[b][u]The Outskirts of São Paulo, Brazil. January 16th, 1:25AM UTC-3.[/u][/b] "Wake up! Wake up! Something's on the radio!" Antoine groaned, roused from his sleep by the sound of his wife's voice - and the sensation of her frantically trying to shake him awake. "[i]...Grngh...[/i]" He groaned, forcing his eyelids open. [i]What time was it?[/i] He wondered, glancing over at his alarm clock. [b]3:00AM[/b], it read. "Hurry! The Deacon said it's-" Antoine leapt up from his bed with a start, scrambling to force his legs into a pair of pants. Wise as he was, the was a demanding man, though he'd certained earned the privilege, far more learned in the ways of the Thousand Eyes than Antoine or his wife. Rushing outside of his shared room with his wife, Antoine atumbled into the common room - and a gaggle of fellow believers crowded around a single, antiquated radio set. The voice coming from it, laden with static as it was, was unmistakable - the São Paulo state police chief, clearly just as tired as they. One of Antoine's companions gestured for him to come closer, and so he did, listening closely. "...apologizes for the sudden inconvenience, but, however, the curfew will remain in effect for at least the next twelve hours due to an potential release of highly toxic chemicals at a nearby pesticide production plant. All residents are required by law to remain indoors for this period, and should keep all windows and doors tightly sealed. Any persons found outside during this period by police will be apprehended for their own safety and delivered to the nearest available hospital for prompt examination. The potential release, if confirmed, would consist primarily of Methyl Isocyanate, which is highly toxic to humans and-" Suddenly, the voice dimmed as the deacon turned the volume knob, a look of consternation on his wrinkled face. "...We can't just stay inside! We have an important shipment of NLCs to retrieve today." He said, turning to face the rest of the gathered brothers and sisters. "Brother Antoine - you and your wife used to work with industrial chemicals, yes? What sort of equipment would we need?" Antoine froze, unused to the attention - especially at such a pivotal time. He was eager to help the cause, though, despite his nervousness - and the possible danger of exposing himself. "MIC is primarily absorbed through the upper respiratory tract, but we'd need full-body protection to be completely safe. I-" "We have the equipment you need. You and your wife will suit up and head out in our truck to collect the shipment." "How soon, sir?" His wife asked, though Antoine could barely manage to pay attention to her words between the opportunity ahead of him and the dull thumping sound in his ears. His beating heart, perhaps. He wasn't certain, but it hardly mattered. "Immediately. Chemical leak or not, we can't afford to leave our brothers and sisters out in the cold." "Of course, sir! Should we-" The sound was getting louder. Closer, maybe? "- bring anyone with us?" The Deacon nodded slowly. "Yes. You will have a few of our warriors with you, in case the heathens attempt to apprehend you. No matter what, you can't allow them to capture the NLC! It's of vital importance that-" Louder. He could barely even hear the noise of crickets outside now. "Hey!" Sister Alexandra said, peering out a nearby window. "Is that a helicopter?" Without so much as thinking, Antoine rushed over to the window, then... A rush of a series of rapid, thunderous cracks filled his ears, and his world became pain. Glancing to the left, he saw what looked like the mangled remains of his leg - to his front, the shredded corpse of Sister Alexandra as high-caliber shells ripped holes in the wall next to him. He looked to his Deacon for guidance, finding little more than one of his tentacled limbs writing helplessly on the ground, no sign of his body remaining beneath a scorched, blackened spot. Everywhere, there was gore and blood, his wife nowhere to be found. Glancing outside, he was finally able to resolve the emblem of the Brazilian army on the helicopter's tail - and a rocket speeding toward him, a plume of black smoke following closely behind. "Target confirmed killed. Going around for a second sweep, over." Ana said, tightly clutching the joystick in her hands. [b][u]São Paulo, Brazil. January 16th, 1:30AM UTC-3.[/u][/b] “Affirm - sniper team is in position.” A voice echoed in João's radio. Briefly tearing his gaze away from the large, black explosive charged strapped to the nearby wall, he glanced over to a tall office building several streets over. In his brief moment of distraction, his squad filed up behind him, taking their positions - and João frowned, clutching the strange, metallic contraption in his hands. A strange time to live-fire test an experimental weapons system, to be sure - but he supposed there must've been a reason for it. "Operation 'Clean Sweep' is a go. Initiate breach, over." "Wilco. Initiating breach, over and out." João whispered back, offering another of his soldiers a small, curt nod. The woman nodded back, depressed a trigger in her hands, and... [i]Boom.[/i] A series of sharp cracks filled his ears as the charges detonated, both his and elsewhere along the massive structure, brick walls collapsing inward in clouds of dust. Without so much as a word uttered between the members of his ten-man team, João stormed inside, taking the briefest of moments to scan the scene before him as he moved. Dozens of bunk beds, men and women lying across them all in various states of wakefulness. Some were easily identifiable as humans, others more akin to hybrid mutants pulled from all manner of conservative conspiracy rag - but none of them were fully awake. Gunshots rang out from behind João, punching holes through the handful of cultists grabbing for their handguns in quick succession. Already, his team was piling in through the same entryway he'd passed through mercilessly executing the room's occupants, one-by-one. Not once did any of them stop moving, João included. He, of course, was doing his own work - aiming the barrel of his weapon at the head of a huge, muscular hulk of a woman, he pulled the trigger. An invisible beam crossed the space between them, followed by... [i]Zzzzzzap! Zzzzap![/i] A nearly solid rod of lightning followed the trail of ionized gas created by the laser, making contact with the woman's forehead. Her eyes shot wide open, closing again, followed by nearly every muscle in her body exploding into a fit of spasms - and by the time she was done, the air around her was filled with the stench of overcooked meat, her organs scorched black while still inside of her body by the electrical shock shooting through her. João cursed, a stray fork of electrical power sending a violent shock of pain through his body - but he proceeded after a brief moment of hesitation, slaughtering another cultist in a shower of sparks and veins of lightning. Few words passed between the members of the team as they went about their grim work. Mariana, the giant of a woman she was, only hesitated long enough to bring her shotgun to bear on a foe before painting their beds and the floor beneath in a shower of gore. Adalberto barely slowed at all between each blast of flesh-rending flechettes he unleashed, leaving a trail of ragged corpses in his wake. Adao busied himself dragging a twitching, gibbering mass of mutant flesh from its beg, glancing sidelong at João for confirmation. João simply shook his head - not the man they were looking for. Turning towards the barrack's exit, his ears were filled with the sound of gunfire and brains splattering across the floor. Wordlessly, the team proceed, executing the few remaining survivors on their way out and into the hall. Left, right... Both ways were clear, aside from the sounds of panicked screams and the ratta-tat of gunfire all around them. Turning left, João headed toward a staircase descending into the darkness. He passed by an open door on his right, eyes briefly falling upon a single man wielding a shotgun inside - only for him to abruptly collapse, his heart punctured by a shot from one of the snipers across the street. "Bravo team!" He barked into his radio. "VIP isn't in the barracks - any luck?" "Negative." Aoi responded, pointing the barrel of her shotgun at the handle of the door ahead of her. Squeezing the trigger, she blasted the lock free in a cloud of dust and shattered metal. Quickly slinging it back over her shoulder, she extracted her PDW - a small, sleek little thing - and waited as one of her squadmates tossed a flashbang inside. *BANG!* The room was awash with white light and she charged inside, loosing a burst of bullets on the first thing she saw - a human silhouette, quickly dropping to the ground. A sharp *crack* from behind her saw another body fall, then another - and still she advanced, stopping over a desk behind which a gibbering mass of flesh scrambled for bulky pistol. "Ayubu!" She snapped. A sharp pop followed as her squadmate opened fire, sending the mutant spiralling to the floor with a resounding *pop*.