WARNING [File Corrupted]

Play around with roles and whatnot in here, I suppose.

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Lief
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Re: WARNING [File Corrupted]

#16 Post by Lief »

((Joint post with Stryder221.))

For once, there weren't any more incidents or distractions. Alex had managed to keep a decent pace throughout the city. Not so fast as to look suspicious, but quick enough that it was obvious he had some place to be. He was maybe half a block from the meeting point at 4th and Flyway.

His phone rang suddenly, and he retrieved it from his pocket, opening the text he recieved. "Package Delivered," it read, from some number he didn't recognize. Likely a throwaway. He tapped out a quick response and put the phone away, continuing towards his destination, not the least bit concerned with the ominous message.

Just then, a man exited an alley near Kira, taking a quick glance around before heading off in a seemingly random direction.

As paranoid as she was, eyes darting all over the place in search of something out of place, Kira did of course notice a seemingly random man wandering off after a quick glance. As much as she wanted to know what his business was, she unfortunately couldn't read minds, and she couldn't just wander off to go tail him.

So, because of that, she put the stranger out of her mind, taking a deep breath to calm herself.
Look at me, I'm a nervous wreck... She thought. There's no snipers... There's no gunmen... Just your mind making all of that up...

Alex arrived at 4th and Flyway a few minutes later, spotting the woman he was to be working with and approaching her. "Kira Tringham?" He asked, glancing in the direction of the alley the man had exited from.

Kira, upon hearing her name, turned her head to the man standing near her.
"Maybe. You?" Was all she said, a hand already reaching under her cape, presumably for her gun.

"Alex Fischer," he responded, "Apologies for being late. We should get going."

He reached into his pocket, retrieving the keys to whatever vehicle Masai had decided to procure, and pushed the button on the small remote. As he did so, an electronic whirr and a low hum come from the garage across the street. Turning to look, he spotted lights emanating from within. The garage doors start to open.

"Seriously?" Alex mumbled as the vehicle rolled up to them, stopping mere inches away. With a high pitched BEEP-BEEP, the doors opened.

"Next destination, Apple Headquarters, Underspire," said an electronic feminine voice from inside the vehicle.

Kira let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as she pushed away from the wall.

"Yes, we should." She said, watching the vehicle approaching them with mild interest. If she were anyone else, she might've thought it's appearance a bit humorous. As it was, she didn't care, so long as they were on the move. Without question, she entered the car, taking the passenger's side.

"Just a moment."

Tossing the keys onto the driver's side seat, Alex walked over to the alley, entering it.

Less than a minute later, he returned, holding a black duffel bag sporting a white shield logo on it. Alex grumbled for a moment before sliding the bag behind the seats and climbing into the driver's seat.

It was then that he realized there was no steering wheel. "So, it even drives itself. Masai really went overboard.”

The woman in the passenger's side only raised an eyebrow, only just now noticing.
"Rather stupid idea, though. No real control if we're chased."

She then sighed, knowing she didn't have any real choice in the matter.
"The bag... What's in it?"

“There’s probably a manual override of some sort. Be stupid not to have one.” Alex replied, closing the door and shifting slightly in his seat. As he did, the car turned and began speeding off towards its designation.

He reached behind the seats, unzipping the duffel slightly and pulling out a tablet. “Well, this. It’s got a map of the building on it, with points of interest marked out. There’s also a shotgun and ammunition in there. Just in case. Speaking of, what’ve you got?”

In response, Kira reached under her cape, pulling out a rather quality looking pistol to show to Alex.

"Pistol, laser sight, silencer, two pouches of ammunition, six clips each. Also, wearing a bit of armor, and then there's a mask and a knife."

“Sure it was a good idea to tell me you’re wearing armor? What if I were to betray you?” Alex mused, shifting how he was sitting once more and grabbing his own pistol to show his ‘partner’.

“Pistol, nothing fancy, no silencer either. Three mags. Also have a stun baton and a knuckleduster. Shotgun in the duffel there. Pump-action, tube fed. Old design, but it’s reliable. Got two boxes of shells too.” Finished, he put the pistol away, looking at the car’s GPS.

“And I’m wearing a vest.”

Kira glared at the man next to her, eyes seemingly giving off a faint red glow, showing that they were most definitely artificial.
"Betray me, or cause any trouble, and I kill you." Was all she said, the temperature in the car feeling like it dropped a few degrees as she made her threat.

Eventually, her glare lessened, and she found her attention shifting to the road, keeping an eye out for anyone that may or may not be tailing them.

"Nothing personal, though." She added.

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MUDPUNISHER
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Re: WARNING [File Corrupted]

#17 Post by MUDPUNISHER »

Setting his own suitcase inside the trunk and Oliver made his way to the passager seat. "Explosives in the building? This isn't your first job with the company I suppose. Mind filling me in on what we are about to do?" As he sat down in the passenger seat of the Mamba. Taking his fedora off and setting down on the dashboard of the car, but keeping his mask on.

Pushing in the clutch and dropping through the gears on his way to the building Anthony recalled his copy of the mission and showed oliver. The autonav takes the duo down through the spires pretty rapidly. Getting to the Cali sector is rather quick once one hits the Pov' Spire. Drawing close to the Cali sector, there's a drugged up bum on the side of the road. You accelerate slightly, lest he get the wrong idea.

Once in the Cali sector, one can see the remains of what was once a booming civilization. It lies hollow and dead now, like a carcass rotting in the desert sun, but still massive and sprawling. That's the thing about the Cali sector; they always had room to spread out, so they didn't have too much reason to spread up. Well, that is until the gas clouds forced them up. What an efficient tactic that was.

The autonav beeps and indicates the location of the elevator. Time to head down to the Underspire.

******

The Silicon section of the Cali Sector is a dense concrete jungle. Anthony gapes in awe at the vastness of the ruins that surround him. The immense size is... Startling.

A song kicks on over the cars stereo.Almost highlighting Anthony's eagerness to get this done with, seemingly driving his throttle foot down even farther.

There is not much light here, and the quiet is deafening. More unsettling is the *kind* of quiet. You would expect the quiet of a cave, where you can move around and hear that you're in a big place. This is not that kind of quiet. This is the quiet of a small room, where the smallest noise you make is repeated right back to you. Furthermore, the dark is practically palpable. The only light emits from the rare sparking powerline or ancient mercury bulbs that sit alone in empty rooms, illuminating nothing for no one, slowly dying. Power still flows here. Good to know.

The walls are dense and black with old mold. Signs for ancient cafés hang loosely, untouched for centuries. Giant billboards remain pasted to sides of buildings. Some are mere ads; others are reminders of the War and the (quite frankly) impressive amount of propaganda produced for both sides. A proud soldier ten feet tall smiles down at you atop a billboard, saluting; half of his face is molded and decayed. His good eye seems to follow you. You shudder; god, it's awful down here.

The buildings on both sides of the street appear to stretch up into the sky, concrete additions obvious in many places. It looks like a giant's Jenga puzzle, with addition piled atop addition, apparently with little regard to structural security theyed probably be easier targets sadly. Sometimes the additions crossed over the road entirely and connected on the other side, turning the street into a tunnel. Gunning the engine out of the tunnel. This is no place for the living.

After a while, you realize you're getting into a more rich section of the area. Additions are *slightly* less obvious, and massive dead palm trees lay silent, rotting, defeated, upon the ground aside the road in regular intervals. On the walls you notice bountiful graffiti; here a hammer and sickle, there an "A" in a circle, further on an eagle with ears for wings. The streets are a bit more treacherous. Potholes dot the road like a minefield, and every so often you hear a *crunch* as you run over something small and dead. You chuckle slightly as you are reminded of the memory of crushing milk jugs under your foot as a child.

Hang a left on De Anza Boulevard, which spits us out smack in the middle of Infinite Loop. It looks like the Apple campus was not immune to the "addition craze" -what appears to have once been six separate buildings is now one. This one, at least, doesn't tower to the sky, however, Anthony realizes with relief- it'd be a pain to have to set ones explosives throughout eleven floors. In the center appears to be a great dome of glass -or it was, anyway. Most of the glass is shattered, and the dome is dented in on one side, as if a giant rock or something had been dropped on it.

The autonav shuts down at the foot of 1 Infinite Loop. You see there used to be flagpoles here; now there are stakes. Burnt bodies hang impaled fifteen feet up on the flagpoles. An old American flag lies singed on the ground. "WE THE PEOPLE" is sprayed on the ground.

Anthony opens the car door, and the foul air of the Underspire floods the car. Surprisingly, it's breathable; perhaps those palms weren't as dead as he had thought. It's still incredibly unpleasant, though, and he hold back a cough.

A howl echoes through the streets behind you. Something has been awakened by your presence. The hair on the back of your neck begins to rise. It's probably some terrible creature of the Underspire. You do *not* want to tangle with one of those things.

What was once probably well-kept brush has grown into a dense foliage. The sidewalk beneath Anthony's feet is cracked and shattered by the power of the plant's roots. about to dismiss the main entrance and look for another way in when you notice a small break in the hedges. Investigating closer, Anthony see's that yes, this is a well-worn path through the shrubs. Whatever made it is bipedal, not terribly wide, and a lot bigger than him. There doesn't seem to be anything on the other side, though.

Well, the job ain't gonna complete itself. Ill run killing time, when you get my all clear go ahead and drop the charges on any supports that look important. Drop the building and cause the contents to… dissapear, I have been given express permison to take any and all… unused parts I want and to sell them back to whomever I want. Rolling up to the building Anthony pulled up the buildings schematics and showed it to oliver. Dont push ANY buttons in here.


"No need to worry about me. This isn't my first rodeo." Looking over the schematics and taking note of the key supports Oliver made his way and grab the suitcases of explosives, leaving his own suitcase in Capone's trunk. "Just remember I'll be relying on you to make sure to watch my back and make sure the area is clear. Now, shall we get started before we get unwanted company?" This job to Oliver would probably be the most dangerous and exciting job he had in awhile they didn't just hunting down another poor sap who couldn't pay his debt, but couldn't help but feel a sense that there is something more to this job than just two companies competing rivalry getting out of hand.
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Re: WARNING [File Corrupted]

#18 Post by MrFlyingAmoeba »

As the auto-navigation in their car drove them towards their destination, Jarvin took a moment to think about his situation. He didn't get to idle with his thoughts very often these days.

Jarvin was a very simple man. He helped his boss Genna take care of her small Sonna-addiction treatment clinic, traded friendly barbs with her while restraining frothing addicts, and sometimes had to limp inside the operating room himself after yet another case of mistaken identity. He wished he could say otherwise, but he hadn't been frightened of losing his life in years. Being shot, stabbed, burned, electrocuted, beaten, and even drowned could do that to you. Still, Jarvin wasn't very comfortable with having his job description expanded to exploring for someone's kicks. He was well aware of how disposable his life was.

With Mail Girl (He might call her Courier, but Mail Girl was far more appropriate) in the passenger seat, examining the contents of the envelope, he did feel somewhat less inclined to think that his job was just an extended sacrifice-unless she had done one of the few things Jarvin could imagine that would land her a fast-track to an execution.

Eyes still roaming the impoverished streets of the Low Spire, Jarvin cleared his throat. "So, Courier." He said. "What can y'do, besides tossin' phones? If we run into trouble, should we keep runnin'?"

"Well," I responded as I flipped through the pages, answering absentmindedly.

"I'm pretty good at some parkour type stuff. I can do some minor hand to hand. I don't know, I don't really know much about what I can do. If stuff happens, maybe I'll suddenly remember a relevant skill or something." I said half jokingly, half seriously. "I find most of my skills come to me when I need them."

I paused for a second as I mentally reviewed what I had on hand. It wasn't that much, considering I wasn't expecting that I would have to do something like this so soon after a delivery job. Retrieval was always easier than delivery but this didn't seem to be a simple delivery job.

"AS for gear," I started, double checking my list. "I got my phone, a thirty yard roll of aerogel superglue tape, about four yards of rope, a flashlight, a folding utility knife, and some snacks."

I shrugged slightly as I finished listing what I had. If Jarvin had a problem, not my fault. I wasn't kitted for this type of stuff and I'm pretty sure it showed.

"Not much but I'm sure I'll make it work somehow."

"Hmf." Jarvin grunted. "It's more than what I've got. Sneakin', hidin', brawlin', and all I've got 'sides the stuff you saw earlier is some water, an' a kit if either of us get cut up. I don't do..." He motioned around the speeding car, at the crumbling buildings and scurrying people. "Whatever we're doin' right now. Kinda feels like I'm bein' sent t' be an excuse f' someone else."

The auto nav beeped, cutting short his pessimistic thoughts. A large cargo elevator loomed ahead of them, just as worn and tired as the rest of the Poverty Spire, yet still managing to stand tall despite its far greater height than the ruined skyscrapers around it. Jarvin slowed to a halt inside the elevator, pitted doors closing behind them.

"Hope y' didn't cross someone big, Courier."

"I hope not."

The conversation faltered after her unconcerned reply, Mail Girl choosing to stare out at the rapidly descending elevator walls. Jarvin continued to mutter to himself as the elevator rumbled to a halt, accelerating the car through the reopened doors to the dusty darkness and stale air of the Under Spire.

Here, moreso than any other, could the decay of the higher spires be reflected in physical form. Hollow buildings rose into the skies, stale windless air allowing the dust of lifetimes to remain upon shattered windows and crumbling walls. Faded paint, as grey as their surroundings, advertised forgotten products and championed long-gone wars. A massive billboard still clung to the ragged papering of a soldier, proudly declaring his love for a country that no longer existed, for a war that had destroyed him. The road their car traveled down was pitted, wheels thumping against frequent potholes cratered by neglect and purposeful destruction.

At first a labyrinthine network of cracked concrete and crumbling wood, the false ceilings of ancient construction gave way to yet another sky made by man, this time reaching far higher-the underbelly of the Poverty Spire, a dark void too distant to be recognized as unnatural. Scattered throughout, now visible, were the massive pillars of steel and titanium that marked the struts for all the Spires above this abandoned metropolis, smashed deep into the ground far below even this ancient network. Reduced to relative sprouts at the feet of giants were the skeletons of dead palm trees, fronds collapsing to dust at the meager breeze kicked up by the passing of their car. This area was once the home of the affluent, now equalized by time. Dusty sprays of paint were prevalent here as well. Hammers and sickles clashed with eagles and stars, once even a giant 'A' within a circle.

Jarvis hunched down over the wheel, accelerating them towards their destination. "Couldn'a just sent someone who's supposed t' be doin' this kinda work, no, they sent me." His mutters dropped further, pushed down by the oppressive silence of the Spire. Even the dull crunching of the tires upon old roads faded into dim ambiance.

Their arrival in the 'Infinite Loop' was uneventful save for the distant howling of some creature Jarvin hoped was a large dog and not a mutated reject from the Catacombs. Based on what the important locations seemed to be, the highest priority was on the south and east ends of the circular complex, which to his relief, was not a towering facility but one spread out amongst a relatively squat building. Far less likely to collapse from its own weight, assuming it wasn't also deep within the ground.

Parking outside the supposed cubicle area between two particularly large hulks, Jarvin stepped out of the car and almost into a disgusting puddle of greenish water. Cars flanked them left and right, all stripped and smashed for decades. Some of them had been assembled together into a crude camp some distance away, the remains of an old campfire left behind. "Tch. Time t' start hopin', Courier." He said, pacing towards the promising sight of doors wrenched open by blast or brute force. The envelope was tucked securely inside his jacket. "Liable t' find squatters or worse, don't want them creepin' down our necks."
Red Mage Statscoski wrote:That is not how we do things around here, buddy. First we have to argue incessantly over semantics.

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