Genesis Crisis: Resurgence IC

Hotel
- Lenka -

Lenka shrugged. She didn’t care about money. It felt natural for her to share if she had more than enough, however Marcus didn’t seem too happy about it. His expression seemed a little forced when he caught the key.

Her family didn’t come from a rich background. As far as she remembered, their parents had always been very open with them about what they could afford and how much money was available. She knew what it was like to forgo certain amenities and her brother was the main reason things had changed now.

They walked towards the elevator. “Are you upset?” she asked when they entered, intentionally not specifying what she thought he could be upset about.

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Hotel
- James -

James put his arm around Rise when she moved closer. In the background he could hear music playing, probably Luke. It didn’t actually sound too bad.

“Okay, thanks,” he replied when Keynes assured them he would try and find Alex. It was one less thing for them to worry about and he was grateful about that.

James gave a smirk when Keynes asked him if it was okay that they talked to his sister. “Sure, I don’t mind,” he said. “And I’m sure she doesn’t mind either. Just make sure she doesn’t get more information out of you than you’re trying to get out of her.”

“She wants to become a journalist,” he added and his voice took a lighter, almost joking, tone. “And when it comes to being overly chatty she would even give Rise a run for her money.” Quickly he gave Rise a kiss on the temple to appease her.

Before he ended the conversation, he remembered another matter. “By the way, we’re tracking the Redcape via its Bio-band. I’m logged into the Bio-band database until we find it. Do you know if that is a possible way to track down any of the other Redcapes?”

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Raidon’s apartment
- Arya -

Arya was in the kitchen, cutting up vegetables for dinner when her phone rang on the counter. She recognised the number and tipped the screen to answer the call.

“Hello Lisa,” she said happily and leaned the phone upright so she could see the screen, but have both hands free. She was making dinner, however Lisa’s next words made her pause her preparations.

It just so happened that Arya was in the city for a few days. Due to work, she had a few meetings in the Capital and at the same time she tried to add a few days whenever she could, to spend more time with Samael.

Arya looked good. Happy. And she was. The work she did for the weapons development center was still as fulfilling as ever and she loved every minute with Samael. Her love for him had not wavered a single moment since the events that brought them together.

In addition to that, she was able to reconnect more with Lisa through more frequent calls and visits. Like this one, however, Lisa’s expression told her, that she didn’t have good news.

“What is it?” she asked. Her expression fell a little when Lisa explained the details and she sighed. “You know, I would sleep better tonight if you had chosen not to take part in such a dangerous mission. But I understand why you did it, even if I believe there are enough other capable people in the military to deal with this,” she added before Lisa could protest. “And of course I am glad that you gave me a warning this time,” she said with a wink.

It was Lisa’s decision and she respected that, even if she didn’t like it. Even from the few details Lisa had given her, she suspected that there was danger involved.

“Promise me, you will take care of yourself,” Arya said, her melodic voice carrying how worried she was. “And if there is anything you need, please, please call me. I will always try to help you.”

Hotel
Luke Jaron

As Luke was just about to rest, his phone rang. He looked it up, and his eyes were widen. He cleared his throat and answered his phone.

"Hey, dad. What a surprise!"

"Luke, your mother had been superstitious this morning so just calling you." The man with solid voice chuckled.

"Again? She really needs to stop reading those books and you need to stop buying those kind of books for her." Luke commented, trying to sound bright as possible.

"How's brother and everyone else?" Luke asked quickly to change attention to his brother and others in dojo.

"Ah, he is fulfilling his role as a grand master quite well. Not well as I expected, but well enough."

Luke smiled gently at that statement, his father always had high expectation from them, and yet amazingly even they failed to meet his standard, he never show sign of disappointment. He showed more of encouragement that they could do better. He could even picture his father's posture right now in his head, the expression and where his father's free hand would be.

"Dad, you just have high expectation." Luke tossed his comment casually.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I am very pleased with your brother. But, wish you could be here and help him to attract female students..." The statement did not sound like a joke and it caught Luke off guard.

Luke shook his head, even though he knew his father can't see what his head was doing.  "Dad, I am not a prince charming. Besides, you know well that I am not coming back to martial artist world."

There was a moment of silence, Luke quickly covered his mouth, realizing he said something he shouldn't have... However, that silence was quickly broken by Luke's father. "Well, if you fail at singing, do come back. We don't mind having you back."

Luke smiled, yet felt sorry for his father; it was Luke's decision to leave the place, but it was also his father who did not stop him for he knew well how others were looking at Luke at that time.

"Thanks, Dad... Well, tell mom that I am okay. Miss you guys." Said Luke, trying to quickly wrapped up the conversation.

"Sure. We miss you, too. That said, are you dating any girl?"

"No." Luke quickly answered, and was surprised by his question.

"Why not?"

"Dad.... Really? I don't know? Maybe I haven't met anyone that interests me that much... Or anyone who has enough interest in me...." Luke rolled his eyes; he felt like he was giving an excuse why doesn't have one...

"So you are not attracted to the guys, right?"

"Dad...." Luke face-palmed and sighed.

"Okay, okay. Just checking with you. If you find one, you better tell me."

"If I found one. Good night, dad." Luke shook his head and replied.

"Good night, Luke." said his father in somewhat lifting tone.

Luke sighed, but smiled. "Yeah... telling them what I got into myself that would just make them worry... Anyways, after I get Mark out of this... they might not need my help..." Luke whispered to himself as he let his back lean on the comfortable bed.

Rise felt so relieved just to know Keynes was out there still looking after them. He was so much the dad she never really had.

"Thank you, Keynes," she said, smiling. It would be great if he could manage to find Alex. Even if Alex was doing something and couldn't help them, just knowing he was fine would be enough.

Keynes and James started talking about Lenka, and when James mentioned Lenka giving her a run or her money about chattiness, she gave him a pout before he appeased her with a kiss.

The matter of the Redcapes caught her interest as well. James brought up a good point, but she could immediately see the flaw.

"That would only work if they were registered," she said. "But you know there are strain users protesting the registration. It would be easy to target them to make sure they couldn't be tracked."

Hotel
-Marcus-

Marcus pushed the button for their floor and leaned back against the elevator wall. He thought about Lenka's question for a moment while the doors slid shut. "No, I'm not upset, just realizing that I might have gone into this situation without properly thinking things out first." Marcus responded with a half smile. "I've been told that thinking ahead isn't one of my strengths."

"It's something that I've been trying to work on recently, but the more I think I've got things under control, the more it seems like I'm fooling myself." He chuckled as the ding of the elevator announced their arrival.

"Anyway, get some sleep, and we'll decide where to go from here in the morning."

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Bunk House

Keynes crushed out his cigarette on the desk and swept the ashes into the trash can beside it. "Now I'm looking forward to having a conversation with her even more." He responded to James with a smile. "It'll be interesting to see if she's got your wits behind a silver tongue. That would be a force to be reckoned with."

He scribbled down a note or two before turning his attention back to the screen. "I'll see if Jax can track the others. Despite the protests, so far, all awakened strains have still been recorded by the administration." He paused, scratching his chin for a moment.

"If the bio bands broke when they changed, that's a different story though. In any case, you're to contact me as soon as you're in the Redcape's general vicinity. I want to make sure you've got a good game plan for capturing it. In the meantime, get some rest. I'll contact you again at lunch tomorrow if I've not heard from you before then."

He disconnected the communicator and glanced over his notes before lighting another cigarette. Time to compile that report...

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Hotel
-Lisa-

"Yeah, I figured letting you know ahead of time was probably a better option this time around." Lisa said with a grimace. "Although I am sorry to worry you."

She leaned back on the bed, letting out a sigh. "You don't have to worry about me taking care of myself." Lisa grinned, despite the weight of the conversation. "I've spent a lot of time thinking about my strain, and I'm in complete control now. Besides, this time, we're the ones working for the government, not against it." She gave Arya a wink of her own.

"Speaking of which, how's life at the research facility? Getting to play with any new toys?"

Hotel
- Lenka -

“Pfft,” Lenka replied with a grin. “Where is the fun in that?” She stepped out of the elevator when they arrived at their floor. “Planning everything out is boring. You have to leave room to be spontaneous.”

She looked at her key number and then glanced around, trying to orient herself to find the way to her room.

“I’m not saying, don’t try to improve yourself, just be careful that you don’t lose yourself in the process,” she gave Marcus a smile and turned left. “Don’t forget, we’re starting early tomorrow. Have a good night.”
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Hotel
- James -

James looked at Rise, his expression thoughtful. Rise might be onto something. There was a thought in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp it.

Then Keynes spoke again and his attention returned to the phone call. “Alright, talk to you soon,” he said to Keynes and watched as the screen turned black.

He leaned back. “Do you really think whoever is targeting the strain users knows who is registered and who is not?” he asked Rise and then sat up suddenly, grabbing her arm. “Do you know what that means? They would have to have access to the Bio band database and military files.” His face paled slightly. “And only certain military personnel has access.”

“Well, speculation won’t help. And there’s nothing we can do about it tonight,” James pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to wrap his head around the possible consequences. “Let’s go to bed,” he suggested and pulled Rise up and into a hug.

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Raidon’t apartment
- Arya -

“You know, I will still worry, even if you tell me not to,” Arya replied with a gentle smile. “Still, knowing is better than not knowing and I trust you are pretty capable.”

Slowly she took up her work again and threw the cut vegetables in the hot pan. “You know, I don’t play with the toys, I’m the one who makes them,” she told Lisa with a wink.

"I’m actually in the city for a couple days. There were a few meetings concerning a prototype we just finished and as always  I’m taking the chance to spend a few days with Samael” she continued.

A happy smile played around her lips and she didn’t need to elaborate further. “Speaking of which, he’ll be home soon, so I need to finish making dinner.”

Hotel
Luke Jaron

As Luke laid on the bed, his eyes caught his fake bio-band; he bite his lips, the longer he stayed with the Aegis group, he realized that he might be found out that he was wearing a fake bio-band.
It's a miracle it went unnoticed this far.

"Maybe I should plan my escape...?"

Luke shook his head, "...I need to focus on capturing Mark... I can think of my escape after that..." Luke sighed, and whispered "I need something to distract them though...."

Raidon's Apartment

"He'll be home sooner than you think."

The voice of Raidon came from behind Arya. It was hard to tell when Raidon was teasing, as he didn't smile much, but there was a softening around his eyes that was easy for her to see.

Today, however, the lightness didn't last long. By the time he'd pressed a kiss to her temple, his expression had become withdrawn. What he and Keynes had learned in the council meeting today was weighing heavily on him.

"Was that your sister?" he asked, sitting down at the table.

Raidon’t apartment
- Arya -

A smile lit up Arya’s face when she heard his voice and she turned around. Seeing him still made her heart beat faster and her cheeks were soon covered in a light blush. Their eyes met for a second and then she stepped forward to give him a deep hug.

After a few seconds, she stepped back and brought their dinner to the table. “Yes it was,” she said and studied his expression when she sat the plates down. “She told me, she and some of the other Aegis members are on a mission, hunting down a Redcape.”

“But you already knew what they were doing,” she said after a pause and took a seat. Arya took his hand. “How bad is the situation with the Praetorate and Alina?”

Raidon's Apartment

Raidon nodded. He knew it wouldn't be long until Arya found out if Lisa was involved. Not that it mattered - he had no intention of keeping it from her.

"It's controlled at the moment," he said, brow furrowed. "But it has the potential to explode into something dangerous. The anti-strain sentiment and protests, as well as the fragile trust in the government, are the oil that has been laid down. This Redcape situation is the match. If we fumble this, it all goes up."

He rubbed at his forehead. If he didn't have so much faith in Alina and the rest of Aegis, he'd be - well, even more worried than he was now.

Raidon’t apartment
- Arya -

Arya’s fingers stroked the back of his hand gently. She could tell that he was worried, not just by his words, but also by his expression even though it did not give away much.

“I know you are worried,” she said, “Have faith though. They have been through worse and this time you’re all on the same side. That has to count for something.”

The situation seemed to be more delicate than she had initially thought. And much more dangerous as well. Still, she couldn’t think of anyone more capable of handling the situation than those who had saved this country before.

Arya kissed his hand lightly. “And I know you’ll do your best to keep the situation under control no matter what happens.”

Raidon's Apartment

Raidon looked up into Arya's face, his grey eyes softening. At times like this, he felt a deep pain in his his heart to think of how he'd almost lost her.

Raidon leaned forward, his lips brushing gently across Arya's. The oven was beeping to get their attention, but he didn't care.

Day 2

Aegis

Aegis awoke the next morning, tired and not entirely rearing to go. When James did a search on the Redcape's bio band, however, they found that it seemed to have stopped moving. This raised everyone's spirits somewhat.

"Maybe we can manage to catch it today," Rise said hopefully as they piled back into the jeep. "Then we can get it to Kokonoe, and things can get back to normal."

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Arusian Agents

Alexei yawned, stretched, and scratched at his cheek. He was spread out across the back seat, having taken his turn to rest. They'd driven most of the night, alternating to allow everyone some time to sleep.

"Have we caught up yet?" he murmured. He couldn't see if Ehlana or Belo were at the wheel, and he didn't feel much like moving just yet.

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Maxim and Kurik

Maxim was there to greet Kurik before the lift to the surface. Right at sunrise, Kurik had received an announcement to prepare for travel clearing and departure. Maxim had pulled through after all.

"Glad to see you made it," Maxim said, offering a wan smile. "I thought the safety clearing would never end."

He motioned for Kurik to follow, and the two headed onto the lift with the security detail. Maxim stood unconcerned in the middle of them, as though he and Kurik were simply heading for a stroll.

"If all goes according to plan, this might be the last we see of Arusia," he said, surveying the expanse of the base around them through the glass panels of the lift.

Aegis - The Cruise
Luke Jaron

Luke took the driver seat once again as James had been driving for very long hours, and besides, he wanted to make sure they would get there as soon as possible. Even though, just like other Aegis member, Luke was tired. However, as it was his friend's life was on the line, he couldn't let tiredness stop him from saving his friend.

And the news about Mark had been staying at one location definitely lifted up Luke's spirit. As everyone ready to leave, Luke started the cruise's engine and started to drive towards where Mark stopped his movement.

__________________________

Arusia Agents
Belobog Volkov, "Belo"

Belobog yawned little, however, that did not stop nor interrupted his driving skill. He was not so sure how long he had been driving, but since he did not feel like sleeping at all, he did not bother to wake his team mates since the night he had taken over the steering wheel.

Just then, Alexei voice came from behind, asking if they are catching up to them. Belobog smirked, "Well, we do not have any information about where they are exactly so I can't report in any confidence, but that Redcape stopped its movement for awhile now." Said Belobog, "We would probably meet them at the destination." He added, looking at the road ahead.

Aegis
- James -

James allowed Luke to take the driver’s seat and sat down on the passenger side. He pulled up the screen to the location of the Redcape. They were much closer now.

“We should be a able to catch up today,” he said. “You know what concerns me more…what do we do when we catch up? How do we capture it?”

James threw another glance at Luke, knowing full well that he could possibly try to protect his former friend. But at what cost? He looked around at the others. “Any ideas?”

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Hotel
- Lenka -

Lenka was sitting at the breakfast table, her foot tipping impatiently. Her bag was already next to her and she was waiting for Marcus.

It was still early in the morning, but she was already wide awake and looked much more rested than yesterday. Instead of keeping her long hair open, she had put it in a braid, giving her a more serious look.

There was already a cup of coffee before her. Instead of drinking, she kept stirring it, apparently lost in thought. Then her attention diverted back to the data pad and she tipped the refresh button to see where the Redcape was.

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Arusian Agents
- Ehlana -

Ehlana, sitting on the passenger seat, opened her eyes when she heard Alexei’s voice. She pushed the hood from her cloak back and looked outside. Morning had already broken and sun rays were shining through the window. She took her feet from the dashboard and straightened the seat into a more upright position.

“I don’t know. We can’t be too far behind anymore,” she said, having rested without really falling asleep, since she switched with Belo a few hours ago. “How are you doing on tiredness, Belo?” she asked.

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Arusia
- Kurik -

Kurik arrived at the lift only to find that Maxim was already waiting for him. He didn’t carry much with him. He’d lost all attachment to things and he rarely needed to use a weapon. “Thanks for working so hard to allow me to come along,” he said with a smile.

The lift slowly carried them up to the surface and Kurik threw a glance at Maxim. “I wouldn’t count on that,” Kurik replied with a light chuckle. “But I will surely hope for it.”

As they got closer to the surface, he lifted his eyes to the ceiling and could feel an uncommon excitement about seeing the outside again. “Are you excited to finally see what lies outside this cave?” he finally asked.

Aegis

"I might be able to help with that." Lisa responded to James' comment as she slid into her seat. "Although I doubt I can restrain it for long, I should at least be able to slow it down if I can get a hand on it."

When all eyes in the vehicle turned to her, she frowned and shrugged. To demonstrate her point, Lisa reached up and put her palm against the roof of the car. A magic circle spread across the upholstery, and with a sudden gust of wind whipping through the windows, the car began to lift off of the ground. With her eyes closed and sweat beginning to bead on her forehead, Lisa released the magic, and the vehicle dropped the few inches it had been lifted back to the pavement.

"Obviously, I can't move something this size easily." Lisa wiped the seat from her brow with the sleeve of her shirt. "The same can be said for trying to hold a large creature still, but I think I can keep it from thrashing around at least."

She turned her attention back to James. "The question is, what do we have that can restrain it long-term. Aside from that, how are we going to transport it if we even manage to capture it?"

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Hotel

"How are things looking?" Marcus asked around the piece of toast in his mouth as he sat down across the table from Lenka. With his hand now free from holding the breakfast tray, he pushed it further back into his mouth and bit off a large portion, sitting the other piece on his tray.

"Hello?" He waved a hand in front of Lenka's face until she blinked, letting him know that she was mentally present.

Taking a sip of coffee to wash the rest of his toast down, he gave her a questioning look. "Where did you go just now?" The words left his mouth before he could think better of them.

Aegis

Rise sighed and rested her head against the window. It was too early to be wracking her brain for ideas.

"How did we not decide on this yesterday?" she muttered. "We had an entire car ride!"

She looked around the cruiser, trying to think of ideas. Did the police have any such tools.

"Hey," she said, sitting up straighter. "Don't the police use those stunners? I remember when we were running from them in Peterny. One hit my leg, and it was useless for an hour."

Yeah, and Lisa had used her Overlimit to direct one into a man's spine. He'd been totally paralyzed.

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Arusian Agents

Alexei gave a loud yawn and finally sat up.

"So, the rascal finally stopped running," he murmured, looking for his datapad. They shouldn't have to fight it, although it might attack them if provoked. Their bigger concern was that Aegis group.

Alexei brought up the information on them, scrolling through the profiles once more.

"You two ready to fight some real magic users? Kurik was one thing, but this will be the real deal."

Wind, lightning, fire.... even healing. This was going to be interesting.

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Arusia

Maxim could tell that Kurik was getting excited to reach the surface. His words had shown restraint, but his eyes had been only too telling.

As for himself, he shrugged.

"You know, believe it or not, I haven't thought of it much," he said. "It seemed easier not to build up any expectations that might be let down."

As the lift rushed up closer and closer to the surface, that was about to be put to the test. The lift slowed to a halt, and the blast doors before them opened into the antechamber. Once the doors sealed behind them, the front gates slid open. Maxim squinted his eyes against the sudden flood of light and moved slowly into the open.

A great ball of light hung low in the sky, sending a cascade of colors across the horizon. The surface before them, covered in a thick layer of glistening ice, reflected the light from above. Snow drifted lazily from above, and Maxim reached out a tentative hand to catch the flakes on his outstretched palm.

For a long while, he stood still, soaking in the environment with wide eyes. Then, he allowed a smile to drift across his lips.

"So, this is the surface world then," he said softly. "I can see why you're so fond of it."

Aegis
Luke Jaron

"Yeah that's what we should do. Use stunners, and if they have something like a tranquilizer, that should work too..." Luke suggested calmly, "I think I saw some of the weapons having such property..."

Luke closed his lips, he might sound too cold... However, if he was not able to think clearly of what to do, he would not have survived the incident two years ago. "About transporting him to facility, shouldn't we ask for police or military's help after we have captured him?"

_______________________________________

Arusian Agents
Belobog Volkov, "Belo"

"Yawning, but manageable. Actually, I am not tired at all." Belo glanced at Ehlana and then his eyes were back to the road, "How about you? You still look tired to me..."

As Alexei spoke about the Aegis group, Belobog smirked. "You kidding? I am looking forward to it. That said, any of you coming up with the plan?" He asked, wondering how they are going to handle this so-called 'threat'; in all honesty, Belobog won't mind whatever method they would take, but he would definitely choose to kill them if he had the choice.

Police Cruiser
- James -

James’ eyes widened when Lisa suddenly lifted the cruiser. “Impressive,” he said, “That should work to restrain it initially. Hopefully long enough so we can hit it with some stunners.”

He checked the cruiser inventory for the stunners, reading up on their stats. “If I’m looking at this right, using at least 4 or 5 of them in vital spots should knock it out and keep it under for almost an hour.”

James kept scrolling through the inventory list. “And yes, Luke is right,” he added. “Once we managed the capture, we’ll call in a military vehicle, maybe even a helicopter. That should get it to Kokonoe as fast as possible.”

“Me and Lisa should work the stunners while the rest of you distracts it.”

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Hotel
- Lenka -

“Mhh?” Lenka looked up when Marcus sat down, returning to reality. “I think we can catch up with them today,” she said and pushed the data pad towards Marcus. She bit her lip, still not sure how she should explain her sudden presence to her brother.

Lenka gave Marcus a long look when he asked his question, but instead of answering, she got up and picked up a croissant from the buffet. “Oh, it was nothing. I sometimes get lost in my own thoughts,” she said with a grin. “Are you ready to go?”

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Arusia
- Kurik -

As soon as the doors of the front gate slid open, Kurik stepped out and took a deep breath. Cold crisp air filled his lungs. It felt liberating. Even though the air in Arusia was not too bad, it was nothing compared to fresh air.  It was still winter so far northeast and he kneeled down to pick up a handful of snow, just to make sure it was real.

The cold snow melted in his hand while his eyes drifted over to Maxim, who seemed to be enjoying it. For some reason that made him feel relieved.

“Just wait until you see the rest of it,” he said with a smile and started walking towards the aircraft that would take them closer to the Capital.

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Arusian Agents
- Ehlana -

“I’m not tired,” Ehlana replied and smirked at Belo. “I had more than enough sleep.”

“Let me see those files again, please,” Ehlana said and reached out with her hand. Alexei was right. This Aegis group had much higher diversity in their magic use. Practicing against Kurik had been a good preparation, but this…this was different and she wanted to be as prepared as possible against these unnatural abilities.

“We need to remember that this intel might be outdated,” she said after Alexei handed her the files. “There could be new members or some of them could have quit. Also, did you see this one?” she pointed at the picture of Alex. “Several strains. This could be trouble.”

She contemplated for a while until she spoke again. “Our best bet would be to catch up with them before they reach the Redcape,” she said thoughtfully. “In the worst case, if we can’t neutralise them, since they’re all magic users, we could just inject them. Once they are transformed…” she shrugged and trailed off.

Hotel

Marcus glanced over the data pad while he finished his piece of toast. "Yeah, we gained some ground yesterday." Which was surprising, considering he spent a fair amount of time getting used to the vehicle instead of actually trying to catch up, but Marcus wasn't about to mention that.

"Lost in your own thoughts, huh?" He mused, tipping back the remainder of his coffee. "So, is it safe to say your mind is a maze then?" Marcus joked as he got up and slid his tray into the collection bin.

"Sure, let's get to it."

---------------------------------------------

Police Cruiser

Lisa grimaced at James' final comment. "I'm not sure I can hold it still and use the stunners at the same time." She said, biting her lip. "It's probably gotta be one or the other."

She'd spent a lot of time developing her strain over the last year or so, but some things just couldn't be done. It was better to focus on a single large task or multiple small ones. Combining the two rarely worked out very well for her.

Police Cruiser

"Lisa's right," Rise said, frowning. "She's going to need all the focus she can get. I think you're going to have to handle the stunners, James."

She touched his hand lightly. She didn't want to say that it had to be him, as the only one who didn't have magic there.

"Luke and I will have to keep it occupied then," she said, nodding to him.

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Arusian Agents

Alexei studied the file that Ehlana had pointed out, the one named "Alex." A little too close to his own name.

"This many strains?" he said, narrowing his eyes. "Is that even possible? I thought most of them could only manage two at best."

He remembered some discussion about the origins of strain magic, but he hadn't retained the information that thoroughly.

"The Unified Gene, yes?" he said after a few moments. "You think he has it?"

That could be very problematic. Ehlana's suggestion was quite genius, however.

"Heh, yes," Alexei said, nodding approvingly. "Infect the lot of them. Redcapes that strong will give the Grand Army something to really worry about."

Police Cruiser
- James -

“Of course, you’re right,” James nodded and looked back at Lisa. “I'm sorry I didn't realize. You should fully concentrate on keeping it contained.”

He smiled at Rise. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “I guess I just wish my aim was better,” he said in a light voice. “Alex was right, I should’ve practiced more.”

The light voice was masking his frustration with the situation. There was a reason he had chosen to opt out of the military and it frustrated him that he was being dragged back into it. However there was no turning back now and for his friends and his love he would always try to do his best.

“Luke, how close are we?” he asked and pulled out his phone. Once they were close enough, he would call Keynes as promised.

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Truck
- Lenka -

“Not a maze, but it can be an interesting place,” she said with another grin as they walked towards the truck. “What? Yours isn’t?” she asked and climbed onto the passenger seat. “Must be a pretty boring place then,” she gave him a wink.

As they drove off, she took another look at the data pad. “It seems we’re getting really close,” she said and tilting it a few times from left to right to get a better bearing. “Do you think they’ve reached it yet?” She had a slightly confused look on her face, unable to gauge how much distance was really between them and the Redcape.

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Arusian Agents
- Ehlana -

“Yes, two strains at best is usually the case,” Ehlana confirmed. “Well either he has it, or some very close derivative of it.”

She grinned. “Either way, I don’t think he would be able to avoid infection once he’s hit.” She shrugged. From their experience, the only way to avoid the hit with the nano insects was to physically dodge or block the impact. And that was assuming you knew it was coming.

Training with Kurik, who had the Kaja strain, had shown them that he could block it if he timed the spell release right or he could even avoid it if he had cast an enhancement spell. However, the window to get the timing just right was so narrow, even he had to practice a great deal. The chance that any of these Aegis members would be perfectly prepared for that was highly unlikely. They probably didn’t even know how the transformations were caused.

“Do we need a plan?” she asked after a while. “I mean, do you want to take them head on or simply snipe them from a distance?” Ehlana thought about it. “Well, maybe a combination would be best? Four targets… if we are too far away and they take cover, we could lose them, so at least one or two of us, should be on the ground with them.”

She turned slightly around to look at both Belo and Alexei. “What do you think?”

Arusian Agents
Belobog Volkov, "Belo"

"I think it depends on what kind of location it is and where this redcape ran to." Said Belobog thoughtfully, "If there's too many covers, sniping them from far is useless. Maybe we could use some old method? Drag them into some kind of cave or building and let it fall on them? We still have some good old explosive, don't we?" Belobog suggested, but then he didn't dislike the idea of firing them from far. "what I mean is we should come up with back up plan if the place is not good for sniping far. If it's good area to snipe them far, I do not mind at all." Said Belobog, trying to suggest that they should act according to the teaching of military of 'being adaptive' to the environment.

____________________________________________

Aegis
Luke Jaron

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Besides, I found some equipment that has stun effect itself, maybe that could help too." Luke replied to the suggestions of how to handle Mark and he looked at the tracker of how far they are. Luke let out short breath, "He is very close. We will be there soon."

Luke bite his lips, he had to try his best to make sure his friend won't get away this time and be knocked out for good long hours so he could be transported.

He hoped his martial art training shows some sign of usefulness just like the incidents two years ago.

Truck

Marcus opted to withhold his comment about how well he enjoyed being in his own head sometimes. It was probably best not to get into a discussion like that with Lenka. She seemed to pick up on little inconsistencies and try to figure out where they were rooted. Funny how he hadn't known that about her before now.

He glanced over at the screen when she presented it to him and tapped a button to change the scale. "It looks like we'll get there in less than an hour at this rate."

Frowning, he turned his attention back to the road. "Out of curiosity, what exactly do you plan to do when we get there?"


"I'm assuming the others will have already arrived, since they left first, but what if we passed them somewhere along the way? The two of us probably aren't equipped to handle a Redcape, right?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Police Cruiser

"I'm sure you can handle it." Lisa responded, giving James a smile. "We've been in worse scrapes together and came out of it on the other side."

Lisa turned her attention to the interface displaying the Redcape's location. "We should be able to see it pretty soon." She said over her shoulder. "You might want to go ahead and get Keynes on the com, in case he needs to get to somewhere private for this discussion."

Arusian Agents

Alexei was contemplating Ehlana's words on strains when she asked about their plans. Belo chipped in immediately, hile Alexei scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"I think it works to our advantage to fight on open terrain. Ehlana is right," Alexei said. "One should hang back to snipe, and the other two should engage head-on."

He already knew what the arrangement should be. He just hoped they wouldn't fight it.

"Ehlana, you hang back. Belo, you and I will provide the cover she needs," he ordered.

Alexei had no intention of dying, but he wasn't so optimistic as to pretend there wasn't a risk. If anyone was going to make it out, he decided it would be Ehlana.

--------------------------------------------------

Police Cruiser

"Lisa's right," Rise said, looking at James. "Keynes should know before we do anything. Besides, he'll need to give Kokonoe a heads-up as well if we have a Redcape when we pay a visit."

No doubt the scientific genius could whip up something to subdue a Redcape if given a little time.

Police Cruiser
- James -

James nodded in agreement, connected his phone to the on-board display and dialled Keynes number.

“Keynes,” he greeted him when Keynes picked up.

“We’re pretty close to the Redcape,” he said, “Less than an hour and I wanted to clue you in on our ideas”

He waited for the go ahead from Keynes and then began to explain the plan they had come up with to capture the Redcape.

As James finished his explanation, he asked around. “Did I forget anything? Oh right, we’ll need air support to transport it to Kokonoe as quickly as possible.”

----------------------------

Truck
- Lenka -

Lenka seemed unfazed by his recent question. She hadn’t really thought about it, but if she was honest, there weren’t that many options.

“Well, I wasn’t planning on fighting the Redcape,” she said and pulled out her notebook and waved it. “I’m planning on being a journalist, not a fighter.”

She leaned back in her seat and looked at the ceiling while she let her thoughts run, looking at the possibilities.

“I don’t think we passed them. I’d honestly prefer to wait until the fighting is done and just watch from somewhere close by. After they succeed the danger is removed anyway and they’ll be less upset,” she said. “I don’t really expect them to be happy about it, but they can’t very well send me back alone.”

And if the fight didn’t go as they planned, they should be happy about every help they could get. Lenka didn’t voice this thought, but it was there prominently in her mind.

Lenka paused and suddenly had a very thoughtful and serious expression on her face. “They know me and at least James and Rise can probably guess and understand why I followed them. You on the other hand, didn’t really impress them back at the university. I’m curious…what are you going to tell them to keep them from sending you back?”

Her blue eyes didn’t give anything away for a few seconds when she watched Marcus’ reaction to the implication that his journey could end after just two days.

Then her expression lit up with a grin. “I’m just kidding. I wouldn’t let them do that.”


----------------------------

Arusian Agents
- Ehlana -

Ehlana was about to nod in agreement, when she realized what he was suggesting. “Wait, what?” she asked stopping mid-nod with a slightly confused look on her face. “Did you see the weapons I brought?” She pointed at the bo staff and the crossbow. “I have less experience in being a sniper and my strain scouter has a higher efficiency when I'm close by.”

She shook her head. Normally she wouldn’t question it, but this setup didn’t make any sense, considering that both Belo and Alexei had received special training for sniping and she hadn’t.

“I don’t think this is best use of our resources,” she said quietly. “So you might want to reconsider and post Belo or yourself as a sniper.”

Sure, he had seniority and if he ordered her to do it, she would follow. However, so far this venture had been a team effort and she hoped it would stay this way.