NationStates Jolt Archive

Bella was on the stage at the local bar. She was a regular entertainer and was requested on her nights off. She had an angelic voice people had not heard until now. She was singing a remake of a remake of Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”. She was belting out the lyrics and moving to the beat. She captivated and controlled the audience as she sang. “I can’t get no satisfaction. And I tried and I tried…” Her tone was a mixture of sweetness and sultriness. Once she finished her song the crowd at the bar went nuts. Not because they were drunk, but she had charisma to have anyone want to follow her. She walked to the bar and asked for a drink.
“May I have a club soda, please?”
“You don’t have to ask anymore, Bella. I know what you drink.”
She grabbed the glass that was already perspiring. She reached up and wiped her forehead. There were beads of sweat and her cheeks were red from the heat.

Devan sat at the bar and watched in awe at Bella’s performance. She would always amaze him. She never seemed to fail to get better. He took a shot of straight vodka as he saw her walk his way. She plopped down next to him. “Bella, you did a wonderful job as always.”
“Hey, thanks, Devan. I am super happy you are here. I get so nervous, but it helps when I see you here.”
He swallows, “Really, I didn’t think you ever noticed I came here.”
Laughing, “Of course, I noticed you. I could I not see my bestest friend.” She punches him the shoulder.
All he could reply was, “Oh.”
“So, who is up next?”
“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” But they will never compare to you.

Sahsa was new in town. She heard this joint allowed singers to be known to others. She was not happy having to go after that last act. The lady was exceptional. How can I ever compare? Well, I have to try. She stepped up and her fingers were shaking and the music started. She was to sing, “Behind Blue Eyes.” She started out quiet, and increased a little. “No one knows what like to be the bad one, to be the sad one, behind blue eyes…” She finished and the audience was silent. Bella stood up and began to clap, others followed. The crowd picked up intensity, but by that time she was off the stage. She had never seen any audience react in such a way. She ran to the bathroom and started crying. Why me? Do I suck that bad? There was a knock on the door and the girl that sang before her walked in. Sahsa glared at her and asked cruelly, “What do you want?”
“I just came to see if you are okay?”
“What does it matter to you?”
OOC: I will continue this conversation later, but I would like others in the bar. Just observers of the music or even more singers, all are welcome. My title will explain itself as the plot goes on, but I need you!

Bella's picture is at
http://www.atpictures.com/display.php?g=yohko&img=dhyohko002.jpg

Devan's picture is at
http://www.atpictures.com/display.php?g=fushigi&img=fushigi050.jpg

Sahsa's picture is at
http://www.atpictures.com/display.php?g=ryvius&img=iryvius2.jpg

ooc: sorry I still haven't figured out how to get the pictures on. I apologize. :(

Bump so more can read

2 TSD Officers look around from their seats at a table in the bar, they go back to their conversation and Trasian Ale's

Captian Yria:Yes the Uaria is going to the WY system after shoreleave

Commander Treath:really? the WY system i hear is rich in Phrik, and it's peacful there


Captian Yria:But i do not see why the Highcommand NEED'S to send a VSD, why not a lancer frigate like your vessal?


Commander Treath:are you kidding? the Highcommand is very cautious about this, havn't you heard? Phrik is now what makes up the TSD Credits.

Captian Yria:oh, i didn't know that before. hmmm

Bump!!!!!

Sitting in a dark corner, Jack Furlan thought about the two singers. The first was simply amzing, in voice, but there was something about the second that he couldn't quite figure out. It had taken alot to go after that first act, he had seen it in her eyes, both before and after she sung. When she had dissapeared into the restroom, with the first following her, Jack was interested to see what happened next.

OOC: Jack Furlan is the captain of the BHN Red Star, a scout ship, which has been sent to (this planet's name here) to see if any were prospects for an alliance. From what he had seen of AmandaTheGreat so far, the government would find it an excellent prospect.

OOC:Mebbe it doesn't need it, but just in case: (Substitute for author) Bump

Sub-Bump

OOC: AtG, if thisRP don't work out, i'll definitely look for 'em from you in future. Note that this does not mean I am counting it as a lost cause, I will still be watching this one.

---------------
http://www.elmosbarbershop.com/images/red-star.jpg
YAY!!! RP!

The room became very cold. Belle shivered. "I just thought maybe"
"You thought wrong." Sahsa cut her off with a steel cold knife. Belle noticed that is wasn't going to work out and so she walked away. She went back to were Devan was sitting. She sat down and was frowning.
"What happened," asked Devan?
"I don't want to talk about it." She growled. She sighed and said, "Sorry. It is just that I thought I could talk to her and calm her down. She does have a good singing voice."
"That is it. Just good. How do you think you would feel if you would be after a inspiring singer, who has the voice of an angel?"
"I guess I would feel pretty crappy."
They saw the girl walk out of the bathroom and sit a small round blue table. The overhead light was blue and gave her skin a tint of blue. She stared at the two and shot daggers at Belle. Devan looked at Belle and saw that she had no effect to the looks of the other girl, in fact she was oblivious to it.
Belle looked up at Devan, "So, if this is the only thing exciting happening here I think I want to go puke. There needs to be something going on. I heard it is a full moon tonight."
Laughing, Devan says,"You and your supersitions."

Jack saw Sasha come out after Belle, and saw Sasha's glare. He decided to talk to her. He walked over to Sasha and said, " Hey, regardless of what you think, you do have a great voice, and a hell of a lot of courage to go after that one at all." He started walking back to his table in the corner.

OOC: i'm out for school now be back in the afternoon

Sahsa was surprised, even shocked someone would think she did well. "Umm...Thanks." She called after, the man had already sat down at a table. She walked over and asked,"May I join you?"
OOC: I am in class also today so I shall come back later.

Bump for more to join if they like to. I would love it! :lol:

"Sure," Jack said. "Would you like a drink?" he asked. 'I could use another anyway,' he thought, looking at his empty glass.

She sits next to the guy. "Sure. Can I have a house margarita, please? I can pay ya know." She looks at the guy trying to figure if he is drunk and that is why he is talking to her. "My name is Sahsa. It is nice to meet someone here. I am new. So, do you know that girl named Belle?"

Belle watched the girl sit next to Jack. This was not good. She frowned. Devan looked worriedly at her. "Don't worry about her. She is out of the league." Belle cocked her head at him.
"Out of our league. I thought she did a good job. But you are right if she doesn't want my help then I should put her out of my mind. It is a busy night tonight. I see a lot of new faces. I am glad to see familar ones though. Thanks again for being here." SHe looks around the crowded room. Devan blushes.

"Another martini for me." Jack says to the waiter. Turning to Sasha, he replies, " No, I don't know Belle, but I do know one thing. Asumming I could sing, which i can't, I wouldn't have been able to go after her, that's for sure." When the drinks arrived, Jack took out the olive from his martini and tossed it up at the next singer, who was quite bad.

OOC: I am puzzled as to what you mean by the league, so will you tell me now, or will I find out later anyway?

OOC: More of a saying I guess. Sahsa can't compare to Belle, out of league. I think a lot of people use it also when they refer to dating. Like a girl or guy is out of their league, not attainable. Does that help? Will write IC after my class today.

OOC: I produce no Rping of my own. My Roleplay existance can be compared with the life of the Remora fish, I simply attatch myself to a thread, hand on until it throws me off, and then have no choice but to find a new thread. In a forum where we have lurkers, flamers, trolls and baiters, not counting mods and admin, I decalre myself to be the first leech.

IC:

The backing band, realising that if any singers still remained in the wings they were too busy plotting to kill Bella to do their acts, opened into a new piece of their own. As the others played out the intro, the piano player drew the microphone down towards him...

What did I do yesterday? Well I'll tell you in brief
Ten quid from the bank and I got out of town with relief
And slowly but surely my life came to flower again
Falling head over heels for a beautiful girl on the train

She was reading a book, taking in every word the man wrote
And there in the margin she made the occasional note
And I couldn't deduce why she didn't once blink with surprise
As fathom by fathom I gradually drowned in her eyes

But she kept on the job of improving her single-track brain
Ploughing steadily onward through obsolete Monsieur Verlaine
While no further than seven-foot-six from her fabulous mouth
Sat the leading young poetic hope of the whole planet earth

Well apart from the chance of the driver accepting a cheque
For crashing his loco so I could be brave in the wreck
To boldly encounter this creature was not in my power
And so my heart mended and broke in the course of an hour

Well at last we pulled in and as straight as a three-sided knife
She got up and walked like a princess away from my life
And unless she remembers the day she was reading Verlaine
In a second-class coach on her way through the fields in the rain
She won't know it's her that I sing to again and again
Again and again

The ground shook as a NT-1 Aegis Mobile Suit walked into the town. The MS stopped in front of the bar. The cockpit opened and the pilot landed on the floor. Turning, he headed into the bar.

The pilot took a seat at the bar and ordered a bottle of Aelirisa Wine. Sitting quietly, the pilot nursed his drink... The pilot's name is James Allard. A former Captain in the 5CN Mobile Suit Corp, James had resigned and joined his brother's mercenary group. But in the devastating war versus the Chaos in SteamEarth, his brother, Michael had been killed. James devastated at the loss, decided to wander the land to find a new calling for his life.

James listened intently to the music and clapped now and then to express his appreciation. The music began to calm him down...

Data File:

http://www.mahq.net/animation/gundam/victory/ep51a.jpg

Name: James Allard
Height: 179 cm
Weight: 140 kg
Eyes: Black-Brown
Hair: Brown
Education: Azara Military Academy, Aegis Mobile Suit Training Facility
Occupation: Free-Lance Mobile Suit Pilot

Belle listened to the band pick up a beat. It was good. Then the piano player started to sing. Wow. What technique. She was always afraid slightly to sing her music. That is why she did covers. Hmmm. Maybe she could give them her music. Ah later. After the song was finished they all clapped. An guy walked in and sat at the bar. Interesting attire.

Devan looked over at the man who had caught Belle's eyesight. Hmmm. Who is this guy?

THe bartender tapped Belle on the shoulder,"Belle, there is a request that you go back up on stage and sing. Go on girl. Tell the band what song you want to sing." He was pushing her along.

Belle sputtered,"But..." Then stopped because she was next to the band and the paino player/singer was asking her for her music. Belle took out a piece of paper. She was debating on singing it earlier. She handed it to the man. It was Crazy, the version from Patsy Cline, done by Kidney Thieves, but with a twist. It was more dark and cryptic. She took center stage and put her head down so noone could see her face. It was in shadow. There was a eery silence to the audience. The band started up. It was a twisted rock melody. Then her voice became audible. "Crazy. I am crazy for feeling so blue. I knew you love me as long as you wanted. I knew you'd leave me for someone new..." This part was slow and meloncholy. Then the beat picked up fast and hard and she looked up to the crowd. They were capitivated by her. She played the part. She looked sad, demented, and still in love. "WORRY..." She continued and her voice took control over the music itself. She got down on the floor and sang to the people in the front. And reached a hand forward as in to touch the invisible lover. "I'm crazy for feeling so blue..." She finished the song and she looked up to the crowd. Everyone was silent then they broke out into a barely controlled cheer. People were yelling and screaming for her. She had never gotten quite this reaction before. It was always good, but this was insane. She smiled and walked back to her spot next to Devan. He just stared at her.

Sahsa was boiling mad now. She grabbed her drink and slammed it down. She was almost ready to attack that stupid girl Belle, but the people in the bar were in her way. She just stood up and glared at Belle. She would do something about that girl if it was the last thing she would do.

Jack saw how mad Sasha got after this song, and when she jumped up, Jack grabbed her arm and said, "Not now. If you really want something to happen to her, then just wait, I can help." Jack was very suspicious as to who the man Belle kept talking to at the bar was.

Sahsa looked at Jack. "Okay." She sat down. She placed her hand on his shoulder and said softly, "So, what can we do?"

As Belle left the stage for the second time, her adoring fanbase crying for more, Crosby (Piano) whipped his handkerchief out of his breast pocket and mopped his brow. This was looking to be a long night. If those people didn't get more they were gonna start eating each other out there. Crosby caught the eye of a passing bar attendant and called out the one truth that all musicians, everywhere in the multiverse, had agreed was necessary to music.

"We need more beer!"

Cheskov (Wind) leaned heavily on the piano and grunted, "This would be perfect time to ask for pay rise, da?"

Crosby shrugged, "Either he'd give us it or he'd strangle us all with the mircrophone cables. You go first."

The bartender asked Belle to give them some beer. Belle carried two pitchers of tab beer to the guys. "Here ya go boys." She leaned against the paino and continued to talk. "It is on the house. Enjoy. And hey come and join us guys. We are over there." She points across over by the bar. There was a couple guys sitting there, but that was all. She winked at the guys and said,"Plus, I would like to continue to work with y'all. You did an awesome job." She walked away and sat next to Devan again.

Across the bar Sahsa glarred at Belle.

the 2 TSD officers ignore the other people around them and continue to talk in New Trasian


Commander Treath:Hey Bartender? could we have 2 more Trasian Ales here?

"When I leave here tomorrow," Jack responded, "I can give you some of this stuff to slip in her drink. It's a poison we aquired from an indigenous tribe we encountered on our visit to Sigma 957. It will freeze, and then shatter her vocal cords, muting her for life, along with causing her great pain."

Cheskov and Crosby met eyes over the piano, "Did she seems..."

"Drunk?"

"Yeah."

"Not as drunk as I intend to be, friend." Chekov grinned and downed the pitcher.

"Ah, blame it on the adrenaline." Crosby looked round as Vern (Strings) and Bosch (Percussion) walked over.

"What was that about?" asked Vern.

"A chance encounter of random, cheerful generosity that may prove to be of extensive use to our little enterprise." replied Crosby with a flourish, "Hold the fort, I'm going to invesigate." He heaved himself up from the stool and headed towards the direction Belle had indicated. Behind him the rest of the band, bereft of vocals, began to play simple background mood music.

As the pianist approached, Belle waved and called him over. "Good of you to join us. Sit here if you like." She pointed to the stool next to her.

Devan frowned at the newcommer.

Sahsa smiled at Jack. "Great. Let's do it then. But why do you want to do that to her. She didn't do anything to you? In fact she didn't really do anything to me either. But what do you have to gain from this?"

"Thanks." Crosby sat down and ordered another drink. "I meant to ask you, where did you get the music for that second piece? I don't think I've heard anything quite like it before."

OOC: My first post was swallowed by the forum...

IC:

A man sits alone at the bar, clad in a black trenchcoat. He's movie-star good-looking, with a cut and athletic build. A black T-shirt that's at least a size too small clings to his chest. He wears a pair of black fatigue-style pants, and a pair of black Lugz boots with white soles. A careful observer might have noticed the outline of a .40 USP in the small of his back. He downs a shot of Wild Turkey, followed by a shot of Gold Dust, shaking his head violently at the burn, which he found quite pleasing. He sways slightly, as if he's had one too many. With a shaky hand he waves a few more drinks his way.

He raises the shot of vodka.

"Hail the motherland... damn commies..."

He chuckles softly.

Jospeh Espenscheid sat alone at the bar, slowly sipping a beer and listining to the music. He didnt like much singing-he was a jazz guitarist himself-but he had though that the singer that had left the stage 4 performences back was quite good, even if the one before her had the most spectacular voice in the entire place. After her performance, the lesser singer ran off the stage, and returned to the bar a little while after. Joe frowned as a man walked up to the singer and slipped a vial of liquid into her hands. The 2 were conversing in wispered tones, and joe, being as pariniod as he was, suspected something.

He thought of this for a while, then dismissed it to be "all in his head", and went back to his drink.

Captian Yria:i have a bad feeling about the man in the Black Trenchcoat over there



the young captian nods in the man's direction

Commander Treath turns and see's him


Commander Treath:I know what you mean, he gives me the Chills just from looking at him.


Captian Yria:well just ignore him, do not worry for we have our Walthers with us so he wouldn't be so stupid to fire upon us unless he's drunk

commander Treath raises his glass at him

Commander Treath:to your good heath my friend.


with that Captian Yria also raises his glass

Captian Yria:and to yours, don't worry, i'll get the bill once we have finished.

With inhuman speed, the man pulls the pistol, spins it around his finger a few times, and sets it down on the bar with one smooth motion. Clearly, he could handle a gun better than most, even drunk. Seeing this display, one began to wonder if he even was drunk. The bartender reguards him oddly, otherwise he simply goes about his buisness. The man downs the shot of Wild Turkey, then plunks the glass back down on the bar. His hands are gloved in special fingerless tactical gloves, with lead plates sewn in at key striking points.

Joes attention was caught by a shady looking man dressed in a black trench coat going up to the bar. The man whipped out a pistol, spun it, and slapped it down. Joe, startled, almost withdrew his Colt revolver, but thought better of it. Obviously the man had skill to handle a gun so well after so many drinks, but it didnt look like he wanted to do any harm. Mabey just showing off, thought Joe. Joe settled back down cautiously, keeping an eye on the man with the trench coat while calling over to the bartender for another drink.

The pistol returns to its original spot, and the man settles back to watch the procession of various singers perform on the bar's well-lit stage.

the TSD officers are alarmed at first, then once the man seems to cool down they let go of their walthar Pistols that are holstered and go back to their Trasian TSD Ale

The band playing on stage trail off slowly and queitly as more and more guns seem to appear in the room. With a final few almost silent chords, they lay down their instruments ever so slowly, and retreat off of the stage without drawing attention. Over on the other side of the room, Crosby is growing noticably worried.

"I guess I really don't have anything to gain, but it will make you happier, and that stuff would have been a bitch to get through customs back home." Jack mused. "Besides, she and that guy over there are planning something, I can tell." he observed. " And i'm willing to bet it's got something to do with her singing."

OOC:Yay! Saturday. I'll be on all day almost.

OOC: Well, I have to work so I shall write IC later. hope I don't miss much.

Seeing as evryone else seemed to be trigger happy, Jack would takle no chances. He kept his hand close to the Glock SIG .357 that he kept at his waist.

James Allard winced at the music at the pianist was making. Turning to the bartender he asked, "Whose the freaking pianist? He can't even play a single piece correctly..."

James Allard winced at the music at the pianist was making. Turning to the bartender he asked, "Whose the freaking pianist? He can't even play a single piece correctly..."

OOC: The pianist ain't playin. He's across the room. In fact no-one is playin at the moment.

Commander Treath get's up


Commander Treath:well Yria, i bid you farewell my friend.


Captian Yria:alway's a pleasure sir

Comander Treath nods then leaves the bar leaving Yria alone with a bottle of TSD ale


Captian Yria (to self): well that was productive

Belle laughed at the pianist. These guys were funny, but what was the deal with all the freakin' guns. Her uncle, the bartender, would not go for that. He spoke up,"Alright, all you gun trigger happy fools, put those away or I am going to have to ask you to leave. We are a friendly bar and we don't need that drama here. Now, just grab a drink and a girl and put those things away. Thanks. I will give each of you a free drink if you do that."

Belle smiled at her uncle he would always find a way out of things. "So, why all the guns, eh?"

Joe looked around at the other people at the bar, all of whom had thier hands on thier guns. The Bartender soon reqestued that everyone calm down and put thier guns away. Joe thought that the bartender was probably right, and oblingingly sliipde his Colt back into his coat pocket.

Joe looked at his watch, and relized that he was up to play in 5 minutes. (This is why he is here.) He walks into the back stage and away from any further dramatics and starts tuning and checking his guitar.

Seeing as evryone else seemed to be trigger happy, Jack would takle no chances. He kept his hand close to the Glock 31C .357 that he kept at his waist.

OOC: Last time I checked, the fully-automatic 31C was in 9mm only. .357's on full auto would be a bitch to aim accurately, as they pack quite a punch being the magnum version of a .38 caliber. It's also good to see ST switching from a Luger to the more advanced P38. Personally, if I had to use a WWII era German-made gun, I'd use either the Mauser HSC, a .32 caliber handgun, or the Walther PP, also in .32 caliber. More stopping power than a 9mm FMJ, but the P38 is a double action weapon, which means that you can get it ready to fire quicker than a single action weapon.

IC:

The stranger simply sits at the bar, wondering why everyone in the bar had some sort of weapon. In his line of work one always had to have a weapon on them, he usually carried a pair of .48 magnum AMT 1911A1M's, a pair of pistols custom-built for him by AMT, based off of the ultra-reliable Colt M1911A1 that came chambered in the .45 ACP. The .48 AMT the M1911A1M fired packed more stopping power and long-distance accuracy than the .45 ACP. It lowered the magazine capacity to five rounds, with one in the pipe, for a total of six, but he rarely missed. The guns were also quite large, making the .40 USP a wiser choice for conceal-and-carry. Tonight was his night off, work had been difficult this past week, and he had a large amount of money to spend. He'd come into the bar looking for a few shots of vodka and a 'fine-ass ho' as he put it.

As everyone else put their guns away, Jack took his hand off his own. He was still suspicious of many of the men in the bar. One of the men went backstage, and Jack wondered what he would be doing on stage.

Seeing as evryone else seemed to be trigger happy, Jack would takle no chances. He kept his hand close to the Glock 31C .357 that he kept at his waist.

OOC: Last time I checked, the fully-automatic 31C was in 9mm only. .357's on full auto would be a bitch to aim accurately, as they pack quite a punch being the magnum version of a .38 caliber. It's also good to see ST switching from a Luger to the more advanced P38. Personally, if I had to use a WWII era German-made gun, I'd use either the Mauser HSC, a .32 caliber handgun, or the Walther PP, also in .32 caliber. More stopping power than a 9mm FMJ, but the P38 is a double action weapon, which means that you can get it ready to fire quicker than a single action weapon.


I checked Glock's website to be sure, and I know there is a 31C .357. It may not be full auto, but it's out there.

OOC: There's an 18C, which comes standard with a 30 round extended magazine and protruding muzzle, which is full auto, and comes in 9x19mm parabellum. The 18C is built with different parts so a standard Glock 18 cannot be converted to fire full auto. Never heard of a fully auto .357, although glocks do come chambered for a .357 SIG, a .40 S&W, a 9x19mm parabellum, and a .45 ACP. Myself I prefer AMT Hardballers. What you're referring to must be the .357 SIG Glock, which isn't a bad choice; no external hammer or safeties to hinder smooth drawing and operation.

Joe was happy to be away from all those guns, and even happier to be on his guitar. He hopped on stage, played a few chords, then commenced playing Learn To Fly, by the Foo Fighters. His nervousness evaporated as he played, and he concentrated so hard on his playing that he failed to notice anything else in the room.

He finished off the song with a complicated solo and was ushered off the stage by a good-sized applause. Spirits lifted somewhat, he sat back down at the bar and orderd another drink.

'I've got the booze, but still no fine-ass ho...'

The stranger considers going onto the stage himself, with a bit of freestyle hip-hop on his mind.

OOC: Whoops...

IC:

James stood up and walked over to the piano and began to play... (You guys get to choose what I play...)

Belle looked up and saw a new guy playing the piano. How odd why play the Wedding March, especially at a bar. Belle began to laugh. She jabbed Devan in the rubs and said, "I wonder if he is drunk or just trying to get on the drunk girls sides. Pretty good job if it works. He does play well."

Devan turned to see the man playing the paino. He had a smile on his face. It seemed to Devan that he was concentrating on only that. He turned back to Belle and smiled.

Sahsa looked over at the pianist and rolled her eyes. Of all the songs to play. This just made it worse. She was alittle tipsy and was making her way now to Belle. She took some more faulty steps and then she went back to her spot and downed a shot of vodka. She needed balls for what she was going to do. Before she would use the vial on Belle she would befriend her. Sahsa rose again and approached the group. She got stopped by an overbearing, overweight drunk. This man was about 40 and he grabbed her and was waltsing her around the small dance floor. A few people laughed and once more people saw they began to draw more attention to the couple on the floor. Sahsa groaned and tried to get away. He flabby arms clung to her. His sweat dripped on her bare shoulders and she cringed.

Belle saw the man moving with that girl. She definitely would not call it dancing. She was mad that everyone was laughing because it was obvious that the girl didn't like it. So, Belle got up and walked over to the man with Sahsa. She tapped his shoulder and smiled. "May I have this dance now? She can't have all the fun." She winked at Sahsa as the man took hold of Belle. Sahsa stood there dumbfounded. Devan stood up and was so shocked that his mouth was slightly open. Sahsa smiled over at Devan and walked over to him. Then she began to sway. The room was spinning and she fell on him. Devan looked at the girl that was on his side and he held her up, but all he could think about was Belle. He searched the floor for her and he saw that she was handeling the oger just fine.
Devan notices the man who was previously downing the Wild Turkey drinks and passes him Sahsa. "Here you take care of her." He had more important things to do, he had to watch over Belle.

Double post

Sasha had gone over to slip Belle the stuff, so Jack decided to figure out who that man Belle had been talking to was. He stepped up to the bar, laughing at the pianist, and offered a 'Hello' to the man.

Joe watched, a little confused, as the Sasha girl stood up, stumbled a little, and fell into the arms of fat drunk guy. "What bad luck" thought Joe. Belle stood up and intervined, and, after Sasha gets passed around for a bit, ends up in the arms of the man with the trench coat. Then, the man who had given Sasha the vial walked over and started a conversation with the very talented piano player from the band. Joe kept a close watch on both the man and Sasha, and checked his gun once to see if it was loaded. For some resons, he had a bad feeling about this situation...

Yria takes out his Walther and starts to clean it


while he's cleaning it he whistles "A spaceman came Travaling By Chris De Burg"

Then, the man who had given Sasha the vial walked over and started a conversation with the very talented piano player from the band. Joe kept a close watch on both the man and Sasha, and checked his gun once to see if it was loaded. For some resons, he had a bad feeling about this situation...

OOC: He's talking to Devon.

OOC: He's talking to Devon.

My bad.

OOC: He's talking to Devon.

My bad.

OOC:It's ok this RP can be a bit confussing. :arrow: :idea: :?: :!: :?: :idea: :arrow: :idea: :?:

OOC: 1 more and I have 250!
*Realizes there are people with about 500 times that, hides in a corner*

OOC: I thought I was playing the piano right now...

IC:

James stopped for a second, when he realized his errors in playing a classical piece in a bar. Thinking for a second, James began to play Duke Ellington's In A Sentimental Mood...

OOC: By guy in a trenchcoat, do you mean my character?

OOC: By guy in a trenchcoat, do you mean my character?

Yes. Unless anyone else is wearing a trench coat.

OOC: Sahsa was handed to your character Mercenary Soldiers.

OOC: Guess I wasn't too clear, he was still sitting at the bar, but okay, no problem. He needs to get on the dance floor anyway.

IC:

The man jumps slightly as a woman seems to fall into his lap.

"Uhh... Hi. I'm Jack." He manages to say, a bit surprised.

Not sufficiently drunk from his previous martinis, Jack orders another. He thought that the man next to him was quite rude for not responding to his greeting in any way.(BTW: I mean Devon) He must have been pretty drunk, the way he had been knockin' back the drinks earlier.

((Oh boy, another excellent AmandaTheGreat thread. Well, why not join, eh? :wink: ))

Syn Jy'chell walked into the bar, recommended to her by a friend. She was new in AmandaTheGreat, someone sent here from Cyberutopia to learn about the country, deemed worth of a possible alliance. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't have any fun. She looked around, her hazel eyes darting around the room, finally settling on a seat near where a young woman had been conversing with a young man just a few minutes before. She sat down, and enjoyed the amiable bustle of the bar for a moment before brushing a strand of raven black hair out of her face and ordering a glass of White Zinfandel. The crimson sash wound around her waist just tightly enough to bring out the shapelyness of her hips caught the dim light for a second as she turned around her seat and looked out over the crowd.

'Hmm, no one I know. Quite the crowd. I wonder if it's always like this.' She mused to herself, taking a sip of her wine.

http://www.alliancemarketinggrp.homestead.com/~site/photodisk/people/girl_anime_3.jpg

OOC: AtG, everyone, i'm going out of town for a week, and i hope this thread will still be going when i get back, but if it's not, it was great RPing with you all. Anyone who would like to take over my character is welcome to.

OOC: NOw, Cyberutopia, what is that supposed to mean? I thought at least I did okay ones. Mercenary, Sahsa had walked away from the dance floor to Devan and he passed her on to you. Will, write more in IC after clinical.

OOC: No Agent Nine, Cyberutopia? You can probably guess who the fella in the trenchcoat is. :wink:

OOC: NOw, Cyberutopia, what is that supposed to mean? I thought at least I did okay ones. Mercenary, Sahsa had walked away from the dance floor to Devan and he passed her on to you. Will, write more in IC after clinical.

((Lol, it's a compliment. Generally, calling someone's thread "excellent" is taken as a compliment. Or have I said something wrong?))

Yria looks around and see's a new person walk in, he ignores her and finishes cleaning his walther

Yria (to self in muscial tone): the Long and winding road , that leads to your door....

he starts to whistle the rest

OOC: Oh oops. I thought you were being sacrastic. Thank you. I do try, but it is not just me. The other characters only add and that helps me out a lot. I thought I was just going to take a small nap, but it turned out I slept from 12 to 5. I was tired after clinicals. Clinicals are at 6:15, when I am at the nursing home.

IC: Sahsa looked up at the man in the trench coat. She giggled. "Aren't you hot? I am. Why are you wearing that big thing. Take it off." She pulled at the coat and then fell onto the floor. She started to laugh again. "Aren't you gonna help me up?"

Devan saw the new girl walk in. She is gorgeous. She reminds me off Belle. He couldn't get her out of his mind. She was still with the fat drunk dude. He rested his hand on his face and gazed off at her.

Belle continued to dance with the guy. She was fine until the guy tried to pull her closer. He was trying to kiss her, but he kept missing as she pulled away. She knew she wouldn't be able to get away much longer he grip was getting tighter. She looked around for anyone she knew to help her. The dance floor was full and she couldn't see Devan. She frantically searched for someone that could help. His tight was getting stronger around her waist and she was having a difficult time catching her breath. Her lips were turning blue and she was getting light headed. She was punching him and pushing him away, but it didn't help when her fist just sunk into layers upon layers of subcutaneous fat. She felt her amrs start to tingle and her legs gave out, the last thing she remembered was yelling out, "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP meee!" The man just continued to dance with her, he thought she liked him because she was flopped against him and her head was resting on his arm.

Devan couldn't see her, but figured she was fine.

Joe was watching Belle intentley, but his attention was directed at another person walking into the bar. Her striking looks caught his eye for a moment, then he looked back in Belle's direction. He saw Belle collapse, out of breath, as the fat man sqeezed her ever more tightly.

Joe jumped up and dashed to her. He tried to wrestle her away from the man, but wasnt able to. He punched the man in the back of the head despetley, and was finally able to get his attention. The man dropped Belle, who fell to the floor gasping for breath. "What do ya think yur doin?!" he said in a slurred voice. He threw a punch at Joe, who dodged it eisily and responded with 3 sharp jabs in the stomach.

The man grunted, and ,reached into his pocket. He withdrew a switchblade knife, opned it, and lunged at Joe like an enraged bull. In an instant Joe drew a hidden short sword-a gift from an old friend. Joe parried the man's wild stroked eisily, then, as the man lunged once more, Joe caught his knife hand, twisted it, and tripped him backwards. the man fell stright twords his own knife. Joe managed to heav him sideways as the man fell so he missed impaling himself by inches.

"Go get a drink and sit in a corner and dont bother anyone else," commanded Joe. "Ill be taking this." He wrenched the switchblade out of the man's grasp and put it and the sword into his coat.

"Are you all right?" he asked, offering his hand to Belle, who was panting on the floor. "Lets go sit down, shall we?" He helped her up and lead her to the bar, ordering 2 drinks.

Nothing had passed in the last five minutes that hadn't been noticed by the figure standing at the back of the bar. He'd heard the music, seen the tall beauties that filled the room and noticed the fight. Nothing had escaped his notice simply because he noticed the slighest details.

Because he had been trained to...

He appeared slightly overdressed for the establishment, clad in a jet black Saville Row suit jacket, black dress slacks, a silver tie and a pair of shiny black loafers. His short black hair stood in half-inch high spikes which shone with gel. He sported a fairly muscular physique under the jacket, more of the slim build of a runner rather than the beefyness of a bodybuilder. A slight bulge was evident at the back of his left hip...what it was...no one knew.

His name was Thomas Hwang

Finding a place at the bar, he managed to find a spot between a tall raven-haired woman in a crimson sash and muscular man in a trenchcoat. Smiling at the bartender he placed an order for a double scotch on the rocks.

"Here ya go," grunted the bartender as he slid the tumbler of amber-colored liquid across the bar. Thomas grinned as he snagged the tumbler in passing, handing the bartender a few bills of the local currency. "Keep the change," he said with a smile.

The piano began to sound notes again and he turned his head toward the sound, sipping the scotch as he closed his eyes and took in the sound of the music...

Yria takes out all the TSD Credits he has with him, about 400,000 TSD credits total


he smiles and thinks to himself "Man it is Good to be a highranking TSD Officer"

he starts to make piles of 100 Credits per-pile on his table

The sound of clinking currency called Thomas's attention to a nearby table loaded with stacks of cash. A man wearing military insignia was making stacks of some form of currency on the table in front of him, a satisfied look in his eyes. Thomas rolled his back and continued to sip his drink, thinking, "He's lucky that we're not in South Dalania....back home, that guy'd be on the floor by now...minus the cash."

he puts his Walther on the table and continues to stack his Credits


Yria (singing to self): Lead me to your dooor, the wild and winding night, that the rain, washed away....

Thomas grinned. "If there's one thing the commies teach, its never to go about unarmed."

He lifted his glass in the man's direction. "Hell I'll drink to that," he silently said, with a grin on his lips. "Nazdroviya."

((Nah MS, Captian Blasto isn't the man for the job here. No, what this thread needs is an Arbiter. :wink: And hey, what do you know, there's one now! *points at Syn*

Syn: Stop pointing at me, jerk!

Cyber's Player: Yes, ma'am...

Ok, now that that's over with...))

Syn watched the brief, obviously unfair knife fight between the drunken flab-covered man and the other man who wielded a short sword and was not suprised when the infinitely more agile young man disarmed his opponent. She turned her gaze away and noticed a man, Devan, though she didn't know his name, and gave him a small smile before he looked off into the crowd. She took another sip of the fine wine in her hand, and also looked into the mass of people near the center of the bar. She hadn't danced in a long while, and she pondered for a moment whether or not she should even try.

Yria finishes stacking his credits and he starts to put them in a breifcase, he locks it with a passcode and he holsters his Walther

he picks the case up and walks to the bartender


Yria:Excuse me, do you happen to have any TSD ale around?

Thomas watched as the bartender slid the uniformed figure a glass of some dark colored liquid..."TSD ale?" he silently mused. Turning away to watch the music once more, he noticed his glass was empty. Motioning the bartender over, he tossed another few bills of the local currency onto the mahogany wood and smiled as the man tipped a few more fingers of 25 year old McWalt's Blend Scotch into his tumbler. Picking up the glass, Thomas took another sip, closing his eyes as if to hold the taste a little longer. Delicious...

A slower song, more suited for dancing came on as the piano player changed rhythms. Thomas leaned against the bar and smiled as his thoughts wandered. It had been ages since his last dance and it had come in a bar like this one. Except it had been a rainy night and she had been there. The woman with the angelic features, slim build and dark midnight hair....Chien....

"NO!" shouted his mind as the memory flashed in his eyes and vanished. Five years and he still couldn't get her out of his mind. What had happened to her had been all his fault...it was part of the reason he had taken the assignment in AmandaTheGreat...so he could forget about Chien and the tragedy that had taken her life, so he could move on.

And it hadn't changed one bit. Nothing had...

With a pained look on his face, Thomas drained the last of his scotch.

And he wished he could dance once more.....

yria Hands some credits over to the bartender for the drink and returns to his seat with his glass of ale

he sits down and puts the breifcase on the table with his drink

He Takes a sip of his drink and nods to himself



Yria (to self): Just right, now what can i do? i do not dance THANKFULLY or sing, i'll just count my credits again then

he opens the breifcase and starts to stack the small pyramids againvoice acording to size the biggist ones that are worth more on the bottom and the small ones that are not worth much on the top

OOC: Oh oops. I thought you were being sacrastic. Thank you. I do try, but it is not just me. The other characters only add and that helps me out a lot. I thought I was just going to take a small nap, but it turned out I slept from 12 to 5. I was tired after clinicals. Clinicals are at 6:15, when I am at the nursing home.

IC: Sahsa looked up at the man in the trench coat. She giggled. "Aren't you hot? I am. Why are you wearing that big thing. Take it off." She pulled at the coat and then fell onto the floor. She started to laugh again. "Aren't you gonna help me up?"

Devan saw the new girl walk in. She is gorgeous. She reminds me off Belle. He couldn't get her out of his mind. She was still with the fat drunk dude. He rested his hand on his face and gazed off at her.

Belle continued to dance with the guy. She was fine until the guy tried to pull her closer. He was trying to kiss her, but he kept missing as she pulled away. She knew she wouldn't be able to get away much longer he grip was getting tighter. She looked around for anyone she knew to help her. The dance floor was full and she couldn't see Devan. She frantically searched for someone that could help. His tight was getting stronger around her waist and she was having a difficult time catching her breath. Her lips were turning blue and she was getting light headed. She was punching him and pushing him away, but it didn't help when her fist just sunk into layers upon layers of subcutaneous fat. She felt her amrs start to tingle and her legs gave out, the last thing she remembered was yelling out, "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP meee!" The man just continued to dance with her, he thought she liked him because she was flopped against him and her head was resting on his arm.

Devan couldn't see her, but figured she was fine.

Jack lets his coat fall, then sets it on the barstool, the USP plainly visible at the small of his back. He helps her up.

"Wanna dance?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack watches the smaller man make a fool out of some fat loser. 'Kid ain't bad, needs to be a bit more subtle with his weapon. A few sharp rights to the face and a knee to the nose would have solved that pretty easily.' (Jack's famous 'Dirty Boxer' attack.)

a TSD Grand Admiral walks inside with another Captian, they are talking.

Grand Admiral Mosc, the most feared of all Grand Admirals had arrived, beside him Captian Snidar of the Lancer frigate Immovable

they go to Yria and they sit down and start to talk in Trasian


Yria:icua, Admirlala Mosc and Coaira Snider, ichar im helpah?


G D mosc:Yar, hiar voar vorta asya fushar
[code:1:416d2d83ea]

Translation

Yria:Heloo Admiral Mosc and Captian Snider, can i help you?


Mosc:nope, i just came for a Drink [/code:1:416d2d83ea]

Thomas watched as the muscular mercenary type extended a hand to the gorgeous girl who had fallen in the bar. He grinned when he overhead the man's offer of a dance. It'd been a long time since he'd asked someone something like that.

Come to think of it....when was the last time he'd actually been close to someone? Not since the time he'd spent with Chien had he been able to be close to a woman, to hold her close, to smell her perfume...

"It's in the past," he muttered as he closed his eyes. A sharp piercing pain suddenly shot through his head, causing him to wince as the pain grew sharper and sharper. Turning back to the bar, he placed his head in his hand and rubbed his forehead. He still wasn't used to the effects of the implant...it sometime caused him to have horrible headaches.

If he was lucky, maybe he wouldn't pass out this time...

Yria notices the man's pain he tries to keep the other man's pain from reaching his mind and manages to block it out, barely

Yria:uch. icar moaria patara TSD alea.


Mosc:Yach, beiah icare somae alea plaia.

Yria:okar Admirlala , ichara pap akroa

[code:1:62d266fbc8]

Translation


Yria:well, i am going to get some more TSD ale.

Mosc:yeah, Bring me some ale also please

Yria:ok Admiral, i'll be right back[/code:1:62d266fbc8]

OOC: For any of those who saw Johnny Mnemonic, my character's similiar...he's an information courier for a corporation.

The implant was really giving him trouble....never before had a download been this hard to handle

Pain continued to distort Thomas's face as he sat at the bar. Random colors and images whipped through his brain. Voices floated in and out of the air, colors turned on and off. The pain was becoming intense...he could see the darkness beginning to nibble at the edges of his sight.

"Got...to...turn...the...implant..off," he thought to himself as he reached for the control unit concealed in his jacket.

Shutting down the implant would stop the pain, but it also meant he could possibly lose the download information as well as risking a synaptic nerve backfire when he started it back up. If he didn't shut it down, he ran the risk of passing out or possibly even dying if the tension got high enough to shut down parts of his cerebral cortex.

No wonder so few couriers lived to see their thirtieth birthday....

Sahsa looked up and smiled,"Slure. I judt wood luvv to dance." She slurred her words. She stepped out onto the dancefloor and spun in cirlces. They looked more like ovals and she was dangeroulsy close to falling again. She grabbed the man and began to lead him. She stepped on him feet repeatedly. "Ekk. I am surrie. Ya wanna leeeeed?"

Belle smiled weakly. She said, "Thanks I do appreciate that. I did not think that he would get out of control. Also, thanks for the drink." She reached forward and gave hima friendly hug and pulled away. Devan had approached. "Belle I am so sorry I had no idea until I saw the fight." He looked sad and mad at the same time.
"It's okay. You can't always be there for me. Besides you have saved my life plenty of times."
Devan thought I would always be there and want to save your life for eternity. "Hey thanks dude. You did an awesome job." Belle passed on the drink and had water. She explained she didn't want to be any more dizzy than she already was. She said she would get a rain check on it. She was feeling better, but was still flushed in the face. "I say that is enough excitment for me for one night. By the way my name is Belle and this is Devan." She touches Devan on the shoulder. "What is yours?"

There was a brief flash of light across his vision and Thomas sat up, temporarily blinded by the flashing across his retinas. The pain in his head grew worse and worse....suddenly erupting in an explosion that crossed his cerebral cortex, causing nerves to pop and fire. Sparks flashed across his brain as he fought to hold onto consciousness...

Then everything went black.

In the hubbub of the bar, no one noticed the sound of an empty scotch tumbler smashing to pieces on the wooden floor...

There was a brief flash of light across his vision and Thomas sat up, temporarily blinded by the flashing across his retinas. The pain in his head grew worse and worse....suddenly erupting in an explosion that crossed his cerebral cortex, causing nerves to pop and fire. Sparks flashed across his brain as he fought to hold onto consciousness...

Then everything went black.

In the hubbub of the bar, no one noticed the sound of an empty scotch tumbler smashing to pieces on the wooden floor...

((Did he turn the implant off?))

Except for the young Arbiter sitting just a few seats away from him. She had been watching him with increasing concern, and now realized that the intense pain he was experiencing was not at all influenced by alcohol. As he passed out over the bar, she placed her glass on the bar along with a few wongs and stood up. She walked hastily over to the man's form, still twitching slightly from the jolt that had gone through him, and shook his shoulder slightly.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked him in a quiet tone, concern evident in her voice.

When he didn't answer, she looked at him more clearly, trying to see if there were any clues to what happened to him.

((Please describe him further.))

the Trasians leap up at the sound of glass breaking

Mosc:Yria? what happened???

Yria:never mind sir, i am just getting your ale so do not worry.

the Admiral and the other captian Sit back down while Yria get's a Bottle of TSD Ale

Thomas still lay comatose on the bar, his eyes rolled back into his head. He twitched once, his shoulders moving in jerky motions as he spasmed occasionally. Something fell from his right hand; a silver device with two diodes flashing a bright red light. The device's flip-top display read, "Damage sustained to program. Rest required before reactivation."

OOC: He didn't shut down the implant...rather the data overload caused him to pass out.

"He appeared slightly overdressed for the establishment, clad in a jet black Saville Row suit jacket, black dress slacks, a silver tie and a pair of shiny black loafers. His short black hair stood in half-inch high spikes which shone with gel. He sported a fairly muscular physique under the jacket, more of the slim build of a runner rather than the beefyness of a bodybuilder. A slight bulge was evident at the back of his left hip...what it was...no one knew.

His decription is there...the bulge on his left hip is actually a download device...anyone curious enough to RP a download can access the information. If possible Cyberutopia might want to have that option....there's the possbility of an interesting storyline here.

Sahsa looked up and smiled,"Slure. I judt wood luvv to dance." She slurred her words. She stepped out onto the dancefloor and spun in cirlces. They looked more like ovals and she was dangeroulsy close to falling again. She grabbed the man and began to lead him. She stepped on him feet repeatedly. "Ekk. I am surrie. Ya wanna leeeeed?"

Belle smiled weakly. She said, "Thanks I do appreciate that. I did not think that he would get out of control. Also, thanks for the drink." She reached forward and gave hima friendly hug and pulled away. Devan had approached. "Belle I am so sorry I had no idea until I saw the fight." He looked sad and mad at the same time.
"It's okay. You can't always be there for me. Besides you have saved my life plenty of times."
Devan thought I would always be there and want to save your life for eternity. "Hey thanks dude. You did an awesome job." Belle passed on the drink and had water. She explained she didn't want to be any more dizzy than she already was. She said she would get a rain check on it. She was feeling better, but was still flushed in the face. "I say that is enough excitment for me for one night. By the way my name is Belle and this is Devan." She touches Devan on the shoulder. "What is yours?"

Jack hadn't noticed, due to the steel toes in his boots.

"How about we get you some coffee? You've had a bit too much, girl."

Jack suggests, taking the lead.

Thomas still lay comatose on the bar, his eyes rolled back into his head. He twitched once, his shoulders moving in jerky motions as he spasmed occasionally. Something fell from his right hand; a silver device with two diodes flashing a bright red light. The device's flip-top display read, "Damage sustained to program. Rest required before reactivation."

OOC: He didn't shut down the implant...rather the data overload caused him to pass out.

"He appeared slightly overdressed for the establishment, clad in a jet black Saville Row suit jacket, black dress slacks, a silver tie and a pair of shiny black loafers. His short black hair stood in half-inch high spikes which shone with gel. He sported a fairly muscular physique under the jacket, more of the slim build of a runner rather than the beefyness of a bodybuilder. A slight bulge was evident at the back of his left hip...what it was...no one knew.

His decription is there...the bulge on his left hip is actually a download device...anyone curious enough to RP a download can access the information. If possible Cyberutopia might want to have that option....there's the possbility of an interesting storyline here.

((Thanks.))

"Rest required? Program damage? Interesting..." Syn said to herself under her breath as she read the small print on the strange device.

She slung the man's arm over her shoulder, and half-dragged him to a shadowed corner. There she sat him down in a seat and sat to the side of him. Looking him over again, she noticed the slight bulge at his hip. Upon further inspection, she discovered that it was a compact dowloading device. The Arbiter took a sleek looking black device from her pocket, emblazoned with the blood red symbol of the Republic. She took a thin cord from it and plugged it into the device at the man's hip. Thumbing a button on the side, she rapidly read the information displayed on her screen.

"Let's see who you are." She said, focusing intently on the screen before her. "And what exactly this 'program' is."

"Names Joe. Joe Espenscheid. Nice to meet you both." He paused as he heard the sound of a glass breaking. He decided to ignore it and he shook Belle's and Devon's hand. He diceded to neglect his drink too. He didnt want to be drosy when the bar was so rowdy.

The device at the man's hip whirred and suddenly images began to flash brilliantly across the reader's display screen. Blurred by motion too fast for the human eye to catch, the images whipped past, gradually slowing to a more a readable pace.

An identification....

A video image of the man now sprawled comatose before the young woman popped up on the reader screen. "My name is Thomas Hwang, freelance courier. My serial ID number is 314278. I am licensed to carry firearms. This carrying operation is intended for delivery to Xyden MicroBio in AmandaTheGreat."

The small device whirred...and the image shifted again...

A stream of data....

Images flashed by on the reader's LCD screen. Video captures of a laboratory, gene samples, color-coded computer DNA constructs. Then words...words that spoke in a language all of their own. Words that spoke of advanced biochemistry, microbiology, gene splicing, nuclear manipulation, advanced cell division....all in terms the average reader could never hope to comprehend.

The image shifted once more.....

An explanation....

A video of a short man wearing a lab coat came to life. His hair, once brown, now lay graying on top of his head. With a large grin on his face, he turned to face the camera.

"Adjustments have all been made and the project is fully completed," beamed the old man as he stared with obvious pride into the camera. "This strain should be sufficient to create enough cases where your cure will be worth millions! Not only virulent, but easy to spread as well! You should be very proud of all the effort that has gone into...."

A crash came from offscreen, followed by panicky shouts. As the old man looked around in confusion, the window behnd him shattered as a group of black-clad commandos stormed into the room. The old man turned to flee, running off camera as the sound of gunfire echoed from the audio pickups on the woman's reader device. Suddenly, the transmission went down in a burst of static...then shrank to a spot of light and was gone.

The image shifted once more....this time back to the image of Thomas Hwang. Obviously this had been pre-programmed.

The advice....

"If anyone else other than the downloader is reading this, its imperative that I be there to deliver the message. As a courier, I carry this information in my brain....there is no way to retrieve this date...attempting to do so will kill me and cause this data to be erased. If this download has overloaded my cerebral nerves...it is imperative that I be cared for until I revive. Otherwise all is lost."

The young man turned as if to go off camera....then as if having a second thought, turned back to the camera and flashed a small smile into the lens.

"And thank you for your help."

The reader's screen went dead.

*bump*

OOC: Very well done, South Dania. You write very well. I am also impressed by Cyberutopia and your research. The currency of AmandaTheGreat is wongs. Props to you.

IC: "Well, Jack it is very nice to meet you." Sh heard the glass break and she gasped. Devan placed his arm around her and she began to sob. "What is wrong?"
"It is just so sad." She repeated a few times between gasps for air and sobbing.
"What is so sad?"
She didn't saw, but pointed to the man and woman. The man had a device attached to them and they were veiwing something. The people at the bar couldn't see, but obviously, Belle saw something. "It is just to bad." She stopped crying and smiled through her wet face. "But there will always be the memories." Devan looked over at Jack and questioned what just happened. Maybe it was the lack of oxygen to her or something.

Sahsa grinned, "Mmmmm, yummmmmie, black coffeeeee. I like the word coffeeeee. Tanks. Your very nit. I am getting sleeppie." Sahsa yawns and spills the coffee all over the bar counter. "Ooopsy."

((Thank you, a little research goes a long way. :wink: ))

'Well, that answers a lot.' Syn thought to herself as she stared down at the device, and then to Thomas.

She went over the information she had gained in her mind and the options that opened to her.

"Adjustments have all been made and the project is fully completed," beamed the old man as he stared with obvious pride into the camera. "This strain should be sufficient to create enough cases where your cure will be worth millions! Not only virulent, but easy to spread as well! You should be very proud of all the effort that has gone into...."

A virus was the conclusion that popped into her mind, followed by the thought of a conspiracy. Not a bad one, at that, considering the condition of the lab she had seen a glimpse of. Apparently, the man before her was supposed to deliver that information. But what was the real information behind the data presented to her? To warn this Xyden MicroBio that their plan had be compromised? Was the shot of the commandoes breaking in accidentaly captured in the recording and sent out without being reviewed? And then to the man's personal message.

"If anyone else other than the downloader is reading this, its imperative that I be there to deliver the message. As a courier, I carry this information in my brain....there is no way to retrieve this date...attempting to do so will kill me and cause this data to be erased. If this download has overloaded my cerebral nerves...it is imperative that I be cared for until I revive. Otherwise all is lost."

This brought several options to her attention. She could try to get the data from him, thereby erasing it and snuffing out that man's life, and end this before she got into something she had no place in. That would be the best thing for her and probably eventually expose this corporation that would dare to harm innocents with a virus to make millions off of a cure. Her finger hovered over the small button which would result in the death of this man. No one would ever notice, or care if he died, she was sure. But...

"And thank you for your help."

She sighed and took her finger away from the button. Sure, killing him would be the most logical choice, but it would be inhuman of her. Syn was never known for following her head in a situation like this, especially when a cute guy was involved. Grinning at that thought, she pondered further about what to do with him. Clearly he needed some kind of care, as he said himself.

'I could take him back to my apartment.' She figured. 'Yeah, that'd work, I guess. No sense in sitting around her in any case.

The young woman looked around for a back exit, or any other way to get out unnoticed. She spyed a nondescript door leading out of the bar. Syn picked up the man the same way as before, and made her way out of the bar as quickly as she could.

Thomas awoke with a start. The last thing he remembered was a blinding flash of light...and a stunningly strong pain in his head. Then nothing... It was like his entire evening had somehow just disappeared.

His jilted brain suddenly remembered something. The download...

"Oh crap," he muttered as he reached into his jacket for the control unit. No unit....and no jacket?

He looked down and saw that his dress shirt and his jacket had gone missing and that he was lying on a leather couch in what looked to be a nicely furnished apartment. Taking notice of his surroundings, he noticed that some of his gear was stacked on a nearby coffee table...although his shirt and jacket were nowhere in sight. A small silver box caught his attention.

The download device....

He reached out with one hand to grab the machine, only to have another flash of pain rip through his body. Arching his back in pain, he winced as another hammer blow to his cerebral cortex left him all but sprawled on the couch. As he reached out once more, the pain slammed him on the head....causing him to scream in pain as another round of blackness threatened to engulf his sight.

As the darkness began to nibble at his sight...he thought he felt another presence close by..

His screams were met with a scrap of cloth that had been tied around his mouth, drastically reducing the sounds of his agony. Out of the corner of his eye, someone stirred. Syn was soon standing over him, an amused smile on her lips.

"You'd think that you would stop if it hurts." She said tenderly, handing the device to him. "At least you're awake."

She didn't say anymore, instead waiting for him to regain his senses.

James begins to play Duke Ellington's Take the A Train...

OOC: What's going on? Sorry, I was away for Thanksgiving so I have no idea...

"Wheref amth eye," he said, trying to speak around the gag. Reaching out and removing the piece of cloth from his mouth, he finally asked a more civilized question. "Where am I?"

As his senses slowly returned through the haze of pain, he stared at the woman before him. Taking in her appearance, he first noticed the mischievous/concerned look on her features...then he noticed the features themselves.

"She's beautiful," he thought to himself as he stared at her.

Something in his mind clicked. The woman next to him at the bar last night...

He was clearly getting nowhere, so he leaned forward, holding his head in his hands as he waited for her to speak.

Suddenly a couple of shots hit the piano. James Allard dived behind the piano, his revolver out of its holster and raised.

"Hm... Guess somebody doesn't like Ellington..."

James stared out of the corner of the piano and surveyed the surroundings...

OOC: South Dalania and people where are you?

OOC: My character suffered a cerebral attack due to a device implanted in his brain, so Cyberutopia's character has taken him to an apartment to help him recover.

For the sake of roleplay, I will be returning my character to the bar sometime soon, so everyone else doesn't get left out of the action :)

A young Langhan soldier named Josh Evers walks into the bar. The soldier was not on active duty so he could travel anywhere. He sits at a table and puts his .45 and his combat knife on the table. He sits back in his chair and relaxes.

((SD and I are in my character's apartment. Mind if I ask how far in the future we are, SD?))

"Oh! Sorry about the gag." Syn said, smiling sheepishly. "You yelled a lot while you were unconscious, I think you were still in so much pain your brain had to react to it, even though you weren't really "there". Anyway, you're in my apartment. If you can't remember, you passed out in the bar from some program you have. I looked over the information you have with you, and it said yoiu needed to be cared for until revived, so I did."

She sat down at the end of the couch.

"You've got some very sensitive information, you know." She told him, wondering if he had even seen it.

OOC: Hmmm....near future, think AD 2015 or so...although its really up to the RP creator to decide :)

Thomas's heart sank. "Oh shit....she saw the download," he thought to himself as he held his head in his hands. "This is not going to go over well with the boss."

She'd seen the pre-programmed message too....but that's weird...the pre-programmed advice was supposed to come before the actual transmission....to prevent stuff like this from happening. What in God's name had happened to his security system?

Back to the present Tom....don't keep the lady waiting...

Thomas forced a smile through the haze of slowly dissipating pain. "Sensitive information is the norm, although as a courier, I'm not allowed to review it. It would be far too easy for some yahoo to torture me to get to that information....normally I have a security lockout that prevents people from reading the downloads....evidently its not working in this case," he said with a sheepish grin.

He leaned forward. "I'm a courier with a freelance South Dalanian IT (information tech) company. Basically, I'm a walking memory bank...you plug me into your standard computer...I download your info and take it to where it needs to go. Security guaranteed....well almost," he said with a smile. "Before you saw it anyway."

His smile faded. "It's possible that what you saw is highly dangerous information. If you've got any combat experience, you might want to bring that up and stay alert. From my experience over the past few years...we may be expecting company sometime soon," he said with a concerned look as his eyes drifted to an assortment of wounds on his upper torso. "I've taken more than a few hits protecting information over the years."

He smiled up at her.

"And I'd hate to see it happen to someone with such beautiful features."

"Lame pick up line Tom! Danger, danger!"

"Shut up," he told his inner self.

As Joe was about to continue his conversation with Belle and Devon, a shot rang out and the piano suddenly stopped playing. "Yarg!" said Joe as he rolled off his seat and onto the floor, Colt Revolver in hand. He rose a little bit and scanned the crowd, but couldnt see who had fired the shot. He backed up against the wall and started to make his way to the piano.....

Josh, who was a veteran in a small civil war in Langham, was not bothered by the gunshot. He had been severely wounded in battle. He started thinking to himself.

What's the worse that could happen to me.

Josh then started to laugh at the thought of getting shot in a freak accident.

the Trasians briefly look up and just continue to talk in Trasian, not even noticing ANYONE

((Let me restate that. When as in how much after the bar scene? Minutes? Hours? Days?))

She smiled in return and said, "I get it, stuff like that is all automated in Cyberutopia, but same idea, basically."

After Tom said that she should recall her combat experience, she paused for a moment before responding.

"You say there might be people coming? Why?" Syn asked him, frowning slightly. "If someone sees the information, is everyone who knows about it terminated? Efficient, but unfortunate for us."

"And I'd hate to see it happen to someone with such beautiful features."

A light blush came to her cheeks as he said that.

"Thanks, but I've been through my fair share of clashes." She responded, nodding towards the scoped pistol on the table in front of them.

OOC: Ohhh...got it...hmmm....maybe a good 5-10 hours

Thomas examined the pistol on the table. He didn't recognize the model, but from the tactical scope mounted on the barrel and judging from the handgun's shape, it had to be a high caliber target pistol. Definitely illegal back home in South Dalania...but he was glad that this kind of firepower was sitting on the table in front of him...and not pointed at his face.

"It really depends on the corporation. If that company didn't want that information to be seen, its quite possible they target everyone they suspect of viewing it. Plus you have to factor in rival companies, mercs, hell even other couriers. Plenty of people try to steal information from each other all the time," he said with a wry grin. "It's why you rarely see a thirty year old courier in the business...most end up buried at about twenty-eight, usually from wear and tear on the brain or from jumping the gun. I'm only twenty-five, so with luck I'll get a little farther."

The grin fell from his lips. "It's likely my cover's been compromised...I think I've been tailed here since I left South Dalania. I've got a cover identity in place...but after that little incident in the bar, no operative worth his paycheck would be able to write me off as anything but a courier. Without help I'm not going to be able to last long...and I don't know the region that well." He took a breath. "I'm asking you for your help," he said with a deep look of pleading in his eyes....

Back at the bar....

A tall figure, dressed in attire nearly identical to that of Thomas Hwang stepped into the lounge. His hair, worn in longish bangs that extended nearly to his chin, served to conceal his features. In addition, he wore a pair of dark black sunglasses that concealed his eyes from view.

He looked like an average businessman...except for a bulge on the back of his left hip...

"He's been here," muttered the man with a large smile on his face before turning and wheeling from the bar.....

"I'll find you Thomas..."he thought to himself as he walked out, a smile evident on his face. "And then...I'm going to kill you."

"That's sad. Why can't it just be automated?" Syn said, mostly to herself, about the high death rate of couriers.

After Thomas practically begged her for help, she thought for a long moment. Even though she was an Arbiter, she wouldn't get any support from the government in this matter, so she was positivily in this all alone, with a high risk of getting injured. She looked into his eyes, and the desperation she saw there made her heart sink. She couldn't, she just couldn't send him away to die.

"Of course I'll help you. I couldn't live with myself knowing you died and maybe, just maybe, I could have kept you alive to see your thirtieth birthday." She said, placing a hand lightly on his hand.

A hand on his hand....

The memories flooded back...flashbacks to the last time a woman had placed her hand on his. Five years earlier...back in Seoul...he'd thought he'd met the woman of his dreams, only she'd been taken from him in an accident...an accident he had caused. He couldn't live with himself...so he'd taken the courier role in order to try to forget the past...

He flashed back to the present.

"I know it's a lot to ask for...but thank you....thank you for all the help you've given me," he said with a smile on his face. "I owe you a lot."

He straightened up a bit as he tried to recall what he'd been told to do. Bits and fragments washed by as he tried to remember the place he'd been told to go and the man to contact. It's hopeless...maybe I'll remember in time...

He shook off the thought. "First order of business is to get back to my hotel...I've got some gear there that'll help us figure out what we need to do and where we need to go. We'll go from there," he said as he shakily stood. "And keep that close," he spoke with a nod at the pistol lying on the table. "We'll most likely need any firepower we can get."

An embarassed look stole over his face. "Can I get my clothes back though?"

"Well, I couldn't just leave you there slumped over in the bar. Maybe you'll find a way to repay me." Syn said, smiling gently at him. "We can take my car to your hotel."

An image of mock incredulity came over her delicate features as he asked for his clothes.

"What are you, insane?" She said with a coy smirk. "Of course, let me get them for you."

A moment later, she had gathered up his shirt and jacket, and handed them to him. While he was getting them on, she picked up the pistol and tucked it into the back of her pants.

The car ride back to the hotel had been a real drag for Thomas...every bump the car hit threatened to make his head explode, but he'd survived the occasion. She'd been really careful, slowing for the heavy bumps in the street and slowing for traffic...but he suspected that she normally drove a lot faster than this. Something else to thank her for later.

"Ah, Mr. Chang," smiled the receptionist using the alias Thomas had checked in with. "Nice to see you again."

He smiled at her and then waited for the young woman....(he'd never gotten her name) to catch up. He reached out and pressed the button for the elevator, waiting the minute or so it took for it to reach the ground floor. He remained vigilant all the while, looking for anyone who looked suspicious and scrutinizing everyone who came close. As the elevator doors rolled open with a chime and they boarded, he relaxed a bit as the doors closed.

As soon as he felt the upwards motion of the elevator, his shoulders sagged in relief. He felt like crap...probably looked it too. He'd definitely have to clean up before going out...after all, a professional courier never looked unprofessional on delivery.

The elevator doors rolled open again and with Thomas in the lead, the two walked to a nearby room. Rummaging in his pants pockets, Thomas managed to extract the card key and slide it through the electronic lock. The door clicked once and Thomas shoved it open, moving through into the room, waiting until the young woman was inside before closing the door.

The room had that cheaply furnished look to it. The typical single bed, the cheap nightstand, cheap dresser with cheap television stacked onit...tiny closet...tiny bathroom. It wasn't the penthouse, but it would do for the time Thomas had to spend in AmandaTheGreat.

"Right where I left it," grinned Thomas as he lifted up the black leather attache case. Setting it down on the bed, he popped the coded locks and lifted the lid, revealing an assortment of equipment. A black laptop computer, assorted wiring, a download device identical to the one on his hip, a sheaf of papers identifying his target, a number of passports and an envelope containing several stacks of the local currency.

Something was missing...

He snapped his fingers and then pried out a section of the back of the briefcase, revealing a secret compartment containing a black MP5-K machine pistol and several additional clips. Another section revealed a small Walther PPK automatic with two extra clips. He smiled and closed the case, then handed it to the young woman.

"Here hold this for a second," he said with a grateful smile as he crossed over to the closet, removing fresh clothing. "I'm going to clean up before we get going...don't want to look crappy for presentation. Feel free to use anything in the room while you wait. I won't be long," he said with a grin as he stepped into the hole-in-the-wall bathroom and closed the door behind him. He hadn't showered or changed clothes in almost two days...he'd been so busy keeping track of his assignments. And now it was time to catch up...to make up for two days of feeling crappy.

Oh man....this was going to feel so good...

'This is gonna be a long night...'

"Bartender, another coffee please..."

Jack says with a wave of his hand and a roll of his eyes.

The tall figure swept back into the bar, his long coat billowing out behind him as he took a seat next to a hulking mercenary type. With a grim expression on his face, he snapped his fingers until he got the bartender's attention.

"Give me a beer...and be quick about it," snapped the hunter as he waited. His coat shifted slightly, light gleamed off the ten-inch barrel of a steel IMI .44 Desert Eagle fitted with a compact red dot scope.

He hadn't located Thomas Hwang yet...but he swore he'd find him if it was the last thing he'd do.

He grinned as he sipped the beer. Working as a courier hunter wasn't bad, it paid well and it gave him the chance to work in nice little burgs like this. In fact, the merc next to him was probably in a similiar line of work.

"Here's to hunting," he muttered with a sadistic grin as he drank.

Belle glanced up at the new arrival. A man dressed like Tom, but she didn't like this one. She wanted to know why he was here, but figured he was after Tom. Therefore, she wanted to divert his attention away from Tom and onto her. But how? She didn't know what would distract a thing like them. She smiled and walked over to the man. "Can I get you a drink? It is on the house. My name is Belle and yours?"

OOC: SD what can Belle do that would be able to distract this guy so later she could have Devan warn you?

Belle glanced up at the new arrival. A man dressed like Tom, but she didn't like this one. She wanted to know why he was here, but figured he was after Tom. Therefore, she wanted to divert his attention away from Tom and onto her. But how? She didn't know what would distract a thing like them. She smiled and walked over to the man. "Can I get you a drink? It is on the house. My name is Belle and yours?"

OOC: SD what can Belle do that would be able to distract this guy so later she could have Devan warn you?

Syn nodded with approval at the MP5-K as Thomas retrieved it. It was a very reliable weapon, or so she had been told.

"Sure thing." She said, and took the case.

She walked over to the tiny window on one side of the room and set the case down at her feet, while she looked out at the buildings around them.

((Bump!))

Thomas stepped out of the bathroom, showered, shaved and wearing a suit nearly identical to the one he had been wearing earlier. His hair freshly shining from both the effects of the shower as well as the gel, he stepped forward, retrieving the attache case from the woman. Reaching inside, he retrieved the PPK, checking to make sure it was loaded before placing it inside a small concealable belt holster. The MP5-K was tucked back inside the attache case.

He removed the sheaf of papers, studying the delivery order. "Xyden MicroBio...." he murmered to himself as he surveyed the address. Folding the papers up and placing them in his pocket, he stood up and turned to face the young woman who sat gazing at him.

"If it's all right, I'd like to return to the bar just to make sure I didn't miss anything."

James Allard stood up, holstering his revolver in the holster at the hip. He sat down again at the piano and began playing Rachimanoff's Piano Concertos...

OOC: Wow Amanda, you've got quite a few of these things going on huh?

"Sure, but I never got to properly introduce myself. Lower Arbiter Ja'chell of the Cyberutopian Forgien Affairs Committee." She said, reflexivily using her title reflexively. "But you can call me Syn."

OOC: Waiting for SD to reply to new character that my character, Belle, is talking to.

Jack sat at the bar with the drunk girl, wondering what the hell he was going to do now.

The hunter looked up from his drink to glance over the girl once. His eyes roamed up and down her slim form from behind his dark glasses, as he smiled once...the fleeting smile vanishing from his face almost as soon as it had appeared.

"Belle huh?" he asked in a flat almost emotionless tone. "The name's Jun....nice to meet you."

OOC: Okay, just go on ignoring me, while I play on the piano and provide background music...

The hunter swung a glance over at the guy paying the piano. He'd never been really appreciative of good music, but this guy knew his stuff. he hadn't missed a note yet and judging by the reactions of all around him, he was playing pretty well.

It was then that he spotted the light gleaming off what appeared to be a holstered revolver. The hunter smiled

"A piano player packing heat...." he mused interestingly as he continued to sip his beer.

James Allard finished the 1st Rachimanoff Piano Concerto with a chord that sang out throughout the tavern. Satisfied with his performance, James began to think about what to perform next...Beethoven's Piano Sonata or the Prokofiev Piano Concerto...

As he thought, he stood up and stretched out his legs... From the corner of his right eye, he noticed a man (South Dalania) openly staring at him. James turned his head and fixed the man with his soul-piercing gaze...

Belle smiled at Jun, "Very nice to meet you Jun. I see you are new here. I hope you enjoy the bar. The piano player is good. Well, excellent. I woudn't mind having him play my song. Well, I just have lyrics maybe he could put music to it. Are you interested in music? What brings you to town?"

Sahsa grinned up,"Hmmm....Sweepy. Can you take meee hume?" She smiled at him. She didn't appear tired at all.

Devan watched the new man with a cautious eye. She didn't like the way he hide his eyes, especially talking to Belle. You can't read a person when they hide their eyes.

Belle smiled at Jun, "Very nice to meet you Jun. I see you are new here. I hope you enjoy the bar. The piano player is good. Well, excellent. I woudn't mind having him play my song. Well, I just have lyrics maybe he could put music to it. Are you interested in music? What brings you to town?"

Sahsa grinned up,"Hmmm....Sweepy. Can you take meee hume?" She smiled at him. She didn't appear tired at all.

Devan watched the new man with a cautious eye. She didn't like the way he hide his eyes, especially talking to Belle. You can't read a person when they hide their eyes.

Joe frowned as a very tall man in a long coat entered the bar. He looked at him for a moment, then started edging closer to the piano. He wanted to watch the player, who seemed like an expert. He wouldnt mind talking about music with the man.

"Sure, but I never got to properly introduce myself. Lower Arbiter Ja'chell of the Cyberutopian Forgien Affairs Committee." She said, reflexivily using her title. "But you can call me Syn."

((Can you respond, please?))

OOC: Who are you talking to cyberutopia?

((South Dalania.))

OOC: Crap...sorry for that...><

"Pleased to 'meet' you Syn," grinned Thomas as he hefted the attache case. "The bar is somewhere in the downtown district...am I correct?"

"If possible, is it all right if we take your car? Time is of the essence."

-In the bar-

The man's head snapped up from his beer as he felt something stir in the back of his skull. An odd instinctive feeling...something that he got whenever prey was near. A sadistic grin crossed his face....

His prey was coming closer....

((No biggie. :) ))

"That's a good idea." Syn said, brushing past Thomas.

The two went down to her car, and with a roar, pulled out onto the street. Syn remembered she had a passenger who wouldn't appreciate such driving, and she slowed down, giving him a sidelong glance. She grinned coyly and looked back to the road before he noticed, though. She pulled up just a short distance from the bar, and stepped out.

Syn's Car:

http://media8.motorcities.com/00B9H132708136A.jpg

Jack eyed her warily.

"Yeah, okay. Where do you live at?"

He says as he gets up to get his car.

Sahsa laughed. "Eei am nuu her. I sweep at the motal." She tried to balance herself and ended up on the floor again. She giggled. "Oopsie." She stood up and straighted her dress and slowly walked to the door. "Helpp me?"

The young courier stepped from the car, feeling the cold air on his face as he looked around. The street didn't particularly ring a bell in his mind....neither did the neon sign above the bar, which proclaimed its existence as a music club.

Stopping to hold the door open for Syn, Thomas stepped inside, smiling as the clink of bottles and glasses and the sound of the piano filled the air. The familiar sights and sounds of a bar....then somethingcaught his eye....

The figure at the bar staring at him through dark glasses. A sadistic smile lit his face up as he sized up the tall courier. The trenchcoat shifted, revealing the chrome of a long-barreled high caliber pistol. A name came into his mind...

Jun....the freelance courier hunter...

A .44 caliber explosion sounded as the Desert Eagle in the grinning man's hand went off, the muzzle flash temporarily blinding those sitting near Thomas. A chair shattered close to the young courier as he dived for cover behind a mahogany counter. Reaching inside the attache case, he tugged the MP5-K free, clicking the safety off as he reached over to grab Syn's hand, pulling her down next to him.

Above the racket that the .44 slugs made as they chewed into the wood, the young courier shouted, "That pistol holds only seven rounds! When he stops to reload, I'll cover you with this," he yelled, pointing to the machine pistol he held. "You blast him with that handgun of yours....the .9mm rounds in this thing wont hurt him if he's wearing armor."

Another heavy round slammed into the counter and the courier grimaced. "This could be my last delivery..." muttered the courier as he clutched the black machine pistol closer and waited for his chance...

James started at the sound of gunfire... Pulling his revolver out of his hip holster, James rushed out of the tavern, his gun held tightly in his right hand...

Hearing the booming report of the .44 magnum, Jack draws his .40 USP, wishing he'd brought his more bulky and powerful Superballers, which fired a .48 magnum. Still, they made people nervous, as they were large and loud. He fires a double-tap at the man's chest, aiming for the aorta, above the heart. It would be a messy shot, but the target would bleed out much faster.

OOC: Not to rag on anyone's shooting skills or anything....but the hunter is going to have survive the encounter for sake of the RP....not implying that your character's suck at shooting or anything :D

"Damn..."muttered the hunter as the shot whipped towards him. With speed nearly invisible to the human eye, the man moved aside, grinning sadistically as the heavy-caliber round whipped past him. Across the bar, a mirror shattered under the impact of the heavy bullet.

Thomas heaved himself over the top of the bar and raised the stubby H&K machine pistol he held. Pulling the trigger, he unleashed a flurry of .9mm subsonic ammunition at the man, who easily dodged the lightweight bullets with an almost inhuman speed.

"Now!" he shouted to Syn. "Do it!"

Joe ducked as bullets started flying around the bar. He drew his Colt and looked on as a man in a trench coat started shooting up some arrivals. The other people shot back at him, but he seemed to dodge every bullet flung at him. He diceded to get closer and try to take him out. He crawled along the floor near the man....

"Thanks." Syn murmured as Thomas pulled her down.

She drew the heavy pistol, flicking off the safety in the same movement. She poked her head up above the counter to see the hunter moving with breakneck speed.

'This shot is gonna be a bitch.' She thought to herself, wondering how in the world she was going to hit someone like that.

"Now!" Thomas shouted to Syn. "Do it!"

Her thoughts shattered, she looked above the counter again. Resting the heavy assault pistol on the hardwood counter, she looked through the scope. She let out a long breath, and let her instinct take over. She just watched for a long second, watching the man's erractic dodges, forming them into a pattern in her mind. She watched the hunter dodge one of the 9mm bullets, and slip into her sights...

'There.' A voice in her head whispered to her.

Obeying the thought instantly, she slammed the trigger, sending a hypersonic needle straight for the hunter, a bright flash trailing it. The recoil pitched her back a bit, but she regained her balance and crouched behind the counter.

Belle gasped. "What the heck is going on?" She froze. She couldn't move. Then she fainted. She slumped down to the ground. Everything was black.

Sahsa eyes widened. She clutched the bar counter and her knees shook.

Devan was frantic he didn't have his gun on him and he wanted to protect Belle. He saw her fall and ran to her. He covered her until the firing stopped.

OOC: That's why I say 'fired at', instead of 'shot'. :lol: Jack will keep shooting, trying different locations and trying to get a clean hit. The USP's rounds don't travel as fast as the .48 magnums that his Superballers fire.

IC:

'Bastard thinks he's Neo...' Jack thought to himself. He aims again, firing a pair of rounds at the man's head, and slightly to the left. 'Dodge that...'

OOC: Nice one-liner man :D

The wall behind the man was taking on the look of Swiss cheese as the bullets peppered it. Hundreds of bullet holes dotted the dark mahogany wood, as the gunfire continued to roar loudly in the bar.

"This is almost too easy," laughed the hunter as he dodged the projectiles hurtling towards him. A hypersonic dart whipped across his path, and he deftly reached out to catch it, flipping it back towards the woman who had fired it with a casual backhand throw.

That was when his rhythm slipped...

At almost the same moment, three .9mm rounds and .40 slug slammed into the hunters' upper torso, jerking him backwards. The hunter looked down, saw the .9mm rounds had embedded in his body armor...but the heavier .40 round had hit him between his side and the combat vest he wore. The hunter grimaced...and then with inhuman speed, bounded out the door, slamming it behind him.

The gunfire stopped...

The needle, now traveling at a much slower speed, was still deadly. The thin bullet just barely touched across Syn's cheek, and she was thrown down from the momentum. She sprung back up just in time to see the hunter dart out the bar, and shook her head.

"Damn..." She muttered.

She looked over at Thomas, and smiled when she saw he was alright.

"What the hell was that guy? He caught my shot like a paper airplane." She asked him, sparing a glance at the wall peppered with gunfire.

A steady stream of blood began to trickle down the young woman's cheek, and she remembered the wound. She touched it, and her hand came back coated in warm blood. She winced at the sight.

"Damn...he got away..."muttered Thomas as he watched the hunter dart out of the bar. Lowering the smoking machine pistol, he frowned as he replaced the weapon in the attache case.

It was then that he noticed the crimson stream flowing down the side of her cheek. The dart had evidently just grazed her cheek, causing a scrape along the side....it wouldn't scar over, but it would leave a mark for a couple of days.

He was about to laugh and say she'd probably been hit with worse when he remembered something.

Those gloves Jun wore contained a chemical agent similiar to a temporary stun compound....and he had grabbed the dart by the sharpened head....

"Oh crap..." muttered Thomas to himself.

OOC: Nice one-liner man :D

The wall behind the man was taking on the look of Swiss cheese as the bullets peppered it. Hundreds of bullet holes dotted the dark mahogany wood, as the gunfire continued to roar loudly in the bar.

"This is almost too easy," laughed the hunter as he dodged the projectiles hurtling towards him. A hypersonic dart whipped across his path, and he deftly reached out to catch it, flipping it back towards the woman who had fired it with a casual backhand throw.

That was when his rhythm slipped...

At almost the same moment, three .9mm rounds and .40 slug slammed into the hunters' upper torso, jerking him backwards. The hunter looked down, saw the .9mm rounds had embedded in his body armor...but the heavier .40 round had hit him between his side and the combat vest he wore. The hunter grimaced...and then with inhuman speed, bounded out the door, slamming it behind him.

The gunfire stopped...

James straightened with his revolver held softly in his right hand. He slowly walked closer towards where the hunter had disappeared. He glanced around, but found no one...

Cursing softly under his breath, he moved towards his vehicle and pulled out a medkit and moved to treat those injured.

In front of Syn, he stopped and glanced at them.

"He'll be back..."

He noticed the slight dart wound. When he observed it closer, James noticed the wound starting to foam.

Lady, we better get you treated... Their was probably some poison on that dart...

Joe stood up, exaused, even though he had only fired a few shots. The man had been incredibly fast....Joe surveyed the damage to the bar. The entire place was shot up, and he wasnt sure what had started the fight in the first place. The only causiltie was a very pretty young women whom Joe had seen in the bar a little while ago. He rushed to her and examined the wound. He new from ooking at it that it was definently poision.

((Damn boards swallowed my post.))

The wound had begun to sting horribly. Syn automatically raised a hand to her cheek as a new wave of pain rippled down her neck.

"Fantastic." She said dryly through clenched teeth. "How can we stop it?"

Thomas winced. "The nerve toxin is probably Paralyex...it was originally manufactured for military applications....carried by most hunters in the business. The toxin is fairly harmless, unless you have high blood pressure or are taking anything related to heart issues...in which case you risk having your circulatory system go into shock. You'll most likely go numb...a side effect of the toxin is also a feeling of intense heat as well as hallucinations."

He inspected the wound. "There's an antidote that can be administered, but you have to have the right materials and you'll have to have a place where you can rest...your nerves may temporarily paralyze depending on your stamina."

"The bastard..." thought Thomas to himself.

OOC: I think my character has the antidote, considering he's originally a military commander and now a mercenary

IC:
Paralyex, eh... I believe that I carry the antidote in my vehicle...

http://www.defence-sa.com/images/capab_pic3.jpg

James stood and walked over to his unarmed armored personnel carrier and came back with a box of antidotes... After digging around in the box, he pulled out a sterile syringe and a bottle of medicine...

This is the antidote isn't it?

OOC: Which one, the 'dodge that' or the Neo comment? :lol:
Jack's a cheeky bastard, so expect a few more.

IC:

Jack thumbs the clip release, and catches the magazine as it falls, slipping it into his pocket as he smoothly draws a fresh one and slams it home. He operates the slide and stows the weapon back in its original spot.

"Doc Holliday ain't got nothin' on this..."

He says as he walks out the door, walking towards his silver 69' Impala with 20" two-hundred spoke rims and chrome detailing. The license plate reads 'PIMP'.

He says as he walks out the door, walking towards his silver 69' Impala with 20" two-hundred spoke rims and chrome detailing. The license plate reads 'PIMP'.

((Ah, gotta love the Pimpmobile! :lol: Wow, 5CN, AmandaTheGreat must have really loose vehicle laws. :wink: ))

"You don't need to worry about me, I'm pretty sure I can stand the poison." Syn said, smiling gently at Thomas.

She looked down at the needle still clasped in her hand. She had pricked her finger on the sharp point, and a tiny crimson dot appeared on her forefinger, staining the tip of the dart a metallic red. She let out a soft laugh at her misfortune and pocketed the needle, a plan for revenge forming in her mind. Her features retained a look of seriousness, and she took the medicine and syringe from James.

"I can do it myself." She stated, drawing some of the antidote into the syringe.

Thomas let out a sigh of relief. The Paralyex hadn't affected her like it had the others....those hit with the toxin often went into shock within a few seconds of the poision entering their bloodstream.

He watched her apply the hypodermic syringe, injecting the antidote that the man...James...? had given her. She was tough...she'd be able to tackle the nerve toxin....although she'd be stiff and a little weak for awhile. By the burning look in her eyes however, she was hungry for revenge of some sort...

He didn't blame her.

Syn sighed after she injected the rest of the antidote. The burning pain in her face didn't disappate right away, but she was confident that she would be feeling better soon. She rubbed her shoulder, feeling a bit sore after the numbness wore off.

"For once, I'm glad for rigorous compulsory military service." She said, looking at Thomas with an amused smile. "Well, are we going to go get him? I don't think it'll be a simple task to deliver your data with him on your tail, Thomas."

Thomas smiled, but shook his head. "Primary mission is to deliver the data...but there are ways of dealing with hunters." Getting up, he motioned for her to follow him into the old single bathroom located off the bar.

The toilet in the bathroom had an old-fashioned chain attached to an overhead box. Reaching behind it, Thomas flipped a concealed switch, then pulled back on the lever. A section of wooden wall rose, revealing a number of shotguns, handguns and automatic weapons.

Thomas grinned. "This bar is a contact point for the courier company I work for. I was on my way here to collect some more weaponry when the implant knocked me out. There should also be a set of orders somewhere....ah, got it," said the young courier as he held up a small micro disk.

He handed it to Syn. "Plug that into your reader, we should be able to get an exact address from that disk."

Reaching into the wall cavity, he removed an M733 combat carbine as well as two Steyr TMP machine pistols and an old chrome plated 1911 Colt .45 automatic. Slipping the weapons into a bag that had been placed there for such a purpose, the courier zipped it up and slung it over his shoulder.

"How are you at hunting?" grinned the young courier.

OOC: I can see if the toxin caused numbness if it affects the CNS or PNS, but usually if the blood is affected it will not cause numbness. Hypoxia would occur and then cell death because of lack of oxygen. If there is a lack of oxygen to the major organs such as brain and heart death will occur within 3-5 of no oxygen. So, I think maybe your toxin affected probably her peripheral nervous system, not her central or even her blood. Sorry, I should just let you descide, but I have some knowlegde of this. Numbness would not affect the blood, but the CNS or PNS. Therefore, for future reference maybe have hypoxia, the lack of oxygen to cells, tissues, or major organs causing necrosis (cell, tissue, or organ death), or have the CNS or PNS affected causing paralysis of specified organ causing death.

IC: Belle awakened. She look arounded and saw the mess of the bar. What a shame. She would find out who caused this and take care of business. She was mad, which rarely occured, and she was going to do something about it. She hugged Devan and then stood up. She was dizzy because of orthostatic hypotension, a result of standing up to fast. Her heart rate finally seemed to get back to normal and she could see straight. She looked for this Jun man. She knew he was the cause of it. In her search she saw a girl administering a shot to herself. She hoped the girl knew how to do it and there was no bubbles in the shot. Some people forget to flick the bubbles out and things happen as a result, death. She went over to the girl and went down on her knees. "Are you okay?" She looked up and saw Thomas. Her eyes widened and she said, "Its you?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. That bastard just had some poison with him." Syn explained to Belle before Thomas took her into the bathroom.

She smiled in an amused manner, but her eyes gave away her surprise.

"Impressive..." She murmured as she looked over the weapons.

She lifted an ultra-light carbon composite crossbow, fitted with an optical sight. She slammed a magazine of bolts into the crossbow and smiled at the click. As a precaution, she also fitted a holster to her ankle, and slipped a H&K VP70 into it. She then took out the device she had used before and put the disc Thomas had given her into it. She flipped open the screen and read what popped up.

An address flashed across the young woman's reader screen.

Deliver to Xyden Microbio
Location: 365 Anders Lane, AmandaTheGreat
Security Clearance: High
Contact: Dr. Jamese Anderson

A small profile picture scrolled up on the screen of a young scientist sporting a brown goatee. Unlike most of the lab geeks that worked at Xyden, this one seemed to actually take care of his appearance.

"Hmm...ok, here it is." She said, showing Thomas the screen.

Thomas studied the screen carefully. "All right," he finally said. "We should get going soon....where there's one hunter, there's always more."

Shouldering the bag, he walked out of the small bathroom, taking care to close the wooden paneling behind him. As he passed the stunned bartender who was gazing around his badly shot-up establishment, the young courier dropped a few hundred in the local currency on the now-torn up br.

"Sorry about the mess," said the young man with a wince.

Jack climbs into his car, and reaches under the front seat, drawing out a large briefcase-like object. Opening it up, he reveals his twin .48 Superballers. With a slight grin he slips them into the empty tactical holsters on his hips, the platinum finish on the weapons catching and amplifying any speck of light that they came in contact with. Now armed with his favorite weapons, Jack returns to the bar, buttoning the center button on his trenchcoat to attempt to keep the large handguns concealed.

OOC: I know a .48 magnum is a bit much for two-handed full-auto, but that's why he has two, he fires one, then the other, to keep up a decent rate of fire. Single-weapon would leave him vulnerable as he re-aligns his target.

Jack climbs into his car, and reaches under the front seat, drawing out a large briefcase-like object. Opening it up, he reveals his twin .48 Superballers. With a slight grin he slips them into the empty tactical holsters on his hips, the platinum finish on the weapons catching and amplifying any speck of light that they came in contact with. Now armed with his favorite weapons, Jack returns to the bar, buttoning the center button on his trenchcoat to attempt to keep the large handguns concealed.

OOC: I know a .48 magnum is a bit much for two-handed full-auto, but that's why he has two, he fires one, then the other, to keep up a decent rate of fire. Single-weapon would leave him vulnerable as he re-aligns his target.

As the pair walked out of the bar, Syn tried to keep a somber expression and hid a grin. She had to admit, it was kind of funny how a fine bar could be totally ruined in only a few seconds. She had been told she could always find the humor in things, and she had found that for the most part that was true. As she read over the address again, she thought about the man walking beside her. If she hadn't come to the bar, he'd be dead for sure. Fate's inner workings never ceased to puzzle her. How could it set up such a coincidence with such precicion? Deciding it was a question far above her capabilities, she set her attention to the task before her and got into her car. The sleek vehicle started up with a content purr and set off for Xyden MicroBio, an out of the way lab complex in a heavily industrialized section of AmandaTheGreat that was mostly unknown to her.

James climbed aboard his APC aka the "Pimpmobile" and followed Syn and the courier, Thomas, as they drove into the industrial heartland. James kept his hand close to his AK-74 assault rifle while he followed the two from a distance...

James climbed aboard his APC aka the "Pimpmobile" and followed Syn and the courier, Thomas, as they drove into the industrial heartland. James kept his hand close to his AK-74 assault rifle while he followed the two from a distance...

OOC: I think Cyberutopia was referring to Jack's Impala, the 'Pimpmobile' from the 'Criminal Element' RP.

Syn looked into the rearview mirror and saw the APC lumbering along behind them. She allowed herself a small chuckle and looked back to the road.

"Trying to tail us in an APC...what a joke." She said almost disgustedly.

Thomas laughed as he looked in the rearview. "Not very discreet is it?" grinned the young agent as he removed various weapons from the duffel bag, concealing them on his person. Taking his attache case, he set it on his lap, removing a length of cable. Taking one connector, he reached around to plug it into the back of his skull.

A whirring came from deep inside his brain as the implanted machine started up. Thomas shuddered under the force as he tried to review the information that had been placed deep inside his mind. He knew that trying to access the information was a strict violation...but he had to know the nature of this delivery. He had to know why Jun was after him...and not just any other two-bit hunter.

"Warning! Illegal access!" beeped the speaker built into the attache case, as jolts of electricity shot across Thomas's body. Screaming in pain, he jittered under the impulses...then finally yanked the cord from his head, causing the pain to stop instantly.

"How fast...can you get there?" gasped the young courer as he shook his head.

((That'd be right, MS, I was refering to Jack's "Pimpmobile".))

"Are you alright?" Syn asked Thomas in a concerned tone, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I can get there quickly, but I want to know if you're going to be ok first."

Thomas shook his head twice. "I'll be fine...just keep driving," he said in a low tone as the pain started to subside.

He hoped he'd be ther in time...

"If you say so..." Syn said, and hit the gas.

The tires gave a sharp screech in return and the car shot down the street.

"We'll get there in a few minutes. What kind of transportation does our hunter friend have?" She asked.

"Unlike the movies, most hunters aren't super rich spy masters," grinned Thomas. "So we don't have to worry about him chasing us down in a highly expensive sports car or anything."

He turned to finish loading one of the TMP's. "Most likely he'll be driving a government-issue black sedan or something of the sort. He won't be able to catch us while we're in this thing, but his car will definitely be able to take punishment. It's highly doubtful he'll intercept us on the road though..."

While he spoke a black sedan nosed into the lane on Thomas's side. Glancing over at it, he caught sight of the driver's window rolling down. The chrome barrel of a .44 Desert Eagle poked out of the black vehicle as a sadistic grin shone into view behind the gun.

"Look out!" shouted Thomas as he shoved against Syn, wincing as he felt the passenger side window explode inwards from the force of the .44 magnum round. The car jerked as it whipped into the next lane, eliciting a round of honking from several cars.

"Looks like I was wrong!" shouted Thomas as he pulled the Colt from under his jacket. "Keep driving! I'll buy us some time!"

Shoving the pistol out the window, he fired three successive shots, watching as the hunter ducked back inside to avoid the .45 caliber rounds that bounced off his car in a shower of sparks.

"I just hope the driving holds up," muttered Thomas as he squeezed the trigger once more.

"Oh, I'll do better than that." Syn responded with an almost playful grin.

Syn pulled up next to Jun's car and suddenly deaccelerated with a sharp right turn, slamming into the back right of the sedan. The sound of crunching metal filled the car as Syn wrenched the steering wheel harder with one hand, trying to fishtail the hunter off the road. Her other hand went down to her ankle and withdrew the VP70. She fired five shots into the back window of the black sedan, hoping she'd hit something.

Inside the sedan, the hunter muttered a curse. That damn woman could drive...hell she drove brilliantly. He'd never expected her to pull a stunt like that and now all he had to show for this ambush were several holes in his rear window.

But he had the engine muscle and weight of a sedan as compared to her sports car. Gunning the engine, he slammed the car into hers, causing the sports car to sharply veer off. Using his car's engine to the max, he grinned evilly as he tried to push her car to the side of the road and into the various obstacles lining it.

"If she doesn't react soon...it's game over for you two," grinned the hunter as he jerked the wheel once more, causing another slam as the two cars hit.

OOC: Sorry, my bad...

IC:

James silently cursed when he saw a sedan come out of nowhere and began attacking the vehicle Syn and Thomas were in.

Pressing down the gas pedal, the APC accelerated to 200 kph and moved closer to the two vehicles colliding in the street. James stuck his AK-74 out of the window and began firing at the hunter's sedan.

Syn grimaced as she struggled to hold the sports car against the much stronger sedan's attacks. As she saw James' APC pull up, taking advantage of the hunter's sudden distraction, she deaccelerated and quickly accelerated again, pressing the two against their seats as the car roared up the freeway.

"We have to get off this freeway soon." She told Thomas.

Angered, James activated his APC's automated 35mm recoil-less cannon that was hidden on a small bulge on the top of the APC. The cannon began tracking the hunter's sedan...

The hunter frowned when he noticed that the APC's cannon was rotating in his direction. "Crap..." he muttered as he pulled the car onto the side of the bridge he was crossing. Throwing the driver's side door open, he dove quickly over the railing, plunging into the icy water as the .37mm rounds tore up the sedan, causing it to explode in a brilliant inferno.

Syn jumped a little at the sudden explosion, and checked her rearview mirror. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the APC had blown the sedan to pieces.

"Maybe he'll leave us alone now..." She mused, only half-serious.

After several anxious more minutes of hurried driving, they had reached Xyden MicroBio. Before she got out of the car, Syn looked over at Thomas for a moment.

"Ready?" She said quietly, as if talking too loud would upset some fragile balance.

'I really don't like what this company is doing, but...' She stole another glance at Thomas. 'I'll do it for him.'

OOC: Amanda the Great, just a question, aren't the police or something going to chase after me or something?

IC:

James stopped the APC. Climbing out, he pulled his AK-74 with him and walked over to the burning sedan. He saw that nobody was in it. Disturbed, James looked over the side of the bridge and saw someone swimming several hundred meters away. Cursing under his breath, James, aimed his AK-74 and emptied the clip at the swiftly disappearing figure.

Damn't luck bastard...

Thomas carefully stepped out of the car, his eyes searching the area around him for any signs of hostile activity. Quickly replacing the Colt in its holster, he closed the door of Syn's car behind him. Collecting his attache case, he stepped forward.

A bearded man with a muscular physique stepped forward to meet him. "Thomas Hwang? I'm your contact from Xyden," spoke the man as he looked around. Turning to size up Syn, he muttered, "We weren't informed that you were traveling with a woman."

"Without her, I wouldn't be here to give you to the information," said Thomas as he looked over at Syn. "This woman has saved my ass more than a few times."

The bearded man kept sizing Syn up until a satisfied look broke over his features. "Fine fine. Anyways, come inside....you'll draw attention standing out here."

As the trio moved inside the gigantic corporation headquarters, a hulking figure watched them from the roof of a nearby building. Water dripped from the edge of the man's long coat as he smiled.

"Excellent...." grinned Jun as he shoved his wet hair out of his face. Then with a flash....he was gone...

"Damn, I liked that car." Syn muttered as she looked back at the crumpled side of her sports car.

She replaced the VP70 in her ankle holster, and slipped another needle into the heavy pistol's breech. Then she followed the large bearded man patiently, wondering where they were being taken.

She thought for a moment, then whispered to Thomas, "You want to know why the information you have is so dangerous, don't you?"

Thomas whispered back, "It's a breach of security protocol....but with a hunter like Jun on my ass, I wouldn't mind knowing why he wants me dead."

Syn nodded silently, and glanced at the bearded man to see if he was listening.

"I'll tell you more later, but for now, let's just say that information is going to be the source of several thousand deaths." She replyed quietly, and then added. "But don't let them know you know that."

Back at the bar Belle began to pick things up. There was broken glass everywhere. She sighed. I wish this wouldn't have happened. Devan was fixing a broken table. One of the legs had snaped off. Where is help when you need it.

((*desperate bump*))

Jack exits the bar, climbing into his vehicle. The heavily modified V8 roars and Snoop Dogg's 'Gin and Juice' blares from the extensive speaker system with enough decibels to rattle the bar windows. The Impala roars out into the street, the destination unknown, even to Jack.

((Anyone out there? Someone? Where'd you all go?))

OOC: I think they're all gone, Cyberutopia.

((How utterly depressing. I mean, c'mon, what are they doing, visiting with their families? Psssht. What a thing to do, and on Christmas Eve, too! Jesus, what's the deal with that. :roll: Ok, seriously now: Merry Christmas and those other holidays too everyone! I guess we'll continue this after the holidays.))

OOC: I guess so too.

OOC: i would get my characters involved, but it looks as if the story went ot the car chase. :cry:

((Well, if South Dalania ever comes back, we can steer the story back to the bar. *hint, hint*))

OOC: I have returned to the thread! Sorry guys...was in So Cal for the time I wasn't here...didn't have time to post, only enough time to do random government activity so I wouldn't get deleted for inactivity..

IC:

"This way, if you'd please," spoke the bearded doctor as he led the way into a small room. A few computers stood in niches along the wall with some rather-expensive looking science equipment in locked cabinets along the wall. A small table and chair was set up in the center of the room with a laptop set up. The screen glowed bright green with the command prompt that was so familiar to Thomas.

"If you'd just plug in," said the doctor as he motioned to both Syn and Thomas to enter the room. As soon as their feet crossed the threshold of the room, the metal door slammed down behind them, sealing them inside.

Whirling around, Thomas looked at the doctor only to find....nothing. He cursed to himself...he'd been tricked.

"There's no contact here," he muttered to Syn as he reached for his pistol only to wince as a door cracked open on the other side of the room, revealing the large figure of...Jun.

"So nice to see you again, Hwang," grinned Jun as he stepped forward. "I still have some unfinished business with you."

"So it would seem," grimaced Thomas as his hand darted inside his jacket, reaching for the Colt. Before he could clear holster though, a meaty hand had wrapped itself around his wrist. With a scream of pain, Thomas felt himself being lifted up as the pain in his wrist grew instense.

Then he felt himself being flung through the air like a rag doll. The air whistled in his ears as he flew. The sensation was new to him.

The cold steel of the door took away anything he might have been feeling at that moment..

OOC: The thread lives! MS will wish to know. SD, we await your posting in 'Unexpected Delays'.

OOC: The thread lives! MS will wish to know. SD, we await your posting in 'Unexpected Delays'.

((*maniacal laughter* It's alive, it's aliiiiive!))

Syn realized Jun was far too much for her to take on. Thomas was a better fighter than her, and he didn't have a chance. She'd have to try something else, the something an Arbiter was trained for years in. She walked right up to Jun and stared into his eyes like she was five feet taller than him. With one of her hands, she unwound the scarlet sash from around her waist and held it before Jun.

"I hope you realize what this is. Diplomatic immunity. Do you know what it's like to have a railgun round punch through your chest, to feel everything be ripped away from you in an instant? I don't think you do, and I don't think you want to find out. Touch me or him again, and you won't live the night. Cyberutopia takes great offense to having it's Arbiters killed." She lied, while discreetly slipping the poisoned knife out of the folds of the sash.

A sadistic smile crossed Jun's face as he looked over at the lithe female in front of him. What kind of threat did she think she presented? He'd easily dealt with Thomas...this one should prove to be easy pickings.

"I don't think you get it lady," grinned Jun as he savagely ripped the red sash from her hands, tossing it into the air where it fluttered gently to floor in a ribbon of crimson silk. "I live outside the law, I live outside diplomacy! Your rules, your regulations and your 'diplomatic immunity' mean nothing to me."

His eyes caught a fleeting glimpse of movement behind her back. This female knew what she was doing, he had to give her that. He'd wait to see what tactic she'd pull next and if things got too uppity...well he still had the Desert Eagle, didn't he?

He smiled at her. "I'm going to give you three seconds to raise your hands in the air and surrender. After that, I'm afraid you're not going to get much in the way of second chances."

Syn smiled a sad smile up at him and shifted the knife in her hand. That sash held a lot more than diplomatic immunity.

"Oh, I get it alright. You're no match for me, it's plain to see that. How about I give you three seconds to pull your gun and get this over with." She retorted, hoping the numbing agent had started working by now.

The sound of the bolt action on a rifle operating interupts his sentence. A gravelly voice speaks, in an accented form of english.

"You abide by a single law, as all living things do. That is the law of nature. All things die, some sooner than others. Drop your weapon and you might live to see who aims a weapon at you."

"What the hell?" muttered Jun as he turned, only to see the figure of a man armed with what appeared to be a bolt-action sniper model rifle pointed at him. Raising his hands in the air, he shifted his hands from the ebony grip of the Desert Eagle, but that only freed his hands to use the other numberous devices concealed around his person.

On the floor, Thomas stirred slowly. His senses were coming back to him...in a blur of pain he remembered the occurences of the last five minutes.

Then something flashed across his mind. He remembered an instance a few months earlier where a fellow courier had been lured to a false rendezvous by a rival corporation. That courier had been found shot in the head and dumped in a river two days later. Now it made sense to him...the door crashing down, the doctor running away and Jun's presence only suggested one thing.

"Get out of here!" shouted Thomas from his prone position on the floor, his hand inside his coat fumbling for the .45. "It's a setup!"

Jun turned and smiled a wide grin. "About time you got that Tommy boy!" he laughed deeply.

Behind Syn the piercing sound of an alarm began to ring...

The mysterious hunter steps forward sharply, swinging the butt of the rifle forward at the man's nose. The hunter is no human, but an especially dangerous breed of Argonian, know as Dark Argonians. This particular Dark Argonian was an especially dangerous one, known only as Whiptail.

Golden eyes glare with rage at the new threat. The rifle was an exotic one, a collapseable R93, chambered in .308 caliber. A flash/sound surpressor is attached to the end.

An imposing figure steps from the shadows, holding an M4. He is dressed like some sort of counter-terror operative, with black fatigues, boots, balaclava, and tinted ski goggles. A large semi-auto sits in a tactical hip-holster, next to a survival knife. His web gear holds a pair of flashbangs and fragmentation grenades, along with several clips for his weapons. There are a few more concealed items on his person, but no clues to their location...

"You got him, Whiptail?"

The man asks the hunter. The commando stands at 6'2", and weighs in at 280 lbs, with a powerful frame. His body moves with the practiced grace of a professional, a man who has done this sort of thing more times than he wishes to count.

"Wow, these odds just keep getting better," smiled Jun as looked down the barrel of the Argonian's rifle. "How much'd that thing cost?"

Down the hallway, an imposing figure clad in a dark suit strode purposely out of an elevator door. His tall black hair, worn in straight spikes served accent his narrow face, the eyes concealed behind a horizontal black band which ran across his face. His suit, an expensive Armani, fit him perfectly, but when buttoned up, perfectly concealed the two .357 Colt Pythons he carried in two backdraw holsters.

With a flurry of hand motions, the tall man motioned to the teams in the elevator behind him. With a scuffle of boots on metal, the commandos moved out, black-clad and armed with every expensive piece of equipment on the market.

Each commando wore a set of dark urban camoflage BDU's as well as a black balaclava with a gas mask worn in a pouch on the side. A jet black magazine holder crossed the chest of each man, holding the curved magazines that typically went in the H&K G-36c assault weapon. In addition to their G-36, each man wore a USP .40 tactical handgun in a side holster, a Cold Steel sheath knife and a number of frag and flashbang genades of various manufacture. They moved without speaking, a quiet and lethally efficient force.

The tall suited man reached behind to pull the oblong shape of a P-90 free from a back carrying case. Pulling by the slide and chambering a round in the process, the dark figure moved at the head of the force...

-Back Inside the Room-

"My relief'll be here any minute," grinned the muscular hunter as he sized down his competition. "I'm really going to enjoy breaking all of you."

Thomas climbed up from his sitting position on the floor, his Colt .45 now free and in his right hand. He shook off the effects of the beating as he talked slowly and surely.

"Jun's right. Whoever set me up is going to have a support team on the way. We need to get out of here quickly and quietly."

OOC: That's quite an impressive arsenal. I'm a big fan of the G36 line, it's the standard-issue rifle to my nation's military. Nice to see a fellow H&K fan. Colt Pythons are also a nice touch, what barrel length? Do your boys have NVG's?

IC:

The commado drops a hand from the barrel to affix a set of nightvision goggles, the barrel of his M4 remained rock-steady. As the apparatus clicks into place, the hand return to the barrel.

"Don't talk to him, man. He's a beast when that bloodlust hits. Speaking of blood, why are you hassling a Cyberutopian Arbiter?"

His instinct told him something wasn't right, but he couldn't place what...

The Dark Argonian hunter nods.

"I long to taste his blood..."

The hunter tossed his head slightly in the direction of the oncoming forces, comfirming the information courier's suspicions. His keen, animal like senses had detected the scent of expensive fabric. Among the smells where the distinctive odor of Dekker's composite armor, as well as a nearly-overwhelming presence of black powder...

OOC: Did his butt-strike connect?

OOC: The Pythons are the snub-nosed model (three inches or less I believe, don't know the exact specs) I figured the seven inch barrel model would be too slow to draw in order to have him carry two.

IC:
Some hint of danger warned Thomas of something. In an almost instinctive rush, he grabbed Syn, turning her away from the door as the rounded cylinder of a flashbang grenade bounced once, exploding to fill the room with a bright light.

The sounds of automatic rifle fire filled the air as the commando team outside opened fire. Windows and glassware shattered as bullets whined around the room, dangerously ricocheting off walls.

Thomas protectively held Syn to him as the bullets continued to whiz by. He held the .45 in his hand, but didn't want to fire it, as he was concerned he'd accidentally hit either the Argonian or the mercenary. The sounds of cursing and the differently pitched sound of an M4-A1 assault rifle going off signaled to him that his two allies were returning the support team's fire.

-Outside the room-

Camoflaged troopers ducked back and forth in the room's doorway, exchanging fire with the fugitives within. The corridor was filled with the rattling of automatic fire and the clinking of brass as spent rounds dropped to the marble floor.

One commando let out his breath in a gasp as a 5.56 caliber M4A1 round penetrated his chest with a loud *sluck.* Collapsing to the marble, he was immediately dragged to safety by his comrades, leaving a bright crimson stain on the marble.

Chips of marble rained down in chunks as they were ripped from the wall by the impact of bullets. Thick marble dust wafted in the air, shrouding the gunfight in a thick mist, lit only by the muzzle flash of automatic weapons or the occasional bright flare of an exploding grenade.

The suited man shook his head in disgust. The hunter had failed him. Even with the services of someone so highly regarded, he'd still had to call in the support team and now he was stuck in the middle of this mess. And now since the hunter had failed to eliminate the courier, he was going to have to add that to his list of priorities....although his primary order was to capture a certain Arbiter.

"If you want something done, you've got to do it yourself," muttered the suited man as he gripped the P-90. Rushing forward, he smoothly dodged around the gaggle of troopers blocking the doorway into the room and stormed into the thick of the fighting. Raising the P-90 in one hand, he pulled the trigger, a grim look on his face as the automatic weapon barked in his hand....

With a single, smooth motion, the mercenary knocked the NVG's from his own face, turning his head away from the flashbang as it went off. The noise rang in his ears, but his vision was more or less unaffected.
The mercenary dove left, rolling as he landed and coming up on one knee to fire a burst from his rifle. The booming report of Whiptail's .308 sounded somewhere to his right, then the sharp clink of the bolt action on the weapon operating. He emptied the remainder of his M4's clip into the throng of attacking troopers, then ducked behind a desk to reload. With practiced precision, he slapped a fresh magazine into place and returned fire.

With a single, smooth motion, the mercenary knocked the NVG's from his own face, turning his head away from the flashbang as it went off. The noise rang in his ears, but his vision was more or less unaffected.
The mercenary dove left, rolling as he landed and coming up on one knee to fire a burst from his rifle. The booming report of Whiptail's .308 sounded somewhere to his right, then the sharp clink of the bolt action on the weapon operating. He emptied the remainder of his M4's clip into the throng of attacking troopers, then ducked behind a desk to reload. With practiced precision, he slapped a fresh magazine into place and returned fire.

With a single, smooth motion, the mercenary knocked the NVG's from his own face, turning his head away from the flashbang as it went off. The noise rang in his ears, but his vision was more or less unaffected.
The mercenary dove left, rolling as he landed and coming up on one knee to fire a burst from his rifle. The booming report of Whiptail's .308 sounded somewhere to his right, then the sharp clink of the bolt action on the weapon operating. He emptied the remainder of his M4's clip into the throng of attacking troopers, then ducked behind a desk to reload. With practiced precision, he slapped a fresh magazine into place and returned fire.

The desk that the mercenary was hiding behind, splintered under the hail of bullets shattering it as the tall man dashed past the desk, his P-90 blazing in a hail of bullets.

Thomas looked up at the tall man who was dashing towards him. In a flash, the Colt snapped up, the muzzle pointed at the figure with the blazing P-90.

His finger tightened on the trigger...

BLAM

The first shot whizzed free from the pistol's barrel, the .45 round spinning towards the running man with high velocity. But surprisingly, the tall man dodged the bullet in midflight, just like Jun had in the bar. Only whereas Jun had actually expended energy to avoid the shot, this man simply lazily moved out of the way.

Thomas pulled the trigger several more times, until the pistol clicked empty. With a shout, he reached down for the MP5K slung around his shoulder only to open his mouth in a shout as the impact of several bullets tore into his jacket, knocking him backwards to the floor. He lay there...darkness nibbling at his vision as he struggled to get up.

"Syn..." he muttered to himself as he slipped into darkness.

The tall man grinned as the courier fell in front of him, struck down in a blazing hail of bullets. Turning to face the Arbiter, he reached out to grab her arm.

"Time to go," he said with an emotionless expression as he latched onto her arm with an iron grip...

OOC:
Don't worry, Thomas isn't dead yet...there's a surprise

Whiptail lets his rifle fall, instead drawing a katana and his own Colt .45, an M1911A1 to be exact. The warrior moves with frightening speed, with skills and abilites honed from over three centuries of hunting and fighting. The pistol booms only when nessecary, the katana doing most of the attacking.

Dekker hauls himself up from behind the desk, a round buried in his shoulder, and several more where in the composite shockplate that reinforced his kevlar vest. With a roar, he rises, drawing his .45 with one hand, and shooting the M4 with the other.

OOC: Even at 280 lbs, he's not going to be too accurate, but he won't need to be at this range.

((Well, this has developed nicely.))

'The gang's all here.' Syn thought to herself with slight amusement, a few moments before everything went to hell.

The young woman let Thomas carry her out of the way of the flashbang, landing beside him and yanking her VP70 out of the holster, moving the knife into her left hand. She emptied the clip into the nearest soldier before dropping the pistol and drawing the heavy assault pistol. Her sights were centered on a soldier who had left himself exposed for a second to long, but she instinctively moved the pistol into line with a much faster moving target, another man with unbelievable speed. Thomas fell next to her, and she felt a twinge of pain shoot through her, partially from the bullet that had lodged itself in her leg, but mostly because realized in an instant she had not protected him like she promised. Without thinking, she slapped the trigger and sent a needle towards him with a deafening roar, but he had already clenched her arm, sending the pistol clattering to the floor.

"Time to go," he said with an emotionless expression as he latched onto her arm with an iron grip.

"I've still got a few things to take care of, it you don't mind." Syn said with a grim smile, sending the knife hurtling towards his gut.

OOC: It is turning out great, but something is a miss. Oh yeah, my characters. J/K

He saw the knife moving towards him as she thrust it at him. Dodging backwards, he leaned away from the blade, his expression unchanging as he moved. His whole body swerved in one liquid movement as he dodged the blade, feeling it punch a hole in his jacket and scrape narrowly across his shirt.

He allowed a smile to cross his face. This was too...

A loud explosion and a searing flash of pain ripped into his right arm. Looking down at the floor, he saw the courier holding the MP5K which had been set to semi-auto. His gaze dropped to his right arm...a hole was torn in the expensive silk jacket with blood oozing out of the ragged hole that had been bunched an inch above his biceps. Grimacing in pain, he kicked the MP5K out of the man's hands, then brought his hand down onto the Arbiter's neck in a blow designed to stun, but not to kill....

Thomas lay back, panting. He'd been shot...the last thing he remembered was the feeling of the P-90 bullets chewing through his suit, but he didn't feel the sharp pain of a penetration. As soon as he'd recovered, he'd reached into his jacket only to find that his download device had stopped the shots...the metal casing was torn and sparking, but his body was unharmed.

As he reached for the MP5K, the tall figure shattered a nearby window with his fist, tucking Syn under his arm. He made as if to dash through and escape....

Syn didn't have much time to think after the first thrust. Everything became far-off, a movie on a distant screen. The vauge sound of gunfire close to her, a meaty impact and the sound of tearing flesh, and then abrupt blackness.

The suited man didn't let any expression cross his face as the young Arbiter's head dropped limp onto his shoulder. Moving quickly the tall man darted through the shattered window, dashing deeper into the building. His patent leather shoes barely clicked on the marble as he dashed off, soon lost to sight in the labyrinthine hallways.

The plan was underway....and with the Arbiter now in their possession, they could begin moving out. And if she didn't want to cooperate...there were ways of persuading her to understand.

He flung open a door to a small interrogation room, furnished only with a bare wooden bench and a bare lightbulb hanging on a chain from the ceiling. Searching the unconscious Arbiter for hidden weapons, the enforcer wasn't short in finding them. Cyberutopia armed its agents well...very well in fact, noted the tall man as he discovered item after item hidden within the young Arbiter's robes. Download devices, portable coms, various blades and weapons of all different shapes, calibers and sizes...she was like a portable armory. Her threat to kill him hadn't been idle and she had nearly succeeded as well...had she nicked him with the blade, the enforcer would probably be gurgling his life out on a floor somewhere.

Reaching inside his jacket, the agent removed a download chip emblazoned with his agency's seal and plugged into her download device, placing it next to her. If she was to be persuaded, she'd have to know who she was truly working for and the chup would let her know. Personally he thought it was a waste of time...no Cyberutopian Arbiter had yet to give in and he doubted this one would either. But he was just a simple soldier, all he did was follow orders

Shoving all the captured equipment into his own jacket, the man turned. His search had been thorough, but he still didn't trust his own eyes. Cyberutopians were clever by nature....the tall agent knew that there were dozens of places that their official robes offered for hiding places. Drawing the Arbiter's own knife, the agent brutally and emotionlessly slashed through the Arbiter's robes, exposing bare skin and undergarments. Pulling the tattered remnants free, leaving the Arbiter clad only in her underwear, the agent remorselessly snapped the knife shut and stormed out of the room, closing the door behind him. He doubted there'd be any problems now....Cyberutopians were clever at finding concealable places...but they weren't THAT clever.

Or, piped up his inner voice, he was underestimating their abilities.

He grudgingly acknowledged that his inner self might be right, but he knew only that should she manage to escape that he was most likely going to be in grave danger. He allowed himself a small smile...a little bit of fear felt good after a lifetime of confidence...

Back in the room, Thomas had finally regained consciousness. After the satisfaction of seeing his shot hit the man in the arm, he had crawled behind the desk, taking cover next to Dekker. Shots shattered the windows around them, splintering the desk as well as bullets hammered into the thick wood.

Raising his machine pistol over the top, Thomas fired off a burst then dropped back down. Waiting for a break in the firing, he watched as the tough looking mercenary tied a handkerchief around his arm to staunch the blood flowing from a jagged bullet hole punched in his upper arm. Then with a roar to match a monster, the large man heaved himself up and opened fire again with his M4 carbine. The sounds of painful screams from the doorway ensured that he was hitting his targets.

Over the din of the gunfire, Thomas shouted, "Did anyone see where they took Syn!? She's got the download information on her device...without it, I--"

A fresh yound of gunfire erupted and without finishing his sentence, the young agent heaved his machine pistol over the top and continued to blaze away.

Dekker drops the empty M4, ejecting the dry clip from his Hardballer and slapping a new one into place. The slide moves forward with a definite click, signaling its readyness. The mercenary lets the M4 lie, instead ripping a grenade from his belt.

"Fire in the hole!"

The small M67 APDP sailed towards the doorway, over the Argonian warrior's shoulder, who dove back behind the destroyed desk...

((Heh, and that's only a lower-class diplomat. Think of what an undercover agent might be carrying. :wink: ))

Syn awoke to a chill on her skin, and she dimly heard a door slam. Her eyes shot open, her heart racing, the adrenaline still coursing through her. The intial feeling of panic subsided, smothered under determination and training that had become instinct. She took a moment to assess herself. Stripped to her underwear, locked in a stark room. Textbook to the letter. Soon an interrogator, a man, would enter.

((Ack, the bell rang!!))

The door to the interrogation room swung open, revealing the hulking shape of a familliar figure. Striding forward into the room, Jun offered the young Arbiter a lopsided evil looking grin.

"Nice to see you're awake madam Arbiter," he said with a mocking bow as he closed the door behind him. His eyes roved over her scantily-clad form and he sarcastically winked once, smiling as he spat out, "I've gotta say, I like the new look."

Striding forward, he reached out with one long hand, seizing a handful of her long hair. Lifting her up off the ground, he smiled to himself as her face contorted in pain. "Normally I'd probably break every bone in your body and then kill you," smiled the bounty hunter as he held the struggling Arbiter. "But I've been given orders to just 'convince' you."

One hand clenched into a fist as the bounty hunter swung forward aiming for the Arbiter's unprotected form...

(OOC: I'm I needed?)

Dekker stood, letting his right arm hang and resting his smoking M4 on his left shoulder.

"Where the f**k did everybody go?"

He looks around, puzzled.

OOC: *yawns* I am bored.

((I'm sorry I haven't been around, and I probably won't be on for a while after this post. My newlyfound addiction to Lineage (don't laugh!) and working on crew for the school musical has been devouring my time. And Amanda, we could move our little story elsewhere if you want more room so you could get back into the bar scene with new people, or you can always become more flexible and join in on the fun! :wink: ))

The hard fist hit Syn's gut soldily and she doubled up in pain. Yellow light exploded before her, and her thoughts swam as she looked up at Jun's harsh face.

"Ow." She snarled. "Can you do any better, amatuer?"

((I'm sorry I haven't been around, and I probably won't be on for a while after this post. My newlyfound addiction to Lineage (don't laugh!) and working on crew for the school musical has been devouring my time. And Amanda, we could move our little story elsewhere if you want more room so you could get back into the bar scene with new people, or you can always become more flexible and join in on the fun! :wink: ))

The hard fist hit Syn's gut soldily and she doubled up in pain. Yellow light exploded before her, and her thoughts swam as she looked up at Jun's harsh face.

"Ow." She snarled. "Can you do any better, amatuer?"

OOC: And what would you suggest my character do?

OOC: And what would you suggest my character do?

(OOC: Hey what about my character, he's somewhere driving in his APC...)

((Bump! I don't know, be creative!))

Well, let me see since my character is back at the bar. Maybe I will have her exit it and run into one of you gentlemen or lady I guess.

IC: Belle felted exhausted and overworked. It had taken a lot to get the bar back to normal. Now, search and destroy. She was sick of being the nice girl. She would find the ones that ruined her bar and get revenge. She grabbed a pistol and walked out the door. She had no idea how to use it, but would let adrenalin take over. Her sympathetic nervous system would help with the fight, or maybe the flight. She laughed, just don't let me run away. She had convinced Devan that she had to get some female products and would return shortly. That is what she hoped.

She walked down the street, not bothering to conceal her weapon. Citizens ran off or stirred clear of her pathway. She grinned. Normally, she couldn't keep people off of her. Remember this she told herself. She glared. Now, where could they have gone. She approached a small fountain nearby a some gathering of trees. No one was nearby, so she sat down and thought about it.

OOC: Okay, I was trying to be creative. I am not. But here you all go. Someone needs to come along cause I have no idea where any of you guys are at. So, she waits. She does not appear to pose a threat and she will hide the gun as she sees you approach that is if she sees you approach. So, bring it on.

((Please don't let this die, South Dalania, come back, please!))

OOC: It's resurfaced!!!

Jun grinned as he let another roundhouse punch fly, this time striking the Arbiter in the abdomen. Snarling at her apparent pain resistance, he whipped his arm around, tossing the lithe woman hard against the wall with a resounding thud. Crossing over to her, he grabbed the young woman by her bra straps, causing the garment to dig painfully into her chest while he hoisted her up to eye level.

"Oh don't worry madam Arbiter," he said with a sadistic grin. "I have plenty of time...we'll see who endures longer."

Outside the room, two guards each clad in a blue security uniform and carrying Sig-Sauer P-226 handguns stood guard, their eyes vigilantly scanning the corridor for intruders. The pistols ensured that they would be able to hold off any intruder while the shoulder-mounted walkie talkies enabled them to instantly call for backup.

Inside the elevator, Thomas rolled up his sleeves and plugged a circuit patch into his arm. Every courier carried one of these; it was a black market nerve enhancement patch. Plugging this into himself would give him almost superhuman endurance and strength for a short while...enough to defeat Jun he hoped. The only danger was that he could go into cardiac arrest and die...although carrying the implant could do that to him as well.

But he couldn't abandon Syn. Not after what she'd done for him.

"Here goes nothing," he murmered, plugging the patch into his arm. There was a flash of excruciating pain...and then a surge of power....

Syn mumbled an archaic curse under her breath and tried to not let her arm move too much, she was certain an ugly bruise would form there.

"What do you want with my homeland." She demanded, matching his glare unflinchingly.