Dirty Deeds Don't Come Cheap (Part 5) by MaLAguA

Sunday, November 26th, 2016 - 9:50 pm
Operation site - West building, Rooftop - Voidgrip

Voidgrip, you went in with no intel on your opposition's strengths, weaknesses, numbers, gear, etc. You were screwed from the start. Heh, can't even tell if Efreet is facing just Censer or if a 2nd opponent is making the white smoke. And knows Schrodinger is getting beat badly.

Phosphorous grenade lights going out, but flashlights from the gang members make a show still. Go ahead, Voidgrip, run commentary, speak up, and give your position away. The fight between Pantho and Lifeward is still going hard, a reminder to never get hit by those batons. Oh, good, Voidgrip considers his job done and is just going to enjoy the show for now. Dragonite up and in the fray again, she needs hand-to-hand combat training.

Debating if he should leave or call to Efreet about if his fight is done, only to have a light shone on the side of his face and the threat of a bullet if he turns. I wondered what Declan was up to, Voidgrip better be glad for Lifeward's magic saving the lives of Declan's gang members or he would be dead already. Voidgrip, you should keep your big mouth shut before you get Declan to decide you are too big a threat to leave alive.

Crap, talks to distract Declan as he reaches into his coat pocket for his last safeguard, shoot him now, Declan! Darn it! Declan pulled the trigger, but Voidgrip activated a PFG in time to save himself. Declan keeps firing, trying to drain the PFG's battery so he can finish off Voidgrip, but the creep turns, shielded from the flashlight by the forcefield's opaque sheen and TK grabs the flashlight away.

He TK grabs Declan's wrist and gun, trying to force it against the side of Declan's head so he can kill him with his own weapon. The flashlight shines at them, as Voidgrip talks about how close Declan came, but it is game over now. Thinking of Declan as street-level trash, I want Voidgrip dead already.

Voidgrip starts to explain who he is, bragging about his powers, but sleep deprivation has finally caught up to him as he is sluggish and unsteady. Enough that Declan can break free moves to aim at him, but Voidgrip has an adrenaline surge, and TK slams Declan back into a wall hard enough to use up Lifeward's enchantment.

It is a race now as to who will recover enough first to attack and finish the other. Voidgrip has Declan in his TK grip once more, about to finish him off when Cole aims a flashlight at him with a threat to make him regret anything he does to Declan. Releasing Declan, Voidgrip tries to take aim at Cole, but he is still on the floor below in the dark.

Voidgrip is arrogant, Cole says he took out most of Schrodinger's copies, but Voidgrip still threatens Declan. Dragonite and Lifeward are flying up, Pantho pinned to the ground by chains and ropes while the gang members keep him bound. Lifeward goes to heal Declan only for Voidgrip to TK grab her by the wrist, this psycho has to die now.

Oh, good, the trio failed to get to the room, and the conversation is still going on.

Lifeward smirked. “Well, your men have fallen or been captured, the objective has failed and the leader’s men are coming here to check on their boss. And given how they love him, they won’t like it if he’s left injured. So, stand down and let me treat him.”

And the arrogant idiot doesn't like being ordered around, this is what gets him killed. Still so confident he can slaughter a crowd, that his PFG will keep protecting him.

“Who do you think you are?” Voidgrip muttered.

“Do you want me to show you?” Lifeward asked, there appeared to be some smugness slipping into her face.

Cole seems to have somehow shut down Voidgrip's forcefield and he panics. Threatening to kill Lifeward by dropping her from that height, he is an idiot. Lifeward is calm as can be, and Cole warns him not to do what he is planning. Reveals he shut off his forcefield as a warning, then full details on who Voidgrip is and even knows about his most recent jobs.

“The Black Bulletin is a side branch of the Syndicate. As such every bit of information and function of it is within our reach,” Lifeward said with a subdued smile, accompanied with a wave of the fingers from the held up hand.

Taking a job where you are up against Syndicate agents and you are just a Black Bulletin assassin now sounds like suicide to me.

“In your powers, you’re holding Lifeward, a member of the Recruiting, Operational Support, and Evaluation department of the organization… She’s also a high profile operative, as you could see tonight. Both of which are valued much higher than the activities of the Black Bulletin.”

In other words, if Voidgrip does anything to her the Syndicate will have him eliminated with extreme prejudice. Oh, this just gets better.

“Adversely intruding in Syndicate affairs and harming one of their valued operatives will render the benefits accrued from the Black Bulletin null and void, which extends to the protection and tech provided. Additionally, a bounty will be placed on your head by the organization itself that you’ll have to pay off or wait for someone to collect… With that, are you still daring enough to drop me?”

Voidgrip, use your head for once instead of being arrogant.

Smart, takes the offer to stand down and yield, gets Lifeward back on the roof and she goes back to healing Declan without a word to Voidgrip.

“I have just turned off the comms jammer. Call your team and tell them to stand down, now.”

This is why intel on your opposition is always vital before going in. A call to his teammates to stand down, if they don't hear it they are on their own for consequences, and Voidgrip tells who hired them. Pollux is going to regret he ever pulled this stunt.

Declan in better shape, leaning against the wall, and now remembers Voidgrip and his crew from the night almost five years ago. Ouch, a woman who shut down Voidgrip that night early on died. Ouch, still broken ribs, Declan, let Lifeward finish patching you up.

“This will keep your wounds from getting worse while the healing enchantment does its work… But you need to rest rather than pick a fight.”

Dang, I wonder if she could teach the staff of Doyle who use healing magic some things.

Darn it, Voidgrip lives for now and is back to his cocky self. Maryland incident, I still want to know exactly what Pollux did to get blackmailed for that. Cole wants to know what happened that night, and Lifeward's reminder to respect the truce gets him to stand down. Oh, good grief. It sounds like if both blackmailers had just met to hash out the details of what to do with Pollux and his replacement this whole mess could have been avoided.

“You can tell your boss that our client hasn’t been cashing in favors with the MCO as frequently, large or severely as they might. He only has a request that is in the best interest of the Syndicate and a third party. From there he has no interest in other favors… as far as we know.”

“What about the footage? Will it leak out into those third parties?”

“Negotiations are ongoing… ” Lifeward said, turning around. “Additionally, you can relay to your boss that our client, Preston Crossby, his family and surrounding organizations will now be given a Ghosting agreement by the Syndicate. Neither you, nor your boss or any adjacent faction may coerce, threaten, hurt or kill any member of his circle. Breaking it will allow my partner and I to come and squeeze every bit of information we can get about your group and enact fitting revenge… Is that clear?”

If Preston and Vince had just met to discuss all this in the first place...good grief.

Sunday, November 26th, 2016 - 10:12 pm
Operation site - South Building, Fourth floor - Efreet

Ouch, Efreet puts out that much black smoke, and Censer can only keep it back around himself. No! Efreet has Censer trapped, the chain of his own weapon wrapped around his neck. If he kills Censer then Efreet is a dead man. Censer fighting back still, struggling, as Efreet taunts him about thinking he can win. Efreet can produce a lot more smoke than Censer, no wonder he overwhelmed the poor kid.

Ooo, shortness of breath, so Efreet is almost at the limits of his powers. Just as Efreet pulls out a gun the comms come back to life and Voidgrip's orders come through. And so Censer gets spared, and Efreet is just glad he is still getting paid.

“Come and find me if you feel like spending some time honing your skills and making money.”

I hope Censer just asks the Syndicate for proper combat training.

Sunday, November 26th, 2016 - 10:22 pm
Operation site - Inside the corridor - Redgem and Root

Yikes, that is a lot of damage between Diskette and Redgem.

And then, she tried to reach out and use her contact hacking to take over her opponent’s armor only to discover that she couldn’t understand the language it worked on… In the end, that just put her in reach for a hard knockout punch from the Syndicate rookie.

Diskette, I suggest getting something to boost the range of your hacking so you won't make such a mistake again. Ouch, I almost pity Slipper for going up against Root, especially after he breaks a couple bones in his hand.

Only Je ne se left and she is just quivering on the ground, when Lifeward's message comes through the comms. Help coming to bring out the 3, Redgem is left on guard duty for the meeting in case anything else happens.

“No… I need to. I needed to get into the room and erase their memories of the blackmail.” The girl said, with a couple of tears streaking down her face. By now, Root was certain that her powers were to erase the memories of people about a certain something or someone… an ability that he could see very useful under the hands of someone as cunning as Vince. Still, by now he was quite sure that she couldn’t be forgotten if someone was watching her. “If I don’t he’ll… he’ll…”

Vince needs to die for doing this to this sweet, scared girl. And he basically branded her with a mark! And the mark is magical, what can he do to Je ne se through the mark, what has he already done to this poor girl?

Take off the mark after she does some jobs for him, she needs help from some high-powered and skilled magic-workers. Get her to Whateley! An enchanting mark to blackmail people into working for him, this is just short of mind control in my book, Vince makes me sick. Janet needs help and soon, I hope what Root aka Travis said is right about Vince, that he won't exploit and punish her for failure on this job.

Sunday, November 26th, 2016 - 10:25 pm
Presentation office

The recounting has ended, they finally finished watching the video involved in the blackmail.

“As you saw, the video was taken straight from the facility’s security rooms. If you have any doubts about it, I’m sure that you can pay a visit to the facility in Maryland and compare the facilities and what’s not there.”

Arno is pissed off at Pollux, this is all Pollux's fault. From the sounds of it, Pollux stole from the facility and was caught in the act when Vince's crew raided the place. Ah, it included everything Pollux helped to happen on Vince's orders due to the blackmail and Arno's parts in each.

“I must point out that, despite what he wants to tell you, I just took advantage of what the other group was asking. Most of the time, I just traded information and left him alone. Others I piggybacked on some of the jobs he was undertaking… Well, that is until now. Turns out I have interested parties in having the MCO decentralized from the state.”

So, Preston barely asks anything, and yet Pollux considers him the worst of the two blackmailers, Pollux is an idiot.

Arno, you are one of the reasons why mutants don't trust the MCO. You are agents for an NGO hired to keep records on mutants and deal with dangerous ones, but you are not soldiers in a war! Pollux believes Vince is a baseline or at least appears baseline, a poor reason to side with him.

“The MCO is needed to control your kind,” Arno declared, a statement that rang hollowecho as the gang member behind chuckled. “Otherwise, murder and rampant crime are the consequences! Your demand is folly.”

Bwahaha, I wouldn't be surprised if murder and rampant crime are still mostly done by baseline criminals in far greater numbers than mutants.

Arno, if that blackmail gets out then the MCO is through, not just in the U.S.A. Oh, great, the way Pollux is talking he has plans to spin-doctor the blackmail in the MCO's favor in the future somehow. One year of not sharing the data, but then they have to give Preston a good reason not to share it. And if they have him assassinated it will automatically get leaked to every member of the press.

Killing mutants as he fought for his life, is all Arno saw.

“First… is the partnership with Artemis company. A medical think tank that has somehow managed to keep its hands clean… even if it keeps shaking them with the MCO. What was uncovered in the moment, and from scenes during the day, is that Artemis planned to perform experiments on mutants, either to harvest the result of their powers or trying to dissect them in and re-purpose them for their power. Of course, this is mere speculation, given that the recordings of the twenty four hours prior to the incident don’t show them doing that… However, it does seem pretty convenient that the Maryland division had a third party company lab attached. Almost as if that were the plan.”

Even as speculation that could ruin a company if it came out.

“The one I really feel would do the most damage is… this one. In January of 2012, your boss, Jeffrey Fontanella, authorized shelter for a group composed by a crew of private investigators, two heroes in training from Columbia Heroics, and a police officer, escorting a criminal whose hand was suspected to be behind a high profile murder.”

An attack on the building, all members of the visiting team dead, Pollux killed his own boss, only the good agents died, and Pollux made a deal with the attackers to survive. Pollux, you are a monster. Preston has them over a thousand-foot cliff and they know it.

Pollux ruined a loyal ally's reputation, Esme, a telepath, blamed her for all of it, and spread the story, that coward is too weak an insult for him now.

“She was a woman with a terrifying power. She shouldn’t have been allowed, as telepaths should!” Arno snorted. “No one should’ve wielded that sort of power over others.”

Arno, shut up, you anti-mutant bigot. Contempt, I want to see Pollux and Arno burn.

“You claim that mutants are monsters… But to me, you are the bigger ones. I may be a former criminal, but I don’t relish or try to justify death. A woman died on the fourteenth’ of January along with her friends allies. Her son’s birthday was the fifteenth, the next day. Fortunately, it appears that he left the city shortly before the events of that night were made public. Just imagine what would happen if he… or any of the people affected by the killings that night were to inherit powers. I wouldn’t fault them for whatever they decided to do.”

Esme had a son, I hope he inherits his mother's powers and comes after these two.

4 months to complete what Preston has requested. Arno, at this point I suggest you quit and find an isolated place to live and hide for the rest of your life. Otherwise, Vince is going to make the request from Preston seem like a walk in the park.

Sunday, November 26th, 2016 - 10:49 pm
Twain Room 217

What game were Vic and Danny playing that included Danny's sister? Aww, time for Danny and his siblings to go to bed, Vic wishes to give Maria his regards.

There was a bit of an awkward silence between Lizzy and Danny, only for the latter to be uncertain. “Sure… we will. I’m sure she’d wish you well.”

Is something wrong with Maria, did something happen to her, or is she upset at Vic for some reason? Why the awkward silence?

Oof, Danny can tell something is up, Vic doesn't want to talk about the craziness at school. Oof, the Turkey Day Tragedy and the continuing fallout from it is not a tale to tell close to bedtime.

“Well… whatever happens. And I’m sure the friends you have there will feel the same… heck they’re probably more used to it, right?”

Listen to Danny, and Shisa is an extreme case with extenuating circumstances.

4 years since he saw them in person; preparations and money to go to Maryland. Ouch, good memories turned bad due to his mother never coming back. Vince, what you are changing into won't change who you are, remember that.

Sunday, November 26th, 2016 - 11:30 pm
Nakaoka sushi restaurant, private booth

Ebi furae, and dragon maki, interesting food. Staring at Dragonite, she is a sight to behold. Lifeward in civilian mode as Caroline asks for more Japanese whiskey. A regular business partner for the Syndicate, discretion, and confidentiality, no wonder they chose this place. No wonder Redgem is merry and drinking, a victory without serious injuries is one to celebrate.

Root sits next to Cole, and enjoys the food, but to Caroline, he seems distant and his mind thinking about something. Ouch, Censer took the worst beating next to Declan. Idly tossing grub onto a throwing star, Cole was in a pensive mood, I bet he had some friends at that MCO Maryland lab who got killed. Stared a bit too long and Cole noticed, taking her aside to chat.

Cole's soldier days friend who went missing.

“The last time I talked to him was in December 2011, wishing him merry Christmas and talking about our next encounter… I was making plans to visit Maryland then, meet his godson, have a fun time with our usual rivalry… But, suddenly, he went quiet.” He sighed as he spun the throwing star withon his hand, throwing and catching it with two fingers to keep his hand busy. “I didn’t hear much, about him or his investigative team until the authorities and, eventually, the news reported about their death under mysterious circumstances. Naturally, I tried to investigate what happened but… found that most of the details of the case were focused around an MCO facility. Accounts were… tight-lipped.”

Oh crap, his friend was part of the investigative team who were all killed. Cole, it is connected and when you find out who killed your friend you are going to regret not killing them this night.

“There’s something. As part of the agreement and condition for our support. I did bring up the possibility that pieces of the intel can be shared with the syndicate after a year. If you remind me to bring it up in a month or so when the water’s have settled, I will reach out to Mr. Crossby. Saving his brother ought to give us some gratitude points.”

Dollars to donuts it was Voidgrip who killed Cole's friend in the Maryland incident. An hour more to enjoy the food before they get picked up, chow down.

Monday, November 27th, 2016 - 12:01 am

Voidgrip reports to Vince, about the Syndicate involvement, no intel being leaked, and the details of the deal with the Syndicate. Share the MCO asset, you better not go after Preston or his family and friends even if he "oversteps". Massachussets, uh oh, I have a very bad feeling about Vince going there.

A great story with a lot of twists along the way. Pollux and Arno, at first I could stand Arno, but the more he spoke up about mutants the more I wanted to see him taken down along with Pollux. What Pollux did just to save his own hide, murdering his own boss, being a coward, making a deal with those who attacked just to survive. Calling him any sort of animal known for cowardice would be an insult to the animal.

Vic's situation and what he is turning into, I can relate. Turning into something you don't wish to no matter what is a nightmare, especially the longer it takes to figure out what you are turning into. Based on his dream I believe he is turning into an Atlantean and the spirit that latched onto him was a magic-user specializing in healing, but that is just a theory for now. I hope the support of his friends and the Whateley staff will help him through these troubled times.

Vince, the more I learned about him the more I want to see him dead. Especially putting that enchanted mark on Janet. Voidgrip, I really wish he had died before it was all over, he is the worst of that group. Please, please say somewhere in the future he will get his just desserts. The rest of the crew were interesting. But Je ne se, from the start I could tell something was up. Scared, and blackmailed by Vince, she needs help ASP to get her out of that situation.

It was nice to see Caroline visit with Vic even if it was for stressful reasons. Her codename makes a lot of sense now, that lifeward spell is extremely powerful. Seeing her fight as well, it shows she was a former superhero with her combat skills and how she wields those batons. I hope we get to see her visit Vic more often.

Cole, good lord, even without his powers is a one-man army. Skilled, brutal, and efficient, I'd be surprised if the Syndicate doesn't sometimes hire him out to Hollywood productions as a fight coordinator or to train actors. Plus he is good with young recruits.

Root, I knew something felt off about him, but secretly being part of Vince's crew, I hope he doesn't have one of those enchanted marks. Please, Root, do something to help take down Vince.

Censer, I never thought I would see a meteor hammer censer. He has a lot of potential, just please let him get combat training from Cole and not fall to the temptation of Efreet's offer.

I'm glad the story ended with no one dying [well, except for Voidgrip's victims] despite wanting Voidgrip gone. I hope Pollux and Arno fulfill Preston's request in the time allotted. I wonder what the future for Voidgrip and the rest of Vince's crew will be, especially Janet. And I can't wait to read more in the future with Vic, Lifeward, Cole, and everyone else.