[center][img]http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo63/NMShape/coollogo_com-8436315_zpsd02f9fa5.png[/img][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/DqjRXKJ.png[/img][/center] Isaac was perched over the dockyards overlooking the Delaware and New Jersey beyond. He’d had a mixed day. Battered and bruised from the rugby 7s tournament, with sprigg-marks up his legs and back. He, of course, felt none of them and they did make a quality alibi for bruises and other markings he might get from his other… extracurricular activities. Such as what he was doing here. Overall the team had done better than expected on the day as well. 2-1. So they got a win. Against some school called Bowling Green. After dropping the first two games, Isaac thought they were playing at an alternate venue for a split second when he saw the opposing school’s name. Blame it on concussion… But apparently it was a pretty good win to have. Bowling Green had a pretty solid history with their own rugby team, but were in a “rebuilding phase” needing to replace several recently graduating star players. He went out to a nearby venue along the riverfront to celebrate the win with the team, making sure they understood they’d still be representing the school the next day since the tournament was a multi-day festival environment. On the tv, perched over a beer, Isaac caught it on the news. A news story on a recent trend of unexplained violent crimes and widespread incidents of trespass along the riverfront and docks. The stadium was on the riverfront, the pub he was sitting in was on the riverfront, the accommodation LHU sprung for was also on the riverfront. It was too much for him to resist. [hr] Which is why the man in black sits perched over the dockyards, watching as 5 similarly garbed men - also in black, wearing balaclavas - cut a hole through a chain link fence to break into the huge storage shed complex some 30 feet below. He watched as the quintet kept to the shadows, running briskly to the massive doors of the complex. The sliding doors seemed to be locked by a simple padlock, from Isaac’s vantage point, but they ignored it - choosing to instead search the panelling on the right side. After a few seconds a small panel came away, exposing an electronic security pad for biometric testing. Tools were removed as they looked to crack the security. These people had done recon. They may not have the means to easily gain access, or even known the exact location of the pad… but they knew enough to look for it. Isaac’s curiosity grew with each passing second. They weren’t meant to be here and whatever secrets this place held, they were likely important. He’d wait until they breached and would then swoop in and take them out from the inside. If they had a getaway car and support, he didn’t want any reinforcements blindsiding him as he tried to take these 5 out whilst in the open. Extended minutes passed, and suddenly the light on the pad flashed green. With the security bypassed the huge doors slid open, barely exposing some massive grey mass located within to the moonlight. The 5 ran inside. None kept watch by the egress point. That error would cost them dearly. The grapple line clanked awkwardly when it hit the metal roof, but it wouldn’t be enough to help them. Nothing could help them. Not now. Isaac’s pitch black form swung across the night. His boots echoed loudly as they clanked heavily with his landing on some kind of metal platform. He wanted them to know he was here. To fear what was coming. Most of his gear was still miles away in Lost Haven, but he wouldn’t need it. Not for 5 lowlife thieves in Philadelphia. Safe Philadelphia. The “freaks” didn’t protect Philadelphia. Gun muzzles flashed. Already they were firing blindly. The Vigilante could feel the heightened anxiety in the air. It exhilarated him. If any were looking they could have seen the bright whites of his eyes, and the moonlight reflecting off of his grin as he dropped behind one and pulled him into the shadows in a sleeper hold. Four. “Shit! He’s got--” One exclaimed “Names! No names!” warned another. “Who the hell was that?” “It doesn’t matter. There’s one of him, four of us. Regroup now. Back to back. He’s trying to pick us off, whoever it is!” [i]“Smart…”[/i] thought Isaac. He no longer had a target he could take without seeing him coming. The four men slowly crabwalked their way through the huge complex, guns aimed out and waiting for a target. Isaac was still no closer to why they were here though. Peering back towards the open doors he could make out the letters [b]“R I D G”[/b] in white paint on grey from the moonlight. No help. Any answers would likely have to come from the 4 men below “What do you think happened to him? Who-- who is this guy?” one of the four stammered, turning back to the leader with sweat glimmering off his brow. Weak point. “No idea. Focus on the mission. Gun’s out and eyes open.” the man who appeared to be the Field Leader responded, putting him back to task. “Did--did any of you hear him use a gun?” he turned back for a half second again. It was all he needed. A dark figure swept in, and clipped something to the panicked man. As the others turned with guns drawn, all they had time to see was their compatriot flying off quickly with the sound of a high speed winch. Seconds later gasps and grunts as a figure in the darkness knocked the hell out of him. Then heavy silence. Three. “Fuck!” The leader once again assessed the situation. “He’s unarmed or unwilling to shoot. Guns out, eyes open. He’s still trying to pick us off. It’s definitely just one target. Don’t give him anything to pick at. We’re nearly there.” The three traversed the floor slower now. Nerves clearly strained. Metal clattered hard off the concrete, the three turned and took aim. “Hold! He’s trying to dra--!” the Leader exclaimed, cut off as the Vigilante swept in and dropped him with a heavy lead hook. The others turned to take aim but couldn’t fire… he used the unconscious body of the leader as cover, before dropping him awkwardly and disappearing behind a corner. Two. And no head. “Fuck! FUUUUCK! What do we do!?” “Calm down. Back to back like he said…” “What’s the damn point? He’s picking us off anyway! And without--” “Names!” "Without… Jerry,” the man said, clearly making up a name “We can’t complete the mission anyway. He’s the only one who can get access to the full documentation.” “Documentation, yes. But we can still achieve Secondary. We take the device, they can disseminate how it works.” “We should just get the hell out of here!” “Well there’s the damn door if you think whoever the Hell is doing this will just let you walk on out!” Seconds passed while the first hot head clearly weighed his options. Isaac furrowed his brow, he was hoping for a couple of headless chickens after he removed the obvious leader. But this other, who he could now tell from her voice was a woman, had settled the ship. Wouldn’t matter. Mildly disappointing, but wouldn’t make a difference. The hothead raised his sidearm and the two very slowly changed direction; their mission now changed. Isaac weighed his own options. Which would be the easier to take down, who would be easier to get to spill with information of their mission, would one be an easier final takedown? All signs pointed to leaving the hothead for last. All things different he clearly would have rathered be somewhere else right now. Isaac couldn’t blame him. Especially once he saw what was coming now. “This isn’t right… we’ve been up and down these docks for months. We finally found this place. We waited until we scouted security measures… Where did this guy come from? We never had any sign of--” “Shut. Up.” Isaac could see the signs of wear. She was cracking, and not because of his actions. She was professional towards that. She just couldn’t take anymore of her cohort. [i]“That’s alright. You won’t have to put up with him much longer.”[/i] Isaac thought to himself, as he unspooled the line. The pair were halfway across the floor when he moved. He pulled the line taught and sprinted, sweeping the pair off their feet. A gun clattered loose to the concrete. The sound of the high speed winch as the line retracted and Isaac swept in, grabbed the girl and fired a line into the darkness of the rafters. Muffled sounds and then the heavy silence once more. “SHIT! FUUUUUCK!” The man fired up into the rafters blindly. Isaac felt confident he’d made the right move. Easy pickings. But then it all turned south. “[color=00aeef]Now what exactly do we have here my fine friend?[/color]” a completely unexpected jovial voice penetrated the darkness. Isaac gasped. The complex wasn’t empty. Bystanders. He’d been treating the scenario as if it were 3 - 12 men, and himself in an abandoned factory. No chances of collateral damage. Just as he was about to resolve the situation an innocent bystander would come strolling through… and he had just left the least stable target for last. The man sensed the shift in power and what was required of him. He called out into the darkness. “HEY! You! Come out with your hands up!” “[color=00aeef]Who-sir? Me? Absolutely I can do that for you![/color]” the same jovial voice came from the darkness. As he stepped into the moonlight Isaac could see a big grin across the man’s face. Isaac pinched the mask off the bridge of his nose and tried to think of a safe way to change the rapidly deteriorating situation. “And you!” The man called out to Isaac in the darkness. “Whoever you are! You’re going to come down into the light as well, wherever you are or I’m going to put one into this guy’s head!” Isaac slumped down. Whatever he was going to do he’d have to do pretty quick, and he’d have to be a big bold target he’d see coming. He couldn’t have that gun pointed anywhere but at him. “You! You’re going to get me into the safe!” “[color=00aeef]No![/color]” the man said, still smiling richly and not losing any of his cheerfulness. “[color=00aeef]No, I won’t be doing that.[/color]” “Can’t… or won’t?” the man growled. Cocking the gun for effect. “[color=00aeef]Oh! Absolutely ‘Won’t’![/color]” said the man, not losing even the smallest trace of his cheerful disposition. “[color=00aeef]Even if I didn’t have the combination, there’s not a safe in the US Armed Forces holdings that I couldn’t crack. And I DO have the combination. After all, it's MY safe![/color]” he exclaimed, wiggling his fingers to imply their remarkable dexterity. Isaac came down the ladder from the rafters slowly, his mind still racing to find a way to ensure the man’s safety. “Then what you’re telling me is that you’re no use to me…” Isaac stepped off the ladder and saw the man’s smile widen even further. There was something he was missing here... “[color=00aeef]Well, the First Principle is that you mustn’t fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool![/color]” and laughed. And then he saw someone step from the shadows. [b]“NO!”[/b] Isaac called. The hothead fired. But the jovial man who had been standing there just dissipated. As if he had never been standing there at all. From the shadows stood two more of the same cheerful man who had just been there before. Then 5. Then 12. Then Isaac couldn’t rightly say how many. One of the smiling men grabbed the hothead’s gun and smiled warmly. “[color=00aeef]I’d hate to die twice. It’s so boring![/color]” They descended on the hothead with a steady flow of punches and kicks. “[color=00aeef]Now what do we have over here?[/color]” the mass of smiling men called out, at once turning and addressing the Vigilante. Wow. Creepy. Isaac turned, unnerved by the sight and bumped into yet another smiling man. He felt a force to the side of his head; a punch, then a kick from another direction. Never more than one at a time, but keeping a steady rhythm. They beat Isaac like a bongo drum. Isaac called out that he wasn’t with the others, he’d tried to stop them. But it was relentless and from all angles. As he fell to the ground he caught one last glimpe back at the huge grey mass and the full name that he had caught some of the letters from before. [h1]U.S.S. E L D R I D G E[/h1] “[color=00aeef]Veeeeeery Int-er-es-ting![/color]” Isaac heard from the jovial man as darkness seized him. Indeed...