right. All canaries that chose to work in the field were offered a panic switch for emergencies. If they hit it, Griffon would immediately go to their location. It had happened a few times over the course of the last few years. Adel had never hit his switch in the entire time since they'd developed the system, despite the situations he sometimes ended up in.

Because he wanted Griffon to stand guard at the office, defend Silverside, protect others.

I'm gonna kill him when he shows up, she thought. How dare he put them through a scare like this, really.

"Last locations... North Side of Silverside, really early. Before that in Brewery just across the border even earlier, before that... Waterfront Vale, last night."

Nothing strange, really. Silverside was the Canary's territory. Brewery was his new biggest fan's, or whatever that relationship was. And Waterfront Vale... actually that one was a little more odd. But it wasn't a secret to them that the Lodestar was their boss' current client. Even the times weren't totally out of the ordinary, since Griffon already knew he'd been awake at those hours. So with no suspect activity reported... how did his switch end up broken?

Swift let out a shaky breath. She held up three fingers. Three possibilities that came to her mind.

"One: it was broken by mistake."

"No," Griffon and Darter both said at the same time. Eagle took a back seat, watching the interaction, clear it was something they'd done before. He, too, didn't think that someone like the Silver Canary would lose a panic switch and accidentally break it carelessly.

"Two: he broke it himself."

"Unlikely..." Darter hummed. Griffon chimed in with, "No. If he didn't want us to know where he was, he could have just left it here."

Which was true. And yet, he'd taken it with him even when he apparently hadn't been thinking clearly last night.

"Three... it was broken by someone else."

The four were quiet for a moment. Unfortunately, that was the most likely scenario. It was also the worst one, as it meant someone had gotten close enough to the Canary to take it, understood the device's use at a glance, and quickly disposed of it.

Swift pressed her lips together tightly. It was looking more and more like Adel had been right, yesterday, when he assumed that Blackheart was leading him around. He normally hated being right, pessimistic as he was. Swift was starting to hate when he was right too.

"So what happened," Griffon said, "someone... snatched him or something?"

Saying it aloud, the theory made sense. Griffon's tension grew.

"This guy can't go two hours without getting into trouble," Darter sighed. "Who do we think did it? Those Akula?"

"No. They came to us for help, and are under the assumption he is present," Swift responded right away.

"Cult next door?"

"We've been working together with them, there's no reason," Griffon said, rubbing her forehead with her knuckles. She really, really didn't like this. Technically it was still just a theory, but even so...

"Sure. But their leader is a literal crackhead, so. I wouldn't be surprised."

Eagle resisted the urge to snort. It wouldn't be appropriate. He also did not mention his visit with the military's Master Sergeant, keeping quiet as the other three went on and discreetly pulling out his phone to collect what information he could for turning over to the man.

"I... have to tell you all something," Swift said. She cast her eyes down as though ashamed. "I wanted to wait and speak with Mr. Dawson myself first, but... I think, I should say. It might be important. Yesterday, when I returned from Smoke Risers, he and I discussed the job he'd given me. It was a success. Much too easy. And, I could tell that he'd come to the conclusion that I was... a spy, or a double agent."

She looked up, catching surprise in their faces. "I'm not. I intended to prove that to him without getting anyone else involved. But... now..." she paused to take a breath. "I don't have all the details, but I know it's connected to the boy we spoke with, the one that was on the run from the Dark Aces. The note he had. It is possible the Dark Aces themselves are more involved now."

It would frankly be more suspicious if she did have more information. Their boss was notorious for being secretive, even with those who were among the most trusted of his staff. For the most part they had no idea whom Adel had met with or why, though there was a clear most likely culprit among those listed. It didn't make any of them feel any better.

"Okay," Griffon said, accepting everything Swift told her easily. There wasn't a hint of suspicion for the other woman in her. "Let's not waste any time and get investigating then."

"Yes," Swift breathed. "Darter, you go check around Brewery–"

"Eeck, no," the man said, cutting her off and raising both of his hands at the elbows. "I don't wanna run into any of the sewer people. You're the one that made a deal with them, you do it, Swift."

Swift closed her mouth, giving Darter a hard look. It did nothing, and Darter raised an eyebrow at her. "In fact... why are you giving out orders? Did Dawson die and leave you in charge? I don't think so. A bit weird, right?"

"Darter," Swift said, her voice cold. She knew what he was trying to do, but she didn't understand why. Why did the man always have to be so combative? Even in a situation like this.

"I'm just sayin', kiiiinda strange that the boss thought you were a double agent and now when he happens to not be around, you start trying to take over the place." Darter smiled. "I mean, logically, who should be in charge if he's gone? Gotta be seniority, right? So, m–"

"Me," Griffon said. She was beginning to sound furious. The air in the room stirred dangerously. "Seniority? Don't flatter yourself. You want whoever was here longest in charge? It's me. And now I'm leaving Swift in charge."

Swift glanced at her, but Griffon just stared at Darter. "I don't care what the boss thinks. She's not a fucking traitor. Do what she says or walk the hell out right now."

There was a quiet stalemate as they stared at each other. Eventually Darter clicked his tongue and sighed, resting one hand on his hip. "Alright, alright, calm down. I'm worried about Dawson too, cross my heart," he said. After a beat he added with a snicker, "he's the one that signs my paychecks."

What an asshole, Eagle thought. He had only been around for a few days and he had more empathy for the Silver Canary than some of his own men did. Eagle felt a chill begin to form on his side and he looked over to see Griffon with a hand pressed to her chest to calm herself down. There was a tight swirl of wind around her, invisible but cold and hissing.

"Give me a reason," she said to Darter. "One reason jackass. I will snap your neck."

Swift stepped forward. "Can we... please not fight," she said. "I have to stay here and coordinate with the Akulas. I already sent some people out looking for wayward cells of theirs last night. A few have already gotten back to me, and I'll be sending more. I don't want them to see us like this."

She had made a deal with Misty and she intended to keep it, but she really, really hoped that it hadn't been for nothing. Of course their actions would be helping people, many people, if the situation Misty described was as dire as she'd said, so it wouldn't truly be for nothing, but... what if it was too late to help the one person she wanted.

Swift took a steadying breath.

"Darter, please."

The man eyed Swift for a moment, then he waved his hand dismissively in front of him. "Alright I said."

"Thank you," she said softly. She turned to Eagle and Griffon. "Eagle, can you please head to Waterfr–"

"Swift." Eagle had been in the process of nodding, until Griffon cut in. Her expression was serious, despite her irritation. "Eagle should stay here and hold down the fort. I taught him how to manage everything already. He can call me if someone hits their switch."

Swift's eyes softened. "I don't... you know Mr. Dawson would have wanted you to stay in Silverside."

"Yeah, well, like this creep said he's not here right now," Griffon scoffed, hooking a thumb at Darter. The man just shrugged.

"I'm alright with that," Eagle said, looking between the two women. "But I mean, I'm– I was only given this job a few days ago. I was with Del Guarde. I'm still a soldier. Are you alright leaving me here alone at a critical time like this?"

Everyone looked at him. Griffon crossed her arms, annoyance passing over her face. "Are you planning to stab us in the back, man?"

"No, I'm not," Eagle said seriously. He wasn't, even with the mission the Sergeant had given him he didn't think he'd have to betray anyone, or so he hoped. "You guys took me in. I just wanted to make sure everyone is thinking with a clear head."

Swift was silent for a moment. Eagle made a good point. But the man had nowhere else to go, as he'd said, and the canaries were short on hands. Every one of them could use a gun, or throw a punch, but they were not a mafia, a militia, or a police force. Eagle might have even more combat experience than either Griffon or Darter, given his profession, and one of them should stay here.

"...okay. I'll have a couple people check the north end. Eagle, please stay and protect the office. Let everyone know how things develop. I won't be far if you need me, I'll be moving between the office and our rendezvous points between us and the Akulas. Darter, please investigate the location in Brewery. Griffon, the same in Waterfront Vale. And Griffon," Swift looked at her. "Please don't take what I'm about to say personally."

"Well I guess it depends on what you're about to say."

"Please control yourself. If you don't find anything, come right back here. If you do find something, come back here. We'll all work together."

Griffon let out a derisive snort. "Don't worry, I won't stick around too long. Place might become a warzone too soon if the fighting spills out down there anyway."

"There is one other piece of business. On this topic, I mean. There are many pieces of Adel's business unattended to, but I'll... delegate." Swift sighed. She finally let her grip loosen, but her arms remained tucked into each other. "That is Webb."

"Ah, spider kid," Darter said, interest piqued. "I didn't get to see him yet. Can I? You want someone to get some answers out of him, right? Me and Griffs here can play good cop, bad cop. If I get to be the bad cop, of course."

Another look of annoyance passed Griffon's face, but she didn't actually argue. "I sent him to Riverbend yesterday, didn't tell him when to check back in though. I don't know when or if he'll come back here. We could call him back?"

Swift thought about it. "I think... we have to assume Webb is someone's agent, perhaps of the Dark Aces themselves. Calling him out of the blue may tip him off that we know."

"I'll keep an eye out for him," Eagle offered. "If I'm going to be here anyway, I can let you all know if he comes by, and keep him here if I need to."

"That's probably the best option," Swift said. Meanwhile, Darter rolled his eyes. From their descriptions, wasn't Webb like, six or something? They were acting like the spiderling was some dangerous spy and not a kid that someone had taken advantage of. The kind that were a dime a dozen around Nocturnia, especially the east side.

"If none of us finds anything, we still have options. There is another info broker in Nocturnia, we have the borrowed men from Omakase and the Akulas, and we have our own information network. So... We'll figure out what's going on."

"And if Dawson shows back up, pissed you used all these resources on a goose chase, it's all coming out of your payroll and not mine, 'kay, temp boss?" Darter asked sweetly. Immediately after he ducked as a stapler was sent flying at his head.

"I'll make sure all the money you saved up gets spent on hospital bills instead, asshole!" Griffon screeched.

"Guys..." Eagle sighed, rubbing at his head. He shared a look with Swift as Darter laughed and slipped out of the room, pretending like he wasn't fleeing the woman's wrath.

Not even two seconds later he was back in the room with a wide eyed woman in tow. As soon as she saw Griffon, the woman blurted out, "Ma'am there's something going on downstairs! Some people-"

Griffon blew by her and Darter, sprinting towards the basement level. The others left behind glanced at each other, and the color nearly drained from Swift's face as she realized what was most likely happening. "Wait, Griffon, it's probably...!"

But her friend hadn't heard her, on top of having a head start. Swift hustled after her, stopping only to grab Misty along the way.

---

Office Basement Level, Silverside

_{Mentions: - || Interactions: Swift, Griffon, Misty, Gun Team Clover (in collaboration with @flux)}

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A door in the basement flew open. A silent alarm blinked in the lights above, constant and suspenseful. Three heavily armed men stumbled through onto the floor heaving, coughing and retching. Snaptrap’s hands slipped under and ejected his helmet before ending up on all fours to throw up. Puddle’s legs buckled as he tried to slap his way along the wall, trying to right himself and catch his breath but seemingly unable to do both. Donkey stayed upright, dropping his weapon while stumbling toward the first people he saw, gasping between words. “You. Misty. Canary. Where’s they? No time.”

"Wh- I- I-" the young woman stuttered. She was in sweats and a sports bra, holding her hands up like the new arrivals were planning to mug her in the gym. It was where the Akulas had found themselves, an actual gym level. The woman's limbs were still though, prepared to fight back when Donkey got too close. Fortunately for her, and unfortunately for the three men, another door in the basement slammed open. The woman, and a few other people in the area, scooted themselves backward with great haste when they felt the rush of wind surge from the stairwell.

A harsh gust slammed into the gunmen, as powerful as a hurricane, scooping them up and pressing them hard against the back wall. It was concrete but covered in dark gray mats, only a little less painful than it could have been. The nearby equipment rattled, metal and plastic shaking at the force of air.

"I am not in the mood," Griffon growled, her gold eyes shimmering with violence. "If you're thieves, walk out of here while you still can ‘cause if I change my mind you won't even be able to walk at all!"

Puddle just splayed against the wall, Donkey slamming back before falling to his knees. Snaptrap spun upward being blended in the mess he just made before bouncing to the floor, a defeated, singular and continuous sob as he laid face down on the floor. Donkey stayed on his knees, chest still heaving. “Traitors below. Need to know. Warn Canary. Warn Misty. Tell them.” His head fell back so his eyes could finally rest on his attacker, pleading for understanding.

Griffon blinked, her hand raised as though to crush the interlopers with her gyft. Or, more likely, dice their bodies to pieces with her cutting wind. She didn't relax at all, if anything Donkey's words pooled even more tension into the woman.

"Warn him about traitors? What traitors? Explain!" she snapped. She was really sick of hearing about traitors already, and Adel wasn't even here. If these guys were just trying to confuse her then she'd have a field day taking out her emotions on them.

Through the door she'd come from, Swift appeared with her heart beating and her breath heavy. Sprinting was not her forte. "G-Griffon, t-these are..." she gasped, trying to get the other woman to stand down.

Misty was the next to appear behind Swift before brushing by in a furious march towards the trio of gunmen. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Protocols mean nothing to you?” Her fingers flexed as if anticipating a fight.

Donkey choked then forced more coherent words forward with hands raised. “Donkey. We’re Clover. It’s begun. Whatever barman- Antonio had planned. They’re taking over the underground. Killing or kidnapping anyone still down there. We have to warn who’s left.”

Puddle found his feet, stumbling forward and to the side. “We’re not here to cause problems. Even if we wanted to, we're too cooked to cause problems.” Puddle fell to a knee before looking at Donkey. “What did Antonio do? What’s he want?” Donkey waved his hand at Puddle to quiet down, waiting for Misty to request their report or deal with their intrusion accordingly. For all she knew they could be lying. Though Puddle and Snaptrap mightn’t know it, their lives rested in Misty’s hands.

Misty eyed them, weighing their words and state. If they were here to kill, they’d have come in guns blazing. Not like this. Misty rose her head. “What did you see down there?”

Snaptrap finally rose from his own mess. “Munchkin. He took Greaser. Greaser was ripping his ribs out with his knife and Munchkin didn’t even flinch, just said ‘come with me’ before tossing them both in the waterway.” He shook his head as he spoke, still in disbelief of what had happened.

Donkey continued. “Greaser was terrified. Said half of Gopher murdered the other. Munchkin spoke like he was dead. No emotion, just monotone. Didn’t seem to care about anything but what he was there to do.” Donkey looked Misty in the eye. “How many more of us has he got?”

Misty swallowed, eyes shifting as she chewed through his words before eventually nodding. “Not many, thanks to Canary and Swift’s action we got a line on a good few nearby. They know the Brewery isn’t safe anymore and we’re working to warn more. My team Patron is regrouping on me, and Buzzard, the techie kids, offered to help as well, so we have some more manpower.”

Misty turned to Swift. “I know that all sounds gruesome, but this is good. Those influenced aren’t subtle. Their speech sounds like a dead give away and they only act toward their objective. We aren’t going to have to worry about sleepers or such due to whatever Antonio is using to turn them traitor.”

By then Swift had caught her breath. She nodded, her cheeks coloring slightly when she realized she hadn't even considered the fact that while she'd been expecting a gun team, it could have been an infected one that arrived. It was silly, but Adel's disappearance must have been affecting her more than she'd thought. She couldn't even conceal the slight grimace when Misty mentioned his epithet.

Griffon looked between Swift, Misty, and the three men. Of course Swift had told her what she'd learned after meeting Misty at the Palazzo, but it was just as hard to wrap her head around it now as it was then. She closed her eyes, took a few breaths, and the wind that had been cycling through the area began to die down. She dropped her arm with a rough sigh.

Misty went on. “Other reports are suggesting when they’re working together, they operate in perfect sync using tried and true clearance tactics. It’s lethal, but entirely predictable. We can use that to blunt them, or at least sidestep them entirely.”

Snaptrap arose from his mess. “Tactics? Munchkin rushed blind and stupid and then let Greaser stab the shit out of him. He was a zombie, zombies don’t use tactics.”

Misty winced. “Don’t call them zombies. They’re just not themselves.” A sigh. “We’ll find a way to cure them, until then, the only help we can give is a bullet to the head.”

Griffon turned her head slightly towards Misty. It was a brutal way to deal with the situation to be sure, and a call she wasn't sure she'd be able to make if she'd been in the older woman's shoes.

Snaptrap let a hand fall to his side. “Not themselves, find a cure, can only fix their lead deficiency. That’s a fucking zombie.”

Puddle snorted. “Guess we should check if you were bit, Snap. No wait, they never got close because Munch threw himself and Greaser away to drown themselves, lucky you, dumb prick.”

Snaptrap panicked for a moment slapping over his body before coming to his senses, staring at Puddle. “Oh- Piss off! He was one of the best of us, better than you, and better than dead fucking Dave.”

Whatever strength was left saw Puddle swinging toward Snaptrap before getting tangled in a mess of limbs. “Fuck you! He was my friend! I couldn’t help him but we can help the rest. Stop calling them fucking zombies!”

Snaptrap began to reverse the assault, dropping his knee into Puddle. “You saw what he did! How do you save that? You want to think about the fact you're killing your friends every time you pull the trigger, go ahead you dopey cunt! They’re fucking zombies to me!”

The room filled with shouting as Donkey and Misty went to pull the pair apart, Snaptrap spitting at Puddle before Snaptrap was forced face down into the mat. Struggled for a moment before being completely pinned by Misty, he just laid there breathing before beginning to sob again. “Goddamnit it Munchkin. Why would you do that?”

Donkey held Puddle’s arms back, voice stern. “He doesn’t mean it, he’s just in shock.”

Puddle ripped free and just sat on the mat, head low. “Fuck him. Just.” He paused before looking at Misty, voice weak. “What do we do now?”

Misty released Snaptrap who began to try and collect himself. “We prepare for the worst and hope for the best. That's all we can do right now.” She looked at Swift. “If you’re ok with it, we can get Clover on practicing clearance drills of the building as soon as they clean themselves up.” She looked down at Snaptrap. “The distraction might do them some good too.”

"Oh," was all Swift said at first. She glanced at Griffon, who stared pointedly at her. She had just said earlier she was leaving Swift in charge in Adel's absence. After a moment Swift looked back at the Akulas. "...yes, that would be fine. Griffon and Eagle can run them through."

Misty stood up. “If you have any missions requiring something more forceful, Patron will be here and ready soon to act on your behalf. Clover is well proven to defend your office despite this… poor introduction. They’ll fight come hell or high water, you’ll see that in the drills alone.”

Donkey spoke up. “You can rely on us, ‘fortune favours the bold’, and there aren’t many braver or dumber than us. We’ll smack around anyone who wants this place like an angry god. You’ll see, if you’ll have us.”

Despite the uncertainty of the morning, the night before, the question of where their boss had gone and if he really was in trouble or just laying low, the war and the zombie-making master next door, Griffon's mouth curled upward in a small grin.

"Good, 'cause we're gonna need that," she said. She also didn't apologize for whipping the trio into the wall. "You make sure this place is secure and safe for us, and all your friends we find can be safe too."

There was still a thrum of energy beneath Griffon's skin, especially after Misty mentioned force. She knew that they shouldn't disclose that their boss was missing, not at the moment (if word got out then it could make Silverside look like an easy target, and it might jeopardize their deal with the Akulas), but if she and the others came to the conclusion that the worst case scenario they'd come up with upstairs had indeed come to pass, then she would certainly be doing something forceful alright.

Swift glanced at another wall where the people that had been downstairs in the first place watched curiously. She nodded to one of them, gesturing with her head to have them point the way to the bathroom. Or even the locker room showers. Then she set her gaze back on Misty.

"Thank you. We will continue looking until every cell is accounted for," she said. She left off the alive, dead, or compromised part, but it was easily read in her voice. When she continued she squinted her eyes briefly, trying very hard not to make it sound like she was talking about zombies. "And perhaps develop a... way to contain those already... under the influence."

Misty nodded to Swift then quickly instructed Donkey, Snaptrap and Puddle. “Clover, rinse off, take ten, then follow Griffon and Eagle. Full scenario in complete gear. Drill till you drop.” She looked at Griffon with a shrug. “Train hard, fight easy. If they can do it now the real thing will be a breeze.”

Clover complied heading to the showers. Misty turned to Swift and Griffon with a cautious smile. “I appreciate the care, to contain them, I’ve got some ideas we could implement when Buzzard arrives. Overall though.” She took a breath. “We don’t lurk around the underground and sewers half the time we work for fun, it’s the price that comes with being free and fighting for what you believe in. Those Akula’s down with their minds taken? That’s a nightmare scenario for most of us.”

Misty paused, weighing her words. “So we’ll contain where possible to help who we can, but if it comes to it, we do not hesitate to ease their suffering. We prevent them from disgracing and branding themselves. None of them deserve to be remembered as monsters or terrorists, and more people don’t need to die because of one man’s treachery.”

She got to the point. “So if your canaries make unavoidable contact, unless it’s absolute they can contain them, shoot to kill. You might think it callous, but it’s our way.” Her eyes dropped. “It’s what they’d want before being branded.”

"I'm not about to argue with you," Griffon said, raising one shoulder in a half-shrug. She cut a quick look at Swift, who nodded again. "We'll still focus on finding them and keeping track of where they are, what they do. Leave dealing with them to you all for the most part. If we can bag a couple we will. If we have to cap a couple, well... yeah."

She'd probably want to be put down if she turned into a zombie too, it was the killing friends part that would give her pause. She didn't envy the position the Akula Crew was in at all.

She sighed then, looking over towards where Clover had gone. "Hopefully we aren't gonna need the 'real thing' but with the way this week's been going..." she let out another, harsher breath. "I'll work with 'em for a little before handing them over to Eagle. He's ex-military or something, probably more used to doing what these guys do. I'm just a problem."

She barely chuckled at her own joke. "And we-" she pointed between herself and Swift. "-have a couple of important things to go check out. But the plan's not gonna change. Rally up in Silverside and make sure everyone knows what's going on."

Misty huffed a laugh. “We’re Akula’s, we’re nothing but problems. We get you.” She moved for the door. “I better get back to it. I’ll brief Patron when they get here.” She stopped to turn her head. “Anything else I can do for you?”

As much as Swift wanted to just come out and ask please, help us find our missing Canary, but she was of the same mind as Griffon. The less people that knew, the better. So she just shook her head once. "Not at the moment. Please let us know if anything changes. We will do the same for you."

Griffon put a hand on her hip, offering Misty a quick grin while she could. It didn't last long. It would have been nice to talk with the Akulas under different circumstances. "Maybe keep your guys on standby once they show up, lot can happen in a couple hours."

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