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[b]Location: Poseidon Energy, Pacific Point[/b]

"A laser satellite. A fucking laser satellite, and they can't even find it."

"Perplexing to say the least," Martel said in agreement, idly adjusting his new nameplate on his desk, the one denoting his 'demotion' to the SPARK division, that was knocked askew when Jordan Fletcher slammed both her fists onto it. "It might have belonged to S.T.R.I.K.E. and the Hounds merely stole it, but given that armor the Gargoyle had, I wouldn't put anything past them." Martel might have had a better idea if he hadn't been so exhausted, of course. SPARK had been put on high alert following the Hound terrorist attacks, and thanks to the general chaos unfolding staffing had been skeletal to stay the least. The violently loyal Jordan Fletcher was there though, if only to rant and rail against the "scum-sucking piss-swilling butchers" that were the Hounds of Humanity, which in light of what had happened wasn't exactly hard to disagree with.

"They'd better find the Finger of God fast," Jordan growled, repeating one of the nicknames the media circus gave to the orbiting laser cannon in the wake of the tragedy. "I'll eat this chair if those fuckers don't have that thing pointed at us right now." Jordan's temper subsided slightly as the morbid idea of Pacific Point getting wiped out crossed her mind.

"Let's hope that's a long way off. For now, we need to plan on how to combat this," Martel said, moving across the room in his chair to retrieve some files. "Riley and Mr. Adams have the most experience fighting the Hounds, so we should meet with them to coordinate."

"Sure Riley will be pleased to be fighting with Electric Elvis again," Jordan said with a smirk. "Think she's right outside actually, I can grab her if you want."

"Do so, I'll get the Rabbit Industry reports and see what I can glean from them."

Jordan spun on her heel and exited the office, leaving Martel to thumb through the thick binders he collected, and briskly making her way towards the front desk.

"Yo Riles, Martel wants to talk with you about...uh, you comfortable there, Riley?"

Riley, who had changed out of her usual superhero outfit into her usual comfy jeans and a t-shirt, was reclining along the surface of Jordan's security desk like a bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her pointed ears twitched as she turned her head slightly to spot Jordan.

[color=MediumOrchid]"Oh...sorry Jordan."[/color] Riley turned again to stare at the ceiling, letting out a slight sigh as she did so. Jordan quietly took a seat at her desk, letting the silence hang a bit longer.

"You hanging in there Riles?"

[color=MediumOrchid]"Yeah..."[/color] Riley said glumly. [color=MediumOrchid]"Just thinking about the attacks on those cities."[/color]

"Mmm...it's hard not to." Jordan said, wishing she had something a little more meaningful to say. It wasn't the first time Jordan had seen and experienced a tragedy like this, but Riley had only ever been around for a month, and Jordan felt she had the responsibility to be there for Riley while she comprehended what had happened. Jordan had expected some big talks with all the classic questions about human nature and why its important to keep fighting evil, but Riley's relative silence had thrown her. The alien heroine wasn't exactly shy about expressing her emotions like this.

Still, a quiet moment shared spoke volumes. Jordan just hoped it was saying the right things.

"Um, hello? Is Voyager here?" Jordan and Riley both looked up as a lanky redheaded man in Police Officer blues appeared in the doorway.

[color=MediumOrchid]"Here I am!"[/color] Riley said, attempting to sound perky as she dropped off the desk onto her feet. [color=MediumOrchid]"I'm not in trouble, am I?"[/color]

"Oh no, not at all," the officer said, sniffing slightly as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Jordan couldn't help but noticed they looked unusually red, and Riley had noticed it too, judging by the slight head tilt.
[color=MediumOrchid]
"Is everything okay sir?"[/color]

The officer sniffed louder this time, conflicted by Riley's concerned expression. "Nothing really it's...my little brother. He works in Paris, Texas."

[color=MediumOrchid]"Oh no..."[/color]

"I've been trying to get a hold of him or his friends, no luck yet," the officer said, his eyes welling with tears again. "It may be just the phone lines getting jammed, but..."

The officer stumbled over his words slightly as Riley, wordlessly, pulled him into a tight hug. The stunned surprise was enough to break the floodgates though, and the officer reciprocated the hug, gently crying onto her shoulder. After a moment or two, the officer broke off the hug, drying his eyes with his sleeve as he readjusted his jacket. 

"Thank you...I think I needed that," the officer said somberly, taking the tissue that Jordan offered from her desk.

[color=MediumOrchid]"Any time,"[/color] Riley said with a warm smile. There was a moment of silence before a look of realization crossed the officer's face.

"Oh, right, why I'm here!" The officer cleared his throat as he fished around in his pockets for something. "So, the chief wanted me to pass along something we found, on the off-chance that you were going after the Hounds. You remember Krauss, the Gargoyle?"

"More then I'd like to know," Jordan said coolly, tipping her chair slightly as she leaned back. "I thought he was dead."

"More then you know," the officer recounted. "By all means, once Krauss joined up with the Hounds he was a ghost. Every trace of him post-military was scrubbed clean; we couldn't even dig up a parking ticket on the bastard. We were about to close the case when a visiting detective from the East Coast recognized his profile."

[color=MediumOrchid]"Ooh, the plot thickens!"[/color] Riley said excitably.

"The detective had been investigating a murder and remembered interviewing our general here. Evidently he left quite an unpleasant impression," the officer said with a smirk, as if he asked whether or not anyone was really surprised. "He was innocent to that particular crime, but his interview was still documented, and after a bit of digging through police records we found a few more instances where he popped up in unrelated cases, usually because he was being disruptive. That right there is a collection of security photos and interviews collected at the time, and all of that is enough to say that we think your general spent a good deal of time in-"

"Lost Haven!"

Riley leapt a little bit as Martel unexpectedly appeared behind them, punctuating his statement by slamming the office door behind him why he waved a few pages in the air.

"Er, yes, Lost Haven," the officer said, looking mildly impressed. "How did you know?"

"You were following the general, I followed his base," Martel explained, as Riley and Jordan noticed the name 'Rabbit Motors' on top of the scientist's page. "I've been afflicting a great deal of boredom upon myself to dig through these financial records, and while  that Hounds base was still officially part of Rabbit Motors, its utilities and logistic data were rerouted through a location in Lost Haven. Then when I looked deeper, I found out that the place also handled the information of a broadcasting center in Las Vegas. A broadcasting center on the same street of a place called Smithy's Grocery Store."

[color=MediumOrchid]"I remember that name!"[/color] Riley recalled. [color=MediumOrchid]"There were reports of an altercation between a band of metahumans and some Hound goons at that place!"[/color]

Martel nodded. "And coincidentally, the Lost Haven location disconnected the Broadcast center shortly after the attack."

"A general and a shell company of the Hounds spotted in Lost Haven," Jordan recited. "I hear Maine IS nice this time of year..."

Riley, Jordan and Martel all traded looks with each other as they came to a decision. The only decision they could really make.

"The Pacific Point PD can hold the fort, Miss Voyager," the officer said, flashing a salute as he anticipated the choice they were making. "On behalf of all of us...go and put the fear of God in those bastards." The officer made his exit, and as soon as the door snapped shut, the remaining three sprang into action.

"SPARK needs me here, but I can do without my security detail for a while," Martel reminded them, moving to the phone on the desk to dial Briley Patton's number. "If you two get a flight tonight you can make it to Lost Haven by the morning.

[color=MediumOrchid]
"Three of us,"[/color] Riley corrected him. [color=MediumOrchid]"I am certain Hound Dog will want to come along as well. I will go and contact him!"[/color]

"I've been itching for some real payback against the Hounds," Jordan mused with a devilish grin. "I'll go get our equipment for the trip. And you'd better get your suit ready.

Riley nodded, her chest practically swelling with determination as she pounded a fist into her other hand.

[color=MediumOrchid]"Let's go kick some Hound butt!"[/color]