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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 5023005" data-attributes="member: 3285">No Pain, No Gain: Part 5 – Of Course It’s a TrapThe address led to an abandoned warehouse. Lights were on inside.Archive, his arm bandaged, was mostly functional.&nbsp; &quot;So…why are we here again?&quot;They all wore night vision goggles.&nbsp; &quot;We're ambushing the people who ambushed Fiona,&quot; said Hammer.&nbsp; With workman-like efficiency, he placed a small charge next to electrical wiring that led to the warehouse. He handed the detonator to Archive. &quot;Ready?&quot;Jim-Bean shouldered a submachinegun with a grenade launcher attachment. He slapped his goggles over his eyes.&nbsp; &quot;Ready!&quot;Archive etched the Elder Sign with chalk on Jim-Bean and Hammer's guns.&nbsp; Then he reluctantly lowered his goggles.&nbsp; &quot;Ready.&quot;Hammer made his way over to the side door of the warehouse.&nbsp; &quot;Jimmy, you've got the count.&quot;Jim-Bean, a pistol in one hand, used his other to count down.&nbsp; He counted off silently with his fingers: Three. Two. One.Archive pressed the detonator on the charge.&nbsp; It blew, frying the electrical circuits to the warehouse.At the same, Hammer kicked open the door, both Glocks at the ready.The warehouse was filled with all sorts of boxes and containers, making it difficult to see.&nbsp; Then they heard a familiar squealing.&quot;Secondary cnidocytes,&quot; swore Jim-Bean.&nbsp; &quot;Lots of them.&quot;Stumping along on their three hoofed legs were four pale-white adolescent forms of Shub-Niggurath, the secondary cnidocytes. Unlike the much larger one that they had defeated at terrible cost, these were merely the size of cows.&nbsp; A mass of tentacles protruded from their trunks where a head would normally be, and a large, red puckering organ, dripping goo, took up most of its front. The whole mass of the things smelled like an open grave. Cultists ducked in and out of the boxes, their monocular nightvision optics showing up as bright points of red light. Hammer's plan to disable the lights was part of the cultists' plan all along.&quot;Go for the high ground!&quot; shouted Jim-Bean, pointing at the steps leading up to an office that overlooked the warehouse.Hammer sprayed the boxes as crates were blasted aside in the cnidocytes' furious charge.&nbsp; He was awarded with shrieks of agony – Archive's magic evened the odds.Tentacles groped towards them as they made their way up the steps.&nbsp; Jim-Bean took aim with his grenade launcher at the writhing white tentacled forms below.&nbsp; &quot;You're outgunned! Give up! CLEAR!&quot;Hammer and Archive looked away as the grenade flashed, blasting ichor and splinters of broken crates in every direction.&nbsp; Some cultists, unprepared for the flash, were blinded by the sudden burst of light.Hammer and Archive peppered the room with gunfire.&nbsp; The cultists had lost their primary advantage of darkness to an equally prepared team.&nbsp; With Archive's magic countering the invulnerability of the cnidocytes, the untrained cultists were no match for the agents.The remaining cultists turned and fled.&nbsp; Hammer took careful aim and shot one of them in the leg.&nbsp; She fell to the ground just short of the door, wailing and clutching her calf.Hammer opened the door to let some light in.&nbsp; The agents removed their nightvision goggles. Jim-Bean ducked his head out of the office.&nbsp; &quot;You'll never guess who I found up here.&quot;Fiona, her hair a mess and red marks across her mouth from a gag, stalked down the steps. Her clothing was torn in several places, baring one shoulder.&quot;Fiona!&quot; said Hammer with relief.&nbsp; &quot;Are you all right?&quot;&quot;I'm fine.&quot; Fiona rubbed her wrists. &quot;They tried to feed me to those walking vaginas with tentacles,&quot; she sneered.&nbsp; &quot;But they couldn't touch me.&quot;&quot;How did you end up here?&quot; asked Archive.&quot;I was investigating a tip,&quot; said Fiona.&nbsp; &quot;I thought I had a good lead, but…&quot;Hammer shook his head.&nbsp; &quot;Leave the spy stuff to us.&nbsp; Like interrogations.&quot; He snapped on a pair of black gloves and turned to face the prone cultist. He pulled up a crate and dragged the cultist onto it.&nbsp; &quot;Start talking.&quot;The cultist, an attractive blonde with piercings in her nose, sneered at him.&nbsp; &quot;F$%k you.&quot;Hammer sighed.&nbsp; &quot;So we're going to do this the hard way, hmm?&quot;&quot;The Goddess is coming!&quot; shrieked the cultist.&nbsp; &quot;She of the Forest with a Thousand Daughters will soon consume us all and we will suckle from her—&quot;The cultist's head exploded before she could finish the sentence.&nbsp; Behind her, Fiona held one of the cultist's pistols.&quot;Jesus, Fiona!&nbsp; Now we don't know what their plans are!&quot;Fiona spat.&nbsp; &quot;I overheard them talking.&nbsp; They're going to sacrifice four people at the Festival of the Earth tonight.&quot;Hammer glanced over at Fiona's bare shoulder. &quot;Is that…a tattoo?&quot;&quot;Yeah,&quot; said Fiona.&nbsp; &quot;The Elder Sign.&quot;&nbsp; &quot;That explains why the cnidocytes couldn't harm her,&quot; said Archive.Fiona addressed Archive.&nbsp; &quot;If I hadn't seen that amulet you wear in action I would never have thought of it. I think it saved my life.&quot;Hammer secretly suppressed a smile.Fiona took him aside.&nbsp; &quot;About that dinner…&quot;&quot;Yes?&quot;&quot;Looks like you'll be busy tonight, huh?&quot;Hammer was crestfallen.&nbsp; &quot;Yeah.&quot;Fiona pushed back a few strands of her hair out of her face.&nbsp; &quot;Too bad,&quot; she said softly.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="talien, post: 5023005, member: 3285"] [b]No Pain, No Gain: Part 5 – Of Course It’s a Trap[/b] The address led to an abandoned warehouse. Lights were on inside. Archive, his arm bandaged, was mostly functional. "So…why are we here again?" They all wore night vision goggles. "We're ambushing the people who ambushed Fiona," said Hammer. With workman-like efficiency, he placed a small charge next to electrical wiring that led to the warehouse. He handed the detonator to Archive. "Ready?" Jim-Bean shouldered a submachinegun with a grenade launcher attachment. He slapped his goggles over his eyes. "Ready!" Archive etched the Elder Sign with chalk on Jim-Bean and Hammer's guns. Then he reluctantly lowered his goggles. "Ready." Hammer made his way over to the side door of the warehouse. "Jimmy, you've got the count." Jim-Bean, a pistol in one hand, used his other to count down. He counted off silently with his fingers: Three. Two. One. Archive pressed the detonator on the charge. It blew, frying the electrical circuits to the warehouse. At the same, Hammer kicked open the door, both Glocks at the ready. The warehouse was filled with all sorts of boxes and containers, making it difficult to see. Then they heard a familiar squealing. "Secondary cnidocytes," swore Jim-Bean. "Lots of them." Stumping along on their three hoofed legs were four pale-white adolescent forms of Shub-Niggurath, the secondary cnidocytes. Unlike the much larger one that they had defeated at terrible cost, these were merely the size of cows. A mass of tentacles protruded from their trunks where a head would normally be, and a large, red puckering organ, dripping goo, took up most of its front. The whole mass of the things smelled like an open grave. Cultists ducked in and out of the boxes, their monocular nightvision optics showing up as bright points of red light. Hammer's plan to disable the lights was part of the cultists' plan all along. "Go for the high ground!" shouted Jim-Bean, pointing at the steps leading up to an office that overlooked the warehouse. Hammer sprayed the boxes as crates were blasted aside in the cnidocytes' furious charge. He was awarded with shrieks of agony – Archive's magic evened the odds. Tentacles groped towards them as they made their way up the steps. Jim-Bean took aim with his grenade launcher at the writhing white tentacled forms below. "You're outgunned! Give up! CLEAR!" Hammer and Archive looked away as the grenade flashed, blasting ichor and splinters of broken crates in every direction. Some cultists, unprepared for the flash, were blinded by the sudden burst of light. Hammer and Archive peppered the room with gunfire. The cultists had lost their primary advantage of darkness to an equally prepared team. With Archive's magic countering the invulnerability of the cnidocytes, the untrained cultists were no match for the agents. The remaining cultists turned and fled. Hammer took careful aim and shot one of them in the leg. She fell to the ground just short of the door, wailing and clutching her calf. Hammer opened the door to let some light in. The agents removed their nightvision goggles. Jim-Bean ducked his head out of the office. "You'll never guess who I found up here." Fiona, her hair a mess and red marks across her mouth from a gag, stalked down the steps. Her clothing was torn in several places, baring one shoulder. "Fiona!" said Hammer with relief. "Are you all right?" "I'm fine." Fiona rubbed her wrists. "They tried to feed me to those walking vaginas with tentacles," she sneered. "But they couldn't touch me." "How did you end up here?" asked Archive. "I was investigating a tip," said Fiona. "I thought I had a good lead, but…" Hammer shook his head. "Leave the spy stuff to us. Like interrogations." He snapped on a pair of black gloves and turned to face the prone cultist. He pulled up a crate and dragged the cultist onto it. "Start talking." The cultist, an attractive blonde with piercings in her nose, sneered at him. "F$%k you." Hammer sighed. "So we're going to do this the hard way, hmm?" "The Goddess is coming!" shrieked the cultist. "She of the Forest with a Thousand Daughters will soon consume us all and we will suckle from her—" The cultist's head exploded before she could finish the sentence. Behind her, Fiona held one of the cultist's pistols. "Jesus, Fiona! Now we don't know what their plans are!" Fiona spat. "I overheard them talking. They're going to sacrifice four people at the Festival of the Earth tonight." Hammer glanced over at Fiona's bare shoulder. "Is that…a tattoo?" "Yeah," said Fiona. "The Elder Sign." "That explains why the cnidocytes couldn't harm her," said Archive. Fiona addressed Archive. "If I hadn't seen that amulet you wear in action I would never have thought of it. I think it saved my life." Hammer secretly suppressed a smile. Fiona took him aside. "About that dinner…" "Yes?" "Looks like you'll be busy tonight, huh?" Hammer was crestfallen. "Yeah." Fiona pushed back a few strands of her hair out of her face. "Too bad," she said softly. [/QUOTE]

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