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<blockquote data-quote="Zen_Pollo" data-source="post: 4642125" data-attributes="member: 11404"><p><strong>Discrete Disposal</strong></p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">GM Note: This post features graphic imagery and religious connotations; read at your discretion.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: right"><em>London calling to the zombies of death</em></p> <p style="text-align: right"><em>Quit holding out - and draw another breath</em></p> <p style="text-align: right">The Clash, <em>London Calling</em></p><p></p><p><em>Setting:</em> The squat concrete building sat the middle of an empty lot utterly devoid of life – even weeds. The structure had four rolling garage doors and a smaller office door with a broad window showing the well-lit office. Inside a strained-looking human woman played virtual <em>SolitARe</em>.</p><p></p><p>Alexander shook his head, <em>I thought I wasn’t going to get involved with this nonsense?</em> But the others had been very persuasive.</p><p></p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p></p><p><em>Alexander and Slone had been arguing in front of the Friendship Church | Friendship Travel while Carlito attempted to fix the broke-down CityMaster.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“We were asked to do a job – we did the job – we’re done here,” reasoned Alexander.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“Look, you dandelion-eating nancy-boy, we need to find out what happened to Tommy,” argued Slone, “Besides we still have those fraggin’ samples”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“Yeah, we need to do testing on those samples,” agreed Carlito as he squirmed on the ground underneath the engine block, “I bet they are some sort of bio-weapon and Tommy was trying to figure out what it did before he was killed.”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“So what, vatjob? Like I give a frack about those samples.” Alexander stated; he was tired of being pushed around.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em><strong>VROOM</strong></em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“Alright!” exclaimed Carlito as he finished bringing the dead CityMaster back to life. The scientist crawled out from underneath the van and moved to sit in the driver’s seat, but the troll blocked him out. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Slone stated matter-of-factly, “I Drive; You ride in the back.” Slone grabbed the scientist by the scruff of his neck and casually tossed him into the rear of the vehicle. The troll turned to Alexander still standing petulantly in the road in front of the church-travel agency.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“Alright, Fancy-pants, if you want to walk out of the Barrens on your own, that’s fine,” said Slone; the troll had had enough of elf’s behavior, “This CityMaster’s going to find Tommy’s corpse. What’s it going to be?”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Alexander looked around his literally Barren surroundings; then, the elf climbed into the CityMaster, “I’ve got shotgun.”</em></p><p></p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p></p><p>It had been relatively simple legwork to find the company associated with the pale puritan logo. It turned out the company was an outfit from Tacoma called <em>Discrete Disposal</em>. When Carlito had datasearched the company on the Matrix, an ARO had popped up with the address and short vid-link promotion showing a comely woman zipping up an industrial red jumpsuit. <em>When you need Discretion AND a good Cleaning, Call us. Available 24/7!</em> </p><p></p><p>Alexander had made a few calls to some of his contacts and discovered the organization specialized in cleaning up after wetwork. The company was not affiliated with any particular corp or underworld group – everyone had secrets to bury – even the corporations running the police. </p><p></p><p><em>Strange that I couldn’t find out who owns the company, though</em>, thought the elf, <em>Someone has to be in charge of this outfit.</em></p><p></p><p>And so the trio stood in front of the lot, about to infiltrate the cleaning company which had disposed of Tommy’s body. The plan was to pretend the team was the group which originally ordered the clean-up and that they had discovered additional information which required them to search the remains. Carlito had hoped they would be able to examine the body and discretely download the contents of Tommy’s commlink via a wireless connection.</p><p></p><p>“C’mon, moonlight’s burning,” gruffed the troll as he stepped onto the lot and headed towards the office door. Carlito followed closely behind.</p><p></p><p>Alexander moved to follow and, as he stepped onto the lot, a sublime sense of foreboding overcame him. While the elf was a shaman, Alexander was not exactly the spiritual sort; In fact, the elf’s selfish demeanor often ran afoul of his shamanic leanings. Yet, even the elf could sense that something in the background was not right with this establishment. </p><p></p><p>The elf’s liked to envision his magical abilities were a clear pool of mojo from which he pulled down spells as though drinking from a straw.</p><p></p><p>This building felt like someone had taken a steaming drek in his pool of mojo.</p><p></p><p>The elf mentally shifted his perceptions to the astral plane. The mundane world slid from his gaze and the transcendent astral world came into view. The buildings and pavement faded away and became almost transparent. However, the meat in front of him – Carlito and the troll – grew brighter; their moods popped out at him as colors washing over their auras. Slone had the tightly-coiled aura of someone poised for violence. Carlito’s aura was spikey and geometric, yet had a maelstrom swirling inside that threatened to burst out at any moment. <em>I wonder what will finally set him off the deep-end?</em> Alexander mused.</p><p></p><p>But it was not his companions’ aura which interested the elf; it was the booming voice which thundered from the astral depths of the building, “Now that's interesting,” it said sonorously, “Most people would flee this place. Why don't you and your friends come inside? I think I would very much like to meet you.”</p><p></p><p><em>What the frack?</em> thought the elf; but he merely said to his colleagues, “We’ve been expected.”</p><p></p><p>“Great,” replied the troll as he opened the office door and stepped inside. The twenty-something blonde looked up from her virtual game of <em>SolitARe</em> floating in the air above her desk. “Can I help you?” the receptionist asked eying Slone dubiously.</p><p></p><p>“Yeah, we’d like to see the boss,” Slone replied nonchalantly.</p><p></p><p>“And see him you shall,” exclaimed a tall man standing in the entryway to an office. The tall man wore a conservative black suit and long flowing black coat covering translucent white skin. Strangely, the man wore a black puritan’s hat with a silver buckle. </p><p></p><p>Carlito could have sworn the man was not standing there a moment before he spoke. <em>And why is Alexander sweating so much?</em> thought the scientist as the elf stiffly walked into the office. Carlito hadn’t seen the elf so anxious since they had had to flee the containment unit at the STTC.</p><p></p><p>The Puritan ushered the trio into the office and gestured to two chairs in front of a sleek industrial desk made of glass and steel. “Please sit. May I offer you refreshment?” asked the Puritan as he sat behind the desk AROs popped-up in Carlito’s and Alexander’s commlinks with small menus for beverages and snacks available for clients. Alexander vehemently declined, while Carlito thought to himself, <em>Why not? This place is so sterile and clean, unlike most places we frequent!</em> The scientist didn’t even pause to wipe down the seat as was his usual custom.</p><p></p><p>Slone opted to stand. <em>When are we going to find an office with furniture I can use?</em> </p><p></p><p>“So what can I do for you gentleman?” asked the Puritan.</p><p></p><p>Alexander decided to come clean, “You have cleaned a job site recently and we would like to examine the remains.”</p><p></p><p>The Puritan frowned, “I clean many job sites; After all, it is our business.”</p><p></p><p>“This job was in the Barrens,” persisted the elf.</p><p></p><p>“The Barrens? I perform many jobs in the Barrens,” replied the Puritan evasively.</p><p></p><p>At that moment, the receptionist entered the office with a small tray carrying Carlito’s order: gelid Fuzzyglug, still in the can.</p><p></p><p>"We have a video timestamp on one of your vans leaving the site," stated the scientist as he popped the top and took a sugary swig. Carlito recalled the red van leaving the scene of the Friendship Church | Friendship Travel massacre.</p><p></p><p>Changing his tack, the Puritan replied, “Why should I help you?”</p><p></p><p>Slone retorted, “Cuz you’re a nice guy and you wear a cool hat.”</p><p></p><p>The Puritan guffawed, “A cool hat indeed!” The Puritan decided at that moment that he liked this trio. <em>Metahumans are so unpredictable</em>, thought the Puritan, <em>After all this time, they can still find ways to surprise me.</em></p><p></p><p>The Puritan stood up and motioned for the group to follow him. The tall man led the trio back to the reception area and down a corridor towards a cubicle farm where accountants, deskjockeys and other wageslaves plied their trade. Through a glass wall in the rear of the office area, the trio could see several red vans parked in the motor pool.</p><p></p><p>The Puritan stopped at a large metal door with a reinforced frame and three separate maglocks. Sitting in front of the door was a security specialist wearing full body armor and carrying a light machinegun on a gyromount.</p><p></p><p>"Stand down Percy,” said the Puritan. The tall man gestured to the maglocks and the security guard used his maglock passkey to unlock the door. Once finished, the SecSpec stepped back from the door and readied his LMG.</p><p></p><p>“Once you enter, I will lock the door behind you for safety reasons,” explained the Puritan who then smiled knowingly at the elf, “Alexander will let me know when you are ready to leave.” Alexander gulped and nodded curtly.</p><p></p><p>“What’s down there?” asked the troll.</p><p></p><p>“You will have to see for yourself. Good luck,” the Puritan replied and stood aside. Carlito positioned himself to stand behind the door as it opened while Slone stood ready to confront whatever came out. Alexander stood in the rear with his arms folded. <em>What a cluster-frag</em> thought the elf, <em>This place is a toxic nightmare. The Puritan is leading us to our doom.</em></p><p></p><p>Carlito nodded at Slone and then pulled the door open. Immediately, a wave of stench so profound that it registered in Alexander’s astral senses washed over the group. The troll grimaced but kept his composure, <em>Yep, there’s dead bodies in there.</em> The elf turned his head away from the door in a vain attempt to avoid the smell. In his peripheral vision, Alexander noticed the cube-dwellers nearest to the door donned surgical face masks to cover the odor. However, Carlito bent over and voided his Fuzzyglug all over the floor.</p><p></p><p>Behind the security door was a stairway leading down into a basement. Slone noticed small bits of decaying flesh and excrement smeared on the steps and walls. It was clear that no light sources existed in the basement. Fortunately for the troll, his natural thermographic vision would register any unfriendlies in the area.</p><p></p><p>Once the scientist recovered himself, the trio gingerly made their way downstairs. Slone led the way since he was the only one whom could see. The elf was next – Alexander had the same low-light vision as other elves, but it was his astral perceptions that guided him. Carlito followed in rear-guard; the human could not see anything and had no vision-enhancement cyberware to augment his perceptions. The scientist kept his hands on Alexander’s shoulders so he wouldn’t fall over.</p><p></p><p>As Carlito made it onto the stairway, the Security Specialist closed the door behind the trio; the group heard the three bolts slide into place as if three thunderbolts sealing their doom. As the door closed, all the ambient light from the first floor faded and the team was sealed in darkness.</p><p></p><p>As the group traversed down the stairway, Slone told his teammates, “We should lay waste to this glitched-up hole.”</p><p></p><p>“I hate places like this – this is low rent,” muttered the scientist.</p><p></p><p>Alexander agreed, "This basement is beyond low rent – way beyond.” The elf could see the background toxicity levels through his astral perceptions. If the parking lot was an astral wasteland, the basement was ground zero.</p><p></p><p>Slone rounded a corner in the stairway to his left. In his thermographic gaze, the room underneath the complex opened up. Vague body-like shapes with little heat-differentiation covered the entire floor of the 25m by 25m area. Slone could see a few forms amongst the heaps of bodies still had normal body temperatures. <em>Must be the fresh meat; Good thing Carlito can’t see this or he would freak out</em>, thought the troll.</p><p></p><p>The troll stepped onto the floor and made his forward. Following close behind the troll, the elf reached the floor and slipped – there wasn’t enough light for his lowlight vision to kick-in. So Alexander perceived the room in astral space. It quickly dawned on the elf that the bodies littered about the floor were the remains of the <em>cleaning</em> jobs performed by the Discrete Disposal. <em>I might end-up here one day if things go south</em>, Alexander mused.</p><p></p><p>Carlito clung to Alexander, completely lost. <em>I’m actually glad I can’t see what I’m smelling right now</em>, thought the scientist as he shivered.</p><p></p><p>The troll had his trusty Ares Alpha in one hand and his combat axe in the other. Slone approached the closest body that had a heat signature. Slone stood over the form and nudged it with his axe.</p><p></p><p>And that is when the ghouls struck. </p><p></p><p>Lightening fast, the heat forms Slone thought were corpses jumped up and ran towards the group still near the stairway. Slone counted at least 9 ghouls running to surround the team. The ghouls howled as they rushed the trio, jubilant at the opportunity to feed on some fresh meat instead of the dead fare the Puritan regularly fed them.</p><p></p><p>Alexander and Carlito screamed in response to the guttural howls, but the troll simply kicked in his synaptic accelerator and the world slowed down; as fast as the ghouls were, they were no match for the augmented reactions of the troll’s biotechnology. Slone brought his Ares Alpha to bear and launched a grenade from the underbarrel mount into the midst of the rushing horde. <em>Good thing Carlito helped me disable the safety timer on the grenade launcher</em>, thought the troll as the salvo hit his impact target and blasted five ghouls in its effect radius.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, the ghouls were not laid low by the explosion and were still able to surround the troll and engage him in melee. Soon, the troll was fighting for his life fending off no fewer than five ghouls in hand-to-hand combat. The troll was forced to sling his Ares over his shoulder to free his other hand for melee.</p><p></p><p>Two ghouls on the right flank were outside Slone’s grenade blast and immediately set upon Alexander with savage swipes of their elongated claws. The elf screamed as the ghouls tore chunks of flesh from his forearms.</p><p></p><p>In the flash of the grenade blast, Carlito witnessed the utter horror of the scene; piles of bodies being eaten by gaunt, pale ghouls and glimpses of the chaotic melee unfolding in front of him. The flash from the grenade imprinted the skirmish upon his retinas; so the scientist did the only thing he could – he took aim at the last known position of the closest ghoul and let lose with his Yamaha Sakura Fubuki light machine pistol.</p><p></p><p>In the staccato flashes between bullets, the scientist saw his burst tear into Alexander’s back!</p><p></p><p>“You glitched-up son of a slitch!” the elf cried out as he stumbled under the burst. Luckily, the elf’s form fitting body armor absorbed some of the damage, but between Carlito’s burst and the ghoul’s attacks, Alexander knew he was in big trouble, <em>Frag it all, I’m not going down like this!</em> The elf ran to left and bowled over two ghouls approaching from that side. As he ran, Alexander pulled down the mojo, even through it felt like reaching into a toilet bowl after an epic bout of diarrhea. The shaman formed a Control Action spell targeting the closet ghoul on the left flank and put his back to the corner of the room. The astral aftereffect of the spell made the elf vomit in his mouth.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Slone was having no luck fighting off the five ghouls in melee. Although the giant troll outmatched any one of the ghouls in combat, the group of five coordinated attacks so that Slone could not easily strike one without opening himself up to a blow from a flanking ghoul.</p><p></p><p>The five ghouls also had little luck in taking down the troll – the combat axe and Slone’s naturally long limbs kept most of the ghouls at bay. The few skirmishers that were able to land blows could not penetrate Slone’s armored jacket, dermal armor, and titanium bone lacing; not tot mention the troll’s tough hide and bulking physique.</p><p></p><p>In short, it was a stalemate, an impasse, Ai Uchi – the state of mutual kills.</p><p></p><p>From his hiding spot in the corner, Alexander directed the ghoul under the effect of his Control Actions spell to attack the ghoul adjacent to him. The two ghouls on the left flank immediately started scuffling with one another. The elf attempted to ensnare a second ghoul, but the effort required to maintain his first spell and the pain of his wounds impeded his casting.</p><p></p><p>One of the ghouls on the right flank charged the scientist near the stairwell. The ghoul knocked Carlito down and jumped on top of him to finish the job. The panicked scientist tried to maneuver his light pistol around to fire at the ghoul on top of him, but his bullets found nothing but air.</p><p></p><p>Slone, hearing the burst from Carlito’s machine pistol, turned around and witnessed the scientist’s predicament. The troll rushed back towards the stairway and took a giant leap. Leading with his combat axe, Slone landed a furious double-overhand blow to the ghoul on top of Carlito, instantly severing his spine.</p><p></p><p>The remaining ghoul on the right flank attacked Slone to no effect.</p><p></p><p>Bleeding from the ghoul’s initial assault, Carlito crawled out from under the body of the ghoul and kicked off the nanites of his SaviourMedKit to start first aid on himself. <em>Sweet Mother of God, that was close!</em> thought the scientist.</p><p></p><p>Slone pivoted in place and tore the ghoul on the right flank in half with one mighty stroke of the combat axe. However, the other five ghouls quickly joined the fray and surrounded the troll once more.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, more forms crawled up to reinforce the ghouls. One in particular stuck out in Alexander’s astral perceptions. <em>Great, a mage-ghoul</em>, though the elf.</p><p></p><p>But Alexander was not the only one with astral perceptions; the mage-ghoul pulled down his own mojo and lobbed a powerball towards Alexander. Drawing deep from his will, the elf batted the magical assault aside with a counterspell.</p><p></p><p>A second ghoul spied Alexander in the corner and rushed him, but could not land a claw.</p><p></p><p>Seeing the ghostly image of the powerball streak towards the elf, Slone knew what he had to do; rushing through the crowd of ghouls engaging him in melee, the troll charged the mage-ghoul and struck. The deadly combat axe cleaved the mage-ghoul from crown to crotch.</p><p></p><p>After his assault, Slone saw another opportunity. The ghouls who had clustered around the troll before had not yet caught up with him – the synaptic accelerator allowed him to travel at greater speeds than mere ghouls could follow. Slone retrieved his Ares Alpha once more and let loose with a second grenade. This time, three of the five dropped immediately from the lethal blast.</p><p></p><p>Huddled on the stairway, Carlito cringed at the second blast even though he was partially shielded from the effect by the ghouls in front of him. The scientist saw five ghouls remaining; one fighting Alexander, two running towards the troll and two ghouls still fighting each other nearby. <em>This is madness, I can’t even see who I’m shooting!</em> thought the scientist. So Carlito instead launched a Scan program from his commlink to attempt to lock on the wireless signal from Tommy’s headware.</p><p></p><p>Alexander maintained his focused concentration on the fighting ghouls and once more cast a Control Action spell against the ghoul attacking him, but to no avail.</p><p></p><p>The two charging ghouls rushed Slone with vicious claw strikes, but the troll easily knocked the blows aside; with his own backstroke, Slone struck down both attacking ghouls in one mighty swing.</p><p></p><p>The ghoul on Alexander decided to switch targets and charged after the troll. Slone easily defended himself against the lone attacker. <em>Who does this guy think he is?</em> thought the troll – somewhat offended at the ghoul’s terminity.</p><p></p><p>Freed from melee, Alexander ordered the remaining ghoul still under his control to run off up the stairway. <em>I am tired of being the whipping boy of this outfit</em>, grumbled the elf.</p><p></p><p>As the ghoul ran past on his way up the stairs, Carlito got a lock on Tommy's headware; it was located in the far corner of the room near a chute which led up to the motorpool. <em>It must be where they dump the fresh bodies</em>, thought the scientist.</p><p></p><p>Seeing only two ghouls remaining in combat, the troll performed a quick double tap with the combat axe and both ghouls fell to the ground.</p><p></p><p>Alexander surveyed the carnage in astral space. The elf noticed several living forms huddled along the walls, but the remaining ghouls chose not the engage the group in combat. <em>I guess ghouls aren’t completely brain-dead</em>, thought the elf. The shaman continued scanning the area and was able to locate Sobriquet’s butterfly broach Power Focus.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the scientist gingerly made his way across the room. Carlito could still hear scuttling noises and the sound of bodies moving around the periphery of the room, but the remaining ghouls must have realized this prey was too tough and chose to hide instead of attack. While the scientist knew that he could wirelessly download the contents of Tommy’s commlink, he also knew that he could not leave Tommy’s remains to rot in this literal hell hole. <em>I’ll have to sever the head</em> Carlito grimly concluded.</p><p></p><p>Once he reached the eviscerated form of Tommy, Carlito knelt beside him and began whispering a quick prayer, “Our Father, who art in Heaven…”</p><p></p><p>As the scientist recited the Lord’s Prayer, he placed his hands on either side of Tommy’s head to get a firm grip. “Hallowed be thy name…”</p><p></p><p>Carlito could tell that several strands of muscle tissue still bound the head to the rest of the corpse, so he started wiggling the head back and forth to loosen the sinews and tendons. The scientist concentrated on his words to avoid thinking about what he was doing, “Thy Kindom Come, Thy will be done…”</p><p></p><p>As Carlito pulled at Tommy’s head, flashbacks from childhood rose from the depths of his consciousness. <em>*SMACK* Recite the Lord’s Prayer properly, Carlito, *SMACK*</em></p><p></p><p>Bile rose in his throat, but Carlito grunted out the words to keep from dry heaving. “On Earth as it is in Heaven…” But the vertebrae would not give up their connection to the skull so easily. Carlito realized he needed something sharper to finish the job. <em>Don’t be a sissy, Carlito, use the knife like you’re supposed too</em>, Carlito’s own skull started pounding, <em>Yes, Mother.</em></p><p></p><p>“Give us this day our daily bread…” The scientist pulled the top of Tommy’s hair and stretched out the remains of his neck. With his other hand Carlito pulled out his Yamaha Light Pistol and took aim at Tommy’s throat.</p><p></p><p>“And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us…” Carlito blasted away at Tommy’s neck to sever the remaining tissues. <em>You’re going to Hell, Carlito, You’re going to Hell if you don’t repent!</em> Little Carlito whispered, <em>Sorry, Mother.</em></p><p></p><p>“And lead us not into temptation…” With a load pop, the head came free from the remains; Carlito vomited profusely and collapsed weeping over Tommy’s corpse.</p><p></p><p>Slone grimly finished Carlito’s prayer as he stood behind the scientist, “But deliver us from evil. Amen, brother.”</p><p></p><p>“Let’s get the frack out of here,” said the elf.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: right"><em>The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in</em></p> <p style="text-align: right"><em>Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin</em></p> <p style="text-align: right"><em>Engines stop running, but I have no fear</em></p> <p style="text-align: right"><em>Cause London is drowning and I, live by the river</em></p> <p style="text-align: right">The Clash, <em>London Calling</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Zen_Pollo, post: 4642125, member: 11404"] [b]Discrete Disposal[/b] [INDENT]GM Note: This post features graphic imagery and religious connotations; read at your discretion.[/INDENT] [RIGHT][I]London calling to the zombies of death Quit holding out - and draw another breath[/I] The Clash, [I]London Calling[/I][/RIGHT] [I]Setting:[/I] The squat concrete building sat the middle of an empty lot utterly devoid of life – even weeds. The structure had four rolling garage doors and a smaller office door with a broad window showing the well-lit office. Inside a strained-looking human woman played virtual [I]SolitARe[/I]. Alexander shook his head, [I]I thought I wasn’t going to get involved with this nonsense?[/I] But the others had been very persuasive. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [I]Alexander and Slone had been arguing in front of the Friendship Church | Friendship Travel while Carlito attempted to fix the broke-down CityMaster. “We were asked to do a job – we did the job – we’re done here,” reasoned Alexander. “Look, you dandelion-eating nancy-boy, we need to find out what happened to Tommy,” argued Slone, “Besides we still have those fraggin’ samples” “Yeah, we need to do testing on those samples,” agreed Carlito as he squirmed on the ground underneath the engine block, “I bet they are some sort of bio-weapon and Tommy was trying to figure out what it did before he was killed.” “So what, vatjob? Like I give a frack about those samples.” Alexander stated; he was tired of being pushed around. [B]VROOM[/B] “Alright!” exclaimed Carlito as he finished bringing the dead CityMaster back to life. The scientist crawled out from underneath the van and moved to sit in the driver’s seat, but the troll blocked him out. Slone stated matter-of-factly, “I Drive; You ride in the back.” Slone grabbed the scientist by the scruff of his neck and casually tossed him into the rear of the vehicle. The troll turned to Alexander still standing petulantly in the road in front of the church-travel agency. “Alright, Fancy-pants, if you want to walk out of the Barrens on your own, that’s fine,” said Slone; the troll had had enough of elf’s behavior, “This CityMaster’s going to find Tommy’s corpse. What’s it going to be?” Alexander looked around his literally Barren surroundings; then, the elf climbed into the CityMaster, “I’ve got shotgun.”[/I] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It had been relatively simple legwork to find the company associated with the pale puritan logo. It turned out the company was an outfit from Tacoma called [I]Discrete Disposal[/I]. When Carlito had datasearched the company on the Matrix, an ARO had popped up with the address and short vid-link promotion showing a comely woman zipping up an industrial red jumpsuit. [I]When you need Discretion AND a good Cleaning, Call us. Available 24/7![/I] Alexander had made a few calls to some of his contacts and discovered the organization specialized in cleaning up after wetwork. The company was not affiliated with any particular corp or underworld group – everyone had secrets to bury – even the corporations running the police. [I]Strange that I couldn’t find out who owns the company, though[/I], thought the elf, [I]Someone has to be in charge of this outfit.[/I] And so the trio stood in front of the lot, about to infiltrate the cleaning company which had disposed of Tommy’s body. The plan was to pretend the team was the group which originally ordered the clean-up and that they had discovered additional information which required them to search the remains. Carlito had hoped they would be able to examine the body and discretely download the contents of Tommy’s commlink via a wireless connection. “C’mon, moonlight’s burning,” gruffed the troll as he stepped onto the lot and headed towards the office door. Carlito followed closely behind. Alexander moved to follow and, as he stepped onto the lot, a sublime sense of foreboding overcame him. While the elf was a shaman, Alexander was not exactly the spiritual sort; In fact, the elf’s selfish demeanor often ran afoul of his shamanic leanings. Yet, even the elf could sense that something in the background was not right with this establishment. The elf’s liked to envision his magical abilities were a clear pool of mojo from which he pulled down spells as though drinking from a straw. This building felt like someone had taken a steaming drek in his pool of mojo. The elf mentally shifted his perceptions to the astral plane. The mundane world slid from his gaze and the transcendent astral world came into view. The buildings and pavement faded away and became almost transparent. However, the meat in front of him – Carlito and the troll – grew brighter; their moods popped out at him as colors washing over their auras. Slone had the tightly-coiled aura of someone poised for violence. Carlito’s aura was spikey and geometric, yet had a maelstrom swirling inside that threatened to burst out at any moment. [I]I wonder what will finally set him off the deep-end?[/I] Alexander mused. But it was not his companions’ aura which interested the elf; it was the booming voice which thundered from the astral depths of the building, “Now that's interesting,” it said sonorously, “Most people would flee this place. Why don't you and your friends come inside? I think I would very much like to meet you.” [I]What the frack?[/I] thought the elf; but he merely said to his colleagues, “We’ve been expected.” “Great,” replied the troll as he opened the office door and stepped inside. The twenty-something blonde looked up from her virtual game of [I]SolitARe[/I] floating in the air above her desk. “Can I help you?” the receptionist asked eying Slone dubiously. “Yeah, we’d like to see the boss,” Slone replied nonchalantly. “And see him you shall,” exclaimed a tall man standing in the entryway to an office. The tall man wore a conservative black suit and long flowing black coat covering translucent white skin. Strangely, the man wore a black puritan’s hat with a silver buckle. Carlito could have sworn the man was not standing there a moment before he spoke. [I]And why is Alexander sweating so much?[/I] thought the scientist as the elf stiffly walked into the office. Carlito hadn’t seen the elf so anxious since they had had to flee the containment unit at the STTC. The Puritan ushered the trio into the office and gestured to two chairs in front of a sleek industrial desk made of glass and steel. “Please sit. May I offer you refreshment?” asked the Puritan as he sat behind the desk AROs popped-up in Carlito’s and Alexander’s commlinks with small menus for beverages and snacks available for clients. Alexander vehemently declined, while Carlito thought to himself, [I]Why not? This place is so sterile and clean, unlike most places we frequent![/I] The scientist didn’t even pause to wipe down the seat as was his usual custom. Slone opted to stand. [I]When are we going to find an office with furniture I can use?[/I] “So what can I do for you gentleman?” asked the Puritan. Alexander decided to come clean, “You have cleaned a job site recently and we would like to examine the remains.” The Puritan frowned, “I clean many job sites; After all, it is our business.” “This job was in the Barrens,” persisted the elf. “The Barrens? I perform many jobs in the Barrens,” replied the Puritan evasively. At that moment, the receptionist entered the office with a small tray carrying Carlito’s order: gelid Fuzzyglug, still in the can. "We have a video timestamp on one of your vans leaving the site," stated the scientist as he popped the top and took a sugary swig. Carlito recalled the red van leaving the scene of the Friendship Church | Friendship Travel massacre. Changing his tack, the Puritan replied, “Why should I help you?” Slone retorted, “Cuz you’re a nice guy and you wear a cool hat.” The Puritan guffawed, “A cool hat indeed!” The Puritan decided at that moment that he liked this trio. [I]Metahumans are so unpredictable[/I], thought the Puritan, [I]After all this time, they can still find ways to surprise me.[/I] The Puritan stood up and motioned for the group to follow him. The tall man led the trio back to the reception area and down a corridor towards a cubicle farm where accountants, deskjockeys and other wageslaves plied their trade. Through a glass wall in the rear of the office area, the trio could see several red vans parked in the motor pool. The Puritan stopped at a large metal door with a reinforced frame and three separate maglocks. Sitting in front of the door was a security specialist wearing full body armor and carrying a light machinegun on a gyromount. "Stand down Percy,” said the Puritan. The tall man gestured to the maglocks and the security guard used his maglock passkey to unlock the door. Once finished, the SecSpec stepped back from the door and readied his LMG. “Once you enter, I will lock the door behind you for safety reasons,” explained the Puritan who then smiled knowingly at the elf, “Alexander will let me know when you are ready to leave.” Alexander gulped and nodded curtly. “What’s down there?” asked the troll. “You will have to see for yourself. Good luck,” the Puritan replied and stood aside. Carlito positioned himself to stand behind the door as it opened while Slone stood ready to confront whatever came out. Alexander stood in the rear with his arms folded. [I]What a cluster-frag[/I] thought the elf, [I]This place is a toxic nightmare. The Puritan is leading us to our doom.[/I] Carlito nodded at Slone and then pulled the door open. Immediately, a wave of stench so profound that it registered in Alexander’s astral senses washed over the group. The troll grimaced but kept his composure, [I]Yep, there’s dead bodies in there.[/I] The elf turned his head away from the door in a vain attempt to avoid the smell. In his peripheral vision, Alexander noticed the cube-dwellers nearest to the door donned surgical face masks to cover the odor. However, Carlito bent over and voided his Fuzzyglug all over the floor. Behind the security door was a stairway leading down into a basement. Slone noticed small bits of decaying flesh and excrement smeared on the steps and walls. It was clear that no light sources existed in the basement. Fortunately for the troll, his natural thermographic vision would register any unfriendlies in the area. Once the scientist recovered himself, the trio gingerly made their way downstairs. Slone led the way since he was the only one whom could see. The elf was next – Alexander had the same low-light vision as other elves, but it was his astral perceptions that guided him. Carlito followed in rear-guard; the human could not see anything and had no vision-enhancement cyberware to augment his perceptions. The scientist kept his hands on Alexander’s shoulders so he wouldn’t fall over. As Carlito made it onto the stairway, the Security Specialist closed the door behind the trio; the group heard the three bolts slide into place as if three thunderbolts sealing their doom. As the door closed, all the ambient light from the first floor faded and the team was sealed in darkness. As the group traversed down the stairway, Slone told his teammates, “We should lay waste to this glitched-up hole.” “I hate places like this – this is low rent,” muttered the scientist. Alexander agreed, "This basement is beyond low rent – way beyond.” The elf could see the background toxicity levels through his astral perceptions. If the parking lot was an astral wasteland, the basement was ground zero. Slone rounded a corner in the stairway to his left. In his thermographic gaze, the room underneath the complex opened up. Vague body-like shapes with little heat-differentiation covered the entire floor of the 25m by 25m area. Slone could see a few forms amongst the heaps of bodies still had normal body temperatures. [I]Must be the fresh meat; Good thing Carlito can’t see this or he would freak out[/I], thought the troll. The troll stepped onto the floor and made his forward. Following close behind the troll, the elf reached the floor and slipped – there wasn’t enough light for his lowlight vision to kick-in. So Alexander perceived the room in astral space. It quickly dawned on the elf that the bodies littered about the floor were the remains of the [I]cleaning[/I] jobs performed by the Discrete Disposal. [I]I might end-up here one day if things go south[/I], Alexander mused. Carlito clung to Alexander, completely lost. [I]I’m actually glad I can’t see what I’m smelling right now[/I], thought the scientist as he shivered. The troll had his trusty Ares Alpha in one hand and his combat axe in the other. Slone approached the closest body that had a heat signature. Slone stood over the form and nudged it with his axe. And that is when the ghouls struck. Lightening fast, the heat forms Slone thought were corpses jumped up and ran towards the group still near the stairway. Slone counted at least 9 ghouls running to surround the team. The ghouls howled as they rushed the trio, jubilant at the opportunity to feed on some fresh meat instead of the dead fare the Puritan regularly fed them. Alexander and Carlito screamed in response to the guttural howls, but the troll simply kicked in his synaptic accelerator and the world slowed down; as fast as the ghouls were, they were no match for the augmented reactions of the troll’s biotechnology. Slone brought his Ares Alpha to bear and launched a grenade from the underbarrel mount into the midst of the rushing horde. [I]Good thing Carlito helped me disable the safety timer on the grenade launcher[/I], thought the troll as the salvo hit his impact target and blasted five ghouls in its effect radius. Unfortunately, the ghouls were not laid low by the explosion and were still able to surround the troll and engage him in melee. Soon, the troll was fighting for his life fending off no fewer than five ghouls in hand-to-hand combat. The troll was forced to sling his Ares over his shoulder to free his other hand for melee. Two ghouls on the right flank were outside Slone’s grenade blast and immediately set upon Alexander with savage swipes of their elongated claws. The elf screamed as the ghouls tore chunks of flesh from his forearms. In the flash of the grenade blast, Carlito witnessed the utter horror of the scene; piles of bodies being eaten by gaunt, pale ghouls and glimpses of the chaotic melee unfolding in front of him. The flash from the grenade imprinted the skirmish upon his retinas; so the scientist did the only thing he could – he took aim at the last known position of the closest ghoul and let lose with his Yamaha Sakura Fubuki light machine pistol. In the staccato flashes between bullets, the scientist saw his burst tear into Alexander’s back! “You glitched-up son of a slitch!” the elf cried out as he stumbled under the burst. Luckily, the elf’s form fitting body armor absorbed some of the damage, but between Carlito’s burst and the ghoul’s attacks, Alexander knew he was in big trouble, [I]Frag it all, I’m not going down like this![/I] The elf ran to left and bowled over two ghouls approaching from that side. As he ran, Alexander pulled down the mojo, even through it felt like reaching into a toilet bowl after an epic bout of diarrhea. The shaman formed a Control Action spell targeting the closet ghoul on the left flank and put his back to the corner of the room. The astral aftereffect of the spell made the elf vomit in his mouth. Meanwhile, Slone was having no luck fighting off the five ghouls in melee. Although the giant troll outmatched any one of the ghouls in combat, the group of five coordinated attacks so that Slone could not easily strike one without opening himself up to a blow from a flanking ghoul. The five ghouls also had little luck in taking down the troll – the combat axe and Slone’s naturally long limbs kept most of the ghouls at bay. The few skirmishers that were able to land blows could not penetrate Slone’s armored jacket, dermal armor, and titanium bone lacing; not tot mention the troll’s tough hide and bulking physique. In short, it was a stalemate, an impasse, Ai Uchi – the state of mutual kills. From his hiding spot in the corner, Alexander directed the ghoul under the effect of his Control Actions spell to attack the ghoul adjacent to him. The two ghouls on the left flank immediately started scuffling with one another. The elf attempted to ensnare a second ghoul, but the effort required to maintain his first spell and the pain of his wounds impeded his casting. One of the ghouls on the right flank charged the scientist near the stairwell. The ghoul knocked Carlito down and jumped on top of him to finish the job. The panicked scientist tried to maneuver his light pistol around to fire at the ghoul on top of him, but his bullets found nothing but air. Slone, hearing the burst from Carlito’s machine pistol, turned around and witnessed the scientist’s predicament. The troll rushed back towards the stairway and took a giant leap. Leading with his combat axe, Slone landed a furious double-overhand blow to the ghoul on top of Carlito, instantly severing his spine. The remaining ghoul on the right flank attacked Slone to no effect. Bleeding from the ghoul’s initial assault, Carlito crawled out from under the body of the ghoul and kicked off the nanites of his SaviourMedKit to start first aid on himself. [I]Sweet Mother of God, that was close![/I] thought the scientist. Slone pivoted in place and tore the ghoul on the right flank in half with one mighty stroke of the combat axe. However, the other five ghouls quickly joined the fray and surrounded the troll once more. Meanwhile, more forms crawled up to reinforce the ghouls. One in particular stuck out in Alexander’s astral perceptions. [I]Great, a mage-ghoul[/I], though the elf. But Alexander was not the only one with astral perceptions; the mage-ghoul pulled down his own mojo and lobbed a powerball towards Alexander. Drawing deep from his will, the elf batted the magical assault aside with a counterspell. A second ghoul spied Alexander in the corner and rushed him, but could not land a claw. Seeing the ghostly image of the powerball streak towards the elf, Slone knew what he had to do; rushing through the crowd of ghouls engaging him in melee, the troll charged the mage-ghoul and struck. The deadly combat axe cleaved the mage-ghoul from crown to crotch. After his assault, Slone saw another opportunity. The ghouls who had clustered around the troll before had not yet caught up with him – the synaptic accelerator allowed him to travel at greater speeds than mere ghouls could follow. Slone retrieved his Ares Alpha once more and let loose with a second grenade. This time, three of the five dropped immediately from the lethal blast. Huddled on the stairway, Carlito cringed at the second blast even though he was partially shielded from the effect by the ghouls in front of him. The scientist saw five ghouls remaining; one fighting Alexander, two running towards the troll and two ghouls still fighting each other nearby. [I]This is madness, I can’t even see who I’m shooting![/I] thought the scientist. So Carlito instead launched a Scan program from his commlink to attempt to lock on the wireless signal from Tommy’s headware. Alexander maintained his focused concentration on the fighting ghouls and once more cast a Control Action spell against the ghoul attacking him, but to no avail. The two charging ghouls rushed Slone with vicious claw strikes, but the troll easily knocked the blows aside; with his own backstroke, Slone struck down both attacking ghouls in one mighty swing. The ghoul on Alexander decided to switch targets and charged after the troll. Slone easily defended himself against the lone attacker. [I]Who does this guy think he is?[/I] thought the troll – somewhat offended at the ghoul’s terminity. Freed from melee, Alexander ordered the remaining ghoul still under his control to run off up the stairway. [I]I am tired of being the whipping boy of this outfit[/I], grumbled the elf. As the ghoul ran past on his way up the stairs, Carlito got a lock on Tommy's headware; it was located in the far corner of the room near a chute which led up to the motorpool. [I]It must be where they dump the fresh bodies[/I], thought the scientist. Seeing only two ghouls remaining in combat, the troll performed a quick double tap with the combat axe and both ghouls fell to the ground. Alexander surveyed the carnage in astral space. The elf noticed several living forms huddled along the walls, but the remaining ghouls chose not the engage the group in combat. [I]I guess ghouls aren’t completely brain-dead[/I], thought the elf. The shaman continued scanning the area and was able to locate Sobriquet’s butterfly broach Power Focus. Meanwhile, the scientist gingerly made his way across the room. Carlito could still hear scuttling noises and the sound of bodies moving around the periphery of the room, but the remaining ghouls must have realized this prey was too tough and chose to hide instead of attack. While the scientist knew that he could wirelessly download the contents of Tommy’s commlink, he also knew that he could not leave Tommy’s remains to rot in this literal hell hole. [I]I’ll have to sever the head[/I] Carlito grimly concluded. Once he reached the eviscerated form of Tommy, Carlito knelt beside him and began whispering a quick prayer, “Our Father, who art in Heaven…” As the scientist recited the Lord’s Prayer, he placed his hands on either side of Tommy’s head to get a firm grip. “Hallowed be thy name…” Carlito could tell that several strands of muscle tissue still bound the head to the rest of the corpse, so he started wiggling the head back and forth to loosen the sinews and tendons. The scientist concentrated on his words to avoid thinking about what he was doing, “Thy Kindom Come, Thy will be done…” As Carlito pulled at Tommy’s head, flashbacks from childhood rose from the depths of his consciousness. [I]*SMACK* Recite the Lord’s Prayer properly, Carlito, *SMACK*[/I] Bile rose in his throat, but Carlito grunted out the words to keep from dry heaving. “On Earth as it is in Heaven…” But the vertebrae would not give up their connection to the skull so easily. Carlito realized he needed something sharper to finish the job. [I]Don’t be a sissy, Carlito, use the knife like you’re supposed too[/I], Carlito’s own skull started pounding, [I]Yes, Mother.[/I] “Give us this day our daily bread…” The scientist pulled the top of Tommy’s hair and stretched out the remains of his neck. With his other hand Carlito pulled out his Yamaha Light Pistol and took aim at Tommy’s throat. “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us…” Carlito blasted away at Tommy’s neck to sever the remaining tissues. [I]You’re going to Hell, Carlito, You’re going to Hell if you don’t repent![/I] Little Carlito whispered, [I]Sorry, Mother.[/I] “And lead us not into temptation…” With a load pop, the head came free from the remains; Carlito vomited profusely and collapsed weeping over Tommy’s corpse. Slone grimly finished Carlito’s prayer as he stood behind the scientist, “But deliver us from evil. Amen, brother.” “Let’s get the frack out of here,” said the elf. [RIGHT][I]The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin Engines stop running, but I have no fear Cause London is drowning and I, live by the river[/I] The Clash, [I]London Calling[/I][/RIGHT] [/QUOTE]
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