[i]"Vipers don't run... They coil... Then they strike."[/i] -Roman Cassidy, Page 2. (([url=]Maps[/url].)) --- [b][center]Retrieval Team[/center][/b] --- As Georgia sleuth-fully moved about inside the mansion she would begin to hear the sounds of thunder outside the mansion. The rain had begun to pour from the clouds above, its somewhat acidic nature not seemingly present enough to cause the telltale hissing sound. Looking about inside she would see several burned out lights, the interior of the mansion was naturally dark and the hall she moved down appeared to contain, in order of closest to furthest: A janitor's closet, a security room, and double doors leading somewhere likely important. The doorknobs on the double doors had long since been stolen, as they were likely made out of shiny materials that some fool would mistake for gold. Taking a whiff of the air, the scent of stale air and wet wood would reach her nostrils. This mansion was slowly rotting away, it likely didn't have much life left in it judging by the way the floorboards beneath her feet groaned in protest of her fairly light weight equipment. Nearby, she felt something pulling at her. It compelled her to close her eyes. Doing so, she would feel from the direction of the stairway a powerful psychic presence, and somehow, it felt... Peaceful. Without any hint of malevolence. It was located somewhere downstairs. Through the double doors however she could hear the sounds of laughter and people talking to each other, she could swear one even whispered her name... Roman on the other hand would find the slanted mansion roof slowly becoming slippery as the rain began to lightly patter away on it. Judging by the darkness of the clouds, it would pick up in pace very soon. Looking around from his position, he could see eastward. In the distance he could hear gunfire and smoke was slowly starting to rise only a couple miles away from the east. His radio crackles to life. [b]"Gangbangers attacking eastern sector! They're under control for now!... Why are they even here?!"[/b] The signal ends. This situation was becoming stranger by the minute: Shadow Zone, U-ARM, and now Gangbangers. Meanwhile, both Paris' drone and Eira's drone would alert them that they would not perform well in the rain and prolonged exposure would begin to damage sensors. Paris' drone was inside a building, scanning it, and was thus safe from the rain. Eira's drone however was exposed to the elements, and produced a false reading of something moving into the mansion... Or was it false? Eira would notice her drone reported, for only half a second, a humanoid form entering the mansion's rear entrance, but it wasn't able to discern its bio signature, or confirm it, before it disappeared. Paris' drone quickly confirmed the building across from them was clear of life, save for a single pot plant that had long since overgrown its confines, and was moving to investigate the next building unless otherwise ordered. Overhead they could hear a helicopter come in flying at a low altitude, hovering a couple hundred feet above Eira and Paris was Captain Derek's chopper. They could tell because it had a woman made of fire spray painted on its side, and he had pointed that out to them several times while they were in the transport chopper. He radios them. [b]"If I had to reckon a guess, some gangbangers will probably slip through the east. They were designed to hold off heavy assault waves, not the quick raider tactics that gangbangers are infamous for. I'll keep a lookout unless called elsewhere."[/b] Visible in the cockpit he salutes the both of them, then flies eastward until Roman could see him hovering a few feet away from the mansion's roof, to the eastern side. Switching to a private channel, he contacts Roman and Georgia only. [b]"I heard rumours Alyss was gonna be here. If she is, and we weren't informed, assume she will shoot you if you get in her way."[/b] He grimaces visible in his cockpit as Roman could see. [b]"N' I'd hate 'fer you youngin's to bite it to that fishy cunt."[/b] --- [b][center]U-ARM Wing - West[/center][/b] --- As Junko takes a position on the upper floor and NPC's begin to comply with James' orders, she would see a fourteen year old boy with loose fitting light combat gear hide beside her with an ammo carton in his lap and a pair of binoculars in his hands. [b]"I've heard of you! Junko, right?"[/b] He asks curiously. [b]"You made a shot clean through a wall and saved Alyss' life right?"[/b] It seemed that Junko had won herself a fan from her previous mission. One that would do as she told him to. James would find that constructing another suitcase bomb would take him a little more time than he anticipated, as while the resources were pretty significant in the corner store they were more meant for the turrets and for mechs, not for jerryrigged big bombs. Needless to say though, there was enough supplies to get the job done, and as he finished he'd overhear on the radio a warning sound from one of the lookouts. [b]"Cloaked enemies nearby! Power signatures detected, one tank and two suits of power armour!"[/b] Marvin, meanwhile, gets a quick response from Marvin over the radio as she turns it back on and takes a position near him and across from Daniels. [b]"Why not?"[/b] She chuckles as she crouches down low, keeping her body pressed up against the wall of the suburban house as she takes aim around the corner. [b]"Damn."[/b] She mutters quietly, hiding back behind cover as the tank emerged with its two power armoured escorts. Looking across the street she motions for Daniel and Marvin's attention. Using hand signs, she directs Marvin to take aim at the tank while Daniel moves around. There was no telling if their radio frequency had been cracked. Their radios come to life once more, confirming that they had indeed been cracked as Colonel Richard speaks once again, though with a more annoyed tone. [b]"Disrespecting an opponent is no way for a military officer to behave!"[/b] Marie Black grabs the radio and replies back. [b]"Coming from the terrorists who happily kill civilians, I find your facade of honour tiring, and your words empty."[/b] There was a growl on the other side of the radio before the transmission cut off. Morai's voice then comes through the radio channels for the entire squad. [b]"Op zone eight and twelve rigged."[/b] It was code. Marie points out the two buildings that were mined. [b]"Don't enter those structures!"[/b] She yells, rather than using the radio. A few seconds later, Morai's voice then comes on the radio again. [b]"Rifleman squad spotted. Will wait to ambush."[/b] A listening post quickly confirms the location as they try, desperately, to search for cloaked signatures, to no avail. It seemed that favour was with them in granting first strike against their assailants, as the tank stopped to prepare its main gun. The sergeant was likely commanding them as well as a sort of order relay officer, taking him out might slow down enemy operations. --- [b][center]Shadow Zone Wing - North[/center][/b] --- Carolyn seems to quirk an eyebrow of curiosity at Brucey's 'god of fire', though adds no comment of her own as she and Abimael listen to his plan. Agreeing to it as most others did, they took their respective positions. Brucey's attempt to radio Michael only returned static. Carolyn then opens her cockpit and drops Ditz out, allowing Ditz to scramble to its feet and wag its robotic tail before wordlessly following her commands to go to the back and monitor any attempts for enemies to slip past. As Ditz takes its position, it looks up at Kai, who was attempting to blend in with the sloped, cover-less roof of a suburban house, and barks at him a couple times playfully before sitting down and staring diligently around at any potential ways to get past him. It seemed awfully silent for about a minute as sounds of distant gunfire begin to echo through to their mission area, reminding them that there were several squads like them attempting to hold the line. Abimael slips past Brucey to look around at the debris ridden area. Had a bomb gone off here a long time ago? One couldn't be certain, though the cover was sure nice to have, for enemies and allies alike. It was also likely difficult for a mech to navigate. Then, the ground shakes beneath his feet as Abimael looks dead on north, towards the main road. [b]"The Gates..."[/b] He murmurs with fear. [b]"I... Vaguely remember... Tight, disgusting tubes... Smelled horrible... Endless tunnels that forced you on... Screams."[/b] Back out on the main road, a large, fleshy slab of what could only be described as 'organic material' burst out from underneath the concrete. It almost looked like a tree, and ceased moving after gaining several feet in height and width through the concrete. Creatures then start forming out of its surface and leaping out onto the road, shadow wolves, running towards them as the machine gun nests behind Carolyn and Liam open fire. Liam, naturally, ducks to allow a clean line of fire. Bullets spray across the road and two shadow wolves go down as Carolyn takes aim with her precision laser and splices a third one in two with a shot. These shadow wolves were not as strong as the ones they had faced in the fog. With the sounds of fighting starting out on the main road, Abimael was distracted. It was at this point that a shadow wolf leaped out at him from behind cover and tackled him, however, Abimael grabbed the wolf by its neck and glared at it angrily. After a moment of hesitation, his free hand punches cleanly into the shadow wolf, and with a twist inside along with snapping the wolf's neck in one clean motion, the wolf twitches, then melts into orange goop on the ground. Abimael frowns, clearly upset as more wolves burst out of cover and start moving for the Ignis Dei. Meanwhile, Matthew and Kiku, being clever enough to take cover, spot two shadow wolves attempting to sneak down the alley they were guarding. They hadn't spotted Matthew and Kiku, giving them all the opportunity they needed to have a first strike. As the shadow wolves appear, the L2 spotter quietly grabs his equipment and slips inside an open window, keeping low enough to the ground at that point that the wolves couldn't see him, though from the look on his face, both Matthew and Kiku could guess that they'd be able to smell him if they got close enough. --- [b][center]HK U-ARM[/center][/b] --- [i]"Position set."[/i] [i]"Richard, I have a target spotted, taking aim..."[/i]