[hr][i][h1][color=Blueviolet]Malik Jakane[/color] & [color=#ffe0bd]Rhea Harlow[/color].[/h1][sub]Written in collaboration with [@Estylwen].[/sub][/i][hr]
[i][u]Courtbridge, Prince Edfield.[/u][/i]

Rhea hailed a taxi the moment she left the alley. "Take me to the Chalet Apartments, 6588 Fair road."

While in the back, she carefully examined the briefcase. On the surface it seemed innocent, but since Hallmark knew it was her job, he likely bugged it. She popped open the case and began pulling at the stitching, tearing up the leather bed. The phone in question, of course, was accounted for. But Rhea couldn’t locate the bug.

As the taxi pulled up to the apartment, Rhea paid her driver and discreetly left the briefcase hidden under the seat. She eyed the taxi as it sped off. [i]Hah. That’ll send them on a wild goose chase.[/i] With Marcelle’s phone held tight in her hand, Rhea left the street and buzzed the apartment’s front entrance.

"Oh?" Tanya's thick Jamaican accent pierced through the speaker at the front entrance. "You Malik's friend? Lemme' get the door!" A beep came from the door, followed by a loud click as Tanya unlocked the door for Rhea.

Rhea pulled on the metal handle, stepping into the apartment. Taking the right set of stairs, she made her way to the second floor and down the hall. Tanya conveniently left the door unbolted, and Rhea let herself in, locking it behind her.

“Hey Tanya,” she said, nodding to the woman. “Is Malik in, by chance?”

Tanya took a step to the side and revealed Malik lounging on the chair. He looked at her and immediately smiled.

"Hey, Rhea!" Malik joyfully said as he hopped off the couch. Wearing a simple T-shirt with Sonic the Hedgehog, and lime-green gym pants. He walked up to Rhea and asked, "You sort out that business you were supposed to?" Malik asked. "... Were you followed?"

Rhea gave his get-up a nod, a chuckle in her voice. “You look great.”

“Street was empty when I got here,” she noted, lifting up Marcelle’s phone like a prize. “In short, yes. We’re back in business.”

She handed it over to Malik. “I thought you should be the one to see it. Code’s been removed, so everything should be accessible.”

"Yes! Thank you very much!" Malik said as he snatched the phone from Rhea. This was the lead he was looking for - which was worth probably getting put on every kill list in the book. Malik quickly combed through her phone. He went through the contacts... and there was stuff like Veronica Davis, Makoto Koda... and the Foundation Woman? Odd. There was an urge to look up these numbers, but Malik was too afraid that they will end up with more attention on them.

Though, so far, he didn't find a single clue in the contacts other than people he doesn't have any idea about. So, he moved onto the text messages.

She was texting a dude called Graham Morris a lot.... but with nothing but numbers. Malik raised an eyebrow as his jaw dropped while trying to figure all this stupid shit out. First an X, then a Y, and a lot of numbers to the right of them. Malik was, quite frankly, confused as shit... Then it hit him.

"Waaaaaaait...." Malik said. "These are coordinates! She's been sending this Graham guy coordinates!"

Malik showed Rhea a random text with coordinates to [i]something[/i].

"But, to where...?" Malik asked himself, scratching the side of his head before he shrugged. "Never thought I'd make use of the coordinates app...." He said as he whipped out his own cellphone and began downloading a coordinate tracker 

“Huh.” Rhea furrowed her brows. “The fact there’s no explanation with it, they both know it leads to something important, at least for them.”

Rhea moved to sit on the couch, her hands fidgeting. She eyed Malik as he waited for the app to download, her heart skipping a beat.

“About your phone, Malik. I… have a small confession.”

She took a deep breath. “I ran it through the place I work. To them, I’m MIA and they’re um, [i]concerned[/i]. When I went to pick up your phone, I was told they knew I was involved.” She raised her hands. “Not that this puts you in any danger. I just... wanted to make you aware. I may need to have a chat with them.”

[i]And, well, spill the beans on everything.[/i] Rhea grimaced.

"Involved?" Malik asked as he raised an eyebrow. What could they know? "But, if you need to sort this out then sort it out, I'll go it alone."

He looked Rhea dead in the eye.

"But, be careful... I don't think I'll be in the right place at the right time again."

Malik was still curious about that strange and mysterious contact of his that directed him to the base and gave him this clue. From his perspective, he was just given a lead and left to swim. Hmph. So be it. He's got dashing good looks, a powerful ability, and a great companion at his side.

[i]Nothing's gonna stop me.[/i]

"The job was meant to be anonymous, but not this time..." Rhea shrugged. "I appreciate that. But I'm going with you to those coordinates. I'll... figure out something."

Malik merely shrugged.

"If you must, I'll wait for you, then."

At this point, the app finished downloaded and Malik went back to Marcelle's phone... Eh, the most recent text, before he punched in the coordinates. They end up somewhere in Courtbridge. Then he looked up some more, and another was in Stonecliff.... There's something going on here.

If he doesn't find Marcelle here, he'll at least get a clue.

"One of these coordinates are nearby... Man, I feel like [i]such[/i] a spy."

Rhea smirked. “Alright. I know both of us are itching to get out, anyway. This whole lay-low thing… It’s kinda boring.”

She pulled on her shoes. “If it’s so close, we could freerun it.” She had a hand on the door, glancing back at Malik. “I’m gonna make a quick call. Do you think we’ll um, [i]need[/i] anything for this investigation?”

"Nothing but the clothes on our back!" Malik said as he pointed a thumb at his back.

"Ya'll stay safe!" Tanya said as she was preparing some microwave ready noodles, and .

[hr]

Two blocks down the street, Rhea found a pay phone. She swiped her credit card, dialed in a number, and heard the crackle of static on the line. 

“Laundry Suites, how may I help?” A female voice spoke.

“Mel, it’s Aegis. I need Hallmark.” Rhea said, steeling herself.

The line abruptly cut out, and a familiar voice was put on. “Well, you have good timing. Look down the street.”

Rhea narrowed her eyes, glancing to the right. Miss Admin stood radiantly beside a black car, two security men in tow. She gave a formal wave as she walked toward the courier.

Rhea groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“You have some explaining to do, Aegis. They’re here to take you to HQ.” Hallmark said.

“No.” Rhea said stubbornly. “I’m really sorry I didn’t report in when the safehouse was compromised. I’ll tell you all the juicy details when I can. But right now, I need to be somewhere. Terrible people are looking for me—not you guys—so I'm laying low.”

Hallmark was silent for a moment. A button clicked. “Miss Admin, is she being honest with us?”

Miss Admin’s gaze drilled through Rhea, and she tapped her comms. “...Yes, sir.”

Rhea narrowed her eyes. “I know you’ve put a bug somewhere. I need you to deactivate it.”

“It runs on it’s own encrypted frequency. I don’t believe that will be necessary.” said Hallmark.

“It. Is.” Rhea said firmly. “Trust me.”

Hallmark chuckled. “Very well. When can I expect you at HQ?”

“From a couple days to a week.”

“I’ll hold you to it. We’ll discuss… appropriate discipline when you return. And [i]do not[/i] keep me waiting.”

“Thank you, sir.” Rhea said, pursing her lips.

Honestly, it was the best outcome she could hope for. Not that it made going to HQ later any more appealing. She clicked the phone back on its rack, glared at Miss Admin and her lap dogs, and took a different route back to the apartment. 

As Tanya buzzed her in once more, Rhea facepalmed. [i]I forgot to ask where the bug was…[/i]

[hr]

The two traveled over the rooftops of Courtbridge... You know, Malik thought that this city was [i]beautiful[/i] at night. Every city's beautiful. From Dubai, to Madrid, to Berlin... and he had a load of fun free running on them. He made a hop, before stopping with a roll on the rooftop. He kept running until he reached the edge.

He pulled out his phone, and looked at the coordinate GPS Malik had found... and according to it, he was right over it.

"... Apparently, we're right above the spot," Malik said, "And I mean [i]right[/i] above it."

He looked around. It was a simple roof to a two story convenience store. The ones that have the store on the bottom, and an apartment on top! Malik was hoping to get off here before they realize they're up here. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Alright, look around, maybe we'll find something."

Malik said as he looked around.

Rhea gave the roof a once-over. “Hm. I was expecting something a little more suspicious-looking.”

She used the water drain as a way down, fire-poling into the alley. Walking the perimeter of the building, she noted the empty parking lot, trash scattered in the back, and paint covering up old graffiti. Poking her head into the street, she deemed it quiet enough to sneak a glance into the shop's window.

"Ugh!" Malik loudly said as he found nothing. He put his hands on the side of his head as emotions flared. "We'll have to check the next place!" He accidentally activated his storm powers in the midst of his freak out. Violent winds had appeared and stirred some dust up.

Rhea raised a hand in an effort to shield herself. With her eyes squinted against the sand, she tried to sound reassuring. "We're probably just missing something."

By the time the storms had stopped, Malik had already calmed himself down and stopped it. Rhea had a point here, and he mentally kicked himself for such a breakout for nothing. He loudly sighed.

"... You're right." Malik said. "... Think we might have to dig a little deeper into this convenience store before-" He spoke as he turned his body towards the edge of the roof... and saw something conspicuous.

A bunch of the rocks were knocked loose on the rooftop's edge. Almost like it was loosely put together. Well, Marcelle's ability [i]was[/i] secreting a sticky substance that gradually loosens. Malik knelt down, and pulled the rest of the stones away... and inside the wall, Malik pulled out a small spike shaped object that was embedded into the wall.

But, it had a cap and everything! Was it like...? Was it one of those dead drop Malik sees in the movies?

"Oh my god." Rhea said, peering over Malik's shoulder, a wild grin on her face. "You might have just hit the motherload. See if you can unscrew the cap."

"Doing it!" Malik shouted as he unscrewed the cap, and threw it aside. He poured the contents into his hands... and it was just one USB drive. A really cheap one you could get from Walmart. But, Malik knew better than to underestimate the power of the USB drive!

"Hmm, looks like we need a computer. Are we heading back to Tanya's, then?" Rhea asked.

"Yup." Malik said. "I think the rest are dead drops, too! All sent to a Graham Morris guy... maybe we should look into him...."

Rhea was puzzled. "So why didn't this Graham guy pick up his dead drop...?"

"Maybe he's busy?" Malik suggested. "She's been sending him a [i]lot[/i], actually. So he may be busy picking them all up."

He then shrugged before walking to the edge of the roof, and getting ready to jump... when he saw the fire escape.

[hr]

They got back to Tanya's apartment without a single problem. Malik made sure that the door was [i]triple[/i] locked (the third lock being a chair) while everyone (even the small Tanya) were gathered around Tanya's laptop - which was normally reserved for Tanya contacting people for a music gig. The laptop was placed upon the kitchen table, and Malik was sitting at it. He briefly looked between his group, and then looked at the USB drive in his hand.

"What are we waiting for!?" He asked, "Let's hook this up!"

"... This better not put a virus on my laptop, Malik," Tanya chimed in, her accent thick as ever. "I [i]need[/i] this."

"It's cool, I'll just buy you another one!" Malik proudly said as he put the USB drive in. It wasn't long before the folder opened up on their laptop, and he raised an eyebrow. 

It had only one file, a video file.

[code]August_16_2022.[/code]

Without another word, Malik pressed the file, and it opened up. Instead of a video, it was a black screen, and it was Marcelle's voice speaking. Malik recognized that French accent from anywhere!

[quote][i]"Marcelle's log one: August sixteenth. It's been one month since the Overload Crisis... and I am still on this foreign exchange program on behalf of the DGMHS. America isn't that bad, but I need to focus on the task at hand; my infiltration of the so called "Founding Family." I don't even know how I got involved in all of this, I wasn't even one of the top agents and I get pulled into an off by the DGSE to tell me about a lead they had found on the "Beast" that destroyed Prague early on this year..."

"They stated that they had tracked it to this organization - they, they had something to do with the Beast. If they didn't create it, they had a hand in it. So, I was given a simple mission, gain the Family's trust, and infiltrate the Family on behalf of the French. I started  out in the Family's French branch, and it was amazing how much of Europe they got under their thumb."

"In America, I met a MISW agent that was on my side... Graham Morris. He told me that he wanted to destroy the Family before they completely take over Europe, but they had effectively taken over the British Military, including the MISW, so he didn't dare speak up. They sent him away on Foreign Exchange so he wouldn't connect the dots... and well, they didn't do it fast enough because he connected all the dots."

"I've been working in their... Intimidation Unit as a spy for RAVEN. They just wanted me to leak some information to them, and I did. Then they asked me to kill a RAVEN off-duty... and oh God, it was the Hound himself giving me the order...[/i] in person."

[i]"Despite his ridiculous name... seeing him up close sends chills down my spine. And the fact he could crush my spine didn't help. He's like a God damn devil. Nobody knows how to kill him. If he even[/i] can [i]be killed. After the job, I met two of my associate spies... Veronica Davis, and Makoto Koda, or more appropriately, The Terror and Onryo."

"They told me we were "partners in crime," and after the Asian lady grabbed me inappropriately, they told me I best not disapppoint the Hound... that I "[/i]really[i] won't like him when he's disappointed." 

"... It honestly sounded like they knew I was a mole. That's why I'm logging my progress against the Family. For Graham to recover and use as evidence should I die."

"I don't know what shit I got myself into, but I hope I can get myself out of it. Just so I can see Malik again.... Marcelle, out."[/i][/quote]

The video came to an end, and Malik was somberly looking at the computer screen.

"Marcelle..." Malik trailed off, staring at it. He shook his head. "... So, that explains a little bit. Like who Graham is, we should really look him up."

[i]Shit...[/i] Rhea grimaced, massaging her temples. [i]Why is the problem always bigger than I imagine?[/i]

"And the rest of those dead drops." Rhea gave Malik troubled a look. "We need to hear the rest of what Marcelle's logged. She did, however, shed some light on the two assassins you saved me from. I knew them as The Terror and Makoto. I'm assuming Veronica must be her actual name."

Malik nodded his head. "We need to find them ASAP... but, I'm wondering if we should turn this info over to the feds."

"Wise." Rhea nodded. "Especially with what happened last week at the mall. RAVEN needs all the information they can get on the Family. But, would they try to interfere with our investigation?"

"Yeah... and what if we paint an even bigger target on our backs?" Malik asked. "Since the FF is so powerful, could they have infiltrated RAVEN?"

"Hearing what Marcelle said, I'd say it's very unlikely they [i]don't[/i] have some mole in RAVEN..." Rhea sighed. "There has to be a discreet way to give the higher-ups there an edge."

"Personally," Malik started off, biting his fingers slightly. "I think we should keep these dead drops to ourselves... at least until we find Marcelle. It's crazy out there, and we ain't sure what'll happen when we put this info out there." 

Malik explained.

"This early...? We just be making it harder for us."

Rhea pressed her fingers together, brows furrow. "No, you're right. We still don't know enough. So... I guess our focus would be on two things, then. The drops, and Marcelle's contact."

"... And let's hope he's friendly."