[URL=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nIzWfhzqp4][COLOR=DARKCYAN][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]J O S E P H   T H O R E A U:   [COLOR=DARKORANGE][i]T H I S   I S   W A R[/i][/COLOR] [/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][sup][color=silver]Monday, April 10, 2017 - 06:48 PM | [i]Apartment 204, La Maison Noire - Milk Street, Pointe Bordeaux[/i][/color][/sup][/INDENT][/URL]
[INDENT][INDENT]The sound of shallow breathing combined with grunts and moans echoed through the large apartment as the sweat glistened on the skin of the paramedic. Toned biceps held his body up, as his tight core stood out rigid leading to legs of tight muscles before the paramedic plunged downwards again, a relieved moan escaped his mouth as he collapsed to the cold floor. 

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“Done.”[/b][/COLOR] He gasped, sitting up as he finished his gruelling workout. Joseph had been working his aggression nearly nonstop since the fire at the power plant and now with rumors of a gang war bursting out between the De Vitis and the Fierro’s, there was no better for Joseph to return to his true mission. 

Justice for Samantha Thoreau, his mother.

As it currently stood, the police had allowed the trail to go cold, and the one man Joseph would have thought would jump at the chance to help had turned him down. The legendary vigilante, the IllAdvised leader of the Mavericks was nothing now but a scared old man. But Joseph wasn’t about to quit, he knew that his mother’s death was connected to something greater. A dark web had cast itself across the city, and they were all tangled in it. 

Pouring a glass of orange juice, Joseph walked into the kitchen only to turn around as a soft moan came from his couch.

[COLOR=PaleVioletRed][b]“For a second there, I thought maybe you brought home two of us.”[/b][/COLOR]

Turning to the source of the voice, Joseph found his eyes meeting those of Veronica De Vitis. A blur of memories flooding his head as Joseph remembered going to Club Nevermind, drinking far more than he should have and stumbling home with the girl across the room. Had this been a sober decision, perhaps he could have tactically seduced her, instead he was thinking with the wrong head while the proper one was inebriated. 

[COLOR=PaleVioletRed][b]“If you’re up for it, we could always burn some more calories.”[/B][/COLOR] She purred, stretching as she stood up. Joseph felt himself bite his bottom lip, the girl was gorgeous, her legs seemingly never ending as she stood there wearing nothing but his shirt from the club.

Matching her stride, Joseph wrapped his arms around the smaller woman as he hoisted her into the air and placed her on the island in the center of the kitchen.

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“I think you know my answer.”[/B][/COLOR]
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[indent][sup][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5up5B9n7ICA][COLOR=silver]08:36 PM | [i]Apartment 204, La Maison Noire[/i][/COLOR][/url]
[/sup][/indent]


[COLOR=PaleVioletRed][b]“I’ve got to go.”[/b][/COLOR] 

Joseph was stirred from his sleep as Veronica De Vitis stood over him fully dressed, cellphone in hand as her perfectly manicured nails clacked away on the screen. 

[COLOR=PaleVioletRed][b]“Seems some of daddy’s friends want to meet me and he’s none too thrilled about it.”[/b][/COLOR] Veronica added as Joseph sat up half dazed. [COLOR=PaleVioletRed][b]“You’re cute when you’re sleeping.”[/B][/COLOR] She added before kissing him on the cheek. [COLOR=PaleVioletRed][b]“I had fun, don’t be a stranger.”[/B][/COLOR] She added and headed for the door. 

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“Wait!”[/B][/COLOR] Joseph called out as Veronica paused, Joseph scrambling to his feet, grabbing a pillow for modesty as Veronica raised an amused eyebrow.

[COLOR=PaleVioletRed][b]“Now you want to be modest, what about when you asked me to-”[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“I could drive you home.”[/B][/COLOR] Joseph interrupted as Veronica snickered.   

[COLOR=PaleVioletRed][b]“Trust me loverboy, you don’t want to go where I’m going. You’re far too good to be around these people, they’d eat you alive.”[/B][/COLOR] She said as Joseph opened his mouth to protest. [COLOR=PaleVioletRed][b]“Don’t worry, we’ll see each other again. I don’t often have this much fun.”[/B][/COLOR] She opened the door, an older couple walking by opened their eyes in horror as Joseph stood in direct line of sight with the door. Side stepping quickly, Joseph couldn’t help but overhear the couple cursing him for ruining their evening walk. 

[COLOR=PaleVioletRed][b]“Toodles Joey.”[/B][/COLOR] Veronica said as she closed the door behind her leaving Joseph alone in his apartment. Scrambling for his pants, Joseph went into his bedroom. Making a beeline for the desk along the wall, Joseph pulled out the bottom drawer. Removing a police scanner from within, he began setting the frequency with one hand while he absent mindedly booted up the laptop which sat atop the desk. Opening the browser, Joseph typed into two tabs quickly as he waited for the websites to load. The Crescent City Twitter and Reddit pages were a great source of information, especially with the right contacts. 

Uroboros hackers often made their presence known in these threads, dropping anything from hints towards local crime movements or veiled threats about bringing down the powers that be. So it came as no surprise to Joseph, that even here, there was evidence of a threat against Veronica’s life. Lesser gangs were hardly careful when it came to rallying the troops, but it wasn’t explicit either. It had taken Joseph some time to learn the code, but he had enough of a handle on it now to understand that both the Thirds and the Crew were rallying their members to meet for some sort of exchange. Based on recent events, it had to do with escalation and that meant firearms. 

A paramedic’s jacket wasn’t going to cut it tonight. 

Slipping his work-out clothes on, Joseph pulled a hoodie and jeans over them as he grabbed the keys to the Durango and locked the apartment behind him. Skipping the elevator and instead, running down the stairs, Joseph quickly made his way to the underground parking where his vehicle awaited. Reaching in the passenger side, Joseph removed a motorcycle helmet and jacket before turning to the neighboring parking spot where a Triumph Speed Triple awaited him. Swinging a leg over the bike, Joseph revved the engine, peeling out of the parking lot and into the rainy night. [/INDENT][/INDENT]
[URL=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNeat23LU0M][COLOR=DARKCYAN][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]J O S E P H   T H O R E A U:   [COLOR=DARKORANGE][i]T H I S   I S   W A R[/i][/COLOR] [/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][sup][color=silver]Monday, April 10, 2017 - 09:51 PM | [i]Rhodes Lighthouse-New Alexandria[/i][/color][/sup][/INDENT][/URL] 
[INDENT][INDENT]The air around the Rhodes Lighthouse was filled with fog as the lone rider approached the base of the large building. Aware of its tricks, Joseph wasn’t about to be deterred by the aging security measures that the former Maverick hideout held. Dismounting the motorcycle, Joseph raised his visor as the pouring rain was free to slap against his face while Joseph approached the entrance Charles had showed him. 

Removing one of his gloves, Joseph placed a hand on the wall as he carefully spoke the code that Charles had used two days earlier.

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“Access code, iota-alpha-zero-zero-one.”[/B][/COLOR] Joseph stared at the door, it had responded almost immediately for Charles yet nothing seemed to be happening for him. The panel beneath his hand glowed red before suddenly flashing purple and then fading to blue as a hiss alerted the paramedic of the door opening. Removing his hand, the panel disappeared as Joseph stepped inside.

Flashes of red assaulted his eyes as an alarm appeared to be going off but not a sound was heard. No snark filled remarks from any of the A.I.’s greeted Joseph as he made his way through the long abandoned lobby towards the elevator. Pressing the button to go down, the flashes of red ceased as Joseph descended towards the lower levels. 

Making his way across the metal catwalks, Joseph returned to the lockers where the uniforms of Mavericks past stood memorialized in glasses cases. Eying up the IllAdvised costume with the long trench coat, Joseph ultimately chose the older design with the short jacket. Leaving the mask behind, Joseph slipped out of his jeans and hoodie, pulling the armored clothing over his Underarmor attire before looking around the cavern. On a nearby workbench laid a helmet. Approaching it, Joseph quickly recognized it as the mask worn by IllAdvised. Although usually red, this cowl was a dark blue. A smile crossed Joseph’s face as he pulled the cowl onto his head, the mechanical components sealing it to his face as it was held firmly in place. 

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“So sick.”[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DARKORCHID][b]“Chuck always preferred the term, [i]ill[/i].”[/B][/COLOR] Came a voice from within the helmet as the heads up display was initialized. 

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“Ugh, Destiny.”[/B][/COLOR] Joseph muttered only to be corrected.

[COLOR=DARKORCHID][b]“No, Andromeda.”[/B][/COLOR] It hissed. [COLOR=DARKORCHID][b]“Destiny runs the base, Serenity runs the vehicles. I manage the suit.”[/B][/COLOR] The A.I. explained.

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“Alright then, Rommie.”[/B][/COLOR] Joseph stated. [COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“I’m Joseph, and I need to borrow you.”[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DARKORCHID][b]“My logic deduced as much.”[/B][/COLOR] The A.I. stated. [COLOR=DARKORCHID][b]“Are you combat trained Joseph?”[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“I know self def-”[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DARKORCHID][b]“I’ll put you down as untrained. Toggling assist to maximum.”[/B][/COLOR] Andromeda stated interrupting Joseph. [COLOR=DARKORCHID][b]“You do realize that the other suit offers superior ballistic protection, I wouldn’t recommend taking this suit.”[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“This suit feels right.”[/B][/COLOR] Joseph answered as he began to head towards the door.

[COLOR=DARKORCHID][b]“At least grab a weapon.”[/B][/COLOR] Andromeda insisted as Joseph paused, realizing that within the case there had been several utility belts. Returning to the case, Joseph quickly attached the belts to the costume before breaking into a run and heading towards the elevator.

[COLOR=DARKORCHID][b]“So what’s the mission?”[/B][/COLOR] Andromeda asked as Joseph exited the building, returning to his motorcycle.

[COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“The usual Rommie,”[/B][/COLOR] Joseph stated as he slung a leg over the motorcycle. [COLOR=DARKCYAN][b]“Save the girl, save the city.”[/B][/COLOR] Revving the engine, mud shot up into the air as the bike reared up in a wheelie before Joseph headed back towards the city.[/INDENT][/INDENT]