[hr][i][h1]The Hostage Situation.[/h1][sub]Written in collaboration with [@Mr Allen J], [@tsukune], [@Zombiedude101], & [@FernStone] (even though she added like one line)[/sub][/i][hr]
[i][u]Courtbridge, Prince Edfield.[/u][/i]

When Cindy and the other RAVENS had arrived on scene, it was already swarming with reporters, cops, and other RAVENS. Cindy's car came to a skidding stop in front of the scene, as she came storming out of the vehicle. She quickly walked up, and reached to her side to pull out some binoculars. She peered through them, and saw all the hostages, and members of the Intimidation Unit keeping them suppressed by patrolling the area. She looked around, and saw that her co-workers were gathering around her.

"Guys, what do you think of this?" Cindy asked. "So far... he hasn't even demanded anything... so I'm wondering what he's even going towards, or when..." Cindy looked back, and prayed to God that they wouldn't start executing people. "Right now... the situation's in his favor." And Cindy regrettably meant that. He had an [i]army[/i] in there, and even if negotiations fell through and they finally put the Hound down, it'd be a massacre in there before they even got a chance to take the rest of his men out. That was if they didn't set off a bomb or anything which, going off the Black Hound's M.O, was a very real possibility.

"Whatever the case, just stay on your guard, remember what the report said." Quentin's muffled voice cautioned. The veteran RAVEN wore the standard body armour, helmet and tactical gear which left him a certain degree of anonymity to those who didn't recognise him by his voice, build or the weapons he carried. "He's wearing IR, so [i]when[/i] he needs taking down, use it against him. Tear and suppression gas is worthless here," He tugged at the gas mask around his neck, "But there's a chance they'll use it again."

Shizuka wasn't heavily armored like the rest: he wore a simple stealth suit, carrying a long and huge package on his back - the Barrett M107. "I'll just be on standby and looking out for your asses, as usual," he said in a bored tone, shrugging. While it was a rifle powerful enough to put a nice hole through that helmet the Black Hound wore rather than the other guns most of the agents had on them (that probably wouldn't do much other than tickle the mad dog), he didn't feel thrilled about holding back from killing the Hound unless absolutely necessary.

"Be careful," Cindy was quick to say. "The slightest little slip up can cause all hell to break loose...

"Wait, where's Meifeng's crazy ass? Let me go get her here ASAP." Cindy asked herself... before she reached into her pocket, and pulled out her phone, and hit dial. A few minutes passed, before it went to voicemail, and Cindy shook her head. Before showing her cellphone screen to the others. "Would ya' look at that? No answer. What the hell is that girl doi- actually, nevermind. We're gonna have to do without her."

"Just great," Shizuka rolled his eyes, not bothering to hide the hint of jealousy in his tone. "She's probably having a nice day off... while we're all hauling ass here."

Max nodded slightly as Shizuka spoke, though she wasn't quite as jealous - she had actually gotten some breaks in Spain. Like Quentin she wore the standard RAVEN uniform. She couldn't help but feel a bit worried, though. She had been sure Rori had said they'd been going out today. Hopefully it wasn't to this mall.

[hr]

There were quite a few Metahumans in their vicinity... the Black Hound didn't feel any threat from them. Because they would get gunned down quickly, which was why he didn't even feel the need to collar them. However, he wasn't going to be cocky. He stepped through the crowds, and one person caught his eye. A tall Chinese woman who looked more annoyed to be here than anything.

[quote][pre]LIHUA ZHAO

Teacher at Academy 61. Former NEST Intelligence Officer, has participated in several raids on the Changeling Unit and the Hands of Science. Survivor of the Verthaven disaster. Has possible ties to the Chinese military. Has concrete manipulation.

Threat Level: Extreme.[/pre][/quote]

The Black Hound immediately pointed at Lihua, "Get a collar on her."

Lihua growled as the men walked over to her, and placed this uncomfortable ring of metal around her neck. Lihua was planning on creating a distraction at just the right moment... but, without her power, she can't do much in this situation. With her hands tied, she can't reach for her gun - and that would be ten-[i]thousand[/i] different kinds of stupid with all these armed goons. Lihua hated being at another man's mercy... especially, a monster like him. He was likely as sadistic as Luis... Though, if he was, he would begin killing people one by one. Was that pragmatism Lihua was sensing? What Luis never realized that drowning the world in blood didn't offer a good paycheck.

...The Black Hound was coming over to her.

Lihua didn't show the slightest amount of fear... she's killed harder men than him, and she's a tiger. And a tiger never shows weakness.

"Lihua Zhao," The Black Hound said, as he grabbed Lihua by the chin to guide her into eye-contact. "I know much about you. Your record is quite... impressive."

[i]Hmph. What was this dog aiming towards?[/i] Lihua thought to herself as she was content with keeping her mouth shut.

"I never thought that I would meet a [i]legend[/i] face to face," The Black Hound said.

Lihua scoffed.

"Face to face?" Lihua sneered, showing not even the slightest amount to fear. "Far as I can tell, I am staring at a helmet..." She raised an eyebrow.

The Black Hound said, gesturing towards the intimidating helmet he wore. "...I've been waiting to meet you."

"Oh?" Lihua casually said. "What has made you so interested in me... other than my service record?"

The Black Hound stood straight up, brushing off her question. "I wanted to tell you that... it's [i]nothing personal,[i] when I kill her. Meifeng that is."

"What makes you think she'll [i]easy?[/i]" Lihua asked, raising an eyebrow, and spoke with utmost confidence in her daughter.

The Black Hound turned around and took two steps, before looking over his shoulder.

"...[i]She is only human.[/i]" The Black Hound said. "She will fall eventually."

Those words pierced through Lihua, nearly breaking her iron-willed demeanor.

"I don't see why my employers classified you as such a [i]threat[/i]..." He started walking off. "Your time on the battlefield has [i]come[/i] and [i]gone.[/i]"

"...And you speak like you're not even [i]human[/i] anymore." Lihua said... the Intimidation Unit looked at her, as the Black Hound utterly disregarded her. She had nothing more to say to him. He was a monster... coming over here just to mock her. That was when Lihua kept her mouth shut, she had nothing to do with this, so hopefully a raid will come through and bust her out of here.

[i]Hopefully.[/i]

With that, the Black Hound continued scanning for threats. Each face told a story... and he hoped the book didn't close for them today. The Black Hound marched through the crowds of people... and his scanners picked up an interesting sight. A young, blonde-haired girl that looked like she was sixteen, but the Black Hound already knew who she was. He walked up to her, and grabbed the girl by her ponytail and looked her in the eyes. Jennifer was sobbing, shaking in wide-eyed fear as the Black Hound - whom she knew is god damn implacable - held onto her. Lifting her up in the air slightly. Before he let go, and walked off.

[i]She'll be helpful later.[/i]

The march continued as the Black Hound was assessing every threat he could in the crowd. Then, his eyes stopped on another person. He stared at them.

[quote][pre]HARUKA TAKASHIRO.

Survivor of the Verthaven Disaster. Possesses Air Manipulation. Brother of RAVEN Shizuka Takashiro.

Threat Level: Low.[/pre][/quote]

Haruka wasn't a threat, but his brother with intangibility was the thing that the Hound was worried. He doubted that the man would charge in carelessly... but the Hound wasn't the type that would take careless risks such as this one. He pointed at Haruka, and said, "Bring him here."

His armed goons quickly put their guns away, and grabbed a grim Haruka by the arms and dragged him over to the Black Hound.

"Take his cuffs off; putting this on would be a challenge with his arms behind his back, after all." The Black Hound said with utmost confidence as the Undertakers unbinded Haruka's arms. The moment that was done, the Black Hound grabbed the hem of Haruka's shirt, and pulled it up to his neck. "Hold his shirt here." And the Undertakers complied.

That was when the Black Hound reached into his armor, and pulled out a strange device. It was circular-shaped, and two inches wide, painted all black. There was a small glass canister full of a glowing red energy. Attached to this device was several straps - which he was quick to wrap around Haruka's torso until it was firmly attached to his chest.

"Don't worry," the Black Hound said. "It won't kill you... it's just a preemptive measure in case that brother of yours gets... [i]rash.[/i]"

That made Haruka raised his eyebrows - he was curious why the Black Hound would want to take precaution against his twin, and even more so at the glowing red thing the Hound had plastered to his chest.

...Was it a bomb?

After pulling his shirt down, the Black Hound pushed Haruka backwards.

"Put him back."

And the Undertakers quickly put Haruka back where he was previously sitting. All the hostages nearest to him - including his college friends - quickly inched away from him.

Haruka ignored them - everything around him seemed to fade out of his mind as the memories of [i]that[/i] incident burst out of his mental cage. Rather than fear, all he felt was deja vu.

So this was how it felt to carry such a burden that could go off anytime... and threaten his family.

[hr]

After his little chit-chat with his hostages, the Black Hound figured that it was time to make it known why he's holding all these people here against their will. The Black Hound just casually walked out the doors of the mall. Without announcing anything. Everyone froze as they stared at the Black Hound. He almost heard someone mutter how they wanted to take the shot.

"...I am ready to negotiate." The Black Hound loudly said.

And the world was terrified.

"I wish to speak with a DOVE or RAVEN of sufficient rank in person..." The Black Hound trailed off.

"...It isn't like none of you have a choice in the matter."

[hr]

"Damn it." Cindy said to herself. "What is this man's angle? He just fuckin' scrolls out and says he's ready to negotiate?" That was either a sign of utmost confidence. Like the high-roller at a casino. He held all the cards, and wasn't afraid to let everyone know it. Damn it. That meant he had a card... or was really good at unnerving them. Well, he was doing a damn good job at it just by wearing a faceless mask, and killing people.

The comms came alive with the other agents.

"...Have fun negotiating with that bastard because I'm not going anywhere near him!" A male RAVEN said.

"I'm not doing it either, are you crazy?" A female DOVE said.

"Pull some straws." Another DOVE chimed in.

Quentin's voice dripped with disgust. "Are you fucking serious?" He mouthed the words to those in the immediate vicinity, but kept his frustrations off the comms.

And it made Cindy [i]soooo[/i] angry. They were bickering... but, it became obvious who needed to go up there and face the Hound. Cindy pressed her earpiece...

"...Can ya'll shut up?" Cindy said. "It's clear that none of ya'll want to do it... which means there's only one person who will. Me."

"What are you? Crazy? He'll kill you!"

"Somebody's gotta do it, and [i]apparently[/i] everyone forgot what the hell the badge they're carrying means." Cindy said. "So that means it's a job for someone who [i]isn't[/i]."

"You heard her," Shizuka spat into the comms, clearly irritated at how his earpiece kept buzzing every few seconds just to hear some bitchy whining. "So shut up and stop flooding the channel, [i]morons[/i]."

"Wait, Cindy-" Reed interjected as he came within speaking distance, a bulletproof vest slipped on under his jacket, "We need you back here. Let me head out there."

"I..." Cindy said. She was determined to get to the bottom of this, but Reed offered. "Yeah, I think you're better suited for the job." She gave Reed a playful poke to the chest. "You can regenerate if he tries to punch you or anything?"

"Isn't as simple as that, but... yeah."

She sighed. "But, be careful, and make sure to keep constant radio contact."

"I can wear a wire if it makes you comfortable," Reed said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, "Yeah, don't worry. I'll keep something on me, just don't expect me to answer you back straight away."

"Yes, we need to know what the Hound is saying at all times," Cindy said. "Where the hell is Alice? We need her now more than ever."

"Regardless... we need you to talk to him [i]now[/i]."

With a nod, Reed pocketed the radio piece and glanced over towards the entrance of the mall. "Wish me luck." He said, before heading off. Stepping out from between the established perimeter of armoured trucks, cruisers and assembled officers, Reed took a path straight for where the Black Hound was stood, a carefully prepared expression on his face.

The Black Hound faced Reed, as his scanners were quick to focus on his face.

[quote][pre]REED TAYLOR.

Former VPD officer, survivor of the Verthaven Disaster. Brother of Quentin Taylor. Possesses Regenerative Abilities.

Threat Level: Low.[/pre][/quote]

As another precaution, the Black Hound pressed a button on his helmet to activate his IR goggles and examined Reed. The only thing that the DOVE Investigator appeared to be carrying on him was a holstered CZ75. Regardless, the Black Hound did not show fear. He merely spoke to Reed,

"So... you are also another survivor of that disaster?" He asked. "I've been meeting a lot of them lately..."

He started off casually.

"However, I presume you want to know what we wish to accomplish, and it is simple," The Black Hound started off. "My employers want the following released from captivity, and brought here at once; Dr. Cross, Ignatius, and the Mannequin." The Black Hound said. "Those are my terms."

"[i]Assuming[/i] your terms were agreed to, then what are you throwing back at us in return?" Reed asked with a raised eyebrow, folding his arms. Being this close gave him a chance to survey the Hound in a manner that no CCTV footage or report could allow - a chance to size him up.

"Every hostage will be released, and my men will withdraw from the area." The Black Hound quickly answered.

It was an answer Reed had expected, but he'd asked it with good reason. "How many people are you holding inside there? A dozen, give or take, shy of a hundred?" He carried a calm tone, but he was hoping that whoever was listening in to the radio was paying attention.

"One-hundred-and-twelve," The Black Hound exactly said. "Does it matter how many I have, truly? I have over a hundred people at my mercy... do you truly believe the lives of three criminals are worth theirs?"

"Criminals awaiting [i]trial.[/i]"

"But criminals nonetheless," The Black Hound quickly retorted. "A woman responsible for [i]many[/i] crimes against humanity, her bulldog, and... a [i]Changeling.[/i]"

His eyes flashed red for a moment.

"It should go without saying what he did."

"And if they were handed over to you, then what? [i]More[/i] crimes against humanity?" Reed tightened his jaw. "Is there even any guarantee that you'd uphold your end of the bargain? I've seen the worth of your kind of "guarantee" before." Mentioning the [i]Changeling[/i] had stirred old memories of how quickly the unit had turned on NEST. Quentin had told him enough about it to remind him that it had got the old man killed.

The Black Hound's eyes flashed bright red yet again. "You have my word... and I don't break promises." The Black Hound answered. "I gain nothing from mass-murder, to begin with..."

"Would you have said the the same while your outfit was tearing up the market?" Reed's eyes were locked with the tinted red of the Hound's.

"They were under strict orders to only kill RAVENS..." The Black Hound said. "I forgot... How many casualties were caused by my men? As for the RAVENS..." He trailed off. "They knew [i]exactly[/i] what they were getting into the instant accepted the badge."

"[i]Enough.[/i]" Reed answered to the question, disgusted. He'd seen the bodies of those caught in the crossfire, seen the dying and wounded cops, RAVENs and DOVEs, along with those that the paramilitaries had beaten down. "I need a guarantee that the people inside are safe and unharmed."

"Then why don't you come inside and look?" The Black Hound said almost sarcastically (it was hard to tell with his monotone and voice changer), stepping aside and giving Reed perfect entrance.

The DOVE gave him a certain look, then shifted their gaze over towards the entrance. By all means, it could've been a trap, or some kind of trick. "Does this end with me walking back out?"

"...Long as you don't try anything." The Black Hound retorted, scoffing afterwards.

Reed took a step forward, then paused. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the others watching him.

"...Reed, before you go in," Cindy said into the comms, worried. "[i]Be careful.[/i] And make sure to shout if the Black Hound tries anything... tell me and I'll put the order."

He directed a nod towards Cindy, before turning his attention towards the entrance and heading inside. Keeping as calm and collected an expression as he could, he took the opportunity to survey as much of his surroundings as he could without making it obvious; taking note of every potential hiding spot, each of the paramilitaries stationed around. It was a matter of caution; there were potentially plenty of weapons trained on him and ready to fire. Even if he could have recovered from [i]that[/i]... well, dying was an experience he wanted to avoid, as was the risk of placing hostages in danger.

The Black Hound was following behind Reed... making sure to keep an eye on that concealed weapon of his. Though, it was unnecessary because only a fool would pull something with this many lives at risk... and Reed hadn't demonstrated stupidity.

[i]Yet.[/i]

Eventually, Reed's path took him through to the Eastern end of the mall, where the hostages were being kept. By the looks of things, the outfit had set things up rather well; each hostage had been zip-tied and set down in an open space, with no clear path of escape that wouldn't have gotten them caught. Some were knelt, others were seated against the benches, whilst a few had been slumped from where they'd tried to put up a fight and been beaten down for their troubles. Reed scanned the crowd, checking for any sign of trouble... they were alive, at least, and weren't in any immediate danger outside of the current situation. It was only when his gaze drifted towards one particular side that he recognized a face in the crowd. [i]Jennifer![/i] For a moment, he almost said something, until he realised that all eyes were on him - and the last thing that he needed to do was unnecessarily draw attention to either of them.

"Re-" Jennifer was about to say, before she held her tongue. They let Reed casually scroll in? What was he doing? Honestly, Jennifer was too scared to properly think everything through. She just chose to wait and see what'd come next. Reed shot her a brief look, as if to try and reassure her, then averting his gaze elsewhere before the Hound and his paramilitaries noticed.

"...Is everything to your liking, Mr. Taylor?" The Black Hound asked, drawing his attention back towards him.

"I've got one other question." Reed said.

"Which is?" The Black Hound curiously said.

"You're holding other people. What about them?" Reed remembered what the girl, Wendy, had told him about Eastgriffin.

"Other people...?" The Black Hound asked... if he wasn't wearing a helmet he'd have been caught raising his eyebrow.

"You've taken other people," Reed said, in a firmer tone, "Kids. What about them?"

"Hmph," The Black Hound scoffed. "That is non-negotiable."

"It's a simple question," Reed said, in a tone that betrayed his origins in the VPD's Detective Bureau, "How're they holding up?"

"Don't waste my time, Mr. Taylor," The Black Hound dodged the question. "We are discussing these people, and these people alone... those children are in the care of my employers, now."

That was one little piece of information, at least. The Hound had confirmed that. Reed, however, had no intention of baiting the man's temper, not with the hostages at stake. "I've seen what I wanted to see. You've got my thanks for that, at least."

"Very well... I'll escort you outside, then." The Black Hound said, cordially... before taking a darker tone. "...Just remember my terms. I can hold this mall for [i]weeks[/i] if I please..."

He didn't deign to answer that remark. Instead, he gave the Hound one last look, before heading back towards the perimeter set up by local authorities.

[hr]

Cindy had heard everything, and thought about it very clearly. Sure, the lives of innocent people were more important than the likes of the [i]Mannequin[/i]. Sure, there would be a massive backlash against DOVE and RAVEN if even a [i]single[/i] innocent life died instead of those monsters. And [i]sure[/i] they could stop them again if they stirred up trouble. But, there was still an underlying issue that they just [i]couldn't[/i] help but ignore. Cindy had to voice her thoughts, she pressed her comms.

"Okay, guys, you may not like this, but hear me out for a second," Cindy said, worried about their response. "While I don't think we should risk the lives of innocent people for the likes of the Hands, and the last [i]Changeling,[/i] I [i]also[/i] don't think we should be so quick to comply with the likes of the Black Hound." She said what was on her mind.

"Because one, like Reed and the Hound said, we're letting lose criminals that ruined a [i]lot[/i] of lives... and we don't know if the F-F will kill them, [i]orrrrrrrrr[/i] put them to use," Cindy continued with her explanation, leaning up against a DOVE vehicle. "And... most importantly, if we do this, do we really want the Black Hound feeling like he can boss us around?

"Like, what's stopping him from doing the [i]same[/i] thing again but demanding Deborah and Shannon next time?"

It was Quentin who first voiced his approval of Cindy's thoughts. "You're right." He'd been standing next to her, listening in to his brother's conversation with the Hound. "We set them free. Then what? I don't expect them to play nice  and need I remind [i]all[/I] of you, last time we tried making a deal with these bastards, we lost people." Three names crossed his thoughts.

Yeah... they lost plenty of people during that climatic battle - worst of all, Cindy didn't even know half of them. She only heard of them retroactively. But, through their deaths, she gained a new motivation to make sure that whatever happened to them didn't to happen to anyone else, and she didn't trust the Black Hound to uphold his end of the deal. "We really gotta find a way that puts us on top - even if we can't kill the Hound here, we need to get the civilians out of the way," Cindy said, before she sighed. "...But, giving the Hound what his wants is still on the table... My last resort, shall we say."

Either this would end in a bloodbath, or the Hound getting what he wanted... Cindy hated being forced into a situation like this.

Shizuka had been surveying the mall area with his scope. The shops that were in his view appeared to be empty, which meant that the hostages were probably all gathered in one place - and only the ground floor had a space big enough to accommodate so many people together... which he couldn't see. Reed's conversation with the Hound had helped him to cover that blind spot.

"Whatever it is, we'll need to regroup first to find other ways to free the hostages," he finally spoke into the comm as he got up from his position and picked up the rifle. "I'm going down to join you lot now."

"Wait!" His earpiece buzzed with the alarmed voice of another RAVEN sniper. "You can't leave just like that - we still need to keep an ey---"

"I'll leave that to you - one sniper is more than enough," Shizuka simply cut the RAVEN off and switched off his comm, then he fell through the floors with the Barrett.

... ...

Shizuka strolled towards where Cindy and the Taylors were, his big gun resting on his shoulder. "So, what [i]exactly[/i] did you see inside?" he directed the question to Reed.

"The gunmen from the market were there. Same uniform, same equipment." Reed had quickly recognized the paramilitaries from that, if not their association with the Black Hound. "They've got all the hostages locked down in the Eastern section of the mall, center of the food court. I couldn't see any easy ways in - they've got guards stationed all over, covering the hostages and making sure there's no easy-access points for us, either."

Shizuka sighed. He didn't expect anything less from the Founding Fag's most beloved pet dog to put them in a shitty situation like this - as Cindy had said, the Hound had all the cards to corner them, and play around with them.

However, he didn't believe in impenetrable defense.

He continued to press Reed for more information, "...Any familiar faces among the hostages?"

One face had stuck with him. "Jen's in there."

Cindy had to sigh. She knew the girl liked to hangout at the arcade here.

Shizuka ran a hand through his hair - just [i]great[/i]. While he had seen Jennifer being capable to put up a fight with her enhanced abilities on top of speedy regeneration, those were pretty useless right now. Even if she could easily free herself with her bone spear and manage to survive through a barrage of bullets... then what?

"If it's as Reed says, that the guards have the hostages all covered from possible external assaults, then we'll have to find a way to break from the [i]inside[/i]."

Cindy raised an eyebrow. It sounded like Shizuka had a plan... which she, as the "leader" of their group, didn't have (other than to give the Black Hound what he wanted and hope for the best). He probably had a kooky plan cookin' up in that head of his. It might be their only hope. "Well..." She shrugged. "If you have an idea, then I'm all ears - because our hands are tied otherwise."

Shizuka shrugged. "I don't have any bright ideas here myself, not with how limited our choices are at the mo' - we need more intel." They would need things that could turn this to their favor instead. He looked up towards the roof of the mall, then he detached the scope from his Barrett before dumping the unloaded rifle to a nearby RAVEN agent.

He turned to Cindy. "...I'll need you to fly me up there."

"With my magic-carpet bullshit?" Cindy said, rather ignorantly, but she was going to help Shizuka however she could, and place her trust in him. She concentrated and focused on glass from the cars around them - she could put them back later - and drew them close to her. There were light sounds of glass shattering as they gently flew through the air - prompting nearby agents to get out of the way. She quickly created one solid glass pane that was reinforced enough for them to stand on. She definitely perfected this trick over the years, so she didn't have to worry about it breaking. She stepped on, before facing Shizuka.

"Get on."

Shizuka hopped on after her, the scope in his hand. "To the roof," he said in a curt tone.

Cindy made the glass float up into the air, and went right where Shizuka wanted to be.

[hr]

Once they reached the rooftop of the mall, Shizuka looked around to get his bearings and jogged to where the east-end of the building was, while Cindy was placing the glass pane gently on the roof (that would be mighty suspicious if it fell). He picked a nice, flat spot and got down to a prone position, before turning his head back to Cindy.

"Just in case... hold down my legs."

"...Ooooookay." Cindy said as she grabbed onto his legs.

With that, he took in a deep breath and dipped his head into the concrete, until his entire torso had vanished beneath the concrete roof floor.

Even with all the intense training he had been through, hanging upside down from the ceiling with his stomach in the concrete and not able to breathe was still a challenge. Without wasting any time, he brought the scope to his eye, scrolling through the Intimidation Unit and the hostages, imprinting what he saw into his mind as much as he could.

He zoomed in a little more to do a quick scan of the hostages, and a few of them caught his attention...

He finally resurfaced, breathless, and got up to face Cindy; he had also turned on his comm so that the rest could hear his report. "Just as Reed says: the entire IU is solely covering the hostages - three-sixty - to make sure none of them can escape, and also to prevent us from making any frontal assaults." He glanced around the rooftop. "The only possible way in is from here, the roof. Oh yeah, didn't see the Hound anywhere near the hostages, though."

Suddenly, memories of the old man's action movies of the eighties and nineties came flooding back to Quentin, who could be heard over the comms. "Isn't there a ventilation system on the roof? Or at least some kind of maintenance hatch? Surely that's a better access point than dropping in through the skylight. Less visible, too - then you could blend in better."

"It's a valid point," Shizuka agreed with the senior agent. "Either way we'll definitely need a diversion - I don't think these minions have the tech to sense us like the Alpha, but we do need something to allow us take them all down before they can react and start shooting back."

"I have something that might help," Cindy was quick to chime in on the comms. "There's a lot of glass up here... I can make use of that to create shields for the hostages if necessary - everyone else is gonna have to make due without me, though."

"We'll probably need your glass shields." Shizuka nodded to Cindy. "And do whatever it takes to keep the casualties minimal."

His juicy report didn't end there with the Hound's puppies. "Besides Jen, I've also spotted two more familiar faces." Shizuka's face darkened as he revealed their names. "One is Lihua, and she's the only person with a suppressant collar on. The other... is my brother." Haruka had a strange bulge on his chest; the thought of these bastards hurting his twin was enough to make Shizuka flare up, but he knew better than to lose his temper now. This was probably what the Hound wanted from him: to charge in after Haruka and meet his own death.

...As if he would go along with that dog's crappy playscript.

If the Hound thought that he had all the cards in his hands, then all they needed to do was to draw another card, to create a chance for themselves - a surprise attack on the Intimidation Unit.

"I have an idea to create that distraction," Shizuka began, his grip tightened around the scope. "But I'll be blunt that it's a risky gamble that requires [i]perfect[/i] coordination from all of you.

"Haru can make an air vacuum to suffocate the people in the hall - hostages and IU - and make it look like a case of faulty ventilation system. We can make use of the confusion to launch a surprise precision attack. They had something on him probably to threaten [i]me[/i]---" he had to pause to stop the anger seeping into his voice, "---but they'll never expect my [i]harmless[/i] brother to try fighting back."

Deep down he really hated this super-risky (not to mention, [i]downright crazy[/i]) plan, but it was the only thing he could come up with now - he just had to trust his [i]older[/i] brother and stop treating him like the powerless kid from seven years back.

[i]The gamble is on.[/i]