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[COLOR=red][indent][sub][I]Somewhere in Texas[/I] - [I]Present Day[/I][/sub][sup][right]Issue 1.01.05: The Technocrat[/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][B]Interaction(s):[/B] [I]None[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][b]Previously:[/b] [I]Issue 1.01.04: The Killer Inside Me[/I][/right][/SUP][/indent][/color]

The two drove silently through the flat plains of the heartlands of Texas, silently continuing their journey. They’d been taking side roads, doing their best to avoid anywhere cops might expect them. It had been hours since the gas station, and they had barely spoke since Roy’s request. One that was never fulfilled. But as the evening sunset washed the sky in deep purples, Jason finally spoke up. [color=red]”I should have been more careful.”[/color]

Roy raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze towards Jason. The former spy’s eyes were fixed on the road, and his face was stoic like always. But his words held sincerity bred by hours of quiet contemplation. Roy shrugged, turning his gaze back out his passenger window. [color=orange]”It was easy to walk away. And I don’t miss it. My last assignment was an assassination. Small time warlord in Somalia. One shot, one kill. Same as always. He was at this big old villa, with his family. False sense of security. I fired the shot… and I kept looking down the scope to make sure he was dead. And I watched his family run over and wail. He had a daughter that was maybe… six years old. And she looked in my direction… and I just stopped. I knew my dad was getting sick, so it was the perfect time to back out.”[/color]

Jason looked at his friend and saw his usual cocky grin replaced with the same stoicism that Jason wore as a shield. The two sat in silence for a moment before Jason turned off the road they were on, pulling up to the only building for acres. [color=red]”We’re here.”[/color]

The building looked like an old, run-down mechanic’s garage. On the left was a small store of sorts, with the windows boarded up. The other half had two large garage doors that were covered in rust, dirt, and overgrowth. If there was ever a place to hide, this looked like it. Nonetheless, Roy turned his gaze to Jason as they got out of the van. [color=orange]”Jason… why here? And how the Hell did you know where it was?”[/color]

Jason gave a small little smirk to Roy, and the latter internally groaned. Jason led the way, clutching at his arm. Blood had soaked through the bandage, but Jason was nothing if not a stubborn son of a bitch. He knocked on the front door of the store side of things, and stood waiting. Roy folded his arms and stayed back a few feet, an eyebrow raised. Suddenly, a beam of light came from a small spot above the door and washed over the two men, scanning them from head to toe. Once it scanned them, it disappeared. A moment afterwards, the door clicked and swung open, revealing a rather decrepit interior as well. Standing among all the decay was a man in a suit with slicked back hair. He smiled at the two men. [color=lightgray]”Ahh… Jason Todd and Roy Harper. The two most wanted men in Texas. Follow me.”[/color]

Roy shot a look of absolute befuddlement to Jason, who simply gave a nod in the suited man’s direction. The two followed the suited stranger as he led them through a door into the garage portion. The garage itself, remarkably, looked rather clean. It had two spots designed to work on cars, and the suited man walked onto the track of the first one, motioning for them to join him. They did so, and almost instantaneously the track began to lower itself into the ground at a moderate speed. The men were in some sort of makeshift elevator, the walls clearly constructed of some sort of concrete as they were lowered deeper and deeper into the Earth. Roy, finally shocked out of his silence, just shook his head. [color=orange]”Somebody better tell me what’s going on.”[/color]

The suited man smiled and nodded. [color=lightgray]”Your order was a hard one to fulfill, Mr. Harper. A compact, durable bow, with a titanium dipped tri-weave drawstring. Not to mention the various arrow designs that were requested. Adhesive arrows being by far the most difficult.”[/color]

Roy tilted his head in confusion for a moment, before it dawned on him. [color=orange]”TC… You’re the damn Technocrat. Well I’ll be…”[/color]

[color=red]”I trust you’re not walking us into a trap.”[/color]

The suited man chuckled softly, shaking his head. [color=lightgray]”Of course not. The bounty on your heads is pocket change.”[/color]

With that, the walls of the secret elevator gave way to a large and spacious facility. The room was rather long, with a larger workspace to the right and a row of cars and tanks to the left. The walls were lined with various guns and gadgets. Jason nodded while Roy whistled at the sight. TC shook his head as he saw them ogling all of his toys. [color=lightgray]”Welcome to the Armory, boys. Well… an armory, I suppose. As far as your concerned, the only one you two will ever know.”[/color]

Jason raised an eyebrow. [color=red]”You’re letting us stay here?”[/color]

TC smiled nodding and motioning to the facility at large. [color=lightgray]”You’ve got run of the place. I’m leaving in an hour. I’ve got two rooms set up for you, one on either side. Plenty of other rooms to set up whatever you want. If you need anything else, shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do."[/color] The man in the suit smiled and nodded as he walked over towards a computer terminal, unplugging a hard drive from it and placing it in a briefcase as he made his way over towards the nearest black sedan. He stopped as he turned his gaze back towards the two. [COLOR=lightgray]"One last thing... You're not quite staying here for free. All the stuff in here are prototypes, and I need you to test this stuff out to make sure it's all working. 

That's the deal."[/COLOR]