In the land of the ice and cold, Bean searches for his identity...Is he Cardinal Black, trusted follower of Cat...or is he someone else? The survival of hundreds depends on his answer...
http://dracos.anifics.com/COR/Russia/
Fearless Leader
St. Petersburg Russia, two hours after dawn...
As Cardinal Black drove into the town in his black sportscar, he gradually joined the steady line of traffic going along the main roads. Several restaurants and gas stations litered the road as they got closer to the city. Large buildings gradually fading them in as they replaced the smaller stores. Various side roads lead off the main road which circled the city.
Fearless Leader
Need to talk before we continue
Black eased the car off of the main roads of the city, prowling the backstreets, looking for an out of the way hotel to base their operations out of.
He came across several possibilties, but discarded them, searching for a hotel both out of the way and free of the criminal element...
Finally coming across acceptable lodgings, Black parked the car, and obtained a room.
Some time later, he turned his attention to spy again, waiting for the other man to tell him what he needed to to in St. Petersburg....
OOC: again?
IC:
"As we know, the large group of inquisitors who attacked this city were handily repulsed. This we cannot fix but we have to rescue Dr. Andonuts before his knowledge and skills fall into the hands of the COR."
Fearless Leader
"Agreed. Do we have the necessary intelligence gathered to mount a rescue?" Black asked calmly
"I'm good, but even I need time to scout out the area. I'll meet back with you here after nightfall."
Disappearing, the spy went off to research COR headquarters.
Fearless Leader
Black nodded in acknowledgement and retired for the moment, well aware that sleep would be in short supply, come nightfall...
OOC: As before, I do not feel myself capable of really doing a spy network very well. I've read such excellent ones that well....I feel incompetent even trying -_-
so instead.....we do it off camera ^_^
IC:
As the sun set, The Spy opened the door, returning into the hotel room they had acquired.
Fearless Leader
Black sat up as Spy entered, and simply looked at him, waiting patiently for a briefing on the details of COR headquarters...
"The security in the building is tight, very tight. Thankfully though it appears that their commander left to go handle something back at New Moscow. The majority of the troops here are surprisingly human recruits. Dr. Andonuts is appearently on the lower levels. I was unable to determine which one though. They have several of our troops there, most scheduled for execution though. I'm fairly certain he's on floor B3. The guards seem to be generally armed with top quality machine guns. There is a laser grid security system on the basement levels, as well as a heat detection system. Too much heat..... and it releases poisonous gases into the hallways. Generally only the robo troops go into the prisons themselves. The human troops do guard the upper levels. The closest thing to a security hole is a balcony that hasn't been removed on floor two. It's part of an ambassador room, currently empty. The wood doors inside should be locked, but that shouldn't be a problem. What will be is that room has a security camera, you'll have to find a way of bypassing detection by it. The amount of guards should be lower than average, but still expect fairly regular guard groups to be watching the hallways."
The spy hands Cardinal black a piece of paper. "Here are directions to an alleyway near the COR Headquarters, it's a ways away from here, so take the car and be careful."
Fearless Leader
OOC: Bah, no inspiration is forthcoming...
IC: Black nodded, took the paper and left the room. outside, the sun was rapidly setting, the darkness beginning to retake the city...
Back to Novgorod...
The day broke... as the bandit army charged, several thousand strong they were more beast than men from the months of living off the townspeople. Guns flared as they charged the city walls.
Zero Black stood on top of the battlements. Novgorod had long stood off threats from outside for generations. Even after the fall the old walls stood strong, a sign of the culture and building that had made it a powerful city in ancient Russia. His troops were marshled around the city, already targeting the horde as they charged.
Fearless Leader
Black eased the car to a 'concealed in plain view' parking space near the alley indicated in Spy's instructions.
He slipped silently out of the vehicle, his silver-eyed gaze hard as he recalled the disaster in Novgorod.
No more unpleasant surprises. He would not fail again.
Cardinal Black stood on the periphery of the grounds for the COR detention building, gazing up at it, plotting his entrance, scarcely aware that within his own mind, on a level seperate from conscious thought, a battle for his soul was drawing nearer...
OOC: Showdown: Part One
IC:
Inside the Subconcious Mind of Cardinal Black.
Bean flew through the grey mists, noting that there was a distinct lack of things to navigate by.
"Dammit...where am I? My mind needs one of those 'You are here' signs..."
Suddenly, the grey mists shifted to a ruined cityscape, with a familiar sillouhette perched on the ruins. The silouhette looked up at the approaching figure, and stood, the black cloak billowing around him like a shroud.
"So... he's escaped, has he?" Cardinal Black said coldly.
<To be continued>
OOC: Outside, raiding the prison. (NOTE: Drac, you didn't specify any security on the grounds, so I'm going to assume there's nothing but the customary camera surveillance...)
IC:
Black cleared the fence and drifted across the prison grounds, carefully avoiding the heavily lit areas, knowing that the cameras would show only scant flickerings of movement if he stuck to shadows.
He made his way carefully over to the balcony spy had described, preparing to make his entry...
Black stood calmly in the shadow of the balcony, waiting for the sweeping spotlight to edge away, allowing sufficient darkness for him to vault, undetected, onto the spartan outcropping. He crouched low, close to the ornate french glass doors and began peering inside, looking for the telltale crimson light of an active surveillance camera...
Walking past the ambassador quarters, the guards continued on, their boots announcing their presence.
Fearless Leader
Black, remaining absolutely still in his position in the shadows, listened carefully as the guards passed in the distance.
After they had passed out of hearing range, he resumed his examination of the room through the glass doors. Being able to see three corners of the room and not seeing the red light of a camera, Black surmised that the camera was in his blind spot.
Noting that the doors swung outward, he removed two small pieces of wire from a pocket of his cloak, he began manipulating the simple latch on the glass doors...
A mere moment's work, and the glass doors were open. Fortunately, they swung outward, rather than into the room. Black eased the door open, crouching by the doorframe, careful not to move more tha a hand into the room.
He pulled off his mask, and stuck it very slowly past the door frame, using the polished surface of the metal to see exactly where the camera was...
OOC: Novgorod
IC:
His black form leapt from the battlements, slashing with cyan green blade. A swarth of blood following his trail.
He was the devil... the destroyer. It was here that he was king.
At first they attempted to swarm him, gunfire bouncing off his polished armor... grenades slashed apart as he left behind him a field of nightmares. Soon they broke before him...fleeing before his reaping blade...
A hand raised... shifted into a blaster.
It glowed yellow as it charged with power.
A low whine filled the air, the cries silent for but a moment as the whisper of death touched them.
Fearless Leader
From what Black could see, the interior of the room was quite large.
In one corner of the polished metal of his mask he saw the slow arc of a red 'on' light for a rotating camera in one corner of the room.
Doing the geometry in his head, he calculated that the door was out of the camera's line of sight for a little over 3 seconds. Plenty of time to get underneath, and allow him time to make sure his image wasn't recorded...
Deep below where Cardinal Black stood, Dr. Andonuts slept in darkness. His white labcoat ragged, he turned on his cot.
Why did he resist anymore.... anything to get out of this accursed cell.
Fearless Leader
Black waited paitently until the red light hit the end of it's arc.
While it was pointed directly away from the door, Black moved. Uncoiling from his crouching position, he dashed underneath the camera, moving at speeds that the camera would have had trouble registering at any rate.
He looked up at the surveillance camera, now that he had time to ponder the problem, and began tracing wires. Disconnection of the main power seemed ideal...and If it could be made to look accidental...so much the better.
Black reached up to the mounting for the camera, noting a large black wire leading into the wall. Deciding that was the one he wanted, he began to pull slowly, knowing that if the video feed were watched, this should cause feedback as the cord struggled to maintain the feed...And ultimately failed, as the cord finally came out with a tiny 'snap'.
He was rewarded by the immediate halt of the camera. He cautiously looked up, noting that the red light had winked out as well.
He stepped out carefully and closed the doors to the balcony, and walked quickly over to the wooden doors. He again pulled out a pair of small wires, though slightly smaller than the last, and inserted them into the plain lock. After a few seconds of manupulating the tumblers with a 'click', the door unlatched.
Black slowly pushed the door open, and glanced down the hall. Not seeing or hearing the approach of any guards, he slipped out, and slowly eased the door shut.
Silently as a ghost, the black specter slipped down the hall, getting as far away from his entry point as he could before the camera was investigated.
OOC: Strength of a mountain
IC:
The guard blinked at his post as one of the camera's went out in section c-4. Tapping the communications array he quickly notified the closest set of guards.
Fearless Leader
"Right where he said they should be." The blonde-haired lowered her binoculars and chewed her lip pensively. "Good luck for us, I hope."
Putting the binoculars back into their case she stepped up and hauled herself back into the passenger seat of the waiting vehicle, where the driver turned dark eyes on her.
"Well?"
"Definitely them."
The man didn't acknowledge this except to restart the vehicle and set it in motion, following the road down the hill and towards the group of Inquisition troops that could be seen near the river, a few kilometers distant.
Relm's expression twisted slightly as she regarded her companion, then sank back into the seat, her eyes scanning the terrain ahead of them. She'd be glad when they finally got there, Kale was... not the most pleasant company one could ask for.
The vehicle sped onwards.
Laika perked as she heard running feet. Turning, she beheld the sight of a running scout, one of the many she'd paired to snipers and positioned on the major entrances to the area.
He stopped and saluted, "Ma'm, an Inquisition jeep is approaching with two occupants."
Laika nodded, dismissing him.
Turning back to the rest of her troops she began giving orders, quickly organizing the reaction force for approach of their encampment. Her face impassive the whole time.
It was all planned, now she just had to hope the jeep held good news.
***
The snipers tracked the jeep silently, not firing. No use in being discovered over a target that could easily be handled by the camp's forces. Especially if it might be one of their own.
Relm narrowed her eyes. "On the left - base of that ridge looks strange, 400 meters."
"Obvious." A dismissive reply, as expected. "You should have seen him before."
Relm didn't bother responding. Conversation with Kale was rarely worth the effort... aha. Laika certainly had them out in force, because odds were she couldn't see even a tenth their number... they were very good.
--
The jeep continued onwards towards the camp, and unharried it drove up to the entrance and through.
Laika peered at the jeep for a few moments once it was in sight.
She knew the occupants. Mixed emotions rose and were quickly suppressed. She was happy to see Relm, but Kale's presence, though expected, clouded that.
Waving her troops to stand down she sent the scout back to the snipers. Stepping forward to wait for the jeep, a smile twitched at the corners of her lips.
"They know who we are, it seems." Kale. The troops were watching the pair, but clearly stood down and made no move towards the jeep as it braked smoothly to a stop.
"Laika does, obvi..." Relm broke off as she caught sight of Laika and grinned suddenly, "Aha." Unbuckling her seatbelt, Relm stepped down out of the vehicle and started towards the younger girl.
Laika smiled despite her situation, "Oneesan." She quickly bowed to fulfill formality before standing straight again, "Do you bring any updates of our situation?"
Her troops relaxed visibly, going back to whatever they had been doing before the scout's report.
Laika hid her apprehension, if similar results to Russia held in the rest of the world...
"Nice to see you well, Laika," Relm's smile faded slightly, "and I do have some updates for you - very little of it good. Should we talk here, or elsewhere?"
Relm waited for Laika's response, and carefully ignored the fact that Kale was walking towards the pair.
Laika looked around, "My troops will find out eventually. We'll talk wherever you want to, Oneesan." Her smile was fatigued.
She refrained from glaring at Kale as he approached.
OOC: St.Petersburg
IC:
Black sped silently down the hall, now well away from the ambassador suite.
He judged he had a fair bit of time, even if guards were sent immediately to investigate the room, as he'd taken care to leave it as he'd found it.
He set about looking for the medical bay. He needed a way to defeat the heat sensors, and if COR had decent facilites, he should find what he needed there...
Down the hallway the sounds of boots became audible to Black's excellent hearing.
Fearless Leader
Black looked up sharply as the sound of footsteps caught his ear.
He silently ducked into an open doorway nearby, pressing against the wall as he waited for the people to pass...
The low level lights revealed what appeared to be a storage room.
Fearless Leader
OOC: St. Petersburg
IC:
Black turned to the contents of the room after the people has passed. It was a storeroom of some kind, piled high with boxes...
Black too a moment to examine the contents...Maybe he could find something to use...
Relm's eyes flicked towards Kale and back again, fixing on Laika.
"The world's gone to hell in a handbasket, and nobody knows why. Washington DC, Beijing, Paris and Rome have all been annihilated - seemingly by at least four different factions. We don't know who, we don't know why, and in the Beijing case we don't even know how. What we do know, though, is that China is not particularly hospitalitable right now. If you'd taken your troops in there... you'd probably have been wiped out." There was a pause, and a sigh. "Which is why we're here."
Laika blinked, supressing any emotional response. She needed her wits about her now if ever.
She ticked off her options in her head. West, not smart. North, laughable. South, just ruled out. She was left with east.
Pulling out a map, she lay it across the hood of Relm's jeep, surveying the roads and terrain displayed for several long minutes. "Unless you see something I don't...we need naval pick up. To achieve that we can try to go through the swamps and foothills to the south-east, then hop the mountains on the coast...not very likely but still a possibility if we could find passes through.
Or we follow the road east-north-east out of here and then down to Magadan...where we could use the port..." She looked seriously at Relm, "What do you think, Oneesan?"
Relm grinned suddenly. "You figured that one well. A step ahead of you. Ideally there should be a couple of Leviathans waiting somewhere offshore... they'll be expecting us, and should be keeping an eye out, but the first priority is just to get everyone out of here. There's nothing you can do around here. From what we saw, the way east seems clear, but that could change."
Kale, on the other side of the map, raised his head at the last and fixed his eyes on Laika. "You've been here a time, and seem to be expecting trouble." The not-quite-question hung in the air expectantly.
Laika nodded curtly to Relm, "Alright...we'll take the roads...they're the fastest way to get to the coast with our partially disabled units."
She turned to Kale, her eyes cold and unemotional, "With the way things have hit the fan...expecting trouble is the most sound thing to do."
Folding the map, her left hand slipped over the hilt of her katana, resting for a moment before moving on.
"Obviously," Kale met Laika's gaze with an equal one of his own, "but nonetheless, you've stayed here for quite some time now."
"Movement would have bee ill-advised until we knew where to go. With many disabled vehicles and dwindling supplies, wasted motion can be the difference of survival."
She slipped the map back into her pack, "Now that we know a successful route, we will use it as soon as possible."
Kale looked like he was about to say something, then appeared to change his mind as Relm opened her mouth. "How soon is possible, then?"
"Once my officers and I balance how to move all of my troops out of here, pull in the scouts and snipers from every entrance besides the road tot Magada, and have the troops mobilized."
She looked around, "With most of the units already mobilized for reaction forces...I'd give an eta of three hours."
"That's fairly quick," Relm's eyes flicked towards Kale meaningfully, "Would it worry you if I tagged along? Some... fresh air... would be nice."
Kale gave a slightly disgusted snort and turned away, walking towards the back of the vehicle.
"Most of them are already mobilized in case we're attacked. So it's simply turn most of them and prep for movement."
Laika smiled knowingly once Kale had turned, "Sure, Oneesan. Come along if you want." She began the walk back to her tent, grabbing an idle scout and sending him to gather her officers.
Relm followed slightly behind Laika as she began walking off.
"Thank you... I've had to put up with him for a touch too long, lately, and the atmosphere was starting to get a touch rancid."
OOC: St. Petersburg
IC:
Black began examining the contents of the boxes, hoping to run into medical supplies.
A few intial boxes looked promising, with medicine and the like, and by the fourth box...he hit the jackpot. A large tank of nitrogen, and freeze resistant tubing keeping specimen jars cooled below 0 degrees.
Quickly removing the nitrogen tank and the tubing, Black carefully returned to the hallway, and began silently moving toward the basement levels...
OOC: St. Petersburg
IC:
Black silently made his way to the nearest elevator, keeping watchful for more guards. He found one about thirty feet from the storeroom he'd taken shelter in.
Stopping in front of the door, he looked around for a moment. His roving eyes finally lit on a small, handheld fire extinguisher near the door. He checked the label, noting that it had been recently refilled.
He picked it up, and silently slipped inside the elevator.
He set the nitrogen tank down before hitting the button for the basement, level 3. He adjusted his katana on his belt, then knelt beside the nitrogen tank, and quickly began removing the tubing attatchment.
He then twisted the nozzle on the tank, letting a tiny, but noticeable amount of nitrogen gas leak out. He quickly tucked the tubing away under his cloak.
In the few moments it took to drop down to the lower levels, the elevator was noticably cooler than before.
The elevator chimed once signalling it's arrival, and Black dropped his hand to his katana, holding the small fire extinguisher in the other, waiting cautiously to see what was on the other side of the door...
OOC: Showdown: Part Two
IC:
Inside the Subconcious Mind of Cardinal Black.
Bean looked up at the silouette, the black of his cloak stark against the crimson sky of the cityscape.
"You... I don't understand this. I am Cardinal Black. So...How can you exist?" he murmured.
The man in black looked down at Bean, the reddish light glinting off his mask. His face was hidden, but the sneer in his voice was plain. "You? You're too weak to be Cardinal Black."
Bean's eyes narrowed as he glared at the man in black. "You know NOTHING about me..."
Suddenly, the familiar image of a slender, blue haired girl appeared, Cardinal Black's hand encircling her neck. "I know enough..." he mocked.
"You....I hate you." Bean spat, a burning knot of anger swelling in his gut. "You've ruined my life...stolen my humanity..."
Black squeezed, suddenly, snapping the girl's neck, and letting her drop lifelessly to the ground. "Emotional...defensive...You're weak." he said coldly.
Bean closed his eyes, horrified. "It's not real....Oh Kami..."
<To be continued>
As soon as she entered her tent, the cool expression fell into one of concern.
What would she do about the scouts? They had some of their best equipment and soldiers.
She sighed, they couldn't stay here. Too much risk of detection with this many troops in one place and stringing them out would just increase the risk of destruction if ever found.
Her legs folded into a lotus position on instinct as she sat on one of the tatami mats in her tent, removing the map from her pack and laying it out in front of her.
Gesturing to another mat behind and to the side of her own for Relm, she contemplated the map. Since coms were jammed noone knew exactly where the scouts were, and she couldn't risk someone banging around trying to find them.
Emitting a sigh of disappointment with her own inability to find a better solution, she looked over the last possibility, she'd have to leave a few people here to inform the scouts once they got back. Probably some units that simply needed time to be fixed...
Fixing the calm expression back in place, she waited for the arrival of her officers. They couldn't be allowed to see her like this, ever. It would only fuel the flames of their injured egos.
She relaxed her muscles slightly, waiting for her officers to arrive so she could begin telling them her plan.
The steel door opened revealing a darkness... the lights of the elevator shutting off as certain ordinances were activated.
Above the computer systems were set on top alert as the guards failed to find the intruder.
Fearless Leader
OOC: dual postage
IC:
Black's keen eyesight peered into the blackness and saw...
Three shadowy hallways split off from the elevator. Built of the highest quality metal they hid all manners of sensor arrays beneath them. The one to the left was marked "Prison Block A", the one to the right marked "Prison Block B", and the one leading off to the center marked "Prison Block C". The one spy has mentioned as he was leaving was the most likely place for them to hold Dr. Andonuts.
Just at the edge of Black's sight, red lasers could be seen, briefly flashing across the corridor.
Fearless Leader
OOC: St. Petersburg
IC:
Black looked into the inky shadows, staring hard at the laser beams. He picked up the nitrogen tank, taking his hand off his katana to grip the fire extinguisher, gratified that none of the robot guards had been there to greet him.
He stepped out of the elevator, squeezing a short burst on the fire extinguisher as he stepped out the door. The misted chemicals revealed a single infrared beam near the elevator door. He stepped out into the corridor, over the beam.
He approached the hallway marked "Prison Block C" and stood in the entrance, eyeing the few visible laserbeams. Finally, he raised the fire extinguisher again, and fired a short burst above the visible lasers, the foaming chemicals exposing more, invisible infrared beams above the others.
Black memorized their location and mentally reviewed the pattern of the beams. After a long moment, he'd decided on the easiest way to travel through them, and matching thought to action, he beganslipping his way through the beams....
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black picked his way through the infrared beams, the faint sounds of the hissing nitrogen tank and the occaisonal 'fsshhhht' from the fire extinguisher the only sounds in the silence of the prison hall.
He began looking at the cell doors cautiously. Near the end of the hall was a large, prominent cell. Black walked over to investigate it, still weaving his way through the infrared beams...
Dr. Andonuts rose from his bed. He might be a fat, out of shape, donut-craving old man in a scruffy formerly white labcoat, but he had keen ears. His twin hair peaks alongside his bald head were no longer the finely combed and styled green of triangles of old. Turning his tired face, he rose from his steel cot. A few empty donut boxes lay on the floor. His eyes widened. Someone was out there. Out there on the other side of the double layer of interleaving laser bars that kept him in his cell.
"Who's there?" he croaked in a frightened voice.
Fearless Leader
The tent flap opened briefly as Lt. Gihei stepped in. He quickly saluted the assembled officers and sat in his seat, waiting for the meeting to begin.
OOC: St Petersburg
IC: Black spoke softly, wary of any sonic sensors in the area that he was unaware of.
"I apologize for the intrusion, Doctor...but I've been instructed to bring you back to work." He replied flatly. Ordinarily he wouldn't have bothered with such platitudes...but the man sounded on the verge of hysteria, and, unless handled carefully, would impede their escape efforts.
"Who are you?" Dr. Andonuts backed up his cot away from the darkened figure of Cardinal Black.
Fearless Leader
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
"I am called Cardinal Black, doctor. I've been assigned to bring you back to the Inquisition."
Black continued to speak carefully, but his patience was beginning to wear thin.
"How do I know you aren't here to kill me?" the old man looked paranoid.
Fearless Leader
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black had the almost irrepressible urge to sigh.
"Doctor...The Inquisition may not speak openly about me...so I will assume you don't know. If I'd been sent to kill you, you would already be dead."
"hum... you are him. But I thought he disappeared in China. If you are him, then get me out of here."
Fearless Leader
Laika's eyes opened on her officers from a brief bout of planning. She had to do this right.
"With the information provided by Relm, we will not be heading into China. It is currently hostile to the Inquisition."
She paused to walk a cold gaze over them, "Instead we are heading east-north-east along the road to Magadan. There we will be picked up via Leviathin.
Before anyone asks about our scouts, we don't have the time to wait for them with the main body of our troops. I'll be leaving a small unit behind to tell the scouts what happened once they return. If we make pick up before they can catch up we'll leave a Leviathin. I'm only taking volunteers for this mission." She walked another cool gaze across them. "I want your units in position to move ASAP. We're already mobilized so I expect you all moving by the time the snipers get back. Unless any of you have something to say, you are dismissed."
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black let a small bit of irritation creep into his voice. "Which was my stated intent, doctor." He set down the nitrogen cannister and examined the door panel.
"Is it too much to hope that you saw how this the grid was deactivated?" He asked icily.
OOC: feel the luv... heh
IC:
"Ah...yes..I wrote it down somewhere....."
Dr. Andonuts starts fiddling in his suit as if looking for something.
Fearless Leader
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black watched, calmly.
"Time is of the essence, doctor. Eventually, my arrival will be discovered..."
"ah...yes...I hid it in the donut box." hobbling over to one of the boxes, Dr. Andonuts pulled out a grimy scrap of paper. Reading it he rambled off a stream of numbers.
Fearless Leader
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black began entering the numbers into the panel beside the door as the Doctor rattled them off. He marveled both at the riduculous length of the entry code COR used to keep Andonuts under wraps, and at the memory of the man who was able to memorize and transcribe a number of that length...
"Access Granted Commander Seyan, Noting in security log."
The laser doors opened and Dr. Andonuts ambled out. "Well, lead away Cardinal."
Fearless Leader
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black opened the release valve on the nitrogen tank slightly wider, and the faint hissing grew nominally louder.
He then pointed the fire extinguisher back the way he came, squeezing off a short burst. The swirling mists from the cannister illuminated the locations of the hidden infrared beams.
"Are you up to the task, or do you require assistance, Doctor?"
"I'm a doctor, not a gymnist. There's no way I can manage through there without triggering a beam." Dr. Andonuts pondered as he looked over the beams.
Fearless Leader
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black looked over the doctor's portly frame.
"Agreed." He said shortly. "How much do you weigh?"
"eh...um..' Dr. Andonuts hemmed for a second before acknowledging the seriousness of the line. "Around three hundred pounds."
Fearless Leader
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black frowned, and set down the nitrogen canister, opening the valve all the way. The hiss turned muted as the opening was no longer obstructed, and Black turned to the hall, watching the last of the mist from the fire extinguisher die away. He then squeezed the trigger again, moving his arm as he did, letting the mist fill the entire hallway.
Once the entire web of beams was revealed, Black turned to Andonuts.
"I sincerly hope you are not prone to motion sickness, Doctor."
With those words, Black lifted Doctor Andonuts into the air...
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black was shocked at how little effort it took to hoist the portly man into the air.
Shaking off his surprise, Black's eyes narrowed under his mask. He took three steps back, eyeing the space on the wall, about three feet up, where the infrared beams ended.
He took a deep breath....
And exploded into motion, shaking off the effect of gravity momentarily as he ran UP the wall, angling his path along it so that he cleared the beams. Gravity slowly began to reassert itself, pulling Black's path downward. Moments before he was pulled into their path, he coiled his legs under himself and his passenger...and propelled himself to the opposite wall, flipping his feet underneath him, and firing himself away in another leap, aiming for the end of the hallway...and the end of the infrared beams.
Time seemed to slow as he sailed through the air toward the end of the hall. For a long moment, Black thought they wouldn't make it...and cursed himself for trying such a recless stunt with such a heavy man.
...And suddenly, they sailed out of the hall, Black twisting them to avoid a vertical beam as they cleared the alarm sensors...and landed roughly in the opening near the elevator.
Black rolled to his feet quickly, glancing around. After he'd satisfied himself that no alarms had been triggered, he picked up Dr Andonuts and ushered him into the elevator...
Dr. Andonuts waddled into the elevator. Quite in shock of Cardinal Black's physical abilities.
Fearless Leader
"Ma'am, if it is okay with you, I would wish to volunteer myself and my unit to await the return of the scouts. It wouldn't do if I had to leave my own troops behind."
Gihei added, "And as you know, our own transports are being repaired and it would be counter-productive to move them before repairs are complete."
Laika's gaze rested on Gihei for a moment, contemplating his unit, their commander, and their abilities. She nodded, "Very well. Your unit will be left for retrieval of the recon team. I will consider any requests for supplies you have in the little time left before we move out." She nodded to him, a gesture of dismissal.
"Roger, and thank you, captain." Gihei saluted the officers one last time and left the tent to inform his troops of the new developments.
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black waited for the elevator to reach the top floor, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his katana. He was relieved he'd finally been able to leave all the cumbersome equipment behind...He glanced at Andonuts.
The real challenge would be escaping undetected. He had a feeling the exit would be bloody...
OOC: Showdown: Part Three
IC:
Inside the Subconcious Mind of Cardinal Black.
Cardinal Black raised a hand, and vaporized the body then leapt off the roof and landed lightly across from Bean. He conjured up another blue haired girl. Identical to the first, but with slight differences of bearing.
Bean face twisted as Black raised his and skewered her through the heart, letting him see her suffering.
"Isn't it?" the dark man rasped.
Bean choked "....You sick bastard. What'd they ever do to you!"
Black seemed to be glaring at Bean impassively, but fury tinged his voice.
"You...DARE?" The caped man glared. "You put these...these CHILDREN in HER place!"
Bean was slightly taken aback. "Her...?"
He was further shocked when the man in black lunged at him, katana drawn. "You're nothing but a weakness! A disgrace to her memory!"
Bean couldn't move in time, and the sword drove deeply into his shoulder...
<To be continued>
Black but his hand on his sword as the elevator door opened, suddenly wincing in pain behind his mask.
He shook it off and stepped out of the elevator, checking the corridor, and after assuring himself that it was clear, gestured for Andonuts to follow him. when the doctor was close, Black ushered him toward the room that he'd entered the building through.
He kept an ear out for guards as they ran, wishing Andonuts would stop breathing so hard...
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black finally ushered Andonuts to the room he had entered through, the pair having met not a single guard the entire way.
Unfortunately, their luck had run out.
Black leaned slightly, peering around the corner. A single guard stood at the entrance to the door of the ambassador suite, eyeing the empty hallway professionally.
Black stood straight, and gripped his katana. "Doctor...I suggest you close your eyes. This will be...unpleasant."
Without waiting for a reply, Black gripped the saya of his sword firmly, and his other hand hovered near the tsuka.
He burst around the corner, and launched into and attack. Blurring nearly out of sight with speed, he drew up next to the guard, even as the guard's radio was being lifted to his mouth Black's sword erupted from it's sheath and he twisted in a tight arc...
"Ryu Kan Sen..."
The sword bit into the guard's neck cleanly, decapitating him in a spray of blood.
"Tsumuji!"
Black used the momentum to bring himself to a full stop, neatly dodging the spray of blood. He flicked his wrist, and the blood collected on his sword slid off in a oddly tidy sheet.
Sheathing the sword, he called for Andonuts, and the doctor hesitantly joined him, careful not to look at the corpse on the floor, lest he void his stomach of the only donuts he'd had recently.
The two men silently entered the ambassador suite, gratified to notice that the survelllance camera had not yet been fixed.
It was the work of moments to quietly exit the room, and Black once again hoisted the portly doctor into the air and vaulted off the balcony. Once in the grounds again, Bean carried the doctor from the area, dodging spotlights as he went. Only when they had safely vacated the premises did he set the heavy man down, leading him to where the car had been parked...
OOC: St Petersburg
IC:
Black arrived silently at the hotel as the sun was peeking over the horizon. He deftly removed Andonuts' labcoat, the portly doctor protesting all the while, and tore off a largish square, wrapping it around Andonuts' head, bandanna style, covering up his distinctive green hair.
With the rudimentary disguise, Black stuffed the rest of the labcoat under the car seat, instructing Andonuts not to make eye contact with anyone he saw in the hotel.
Thus prepared, Black led Andonuts to the room where Spy waited for them. Entering, he turned custody of the doctor over to Spy for debriefing, while he reclined on a bed...
Laika glanced meaningfully to the rest of her officers, "Abnormal supply requests can be made once the snipers return. In the meantime, I want all units ready to move ASAP. You may go." She watched them until they all file out of her tent, meeting a few gazes with an icy stare of command.
once they left she relaxed slightly, turning to Relm and again gesturing to the other tatami mat, "Please, sit. Is there anything I can get for you, Oneesan?"
OOC: Alright. Cisco work caught up on, friend who was crashing here for three days gone, excuses exhausted... guess I'd better do something. :)
IC:
Stepping around, the blonde haired woman sat smoothly in a cross-legged position, absently clasping her hands in front of her.
"I'm fine, thank you..." her gaze flicked upwards and made contact with the younger girl's, "how have you been holding up?"
Laika smiled, reaching up and untying the ribbon that held her hair in a ponytail, shakig it out a bit. "I've been fine, even if Shishou's teachings weren't aimed for leading troops. And most of my officers have hurt egos," She laughed softly, "Some resent being led by a 'little girl'."
"Though none will disobey me. " She shook her head, "I miss Shishou at times though..."
Relm gave a wry smile. "They'll get over it, or at least some of them will. I still get a little," there was a slight pause, "up to a point, of course."
Laika smiled softly, "Hopefully they'll get over it..."
Her eyes flicked to the ribbon on the floor, growing somewhat distant, "Tell me...have you heard anything of Shishou?"
"He's currently in western Russia... apparently on the orders of Rezantis," she shook her head and continued before Laika could respond, "and no, I don't know the what or why."
OOC: Here's to off camera debriefings..
IC:
An hour later the spy turned from Dr. Yuri Andonuts, who had already started fiddling around with some dirty papers and a pen, to talk to Cardinal Black.
"The situation has changed. We have orders from the high cardinal to proceed north to the city of Arkhangel'sk. There the a retrival force will meet us to escape to Polarius sector. We should leave as soon as possible to reduce the risk of detection."
Fearless Leader
Laika blinked several times in rapid succession, "He's back...I'll finally be able to talk to him again..." She seemed to stare at the ribbon, her teal hair cascading over her back without the restraint.
"Hopefully... but I couldn't say. We may not end up where he does, the situation is a little... fluid... right now."
Laka nodded a little dazedly, "Yes...but he's back..." Laika smiled, picking the ribbon back up and tying her hair again, smiling, "Thank you for this news, Oneesan."
Relm smiled slightly, then sat back quietly, a slight frown creasing her face again as she returned to her thoughts.
Laika withdrew her katana from its sheath, along with a piece of cleaning paper.
She carefully wiped the blade and resheathed it. Looking up, she spoke, her tone curious and respectful, "What is on your mind, Oneesan?"
"Recent events. Everything's gone to hell in no time at all - three cities wiped clean off the map - and nobody has any idea why... except that they seem to have been done by three different factions."
Relm sighed, but otherwise didn't move. "I hate not knowing what's going on."
In the plains near the Russia/China border, three trails of dust came to a slidding stop, leaving slight furrows in their wake.
"Report your status." Lo Xian tapped open her communicator, her Blade's passive scanners on the look-out for hostiles.
"Everything's still reading green," replied Ziya.
"What'ya expect?" boasted Zillah, running her hand over her Viper lovingly. "We helped design these systems ourselves."
Lo Xian groaned internally, resting her head in her palm. "Anything to report, Urthman? Moani?"
"Nothing unusual yet." Came Moani's response from her vantage point.
"Bah, a week of travelling and we find absolutely nothing!" Urthman complained, taking out a wetstone and sharpening his knife.
Lo Xian was about to remind him that this was only a scouting mission, when her scanners suddenly beeped. "Hang on a moment. I'm picking up something strange -- over that rock cropping. Moani, Urthan. Go check it out."
"On it." Came the duo's reply, both scouts went to the given location, and looked over to see what the scanners could have picked up.
Black nodded to spy detachedly.
"The car is refueled and waiting, Spy. If you have an unobtrousive route out of the city, and adequate concealment for the doctor, we can leave whenever you're ready."
Behind his mask, his expression was pensive, mirroring the battle going on within...
OOC: And briefing is off camera
IC:
They entered the car. A route planned towards the second most congestious exit in order to hide among the crowd of those traveling east. They would curve north as soon as possible in order to escape. The mask done for Dr. Andonuts was top notch, completely disguising his facial figures.
Safely they exited the city, Black at the wheel... Heading north they made their way to Arkhangel'sk, a port city on the artic. The sea air permeated the city, largely unaffected yet by the change in government. The streets were mainly empty, as in the early morning most the townsfolk were either walking, at the docks, or manning their own stores. Into these calm streets, Cardinal Black drove...
Fearless Leader
Laika nodded, her face serious. "It does impair our abilities to act very effectively."
She closed her eyes, "The snipers will get here soon. In the meantime we must simply wait, please make yourself comfortable, Oneesan."
Relm nodded slightly and returned to her thoughts... thoughts she'd had an awful lot of time for lately; and still proving fruitless in working through this whole mess...
OOC: Will stay until something happens. :)
OOC: Sorry for the wait. POWER POWER POWER
IC:
Before the spies scanners....
The small russian town bordering northern china burned.... smoke flew into the air in droves, darkening the sky as they had approached. Near the horizon a bright glow filled the sky...
The smell of ashes wafted on the winds...
Fearless Leader
Both scouts stared at the village's remains, the remnants of the massacre still floated heavily in the air.
"My god..." breathed Moani in shock and disbelief.
Urthman narrowed his eyes, studying the environment. "The ashes haven't settled yet," he noted. "Whoever did this might still be around."
Moani glanced at her partner, reminded that despite his flippant attitude, he was still the professional.
"Pity that we didn't bring more weapons." He added in a bored tone as he climbed down the rock cropping, leaving Moani to facefault at the sudden change.
As Urthman climbed down, he tapped his communicator, relaying what he saw. "Looks like we won't be going the rest of the way after all." He shrugged, walking back lazily as Moani followed.
Inside her Blade, Lo Xian recorded their current coordinates. Nodding to herself after finishing their current log, she called out to the group. "We have no choice but to turn back now. If this is correct, we have to warn the main group before they reach the border."
"Roger." Came the unanimous reply as the three vehicles raced back to the rendezvous point.
OOC: Showdown: Part Four
IC:
Inside the Subconcious Mind of Cardinal Black.
Bean stiffened in pain, but did not scream. He stared in shock at the other man.
Black seemed content to use the moment of weakness to hammer home his point.
"I LOVED her! We loved her! And you tossed Yohko's memory away for a pair of adolescent CHILDREN!" Black snarled, his voice seeming to boil over with fury even as all the rage and anger seeped out of Bean.
Bean was numb with pain and shock. "I...I don't remember." he whispered.
Black's fury seemed to galvanize at this. He lifted his katana, and the impaled Bean into the air.
"LIAR!!!" He roared, and swung the sword in a swift arc. Bean's body slid off the sword and sailed through the air in a spray of blood, landing in a heap several meters away. Black snapped his wrist, and the blood remaining on his sword slid off in a sheet of gore. He advanced on Bean, speechless with rage.
Bean struggled to his feet, his plasma sword forming in the hand of his uninjured arm. Black attacked in a blinding flurry of slashing, and Bean, somehow, managed to deflect the blows, one handed.
Why isn't the plasma cutting his sword...oh...wait. Astral forms... Bean thought dazedly through the assault.
Momentarily, assault ended. Black sprang back, recovering himself. Bean pleaded with his dark half.
"I SWEAR! I don't remember her at all! We shouldn't fight about this...we need each other to survive! Please, tell me about her...Help me remember what you do. Who IS Yohko??"
Black's demeanor turned icy. "The best thing to ever happen to us. She loved us...and we loved her. And I'm going to kill you for trying to replace her."
So saying, he raised his sword, and blurred to the attack.
<To be continued>
Laika sat in quiet meditation for nearly forty-five minutes before a thin lieutenant coughed outside her tent.
Her eyes peeked open, the hazel irises shining slightly, "Yes?"
"Ma'm, all of the outlook snipers have returned and are with their units by now. We're in the final preparations." His silhouette visibly at attention outside.
Laika smiled, she had good troops, "Good, I'll be out in a moment. Tell the other officers to be ready to move out soonest. And make sure your unit is combat ready, we will NOT be caught unprepared again by COR."
"Yes, ma'm!" The lieutenant saluted before jogging deeper into the encampment, the message spreading quickly.
Standing quickly, Laika gestured for Relm to do as such. Her saya went into the sash at her waist almost before her friend could blink. She leaned down to the tatami mat, rolling it up in quick and efficient motions, tying it and shoving the roll to the side. Besides her the other tatami mat and a camp stove, Laika was apparently already packed, her personal pack in the corner she had put the mat in.
"My own squad will take the tent down while I oversee mobilization. Ready to go, Oneesan?"
Relm stood up and stepped off the mat in a smooth motion, giving Laika a nod before turning towards the entrance of the tent to leave.
"I'll go and find Kale."
Laika nodded as she quickly and efficiently tied up the last tatami, setting it aside before walking out of her tent and into the Siberian Autumn.
She shivered slightly as a cold breeze brushed her skin. Shaking her head as she pulled the winter fatigues up around her cheeks, leaving her distinct teal hair in the open for easy identification by her troops.
She jogged between command vehicles, giving orders and nodding to the few that were ready. It wouldn't be long before they could get going...
She finally came to Lt. Gihei's unit, the last on her trip before going back to her command vehicle.
Smiling, she called out, "Lieutenant?"
OOC: Showdown: Part Five
IC:
Inside the Subconcious Mind of Cardinal Black.
Bean jerked to the side, narrowly evading the missile-like charge of Cardinal Black. Blood began to seep into his clothes as the wound slowly began to overcome him, however, slowing his actions.
A faint, ghostly image of Ryder appeared beside him
"He's the personification of your dark side, Imouto-chan. You can't afford to lose this fight. If you die here...the 'you' in the real world will become a raging, murderous animal, killing everyone in your path, without the morals and conscience that you carry within you. You MUST not lose..."
Black closed again in a flurry of blurring, deadly slashes. Bean weaved, drunk with pain, dodging and deflecting what he could. Thin tears began to appear in his clothing, and the assualt suddenly ceased, as Black sprang away and prepared to renew his attack.
A ghostly image of Washu replaced Ryder. "You can't kill him, either...he contains your passion, and decisiveness...without him, you'd die as well..."
Bean wiped away a trickle of blood that had drained into his eye, breathing raggedly. He could feel his strength ebbing, and resisted the urge to scream in frustration.
I can't kill him...or die? What the hell am I supposed to do then???
Ryoko took Washu's place, her transparent form tense.
"Whatever you're going to do...do it quickly. That looks like he's preparing for a killing blow!"
Black was, indeed charging, his sword upraised. Frustration and desperation overwhelmed Bean. A roar erupted from his throat, and he raised his own sword, meeting the rush.
In a flash of light and sound, the plasma sword collided with the katana, knocking it from the startled Black's hand. As the sword flew away, Bean released his own sword and charged the masked man.
It was luck as much as skill that allowed Bean's outstretched hands to encircle Black's throat. It was an act of irrational desperation, and Bean was no longer cognizant of the consquences, and a desperate strength filled him, and he squeezed, resisting the struggles of the man beneath him.
Bean was unsure how long he was there, only aware of the gradual decrease and halting of Black's struggle.
The only witnesses to the scene were the ghostly figures of Ryder, Washu and Ryoko. The watched in dismay as Bean himself vanished from view, leaving only the limp body of Cardinal Black.
The three spectres approached.
"Does this mean he's dead?" Ryoko asked curiously
"Well...we're still here..." Ryder began...but thenthe body on the ground stirred.
"What? I thought he was dead!!?" Washu squeaked in surprise. Cardinal Black slowly sat up and looked to her.
"No, I'm not." the masked figure said calmly. He slowly pulled the death's head mask from his face...revealing an intense, green gaze.
"In fact....I'm whole again."
The astral cityscape dissolved in a flash of white, Bean's words echoing into the void.
****
In the car heading away from St. Petersburg...Cardinal Black tensed arbruptly...and suddenly let out a long, shuddering sigh.
Gihei turned around from where he was talking to one of the snipers in his unit. Both of them saluted Laika, while Gihei asked, "Is there something you needed, ma'am?"
Laika saluted back, "Just making sure you have everything you need before we start to move out. I can't leave one of my best units without the support they need."
OOC: Arkhangel'sk.
IC:
Bean drove slowly through the streets, trying not to think about the mental block that had just broken. He wore his cloak and mask still, but he was now more...and, at the same time, less than Cardinal Black.
He rememberered everything that he hadn't previously. Two sets of memories flowed together, filling some gaps, leaving others untouched.
He remembered everything.
Including the face of a beautiful girl, her lustrous dark brown hair in looped braids that had a smile that could light up a room...
And that she would never smile that way for him again.
His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel, and the plastic began to crack as he tried to maintain his composure....
"Cardinal?" Spy asked questioningly.
Fearless Leader
"Of course, Captain. I was just making final checks about our current supplies when you showed up," answered Gihei. "In fact, some of my specials told me that in a few days, we'll be able to completely repair our apc and juggernaut unit."
The sniper nodded slightly, adding, "We can handle ourselves for the time being, ma'am. Once our transports are fully operational, we'll be able to catch up with the main group. The rest of the unit has already planned out a defense perimeter while awaiting the scouts."
"The supplies we have remaining will be adequate for the wait, ma'am," affirmed Gihei. "We doubt we'll see much trouble."
Laika nodded, relieved. "Very well then, Lieutenant. I'll see you in Magadan or back at base when we regroup."
Saluting a last time, she turned and jogged back to her command vehicle, nodding in satisfaction that the tent and her tatami were packed. Hopping through the hatch of her Seeker command vehicle, she pulled on her commo helmet and nodded to the crewmen before settling herself in the command chair. She quickly jerked a lever on her right, sending her chair up to occupy the top hatch and machine gun cupola.
Tilting the ten millemeter automatic weapon into a safe position, she raised a gloved hand and signaled the point unit to move out, it was time to go.
Bean didn't look over.
"I will need you to direct me." He said tightly, ignoring Spy's unworded question.
"Certainly. We must acquire lodgings for the night. Our 'pickup' will arrive in a little over twenty four hours at the docks. We must be ready." With that Spy began relaying instructions from a map to a hotel near the docks.
Fearless Leader
Bean drove where Spy instructed, throwing his mind into the task to avoid thinking about what had gone before...
and before long, they arrived at Spy's designated hotel.
Spy exited the car, quickly acquiring a room for them. Giving Cardinal Black the keys, he left silently to go analyze the surrounding territory. Leaving Cardinal Black to protect Dr. Andonuts.
Fearless Leader
Bean put out the 'Do not disturb' sign as he ushered the portly scientist onto the room. He went to the bedside table and withdrew the complimentary bible, and opened it and bent the covers together in a wedge, sliding it beneath the closed door of the room.
He locked and latched the door, and left Andonuts to his own devices, taking up a postion on the hotel balcony, staring up at the sky...and thought hard about his new memories, trying not to think about the ghost that had come with them...
Behind Cardinal Black, Dr. Andonuts sat down on the bed, chewing on a donut he got from who knows where, as he scribbled over a notepad.
Fearless Leader
Kale lifted the empty gas canister, ignoring the slight crunch of a deliberately heavy footstep behind him until he had finished stowing it. Even then he didn't bother turning around.
"Well?"
Relm's gaze drilled into the back of his neck. "We're leaving, of course."
"Of course," came the response in a slightly mocking tone. As he moved to the left side of the jeep and surveyed the frantic activity quickly, Relm hauled herself in the opposite side and settled back into the passenger seat, closing her eyes.
"The sooner we get out of here, the better."
"Alright, move out." Laika's calm voice echoed over the vehicle intercom once the vanguard had moved out of defensive positions and onto the road.
Her own vehicle accelerated behind the Panther tanks of the lead, making sure to stay a safe distance behind.
Flashing several hand signals behind her, Laika relaxed slightly as the units behind her began to move. Pre-arranged orders and signals filtered back through the column as it leaked onto the road, all the way until the last platoon of tanks rolled out of the river valley.
The march to Magadan had begun.
Bean stared up at the night sky settling over the city, from the hotel room's balcony. He wished for some sort of emotional release for the strange emptiness that has settled over him after they had settled into the hotel room.
All this intrigue, the motions of Cardinal Black...the utter pointlessness was hammered home to him. He had nothing left to believe in.
He felt dead inside.
I don't feel a thing
and I stopped remembering
The days are just like moments turned to hours
He could recall every last little detail about her, now. A memory surfaced suddenly, of spending an hour just watching how the sun reflected of her soft brown hair...
Mother Used to say
if you want, you'll find a way
Bet mother never danced through fire shower
Flames and spectral figures writhes around them threateningly. She stood against them defiantly, glaring into their ranks, her gleaming sword held high, already stained with blacking ichor. He looked over to the side, trading glances with the short, green haired girl on her other flank, brandishing a spear. With a short nod, they each moved closer to her, and raised their weapons for battle...
Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain
I walk in the rain, in the rain
Is it right or is it wrong
and is it here that I belong
"...Bean-kun?"
"What is it?"
"We'll always be together, right?"
"Yeah. Always..."
I don't hear a sound
Silent faces in the ground
The quiet screams, but I refuse to listen
Asuza came out of the treatment room of the hospital, her arm in a cast, and smiled tiredly at him as he jumped up and hurried over to her.
"Uhm...Are you ok? Is she...?"
The small girl smiled sunnily up at him. "Miss Yohko is fine, Mister Bandit...she's just resting. The doctor said you can see her n-,"
The rest of her words were lost as he dashed past her into the room, followed by the sounds of Asuza giggling...
If there is a hell
I'm sure this is how it smells
Wish this were a dream, but no, it isn't
Shock...Horror...followed by and all consuming rage. He was barely aware of Chigako flinching in pain and backing away in fright as a corona of searing yellow plasma surged, swirling around him like a fire.
No...No She can't be dead...Iwon't believe it...Iwon'tIwon'tIwon'tIWON'T!!!!!!
He screamed, and a pillar of yellow fire lanced into the heavens
"YOHKO!!!!!!!"
Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain
I walk in the rain, in the rain
Am I right or am I wrong
and is it here that I belong
Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain
I walk in the rain, in the rain
Why do I feel so alone
For some reason I think of home...
Bean felt something inside him give slightly...and he bowed his head to hide his pain from the world...
In the darkness before dawn, the door softly creaked open. A voice in the darkness called out to Cardinal Black, filtering through the hotel room. "Wake up, our ride will be at the docks in two hours. Let's move."
Fearless leader
Bean nodded and re-entered the room from his post on the balcony, simply securing his katana...and wondering idly if he even needed it anymore.
He decided to keep it, if only for the fact that it was less distinctive than his plasma swords.
As he walked to the door, he glanced at Andonuts...and shrugged. He wasn't going to babysit the doctor. He'd pulled him from the prison, he was spy's responsiblitiy now...
The spy hustled the doctor out of the room and back into the car. "I'll drive," He called out to Cardinal Black, getting into the drivers seat.
Fearless Leader
Curapca, Siberia; Autumn of 2015;
Dear Journal,
We've made it so far with fewer problems than I could normally expect. We're camped in the abandoned town of Curapca at the moment. Everyone fled a while ago it seems.
Well, the troops seem to be in better morale with the movement. It's still several days to Magadan, but it does feel good to be on the move again. The roads are cold, like the rest of this artic plain. I haven't seen the sky anything but grey for a few days, hopefully it will clear up soon...it would be good to see the sun again.
Oneesan is quiet as usual...though I think Kale's presence may be making her a little tight-lipped.
One of my lieutenants is calling me, probably wants to know when we'll be moving again and why a 'little girl' was given this command.
I don't know why I started writing this...my thoughts don't seem to stay in one place enough. Ah well, I must go.
Cat be with you,
Laika Fujikawa, Inquisition.