OUTBREAK: ZERO is a semi post-apocalyptic pandemic roleplay set in the fictional city of Lethford, USA. Current season: Winter, 20/21.
March 2020. The world is in pandemonium as one month ago, GHNv-20 was confirmed, five months after the beginning of norovirus season. The number of the infected are in the higher hundred thousands, and the death toll is at an estimated 250,000, with about seventy percent of the rest of the population experiencing mild to moderate illnesses connected to the S. pyogenes bacteria.
The fear of the unknown has caused mass hysteria and panic.
In an attempt to provide a semblance of safety and control, military personnel patrol the streets, even here in Lethford City, and the police force is trying to keep up with the rising street violence, assault, and theft.
Welcome to OUTBREAK: zero. Will you survive?
HAYANA
SITE OWNER + HEAD ADMINISTRATOR
Hi! I'm Haya. I'm pretty much your girl for everything! If you have any questions regarding our plot, membergroups, etc. don't hesitate to ask me. I'm also in charge of coding, graphics, anything skin related, and advertising/affiliates.
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ADDI
ADMINISTRATOR
Hey! I'm Addi. Hit me up if you need help with anything. I'm always for plotting so don't be shy. I like coffee, booze, and working out. I'm back from a long hiatus the dead so if you need anything, best ask the others until I get back into the groove of things!
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FINNLEY
GLOBAL MODERATOR
Hi hello! My name is Finnley, or Finn, call whichever and I'll be there for you (yes like the FRIENDS theme song). I am in charge of the claims and helping with miscellaneous things. Let me know if you have any questions!
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outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
The dirt and leaves crunched under Kane's feet as he made his way through the park. He was in a quarantined part of town and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't downright enjoying himself. The park was away from the center of town, the trees and woods providing a perfect buffer between the serenity of nature and the outskirts of the bustling city. With this part of town being on lockdown, the area was blissfully quiet and calm.
He had gotten orders that morning to covertly make his way to the park. The area needed to be canvassed and assessed for anything that shouldn't be there. His commander was concerned that the area could be taken by hostiles and it was his job to make sure if something like that did happen, he could get a handle on the situation quickly with as little damage as possible. To do that, he needed to know the ins and outs of the place, as discreetly as possible.
He had parked two miles away from the quarantine zone border and huffed it through the outskirts and to the wooded area. He had his gun discreetly stowed, his id and dog tags hidden, his fake police badge also stowed, and a backpack slung over his shoulder to cement the image of a normal civilian out for a walk. Not that he expected to see anyone else.
He walked along, noting a path that diverged, one of the paths clearly leading farther into the woods and the other to what looked like a small building. He jotted down the coordinates in his phone after checking his watch and then began to make his way to the building. It appeared to be a restroom and utility building for the park, but he wanted to make sure. The building had another path leading to it, another way to get inside the park, which wasn't great tactically speaking.
He noted the exits, the windows, and the position of the building. As he gained ground he pulled out the small flashlight in his pocket, walking to the nearest window. He clicked it on and shined the light inside. He could see boxes of paper towels, a first aid kit and a flashlight or two. He clicked the pen off and turned, ready to make his way back to his original path as he heard the crunching of leaves.
Kane turned quick, a soft curse word leaving his lips as he realized he wouldn't have time to run. Instead he stood firmly, put on his best innocent smile and waited to see what or who was coming his way.
Was that two sets of feet he could hear causing a disturbance in the local Flora and fauna?
It sure was, and one of them sounded like it was running.
Her ragged breaths echoed in her ears thanks to the mask around her head as she ran down the last man of the group of degenerates that she had ambushed in the QZ. This one had been a little more slick then the rest of his little crew. He managed to slip away with only taking a single round into a leg while she killed the rest of his friends. Guess there was no such thing as loyalty anymore was there? What a coward, she would be sure to kill him, let him feel the fear of his victims through her actions.
Today she would take the role of divine vengeance.
This little prick had a good head start on her so it was taking some time to catch up, it didn’t help that she had to track him down but now that they were both in an open field, she was now able to run at almost a full sprint to catch up, the weight of her high-cailber plate carrier preventing her from reaching her top speed, the Vector SBR that was slung around her back didn't help much at all since the constant bobbing up at down threw her rhythm off in her sprint.
Yeah, he was going to die. He got her ass out here running, sweating and breathing like a 50 year old asthmatic smoker.
It didn't take long for her to catch up to the limping man before she barreled into him and almost full speed, only lowering her right shoulder in the moment right before impact, it was like she was trying to go right through him.
The impact threw him face first into the rough ground and he screamed in pain but he wouldn't have time to recover because the monster that was this woman quickly recovered from the roll that the impact threw her into.
"You STUPID idiot." The woman's voice came out almost as am angry growl as she breathed for air as she walked over to the fallen man and pressed the heel of her boot into the gunshot wound with a slowly increasing pressure. The action causing the man the scream out in absolute pain and hurl various insults and a few sexist terms her way as he pushed out from under her heel and started to scramble away. It was amazing how much the body could endure when flooded with adrenaline.
It was almost a sad sight to watch, this grown man trying so hard to scoot away on a single good leg as the woman slowly stalked towards him, only just outpacing his crawl. The loss of blood and the racing heart was taking it's toll on the man who was starting to pale.
It was pathetic.
Angela watched and waited, for what she didn't know know really but she rushed over to the man and yanked up a fist full of long, dirty hair as she dragged him over to the brick structure of what she could have only guessed was a restroom and shoved him against the wall before she knelt down to his level so she could look him in the face.
"Ya know, you and your friend that you left to die did some pretty bad shit recently." As expected, he was defiant and hurled names her way like slut and IF he hadn't been shot he would beat her ass and so on and so on and that she should just kill him and get it over with. It wasn't anything that she hasn't heard before this.
Her voice softened, almost caring, like a concerned friend or lover would. "Oh you've got the wrong idea. I have no intention of killing you. All I need from you to go and tell your friend that I'm coming from them, that's all. Just a little message." What was her response for the generous offer? Getting her mask spit on and yet more insults and a harsh retort about how he ain't telling anyone nothing.
A deep, almost regretful sigh escaped her lips as the Gerber LMF2 knife was pulled from the resting polymer sheath on her plate carrier and promptly dug into the side of the man's neck, severing the carotid artery as she yanked it back out. It was fatal but not instantly so, he would bleed out in about 10 seconds from this wound, maybe faster given the gunshot in his leg. "Nevermind." She stood up, her voice suddenly cold and callus as she pushed the knife back into the sheath, an audible click signaling the knife was secured once again. "I'll tell them myself." She brought her Vector to the low ready from around her back and checked the extended magazine that she had loaded into the weapon.
"Let's see.. She spoke to the now dead man that was against the wall "I fired 15 rounds of 9mm ammo from a 44 capacity magazine. 29 rounds left plus the additional 5 magazines,each holding 44 rounds… That gives meeeee…..249 rounds left. Does that sound about right?" She looked down at the man again. "Oh Yeah...you're dead."
This woman was no stranger to killing in the slightest and clearly dangerous.
Kane shifted on his feet as the commotion grew louder, his senses on edge. Gunshots echoed through the clearing and Kane ducked behind the side of the structure. As far as he knew, these woods were supposed to be under strict evac. A male's voice screamed in pain and Kane unholstered the pistol. With his free hand, he pulled out his com phone and sent coordinates to his commander. If he didn't check in within the hour, a team would be sent. He didn't know what he was facing, but it was suddenly very clear that he had stumbled upon something heinous.
He silently slipped the phone back into his pocket and pulled his Lethford PD badge out from around his neck, careful to pull it and it alone out and not the dog tags as well.
Kane moved to the edge of the woods silently as a female's voice carried. She spoke numbly, distant, and the sound of her voice grated against every sane and reasonable part of his brain. That was the voice of a killer, and not the kind who did it behind a badge. No, that kind of talk came from serial killers and people who enjoyed killing for sport. People he was usually in charge of taking out.
The woman was focused on the dead man in front of her, speaking to him as if he was alive, relishing her kill. Kane moved silently, closing the distance as he let her continue her speech. As she made a little joke to the body, Kane leveled his pistol at her from behind, making sure he was far enough that she couldn't make a move against him. "Drop the weapon slowly. Kick it to your right and get on the ground. You make any other moves and you'll join him on the other side." He kept his aim steady, his voice level.
Well ain’t this about a bitch? It wasn’t often that someone was able to get a drop on her. She wasn’t expecting anyone to be here, her recon had only accounted for the ambush that she had planned out.
What is it they say about plans?
The males voice started issuing commands to drop her weapon and kick it then get on the ground or else she would end up like the scum she just dealt with. She had a few options on what she could do at this point, he was behind her, and by the way that his voice carried, she was guessing that he would be directly behind her too, most likely with a gun pointing right at her. The commands sounded like a local cop as well which means he was on her center mass if followed his training, which was protected by the plate armor. Local cops generally used 9mm or .45 ACP and her armor could take those hits all day and not flinch. The same wasn’t true for her ribs however, even with the armor and trauma plates. Getting shot really sucked, like REEAAALLY sucks.
With this path, it would allow her to bring her own weapon to bear down on him and force a stand off, but cops don’t like stand-offs and honestly, she wasn’t a fan of them either.
The other route was to comply with what he said and explain what exactly was happening, she even had a nifty number that she could call that he would be able to verify what she was saying. It would blow her cover for sure but it would be her get out free jail card and MAYBE provide a source of intel for her in the future about gang activities
Option 2 it was.
”Easy there Cowboy, I can’t do that.” Her voice was soft and non-threatening, she didn’t want to increase the tensions anymore then they needed to be. There was a dead body that she caused leaning on the wall after all and she was sure that didn’t look good in any sense. She raised her arms and interlocked her fingers on the back of her head but didn’t toss down her weapon. ”I am going to turn around very slowly so we can have a nice, rational conversation about what just happened. Preferably without trying to kill each other.” That is exactly what she did, it was slow and careful, making sure that she didn’t make any sudden movements to spooky him. Shit was like being around a skittish dog that was known to bite.
Once she managed to turn around, assuming he didn’t open fire and turn her day really bad, he would see that she was loaded for bear, several extended magazines for her normally illegal automatic weapon, smoke grenages and a few flash bangs. This woman’s gear was top of the line and generally something the normal civilians are not capable of getting a hold of. ”You local PD?” She pointed at the badge around his neck with a nod of her head. ”I’m Federal, I have my credentials in my breast pocket that you see.” She wiggled her chest a little bit. ”Just don't get too grabby without getting me dinner first.” Maybe now wasn’t the best time to be a smart ass about it.
If he chose to look at her CIA credentials, they were HEAVILY redacted, her birthday was missing, there was the name Alana Wilson and what looked like a SSN on the card and as well as a holographic imprint. If he would try and run the number in his database it would flag her a “Do not detain”.
”If that isn’t good enough. I can always call Command. Up to you Cowboy.” She kept her hands up and interlocked behind her head. She really didn’t feel like getting shot today.
Kane's lips pursed as the woman refused to drop her weapon. As she began speaking he remained with his pistol trained on her, ignoring the snarky name calling. She looked as if she had raided an armory, plated vests and all. She was well-funded, whether those means were legal or not was yet to be determined. Vests weren't a problem though. Kevlar and ceramic didn’t cover necks. "Don't." The stern words a warning to her as she proceeded to ignore his command and turn to face him.
After what he'd just witnessed, he very much doubted that they were about to have a calm and civil chat about what had just went down. As she began to turn, her hands still lodged behind her head, he narrowed his eyes, his fingers ready to squeeze the trigger. One shot would be all it would take, he was confident in that. Even if by some miracle, she did survive his shot, he had a good 100 lbs on her, plus she was carrying the weight of all of her tactical gear. That was two points in his corner. He could have her subdued quick if she tried anything stupid.
She asked if he was local PD and he spoke up, "You got it." She wiggled at him after making a joke, as if this was all a funny misunderstanding and he stayed planted where he was. "I don't care if that badge says you're the president's mistress, you put the weapon on the ground and kick it away or you're going to have a really bad day." He didn't lower the weapon. She insisted that he could call command and he wondered if anyone had ever been so stupid as to obey what she was asking of him.
"Again...you toss that gun away and then toss over your credentials if you don't want to end up being medevac'd out of here." He mentally ran through the agencies that he knew were in the area. She wasn't from any of the local groups, though his knowledge was almost entirely of the military. His team and the other spec ops groups had been in constant contact since arrival. It was paramount to keeping the ruse and intel between the coverts. Federal, however, was gray area for him. His department never interacted with the Feds and he wasn't technically high enough up in the pay-grade to know if she was lying when it came to the PD government realm. Still, he had never heard of any federal agency condoning laying waste and massacring individuals for funsies out in the open.
"You really expect me to believe you have federal clearance to massacre civilians? Last time I checked the amendment said innocent until proven guilty." He kept his weapon level as he watched every action she made. He had taken an oath to protect his country from enemies both foreign and domestic and a pandemic didn't change any of that. Unless someone with higher clearance than himself gave him the order to stand down, he was taking her in.
Another heavy sigh escaped her lips as she stood there, held at gunpoint by some local cop that was looking to play hero. She was trying so hard to play nice with the local PD but his snide comment about being the President's mistress actually made her laugh out loud. "Now what in the fuck would the President's side bitch be doing out in the pandemic putting down roving gangs of rapists and murderers? More to the point, do I look like some piece of ass?
Cowboy then tried to reassert his dominance in the situation with the threat of having a bad day. "Relax Cowboy, you're getting twitchy and you're aiming at my neck. I'm starting to take offense here.” What, you didn’t think she would notice that? Truth is, your punching above your weight class". She looked him over a few times with her eyes but never moved her head or body. "At least in jurisdiction. What are you? 170? 180? Maybe 5'11? Might give me a good run if it came down to it but I think I could take you"
She almost started laughing again ”Oh you sweet summer child child, thinking that our Government wouldn’t target their own civilians to maintain control. The amount of shady shit that our own Government does is outstanding. We spy, lie, cheat and steal to everyday citizens to stay in power, you think authorizing the murder of a local scum isn’t below the belt for them.”
She almost did a double take when he started talking about amendments. She couldn't believe what she was hearing from this guy, of all people "I don't expect you to believe anything I tell you about why you have the Feds poking around in your own backyard, frankly I don't give a shit either. I do what I'm tasked to do but I'll be damned if you're going to lecturing me about the Constitution, not when the local cops and military are acting like a bunch of door kickers back in Afgan going after Haji." She felt her jaw clenching but quickly loosened it, she really didn't want this to escalate to the point of them having a shootout in the middle of the park.
There was a pause as she weighed her options on what her next best course of action would be.
She could make a move to get out of the way of the barrel since human reaction was based mostly on sight and by the time he would have been able to pull the trigger, she would have been clear of the round. It would most likely work, a neck was a small target to hit and was almost impossible to hit on a moving target with such accuracy, that's why training dictated aiming center mass, bigger target area. There was still that chance that she could get shot however and given the state of well... everything...she didn't want to go to the hospital.
"Look, this isn't getting us anywhere fast and I have shit to do, missions to complete. So I am going to give you what you want but just this once. I am going to move slowly, remove my weapon and toss you my credentials." She did just that, it was with slow and steady movements that she unslung the Vector SBR and tossed it only a foot away from her, the weapon hitting the ground with a soft thud. Her next move was to SLOWLY reach behind her plate carrier and pulled out a sealed, black identity card holder and tossed it towards him.
” There. Go ahead, check them and you will see exactly how much out of your depth you are.” It was a very matter of fact statement, there was certain smugness in that whole statement.
Kane kept his cool when the woman in front of him got defensive, bringing up gangs of murderers and rapists. He wasn't aware that that was an issue in the locked-down, quarantined-district part of the town, but he supposed crazier things had happened during the pandemic. She asked if she looked like a piece of ass and he replied, "Can't really tell, you're wearing enough gear to fund a small African militia. You always accessorize with weapons or was today a special occasion?"
Kane didn't waver with his pistol. He could stand here for hours if he needed to. Unless she threw her weapon he wasn't going to remove her from his sights. He wouldn’t need an hour though, about twenty minutes had passed since he had sent his coordinates in. In forty minutes a signal went out to his team. Another ten from that and he'd be the least of her worries.
When she said he was hitting above his weight class he replied back, again with his low voice steady, "I'm shaking in my boots over here." He didn't doubt that she believed what she was telling him, but by strapping all of those weapons on herself she was laying her cards out on the table. He could analyze all he needed to know just by how she murdered the man, carried herself, and what she chose to display.
She asked about his weight and brought up that she could take him and he didn't retort. He had learned quickly in his first year of basic that the louder you screamed something, the less it was probably true. Badasses didn't need to talk up that they were badasses.
The woman called him another pet name and it took more control than he thought would have been necessary for him to suppress an eye roll. She then began going on and on about the government and the shady things they had done and he found himself trying not to laugh. If anyone knew about classified missions and sketchy orders it was him. Not that he was about to let her know that. "Is that why you're here? Do you have some magic get-out-of-jail-free card that makes you exempt from murder? Seems a little ridiculous that the Feds would be concerned with some civilian thugs out in the woods. Sure you don't want to send another less-crazy answer my way?"
The woman started arguing with him about what she was tasked to do and he listened quietly. Were a few officers and soldiers crossing lines? Sure. Was it wrong and something that should be dealt with? Absolutely. Did it justify murder? Not in the least, at least not in his mind. "I'm not condoning any of that. Not my job to. Last I checked, that isn't anyone's job but a judge, jury, and executioner which you, ma'am, are not. No matter what you think those credentials say."
She spoke up again and he watched silently as she threw her weapon to the ground. It wasn't a huge vantage, but he hadn't expected her to throw it more than a foot anyway. He kept his pistol trained on her as he crouched down, picking up the ID card and tucking it inside his back jean pocket.
He kept the weapon leveled on her and with his free hand, pulled out his cell, hitting star, 911 dialing immediately. "Dispatch this is Officer Shelby, Badge #73471, I have a 140. 133. Multiple units requested at 47' 6.3276'' N and 73° 58' 5.8260'' W. Suspect hostile and armed." The dispatcher verified and hung up as Kane let the phone call end, directing a command to her, "Get on the ground. Hands behind your head." He had no interest in looking at the card she had handed over. If he was right, she was a crazy vigilante who had just committed mass murder. If he was wrong, well it wouldn't be the first time he had been in trouble with his superiors.
All she did was shrug with her hands still on her head at his attempt at humor when he mentioned her gear. ”These things? I couldn’t find anything to wear on for my date and this was all I had left but if you don’t, I’m getting a little hot under the mask so I am going to take it off. I’d consider it a personal favor if you didn’t shoot me alright?” She didn’t even wait for him to respond before she started removing her mask, they were out in the open anyway and the dead guy wasn’t going to be shedding any virus,, not now that he had his off switch pressed.
Her mask was gently tossed next to her rifle on the ground, she didn’t want to mess up the seals on it for later. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the bite of coming winter air. It would be a lie to say that this woman wasn’t attractive in any sense and on any other day it would be possible to see her with a modeling job if she wasn’t running around helping people check out early.
”You really shouldn’t be.” She knew it wasn’t true, his statement about shaking in his boots but whatever, she decided to play along. ”We are on the same side after all. I don’t have any ill will do towards you. Shit, after this is over I might buy you a beer.” She gave a sweet smile that didn’t align with what she was capable of and yeah, Angela did have the brash and boisterous personality but she did earn the right to have one as well, CIA SAC training some of if not the best in the world and she paid for it for that training with blood, sweat and her body of 18 months of hell. The stuff that she could do, what she was capable of, was the stuff wet dreams came from.
”Yeah, that’s exactly why I am here, as for the free pass. Yes and no.” She tilted her from side to side on the yes and no portion of her sentence. ”I can’t run around just hitting the off switch of random people I don’t like but during an assignment it’s more of a ‘at your discretion’ situation.” She talked about this as if they were old friends catching up over a cup of coffee and a bagel. ”Yeah, yeah. It does sound kinda crazy when said out loud doesn’t it. heh” She chuckled a bit, she never thought of that before, of course, this whole situation is new. She normally operated OUTSIDE the US and didn’t have to make nice with local PD’s in order to keep stay on her assignment. Oh well, first time for everything right? ”Weeeeeelll….” The woman nodded with her head towards the dead man on the wall. ”He found out quickly I was at least HIS executioner and it’s not really what I THINK my credentials ay, it's more they allow me to do.”
She just rolled her eyes as watched he dug into his pocket, dial a series of numbers then press call, she listened to him call for backup to their position. "A bit over the top don't you think Cowboy?" She smiled sweetly at him but ignored his commands. "Mmmmmmm….No I don't I will, I'm not going to make any moves so feel free to keep your gun pointed at me but I'm going to wait until everyone else gets here. You should also call your Sergeant or LT as well so they can verify my credentials.". She gave a nonchalant shrug to the whole situation, this was hardly the worst thing that has happened to her.
Kane was happy that at least she warned him about taking off her mask. Her movements were nice and slow, taking the protection off of her face and tossing it on the ground. He didn’t have his mask on. It was tucked inside the pocket of the backpack he had. There was a water bottle, flashlight, first aid kit, knife, and a few granola bars thrown in. He hadn't expected to have company on his little expedition. Hadn't expected that if he did, it would be some vigilante murderer enacting her own version of justice either. Some things hit you out of nowhere, that was for sure.
The woman said they were on the same side and Kane let out a sarcastic laugh. "I guess we'll see about that. When you took your oath did you have to cross your fingers behind your back or something?" He held the pistol as it was. She kept talking, almost like she was trying to convert him. Either she truly believed in what she had done or she was trying to justify her actions to herself.
She spoke about her so-called job and missions and Kane had to agree that though, it was crazy-sounding like she said, it was also very similar to what he did. He just did it better. He was never caught, which was paramount in his line of work. If he had been in her shoes and someone had come upon him taking out a target, he would have immediately immobilized them and disappeared back into the night. Allowing himself to be caught be anyone was grounds for a bullet in his head.
She angled her head to the dead body and he frowned deeper. No remorse. No hesitation. That was never a good sign. She refused to get on the ground, making fun of him for calling for backup and he didn’t care. She was too confident for his liking. People usually weren't casual and calm while waiting to be taking into a cell. He sent up a silent prayer that she wasn't thinking of leveling the place and taking him out with her. Brynlee popped up in his head for a millisecond before he locked the dead-bolt on his mental safe that held her in it. If he thought of her, he was likely to make a mistake and he couldn't afford that today. He kept his gun level on her until the sound of sirens came blaring into their part of the woods. Four patrol cars came to a stop, two officers coming out of each and training their weapons on her.
Kane holstered his weapon, pulling out his other cell and dialing a quick response. Officers around them began shouting orders at her to get on the ground and he put his attention back to her. "Are you going to get on the ground willingly or am I going to have to assist?" He waited for her to make her choice, ready to move forward either way.
Another simple shrug of her shoulders when he commented on her fingers being crossed. That was sorta insulting and it showed by the small frown that spread across her lips for only a fraction of a second, it was fast enough that if you blinked at all it would have been missed. "No actually, I didn't. I take my oath very serious I'll have you know. I'm sworn to protect my country." Her entire expression changed, no longer did she have a playful, almost flirty personality a few moments ago. Her body straighted from the relaxed position, her face became like stone and her voice was chillingly stoic. She locked eyes with him and didn't blink once. "Sometimes that requires more stick than carrot Officer Shelby." She didn't call him Cowboy this time around, she was very serious about her belief in what she was doing.
She was good, make no mistakes about it. Had then be any other place other then the US, she would have done exactly what Kane would have done in her situation, eliminate the threat and vanish without a trace. Like a ghost in the night that becomes the horror stories that are told around a campfire. This situation was different however, she was operating on US soil now and couldn't treat EVERYONE as a potential hostile. Add that to the fact that this guy was a cop, if she had subdued him, it likely would have resulted in either of them, or both of them, getting injured and besides, attacking a local cop is a hell of a good way to get yourself on every single radar of every single law enforcement individual in the city. This, despite all the drama, was actually easier and safer for everyone involved.
She broke eye contact with him to look crane her neck so she could take a peek behind her at the sound of several patrol cars pulling up. 4 cars, 2 officers each. 8 total. All trained and with weapons drawn and all of them screaming at her different orders at different times, it was the type of chaos that didn't affect her at all. She looked back towards him as he holstered his weapon and talked of assisting her. It made her smile a little bit to be honest, she's heard that one before. "No no, I'll comply. You got me this time Cowboy."
She did exactly what was demanded of her. She slowly knelt down, not wanting one of these trigger happy yahoos behind her to panic and shoot their load prematurely. She placed her hands behind her head and waited for him to come over and cuff her. "Make sure you take my sidearm as well, don't want to make this sloppy right Cowboy?" She nodded her head down slightly at her right leg that has a FN Five-seven in a drop holster. It was loaded with SS190 rounds that where known to be able to defeat softcore body armor, like the type most non-SWAT police wear.
Kane nodded, his tone not holding much interest in the words that were coming out, "Whatever you say." He was ready to have this little expedition done and over with. The last thing he had wanted to do was pull his cover while he was doing extra-curricular work, but life never much cared for what he wanted so he supposed by now he should have expected it.
He was going to have a mountain of paperwork after this was all over with. Then there was the whole having to appear at a trial that would inevitably come up, along with following up on forensics. Complication after complication because some female decided she wanted to play killer batman out in the woods.
Kane was thankful when the calvary arrived. His weapon was holstered and as she agreed to follow his command he let out a breath he had been holding. He hadn't wanted to physically take her down. That would have been another eight pages of work at minimum. He watched her sharply as she obeyed the orders. He knew the rest of the officers were breathing easier as she raised her arms and got on her knees, but it only made him more tense. She was much too comfortable with him taking her in than she should be.
He cuffed her hands, "Oh don't you worry, forensics team is right behind us. They'll find anything you've left behind in a ten mile radius so if I were you, I'd listen real close to Officer Bermudez as she reads you your rights." He pulled her up and handed her off to the officer to begin reading her rights. Another started a pat-down, and Kane shook his head as weapons began piling up on the ground near them.
He picked up the rest of his things and went to the next closest officer, "I'm going to ride in the pen with her back to the station. Have your crew sweep the area, call ahead for me and let them know we're coming in the back."
Kane walked over to the large van that had been brought to contain her. Normally, they'd be fine sticking her in the back of a patrol car, but with what he called in, they had brought something a little more secure. He got in, an officer shutting the doors behind him. Kane nodded to the driver of the van through the glass that they were ready.
He settled in, arms crossed across his chest as he looked over at her. "So. Are you still sticking with the story of being miss untouchable?" Speaking of...he reached into his back pocket, pulling her card out. "Nice piece of cardstock. Didn't know Staples did such a good job." His looked it over briefly before sticking it right back in his pocket.
She gave a slight nod at the mention of the forensics team. ”Well, I don’t want to make this TOO difficult for them so make sure you send them east about 200 yard into the forest and they will find 3 more bodies and some bullet casing from my rifle.” It was spoken in the most casual way. She was read her rights by this officer Bermudez and when asked if she understood she nodded and replied with a simple yes before she was escorted to the modern day paddy wagon
Angela allowed herself to be escorted into the back of the armored van that they had brought for her. ”Wow, we are going in style huh?” She playfully mocked as she stepped inside the van and sat down on one of the benches, smiling as Officer Shelby climbed in with her. ”Well hey there Cowboy. Glad you could join me. How’s your day going so far? Pretty good?” She shrugged a little bit, the chains of the handcuffs on her wrist rattling slightly at the movement. ”Eh. Story isn’t changing at all. What is it Collin Raye said? Oh yeah. ‘That’s my Story and I’m stickin’ to it’.” The sound of the van's engine filled the air as the van lurched forward slightly then pulled into a steady drive.
She smiled a bit more as moved her shackled hands up to her head so she could tuck some stray hair away from her face and behind the ears. ”Well the trick is to not use Staples, Kinkos has much better quality. Oh and make sure that you use a good quality DSLR camera for the picture. That helps a lot.” She leaned back against the wall of the van as she spoke, she didn't seem overly worried, or worried at all that she was in the back of a police van and handcuffed.
They sat in silence for a little while, as the sound of the vehicle's exhaust droning in the back of the van. She leaned forward sightly, placing her elbows in her knees as she looked at him. "Look, I know you don't agree with my methods but I'm a patriot. Everything I do, no matter how cruel or vicious, it's for my country."
It wasn't more than a moment later that the van lurched forward with the squeal of the brakes bringing the heavy vehicle to a stop. There was chatter outside from the sound of voices, only a few seconds later the rear doors of the van opened up and there stood a couple of men in black suits at the door. They were painfully Government and so cliche with the black suits and ties, there was even a black SUV with tinted windows that had the cherries and berries flashing.
"Valkyrie. Getting into trouble again I see.". The taller man on the right spoke in a gravelly voice. The other, shorter but clearly more muscled man looked over at Kane. "Thank you Officer Shelby for your dedication to protecting the public but we can take it from here." He reached into the pocket jacket of his jacket and handed him his Federal credentials, they were MUCH more official looking than the one Angela had provided to him.
Kane rubbed the back of his neck as she began talking about more bodies. Of course there were more bodies, he thought dryly. She was making jokes, utterly unconcerned about her situation and he found himself itching to get away from her. Not that she, or herself in particular bothered or scared him. No, he didn't care about that. He was just ready to be alone so he could break cover and call up his command. Spec ops and feds never worked together so he knew he was coming from a dark place when it came to intelligence on their operations, but nothing seemed right about this.
It didn't seem right that the feds would give the green light for someone to come in and massacre a group of people…in ground zero of the pandemic….in the quarantined sector of said ground zero….blatantly…with no regard for human life. Nor precision, coming from a tactical and professional standpoint. He was sent all over the world to do things in the name of his country, but his blackout targets weren't citizens and the ones who did belong to the good ole USA always received a trial. That was the foundation that the country was built upon. Vigilante justice had no place on its grounds, no matter how self-righteous someone presumed themselves to be.
Kane got into the van, ready for the fifteen minute drive back to the station to be over with. He was ready to put her away and start digging into what the hell was actually going on. As she playfully asked about his day he didn't have a hint of humor on his face, "Well I'm sitting across from a sociopathic murderer so I'd say my day off isn't going well. Though I'm alive, unlike the people you dispatched earlier so I guess I shouldn't complain too much."
He vaguely wondered what she would have done if he hadn't of been from law enforcement. What move she might have pulled if a civilian would have come upon her in the middle of murdering someone. That self-righteous nature tended to get violent quick. He was thankful it was him. She told him that her story wasn't changing and he nodded. "Suit Yourself."
He ignored her comment about the card. It did look official, but he didn't have anything on him that could scan it in the system to see what would pull up. He'd have to save it for later.
She spoke about being a patriot and it took all of his training not to roll his eyes. "Oh yeah? Did they forget to teach you about the sixth amendment in your special training?" Kane sat back and focused on the ride, ready to get to the station. That travel was cut short however as the van came to a halt. "What the hell is going on out there?" Kane asked, his hand immediately going for his weapon and training it on her. The sound of voices came muddled from the outside and he found his heartrate picking up. Then the door opened and the pistol was trained on the two men who came into view.
One handed him credentials after thanking him for his service and Kane didn't move an inch. Instead, calling out to the front of the van. "These guys been cleared?" He waited for the driver to respond.
The driver angled his head, calling out, "Yes Sir." Kane pursed his lips for half a second before holstering the pistol. He sat perfectly still, the disdain and anger clearly readable on his face.
Ok, yeah, this operation was a little sloppy. She had to move the time table up a full 9 hours because for whatever reason, her target decided to start moving when he wasn't supposed to. She would have much rather had done this whole thing while it was night. She could have used her stealth and training to a much better advantage then having to act like some female version of Rambo just gunning everything down in her path, which did have it's merits when time called, but this wasn't one of those times.
Plus, and let's be honest, sneaking around the dark and slipping from shadow to shadow had a way of making you feel like a badass.
”Awwww that is kinda hurtful Cowboy” She cooed at him as playfully winked. ”And here I thought we were getting along but being alive is good, lucky it was you that came across me and that you are such a boy scout when it comes to your job.” A small pause let a grin tug at the right corner of her lips. ”And it doesn’t help that you’re kinda cute.”
”I think we had this discussion already so I’m not sure why we keep going back to this topic but again, you’re looking at everything as black and white and it’s not that simple. It never is and will ever be that simple, you can look at the 1st and 2nd Amendment as an example. You can’t yell fire in a crowded theater and politicians are constantly trying to ban guns. What makes you think that the 6th would apply equally as well? Just because bit sounds nice? Just some food for thought.” When she heard the commotion outside she gave a genuine smile that time and answered the question for him. ”I think that’s my ride actually”
When the doors opened and Kane pointed the weapon at the two men, neither one of them reacted more than what was necessary. They were almost the exact opposite of how Angela was acting, both of them stoic, almost robotic in a tire but oozed with professionalism that almost seemed manufactured to perfect. It was almost sickening.
When she peered over to Kane to see what his response would be,she could see the anger on his face, he wasn't doing much to hide his contempt of the situation at all. Oof, poor guy but she was sure he would do what he was told, being the good cop he was. She couldn't imagine him going against the Federal Government and them pulling rank.
Angela took a few moments to debate if she wanted to keep messing with him but ultimately decided against it. It had to be hard enough to catch a big fish only to have the Federal government swoop in and sweep that away what you thought was a sure fire arrest. She could also imagine that what just happened fucked with his world view a little bit that she had the backing of Uncle Sam to do what she was doing on US soil.
It was with a gentle voice, much more calm and level headed than before that she extended her cuffed wrists to Kane and spoke. "Officer Kane, if you wouldn't mind uncuffing me and letting me know where my personal effects are so I can gather them and we can part ways". She redid try letting him down gently.
The van rolled along, down the road quietly and he glanced over at her as she began speaking again. She liked calling him by anything except his actual name. Looking over the fact that she called him cute, he silently shook his head in exasperation. At least they both agreed that it was a good thing that he had caught her and not a civilian.
He was tired of her opinions, tired of hearing her justify murder. He was damn tired of this day. He mentally ran through a list of things he'd need to do once they got to the station. He was going to have a ton of paperwork. He'd need to file reports with not only the PD but the military and Federal agencies as well. Let them know they had someone parading around as a vigilante killer, acting on their behalf. He wasn't looking forward to that call.
Then the van had stilled and she spoke up that her ride was here. Kane felt a chill run over his skin. There was no good that could come from this. His weapon was drawn and he was ready, no matter what was coming. At least he thought he was prepared. Until the agents appeared and told him to release her.
His lips were pressed together, heat rising in his body. He wanted to challenge it all, but while he was undercover there wasn't a chance in hell he'd have any ground to stand on with them. He holstered his weapon and as she asked for her cuffs to be removed he turned his attention away from the men and back to her. "I don't have the keys. Talk to officer Bermudez in the front." He wasn't lying. He didn't have keys. Officers inside the back of the van never carried them. Too much temptation to have the suspect try to grab them. The officer who mentioned had made his way out of the front of the van and was standing beside the two suits. He kept his voice level, his lips still flat, "You have a good day ma'am."
