RPG SYF:

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1]Rae tiptoed away from the dorms, quietly pulling the door closed. Her appointment was tonight, and if Rae was late, Linette would kill her.

She slipped along the corridors, arms folded in a classic 'closed' gesture. Nobody who read body language would be stupid enough to approach her. She reached a door marked "Linette Walters", and opened it quietly.

"Sorry I'm late," Rae said softly, coming to sit down in one of the armchairs.

"That's fine," Linette said, writing in her notepad. "I had some things to do, anyway." She folded her hands and looked directly at Rae, blue eyes piercing her. "So what's been happening in your life lately?"

"Well," Rae shifted in the chair, so she had her legs curled up underneath her. "We started a new mission. Nothing terribly heavy, yet. And Matt told me he's bringing home a friend of his -- he met him while Matt was at Uni."

"Who's in the mission team?" Linette asked, her eyebrow delicately raised.

Everything about Linette was delicate. Today, she was wearing a blue-grey tailored suit. Her jacket was over the back of the chair, and her legs were crossed demurely over each other. Her white shirt was pristine, even at this hour. And her hair was as neat as it had been when it was first done.

"Um, a guy called Bradley. He's our decoy sort of guy. He's actually very useful. His file is full of interesting talents of his, but if we need to use him as bait again, we'll need someone else to come in and cover for him. I think Matt might be getting someone. Then there's Zharra, Jaudiar's cousin. And, um, a girl called Bailey. She's knew, but she's strong. She'll survive. And there are these two Russians. I don't know much about them. I don't even know which side they're on." Rae scratched her ear.

Linette's eyes had sharpened. "Liam's on the team, too, isn't he?"

Rae grinned sheepishly. "How'd you know."

"You're not the only one who can read body language." Came the dry reply. "Tell me about Liam so far."

Rae sighed and looked down. Linette knew as well as she did that almost all of her problems had stemmed and snowballed since she'd met Liam. It was only natural that Linette zoomed in on him. Still, she wished she hadn't.

"He's...Liam. He's acting just like ever. He doesn't care about anything, at all. All that matters is the mission." Rae's eyes teared up. "If one of the team was down...well...I can't be sure he'd let us go back for them.

"Which scares me, you know?" Rae looked down at her hands.

"Why does it scare you?"

"Well, I was the one left behind, last time."

"Three years ago."

Rae nodded. "I mean, not towards the end, where we finished and actually accomplished our goal. But in the Pizaro part -- well, yeah."

Rae was silent for a minute, staring at the pattern of the armchair. "Liam and I know practically everything about each other, but we never speak about it. We know, but we didn't tell each other. It's almost disconcerting. And Liam's so insecure about, well, everything."

"You say Liam feels insecure?" Questioned the psychologist while scribbling on the ever present book.

"Yes. He's been in the SYF for the longest, he was the first, along with his sister...but now he's ending his stint in the force, he's starting to feel useless I think...old hat, I suppose."

"And, I mean...'Liam's very much the first in command, always has been. Last time...Jaudiar and I...we were second in command. In the end, it was jsut me, jaudiar, Liam and Siren -- we were alone and every word we spoke echoed everywhere. The gunshots richoched off of everything. The noise could blast your ear drums. And then Siren got hit, and we could do anything, we couldn't save her.' Rae looked down at her hands. 'I was lost, I was panicking -- I knew we weren't going to get through it. Liam took over and was so calm, so collected.

"He's the heart and soul of SYF. If he died, the entire thing would collapse."

"But the thing is...I don't know how he's going to deal with it once he [i]isn't[/i] everything to the company he works for. He's self-centered."

Linette looked at the clock, then at her notepad. "Rae, we've gone over time tonight, but I think this needs further treatement. The SYF is bad for you, but you can handle that. It's Liam that's your poison."

Rae stared at the psychologist. She'd gotten that from what she'd said? But then, Linette had always been astute.

"So I want you to be careful around him, Rae. He's bad for health, emotionally. He's cuting you off from other people."

Linette stood up and showed Rae to the door. "Sleep well, Raellyra."

Rae nodded and walked out, once again feeling completely drained.[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]Zharra finished up her work, cagegorizing, scanning, and sending the pictures and numbers through her other earrings. And they teased her for wearing long dangling jewelry. ....hah. That jewelry was the equiptment, that got the proof, that got the bad guys out of buisness.

Finished up more or less, she walked down the halls quietly, bare feet making absolutely no noise, toes brushing the floor, testing it before she put her feet down every now and then. The guards on duty were either asleep or less than sharp. She slipped past several undetected, moving along the side walls without any unecessary motions. Before they knew what hit them, she knocked out two, slit their throats just for kicks, and entered the room they were guarding. Once inside, she closed it behind her, and took a seat at the ample sized corporate table. It already had several male figures in attendance. The most shady of characters stood and greeted her.[/i]

"Welcome Zharra. It's been quite some time."

"Yes it has. But that still doesn't mean I like you."

[i]He laughed, while the other members looked singularly uncomfortable. He sat down, directly across from her. With one hand, he made the motion, and she complied. With the same hand he gestured with, she flipped open her sarong and disarmed herself. Three pins and one knife. That was all. He sat back, satisfied. The others looked at her like she was some sort of freak. The leader, Adrien, folded his hands and gazed into her flat yellow eyes.[/i]

"So....why have you paid us a visit?"

"You have a friend of mine here in custody."

"That, and you also have information?"

"Nothing much. The SYF is as boring as usual. You know. They think they know, but they really don't."

"And the deal this time?"

"You release the kid, I give you what you want."

"And that is?"

"The systems from Rhambus. I borrowed them permanantly."

[i]Several people's eyebrows rose a few degrees. She had taken the hardware from a computer company. And up and coming computer company. .....one of the most high tech in the market. How....they would probably never know.[/i][/COLOR]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1]"The Commander is holding off on the infiltration. The Singaporean police feel that there's too much heat around with the restaurant debacle."

Rae slowed her pace to watch the conversation. Matt was talking to someone new who was carrying a laptop under one arm and looking quite appealing. She coughed.

"Rae? Hey, I'd like to introduce you to Callum, he's one of my desk jockeys. Information and the like. Callum, this is Rae, my little sister."

Callum smiled and put out his hand, "Pleased to meet you Rae."

Rae smiled at him. "Information, hey? What are your qualifications?" She asked, always ready to indulge a little professional competition.

"Industrial Espionage, Information Technology, if you can call those qualifications. There's a lot of degrees behind that, but it's easier to just give you the cover."

She nodded. "I don't know what you call mine. I just know things. And I have as close to a perfect memory as one could get...which bothers Liam a bit. He can forget things and I well...can't.." She looked away. She'd gone how long before dragging Liam into the conversation?

Callum looked at Matt; "Liam? Is he the guy that you made me read all those mission files on? The one that tends to have free reign?"

Matt grinned and shook his head, "You could say that."

"Because it's true," Rae injected sourly. "He could break the rules and the worst he gets is Juvenile Detention. Us, we'd get prison."

"Or worse." Interjected Liam calmly.

Rae glanced in surprize at him. Where the hell had he come from? She recovered herself quickly and smiled wryly at Callum. "Callum, this is Liam."

Liam just stood there, and Rae rolled her eyes. "He never learnt how to be social."

"Yeah." Matt looked toward Callum. "So, if you want to come to dinner on Thursday night?"

"Sure."

Matt looked at Liam too, albiet reluctantly. "You're welcome too, if you'd like to come, Liam."[/size]

[liamc2]

[size=1]
?Normally I?d refuse?But seeing as Rae just so kindly put, I?m a bit lacking in the social skills department, so it won?t hurt for me to get out a bit?? Liam?s tone was pensive, and mildly condescending at the same time. He brightened and said, ?I?d love to come.?

?Right. Thursday it is, be at my flat about seven.?
Liam opened a lurid green can of soft drink. Rae pulled a face.

?It?s what, past midnight??

Liam paused halfway through taking another sip, ?your point??

?Don?t you think it?s a bit late for sugar?oh hell. Never mind, we?ve been down this road before.?

Liam swirled the contents of the can around. ?We have. Well, it?s late. I got woken by a Russian, invited to dinner and have just consumed a can of sweetness. There?s only one thing missing!? He twirled the Desert Eagle triumphantly. ?Target practice and an obscene amount of ammunition!?

Matt?s eyes narrowed. ?Let me guess. You?re going to shoot until there?s so much gunpowder residue in the air that you think you?re Abe Lincoln, right??

?Actually, John Howard, but that?s beside the point. Good guess.?

Liam walked away whistling, half drunk can in one pocket and a Desert Eagle in his hands that he was currently quite happily checking. All in all the messed up hair didn?t bode well if he was attempting to be an epitome of sanity.

Callum wrinkled his nose. ?I pity the guy that has to be his case officer.?

?Actually,? Matt started, Callum blanched, ?he hasn?t got one. He really only answers to the Commander and himself. I?m technically his case officer, but he just treats me as a source of interesting information??

?At least you?re not the butt of his jokes. Liam distrusted Adam right away, even if it was subconsciously.? Rae shook her head. ?Completely frustrated Adam to no end. Liam respects you however,? she poked Matt in the stomach, ?so be grateful.?

~~~

The cardboard cut out dropped behind him with the barest of a whisper. Liam sidestepped and the red laser line missed him, just. The cut out exploded into a mess of paper and the training continued.

Liam was standing in a ten-metre by ten-metre concrete room with hidden sliding panels in the walls. As each panel popped up, in front, beside or behind him, a laser sight was trained on the vest he was wearing.

Each time a ray connected, he received a non-lethal numbing shock that left him disabled for five or ten minutes. So far he?d made it without getting hit.

The timer on the wall blinked over to forty-three minutes. He?d made an hour before, the record, but he paused too long to reload, woke up in his bed an hour later. He wasn?t about to make that mistake twice.

Three cut outs dropped this time, the lattice of shots caused him to drop and roll out of the way. One of the cut outs was gone, the mess of lasers had brushed it and it retracted back into the wall. Realistic combat situations. The other two exploded and the shards hit the floor.

Liam danced around the rubbish littering the ground and continued to reload. In front of him ten cut outs dropped, behind, he heard another ten.

?Come off it! That is so unfair!? Liam bellowed to the techie who was manning the machine outside of the room.

The lasers blurred and Liam emptied the clip into the targets in front. He dropped again and avoided his own ricochets. The empty clip bounced off the concrete, He wheeled round and had two lasers smack him in the face.

He stirred in his bed and sat up. It was six in the morning and he already had a massive headache.[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]The meeting ended quickly with several promises here and there, all of which Zharra could easily fufill. Unlike some of her SYF counterparts, she had no qualms about playing both sides. And this time it wasn't even for personal gain, it was just to get a member of the team back unscathed. Perferably anyways.

They vowed to release their captive in less than two days, and Zharra promised to upload the information she "borrowed" from Rhambus within a month. If she didn't, they would hunt down Bradley and kill off the rest of her family. And then her. But she doubted if they were that good...inwardly anyways. Then again, that was the way the Triad worked. She smiled as she walked down the stairs and out of the front door this time. The other Triad members watched her go, she could feel their eyes on her behind and swaying hips, but of course, she did very little. When one's back was turned, it was best not to turn and see what you knew was there. Unless....it was holding out a hand filled with money.[/i]

"Have a nice evening gentlemen."

"Same to you Zharra."

[i]She waved one hand in response and made her way back to HQ by various backwards and roundabout methods. Anyone following her would've been lost in the endless alleys and crackhouses she walked through. Finally, she made it back, just in time to watch the moon set from the lounge, where even the most avid of gamers had finally vacated. She opened the cabinet, pulled out her things, removed her jewlrey, save her her now extremely valuable earings, and got ready for bed. Wearing nothing but a big white shirt, she pulled out her blanket, also covered in a mosquito net, and curled up on the sofa. Within minutes, she was asleep, eyes half open.

If people walked by, she didn't notice. To all concerned, she was dead to the world and really didn't care either.[/i][/COLOR]

[The Unholy Newt]

[size=1]Bradley was annoyed. . .

He had been in the triad's custody for almost a day now and there was no sign whatsoever of any attempt to get him out. He seriously considered breaking out by himself but dropped the idea because he didn't feel like getting discharged from the SYF.

Worse than that, he was so bored he thought his head would explode. The only source of entertainment so far was watching the triads he beat up get berated for getting bashed up by a rich little snot. They were probably lying dead in an alley way somewhere now, riddled with bullet holes.

After the incident with the four triad thugs all the rest of them had been rather apprehensive around him. They were always armed and on their guard, which would make it slightly difficult to escape if he decided to.

Bradley decided he was going to have a very stern word with Liam when he got out. He imagined yelling his head off at him for stranding him in a triad holding cell. Maybe this time he would [i]actually[/i] punch him.

If they ever come for him that is. . .

~TUN[/size]

[Ravenstorture]

[color=darkgreen][font=gothic][i]Malania rolled onto her stomach, turning back to Katarina and feeling the coolness of the sweat evaporate from her back. They had fallen asleep spooning, and the humid singaporian night air woke Malania like a smothering hand.

A check of the watch, 20:45. Clubs open in half an hour.

Picking up a strand of Katarina's hair, she tickled her upper lip with it until Kat sneezed, spitting not only on herself but on Malania too. That one backfired. The astonishing thing was that Kat still slept on like nothing had happened. Malania was not fooled however, as no one could have spat that accurately in their sleep.[/i]

Malania: Yobanaya suka!

Katarina: Foul language. Why did you vake me op?

Malania: It's quater to nine. I want to go out and get smashed.

Katarina: And vot about tomorrow morning, ven ve need to be all avake and alert?

Malania: I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

[i]Vaulting herself over Kat to the middle of the room, Malania stretched, touching the floor behind her ankles to show off what Kat had never been able to do. Kat stood and cracked various parts of her anatomy before pulling her suitcase out from under the bed and chucking clothes everywhere.

Malania stalked around the room, picking up the shiny, skimpy bits of cloth she saw flying around the room. Soon, she had her outfit done - a long, black PVC skirt (in singapore, showing the leg was considered indecent and offended the local religion), and a metallic black tank top with a pentagram necklace and incredibly large, chunky gothic clubbing boots - platform, kneehigh, more straps than a straight jacket, more comfortable than sneakers and breathed easier than... something that breathes really easily.[/i]

Katarina: A zeagull?

Malania: What?

Kat: Never mind.

[i]Anyway. Katarina dressed in black cloth jeans, a tight leather shirt with shameful cleavage and combat boots, finishing the look with a heavy black coat. She wore her hair up. Malania's cascaded over her face, hiding various piercings that weren't shown during the day.

Malania strapped her Yarygin to her thigh, and after a moment's pitiful look from Kat, hers as well. They argued for a minute over who would take the mobile phone, and Kat ended up with it in her pocket. Three even strokes of mascara each and they were ready, looking utterly foreign and not giving a damn.

Three taxi's drove away in impatience while the two yelled at eachother in the street before Malania finally let Kat pay for the trip into the CBD. Once they were there, they listened for some house and followed their ears. [/i]

Kat: Goot to know tourists are useful for something...

Malania: What?

Kat: Decent nightlife.[/color][/font]

[liamc2]

[size=1]
Liam blearily reached for the ever-present can of soft drink on his bedside table. He took a sip and then pressed it against his face. The cool was a welcome relief to the sunburn like sting that sent a dull fire over his face.

Liam placed the can back on the table, rubbed his eyes and dropped his head onto the pillow. A familiar face greeted his closed eyes. Liam shook his head in frustration and sat up, blinking pointlessly in the dark.

?Why are you always there?? He muttered while rubbing his eyes in frustration. ?Can?t you give me some reprieve for once at least??

Mentally he screwed up the face and tossed it into the proverbial trash. As though it had never left from behind his eyes, it appeared again. Liam banged the back of his head against the pillow.

?I get over it, mention you once in casual conversation, and there you are, smiling.? He groaned. ?I eliminated you from my life izn?t?izn?t?? Liam spluttered. ?Great, not only am I talking out loud to myself, I?m speaking like Katarina. Wonderful.?

Liam sat up and put his feet onto the carpet. With a smooth movement he pulled his Desert Eagle from his holster and spun it in his hand.

?Fine then, if that?s what you want,? he mumbled.

Liam stood and walked over to his bag. After pushing aside a wad of clothes, he reached deep inside and pulled out a chromed Samsonite case. He dialled the pin into the nine-digit whisper lock. With a click, the case opened.

Inside was a Desert Eagle, identical to his, but with two small cosmetic exceptions. One, it had the initials ?J.C? on the barrel, and two, it was in a plastic zip-lock bag.

Liam pulled it out of the bag and weighed it up against his own pistol.

?You always favoured the lighter touch.? He twirled it and it spun hypnotically. ?Gas recoil arm?you didn?t like the kick back did you??
Liam dismantled it in seconds, placing its pieces before him on the carpet. In the same time he rebuilt it, with one small exception, the gas recoil cylinder remained on the carpet.

?Well,? he said triumphantly while sizing up both the pistols, ?if I?m going to use your gun, it might as well meet my standards?sis??

Liam placed both the guns down and pulled out the harness the Eagle was resting on inside the case. He checked the straps. Double back holster, Velcro, for quick removal. He groaned and looked at the carpet. Was he that easy to read?

The Commander had given him the case a year ago, and told him that the sweep team had retrieved the Eagle?and its owner?just hours after Liam and the rest of the team flew out, two years before that. Liam feigned disinterest and accepted the case as though he really didn?t care. But he had carried it around since, the idea of opening it galling him?until now.

The Commander had even placed a double holster inside?he knew?he always knew. That man could read him like a book; no one alive could ever read his emotions like that, only one other person came close?

?Damn Rae.?
[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]Early in the morning, she woke up and got dressed before the humans began entering the rooms again. She brushed back her thick hair, did a few braids here and there, then tied it again. Next she slid back her silver jewlry, then elected to wear the army fatigues. Well, not necessarily army, but combatitive in style. Boots, baggy pants, with a crop top in the same style. She smiled and entered Liam's room, just as he was standing up. He blinked and stared back at her.

Her smile was egnimatic, as usual. Liam blinked, and she simply focused her gaze into his eyes. Clear yellow. He blinked again.[/i]

"Am I in trouble Liam?"

"Why would you be? You're the image of Juadiar."

"Yes, just sexier."

[i]She winked and walked down the hall with him, moving just as gracefully as she had with the sarong. Liam watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was pretty calm, but extremely erratic, unpredictable. In some situations anyways.[/i]

"Why did you go to them?"

"Why do you ask? Does it matter?"

"What did you offer them?"

".....nothing we don't have.[/COLOR]

[liamc2]

[size=1]Liam adjusted the Velcro straps on his back. It felt odd to have two guns being held there; no doubt the outline would be pronounced?He gave a mental shrug. Then he thought about what Zharra had been doing. His logic bubbled. If the entire purpose of this mission was for Bradley to get captured?and the retrieval squad to blow the triad wide open?why was she suddenly prancing off and asking favours of them?

He spun to a halt and opened his mouth, as Bailey opened the door that he was in front of. Liam staggered forward as the solid wood clocked him in the back of his head.

?What? Oh, I?m so sorry!? Bailey grinned sheepishly and closed the door behind her. Liam rubbed the back of his head.

?It?s ok,? he said, ?I needed to wake up, and that helped?somewhat.?

Bailey?s eyes flickered to the two handles that were embossed in his t-shirt.

?New guns?? She asked.

Liam lifted up the back of his shirt and pulled out the two Eagles. He passed them to Bailey and explained. ?No, same old guns. I just?appropriated another.?

Bailey ran a finger over the initials on the pistols. ?JC and LC? Liam and???

?Jess.? Liam said bluntly. ?That was my sister?s gun.?
Zharra?s ears perked up at the sound of a story. ?What happened to her?? She asked.

Liam took the guns back and re-holstered them. ?She died on a mission. I was given these as her last effects. We were pretty close, and then we had a new case manager that believed we had to be split up. In her last mission her entire team died.? He groaned. ?Look, I really don?t won?t to talk about it this early. If you?re interested, just read the mission files. It?s all in the mission files.?

Liam gave a smile. ?Sorry. It was three years ago, I should be used to the fact that my sister became a turncoat and I was ordered to kill her, shouldn?t I?? There was a pause filled by Bailey giving Zharra a sidelong glance. Liam shook his head. ?Whoever assigned me that mission should have thought of the psychologic implications eh?? He laughed. ?I suppose though, if anyone else had done it, I would have killed them. Life?s funny like that I suppose.?

Liam felt the conversation drift away from him. It wasn?t a pleasant feeling. He hitched up his trousers and said brightly, ?whatever, to sleep I say!?

He pointed and advanced back down the hall, the pistol rubbing against his scars. Inside his head, Jess smiled.

[b]Twelve sleep filled reflective minutes later[/b]

Liam walked into the spacious hall, footsteps echoing around him. He drew to a halt when the slim figure looking out the large windows turned to face him.

?Sis...? Liam managed to say.

Jess smiled and walked towards him, ?so you made it here. I?m so glad you came, now you can help us fight for this worthy cause!?

Liam was taken aback, ?you?re not my sister...my sister would never warrant the murder of so many innocents as a ?worthy cause.?

?My real brother would not have been blinded by corruption his own self righteousness.? Jess said defiantly. ?He would know a good cause when he saw it and would have joined it the instant the opportunity beckoned.? Jess paused, ?It beckons now Liam.?

Liam shook his head, ?Then I guess both our respective siblings are dead. It now seems that all that I need to do is finish what I came here to do, my job.?

Jess remained grim and ripped her Velcro gun holster off her hip, tossing it and the weapon to the side before taking a stance. ?Fine. Let?s make this fair though. Take off the Kevlar and lose the pistol.?

Liam gave a mock bow and tossed his khaki t-shirt aside to reveal the black Kevlar vest. He undid the Velcro straps and dropped it to the tiled floor with a dull thud. He picked up his shirt and put it back on, throwing his gun and holster to the side.

Jess gave a curtsey before leaping at him, tackling him around the middle. They both hit the hard tiles and slid with the momentum. Liam threw her off and got to his feet, waiting for her to do the same. He rolled his shoulders and rushed; first fist colliding with her chin and the second openhandedly slammed her in the chest.

Jess gasped as the air was knocked out of her lungs and stumbled back a pace. Liam, not keen on wasting time, kicked her in the stomach. As she fell, he felt cold steel slash deeply in his leg.

Jess spat blood out of the corner of her mouth, ?I?ve learnt a few tricks in the time I?ve been here. One of which was to fight dirty!?

A derringer two shot dropped into her palm from a secreted pocket in her sleeve, Liam dropped to the floor in his efforts to avoid the two heated shots. He rolled back to his feet, with some effort on the bleeding leg, only to be high-jump-kicked in the face. He fell back on his rump for the third time in the space of five minutes.

Liam lifted Jessie to his face, ?Why sis? Can you bloody tell me that??

She smirked, ?We all need a little controversy...besides, I was getting bored after all this goodie two shoes espionage business, I enjoy the jungle, when I heard truth, that they got mum and dad, I thought what?s the point of trying to beat them when you can join them? I took this transfer and started.?

Liam dropped her, disgusted. Jess giggled, completely without malice, ?Bit of a moral dilemma for you isn?t it? Fighting for a corrupt government or fighting with your sis on the good side? Whatever are you going to do??

?Do what I?m supposed to do, and fight on the good side.?

Jess nodded and wandered over to pick up her gun, ?Shall we kill these two miscreants together or what??

Liam didn?t reply. He picked up his Eagle and pulled the trigger until the gun was empty. Jess slumped to the floor, a pool of blood rapidly forming to greet her.

Liam walked over to her and knelt beside her, closing her pain struck eyes and walking out the exit, past the shocked Rae and Jaudiar.

[center]~~[/center]


Liam sat up and resisted the urge to roar out the pure hatred inside him. He?d prepared himself so well, locking away all the memories, only for it to blow up in his face. His subconscious had drawn a card, and it had given him this. He turned to his bedside table and slapped hard, it exploded into pieces and toppled over, spilling the holster onto the floor.
[/size]

[Ravenstorture]

[color=darkgreen][font=gothic][i]Malania threw herself at the bar, ordering the only liquid worth a glass - vodka. Katarina hung around at the enteranec of the throbbing club for a minute, assessing the exits and spark points (hidden bouncers, easy to find because people dance better when their not paid to keep an eye out) of the complex. Malania left her to it. It had been six months hard work for her, and although she would die to admit it, this was her first drink in the whole time. Kat joined her with a smirk on her face.[/i]

Kat: Dis place is a security nightmare. Ze doorman - doorvoman, I may say, is a 78 year ohd ex-prostitute wiz no teeth, and as far as I can tell, zere is no more security. Top points for ze seven fire escapes, zough.

Malania: Yeah, the Sari would do well to follow them on that front. The bar over the street... clubs here know terrorism is an issue. But that's not the reason for these doors. This place is the lowest of the low.

[i]Kat drank and melted against the bar.[/i]

Kat: I can tell... only fleapits seem to have decent drink zese days. You saying zat zere's a lot of trouble here? You know ve are officers of ze law...

Malania: Yeah, which is the beauty of it. I'm suspecting that people who kidnap children aren't ezactly all vork and no play, you get me?

Kat: You can't honestly expect me to believe that you will be keeping an eye out wiz your little... loff affair, do you?

Malania: Hey, just because heavy drinking and partying is my calling doesn't mean I loff it.

Kat: Why don't you speak wiz dat accent more often?

Malania: Why don't you drink up and kiss me again?

Kat: And ruin your chances of scoring wit some random guy? I think not, zomehow.

Malania: Same deal as with in the alleyway - it vould probably increase my chances of scoring.

[i]Kat laughed, downed another glass and pushed herself into the mass of dancing people, dragging Malania with her. [/i][/color][/font]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]Her spirit flared like a beacon, and she turned her head in Liam's direction. Bailey put her hand on Zharra's shoulder.[/i]

"What is it?"

"Liam's burning."

[i]She pushed Bailey's hand away absentmindedly and walked back to where Liam was. She could feel something tearing away at his soul. Jaudiar had mentioned it to her a long time ago but it was still there. And she supposed it would be there, the memories. And no way to escape. Why? She stood in the doorway, unmoving, not speaking, just watching his chest heave with restrained emotions. And then she saw his eyes flicker up to her, and his hands grip the handle of his Desert Eagle.

Zharra snarled at him and gripped her own weapon as well.[/i]

"....stand down Liam."

".....why have you come back?"

"I can't be paused forever. I have responsibilities to the organizations I promise my skills to. And so do you."

[i]She held up a single disk and tossed it at Liam.[/i]

"There's the system I'm importing onto the SYF computers. And this...."

[i]Zharra pulled out another, that was identical, save for the letters RMBS etched into its cover.[/i]

"Is the exact same system I'm importing onto the Triad computers. Only one difference."

"And that is?"

"One is pure, the other is corrupt."[/COLOR]

[BabyGirl]

[color=deeppink]Is it morning, or is it night? I cannot tell now :p. So...I'm assuming it's still nighttime, and therefore that's what I shall write about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/color]

[color=purple]Bailey had a lot of thoughts swirling around inside of her head. She had been lying awake on her small, uncomfortable bed, wondering where Rae was so late at night, and had heard a splintered [i]crash[/i] issue from Liam's room down the hall. She felt for him and his loss, and felt equally as bad for casuing him to bring up the subject in the first place. She wasn't one who liked to watch other people suffer over their past, after all, she did too, didn't she?

Realizing that she was no where close to slumber, Bailey rolled off of her bed and decided to see if the crash she had heard earlier had signified someone being in danger. When she reached Liam's room, she heard Zharra speaking with him and decided it would be better not to iterrupt. She merely wanted to make sure that everyone was ok...and when it came to the line of work she was now involved in, that was certainly the biggest flaw in her character. She liked people too much.

Save Liam and Zharra, no one else seemed to be hanging around the hallway where their rooms were located. With her Beretta holstered, Bailey thought it would be better for her to get some air and re-evaluate what exactly she had gotten herself into with SYF. If she came to the conclusion that saving the world through violence wasn't for her, she could always revert back to her life of street crime...but the thought stank of sarcasm. [stunk? oh the silly English language.]

As she turned the corner into a hallway leading away from their rooms, Bailey collided with Rae.

"Egh, I'm sorry Rae. Small corridors." She offered her a smile.

Rae shrugged, "Happens all the time." As she started back down the direction from which Bailey had just come without another word, Bailey noticed her slight slump of fatigue.

"Rae," she sighed and turned to face Bailey, "are you all right?"

"Just peachy, darling."

"I-" Bailey stopped herself from bringing up the incidents that had happened during the mission, hardly wanting to rub salt in anyone else's wounds, "is there anywhere to get some air around here?"

Rae paused, thinking it over, "Past the mess hall turn left and follow it until it dead ends. There will be a fire door on your right, take the stairs and it will lead you to the roof."

Bailey smiled, genuinely grateful, "Good things come from running into people, I suppose."

"Just don't tell anyone," Rae called over her shoulder as she moved further down the hall, "[i]used[/i] to be one of my secret spots."

"Thanks again." And Bailey set out to breath something other than stale air.[/color]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1]Rae rubbed her hands over her eyes, reviewing the session. It was much like always -- everything she said led to Liam.

Speaking of whom, he hadn't been hovering in his usual Liam-esque fashion, which meant that there was something less than normal going on.

She set off to find him, frowning slightly at the lack of [i]anyone[/i]. Except for Bailey, she couldn't find any SYF team members. Her frown became less and less slight as she looked into the bedrooms, then disappeared slightly when she saw Liam and Zharra in his room.

She cleared her throat and smiled sweetly at the two of them. "I can leave, if you want me to...but you know the rules about cohabitation -- not in the dorms." It got their attention, certainly. Liam glared and Zharra's eyes flickered dangerously.

"Actually, I was just looking for Kat and Malania. They don't seem to be anywhere." Rae peered closely at Liam.

"...Are you okay? You seem a bit..." She trailed off and glanced at Zharra, who shook her head. No, Liam wasn't okay. And there was only ever one thing that made him not okay; the memories of missions. More specifically; Jess.

Rae's eyes softened a bit, and she looked at the ground. She could remember vividly every detail of that day -- including the heartbroken look Liam had when he let it slip through.

She licked her lips and started to say something, then stopped. What could she say? [i]Yeah, look, sorry you had to kill your twin sister.[/i] That would go down well.

Rae's eyes zoomed in on the Desert Eagle in Liam's hands. Was that another one on his back? So that's what had brought it on -- he'd opened the case.

A thought occured to her, and she voiced it with sincere interest -- "Hey, Liam, do you remember the Metal Storm? Where did that end up, anyway?"[/size]

[liamc2]

[size=1]

A hint of a smile played around Liam?s lips as he thought about the question.

?It?s under glass back in Australia, in the main SYF training compound. I think they even have my picture next to it.?

Rae?s forehead crinkled in confusion, ?what? Why??

?The MS1 was?well?to put it bluntly, too damn powerful for covert urban missions. Besides, Metal Storm wanted it back for testing. They?re in the process of making more you know. When they?d finished, I just donated to the SYF until further notice??

Liam played with the thought in his mind. It was very tempting? ?Actually,? he said thoughtfully, ?with this big mission and the Triad?s with their Uzi?s and all?it might be time for the MS1 to be dusted off??

The intensity in the room deflated like a punctured air mattress.

Liam carried the conversation on by himself. ?So, if I send the email off six hours before the mission starts, I?ll have it here and vacuum sealed by the time we go.? He turned to Rae, ?ok Rae, you know the red tape better than I do, could you give me a hand on that?? He turned back to Zharra and twirled the disk, ?and while Rae does that, I?ll sort this out??

Liam looked at his watch and realised how tired he was. ?Until then I?m going to die for a few hours, if you want to wake me, poke me with a stick for a while.?

With that he kicked off his shoes, dropped his guns and fell promptly onto his stomach. The bed rocked slightly as Liam rolled onto his side, back, before finally resting on his stomach.

Sleep was instantaneous.

?Right. We should leave then I suppose??

Liam grumbled in his sleep, making noises like an aggravated cat before rolling onto his other side. His feet hung over the end of the bed.

Zharra cocked an eyebrow. ?Unless of course we want to be entertained by sleeping beauty here??

There was a cracking sound as he arched his back, stretching in his sleep with his fingers and toes stretched.

?Just as interesting asleep as he?s awake.? Rae muttered as she closed the door behind her.

Liam smiled in his sleep, his left hand moulding to the shape of a submachine gun grip.
[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]"Ah, but he's not quite as easy to manipulate when he's awake."

[i]The only other female present looked at her like she was absolutely insane, then shook her head, seeing Zharra's grin. She rolled her eyes.[/i]

"You're incorrigable."

"No, I'm irresistable."

[i]The two laughed pleasantly. Rae noted that while she was like Jaudiar in many ways, she was still definetly her own person. For one thing, she was definetly more relaxed....and open. She kind of appreciated that after working for Liam for so long.[/i]

"And egotistical."

"Can I help it if the Triad hitmen love me?"

[i]She winked and headed out the door, towards what she knew was not her final destination. Rae peered after her.[/i]

"Be safe."

"Aren't I always?"[/COLOR]

[liamc2]

OOC: Apparently TUN wishes to post the first encounter of the team with the Triad stronghold. The Team, however, can feel free to do some fillers in the 'truck' on the way there.

It can be a long trip ~_^

[size=1][b]Let?s load up this bandwagon[/b]

?Mrowf.? Liam muttered and rolled over as someone poked him in his side. He was poke again, harder this time, ?push off?sleeping??

Two things happened. The bed Liam was sleeping on was suddenly pitched to the side, and Liam woke up.

?Ow. You could have kept poking me.? Liam brushed splinters from his shirt, remnants of his bedside table.

Matt lifted him up by the collar. He looked serious, really, really serious. Mission serious. Liam sobered up instantly.

?The Commander has put forward the mission date, it appeared we had a leak. The Triad are preparing for us to come tomorrow, so we?re leaving in an hour. All the agents are in the break room, tooled up and ready, except you.?

?Everybody is ready? Wow.? Liam said while grabbing various clothes from his bag, including moulded body armour.

?Except Malania?she?s there?but?not all there?if you catch my drift.?

Liam picked up a towel. ?She got hit by a rock??

?No. She?s drunk, vodka I assume, seeing as she hasn?t got alcohol on her breath.? Matt eyed the towel, ?we have to go, and you?re having a shower??

Liam stopped in front of the door to the ensuite. ?Well,? he said, ?if you really like my manly musk smell, Matt, I can just get changed if you want.?

Matt wrinkled his nose. ?Take the shower. We?ll brief you with the others when you?re done.?

Liam smiled and pulled open the door, ?if you insist.?

The shower started and Liam hunted for the soap. As the foam was washed away, something clicked.

?Wait a second?this means?great, much suffering from sever lack of MS1.?

[center]~~~[/center]

Liam opened the door to the break room, a new one seeing as Katarina disliked the previous. He sat with great aplomb, putting his drink on the table. Zharra eyed him suspiciously.

?Took your time didn?t you??

Liam smiled and fixed the straps on his thigh Kevlar, ?quite frankly Zharra I don?t give a flying fire truck.?

Malania on the other side of the room let out a loud ?Hah!? and lilted sideways in her seat. Katarina caught her before she fell out.

?Zhe had to catch up on six months of zhe drinking.? She explained in Malania?s defence.

Matt waved it aside, ?fine. She?d better be sober by we arrive, or she?ll be in the truck with me and the Singapore Dragon coordinators.?

Liam?s eyebrows went up. ?The Dragons are on this case??

Bailey spoke the rest of the teams feelings when she said, ?the [I]who?[/I]?

Matt folded his arms. ?The Singapore Dragons are a squad of elite antiterrorist soldiers. They aren?t widely known, unless you?re in the profession. Basically they?re sent into situations as an urban strike-force, and are equipped as such. Full body armour and cut back assault rifles, as well as controlled explosives.?

Liam grinned, ?as in napalm grenades that have an explosive radius just enough to encompass an enemy and burn them to charcoal, but leave the surrounding area intact.?

Katarina let a low whistle of interest. ?Now zat is somezing I like.?

?Yes, well. As I was saying. The Dragons will be in full battle fatigues for combat, you will be in casual. This is because it is more than likely that the Triad will attempt to escape into the general public, and the Singapore government feels it too much of a liability to the Dragon security to have them traipsing about in public.?

?But it?s ok for us?? Rae queried.

?You won?t be wearing a soldier suit.?

?That makes all the difference.? Liam muttered. ?So basically we have to break in, rescue Bradley, bust up the Triad, steal some files and hunt down the big wigs??

?Basically.? Matt said. ?We?re moving out now. Standard issue Styer or M4 will be in the truck. You guys are lucky, normally you take what you?re given.?
[/size]

[The Unholy Newt]

[size=1]That was it. Bradley had enough. Orders or not he was getting out, tonight. He was due for breakfast soon so his breakfast delivery man was due for a large headache.

After some time waiting there was a click and the door to Bradley's cell opened. A triad entered, one hand held his food and the other held a loaded gun trained on Bradley. Bradley got up and walked over to him to collect his breakfast. He grabbed hold of the plate and brought it upwards to smash into the triad's face. He then grabbed the gun with one hand and the triad's head with the other and pulled it down onto his knee. The triad dropped to the floor unconcious.

'And so it begins." Bradley said to himself.

He quickly looked aorund the corner and then ducked back in again. Outside his cell was a corridor with numerous other cell doors, he briefly considered freeing the occupants of the cells but decided against it as they would be a hinderance rather then a help.

The corridor was clear so he cautiously crept out into the hallway. So far so good. He went down to one end of the hall way. It ended with a door that lead to some unknown place. Bradley decided to check it out. He opened the door a crack and saw nothing. He took a chance and swung the door open. Bad idea. The room appeared to be some sort of meeting room where a group of triads were having some form of meeting. Bradley just managed to dive back behind the door before a score of bullets rushed past.

They seemed to share Liam's philosophy of 'here is no suchthing as too much ammo' so as they broke to reload Bradley jumped out and opened fire with his newly 'aquired' gun. He took out about four with about three remaining. He heard footsteps behind him and saw about six triads coming up the hall behind him. He swore loudly. He had to take the meeting room or he was screwed. He quickly reloaded with the ammo he took from the unconcious triad and rolled inside the room firing in the general direction of the remaining triads. By some miracle he downed them all.

He moved quickly over to a table in the centre of the room and turned it on it's side using it as cover. He jumped up and fired down the hall, hitting a few triads and then ducked back down to reload. He swore again. He didn't have nearly enough ammo to take on a whole triad cell if they kept coming.

As if answering his problem the door behind him burst open and Liam followed by the rest of the team burst in.

'It's about time you bloody lot showed up.' He yelled at them.

'Hey, we're supposed to be here to rescue you,' Liam answered as he routinely began blasting triads. 'What the hell are you doing out in a gun fight with triads.'

'Um . . . I had some urgent unformation that couldn't wait.' He answered lamely as he gunned down a few triads.

'Yeah, right. Well we here now so you didn't mess things up too bad.'

'My saviour' he said sarcastically.

'Damn staight.'

'Remind me to hit you when we get out of here.'

~TUN[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]Several things. One: What is TUN? Am I being slow or did I miss a memo? Two: Did anyone catch the part about the trade with the Triad? Zharra gives them the Rhambus software, and they give her Bradley? .......eh.[/COLOR]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1][b]OOC:[/b] TUN is The Unholy Newt. And yes, I did catch that, but Bradley wasn't told that, so I think he escaped before the Triads [i]could[/i] set him free. At least, that's what TUN told me.

Anyway, guys, the reason for this note was something else entirely. Just letting you knwo that I'll be away from this afternoon [Friday] until Friday next week, and completely out of contact. So I won't be able to post.[/size]

[The Unholy Newt]

[size=1]ooc: If you had read earlier posts Raiha, you would see that from the outset the plan was to infiltrate the triad headquarters and start killing triads as to seriously cripple them.

Bradley being rescued was merely an excuse for an attack on the triads.

~TUN[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]Oh, so I do have a role either way. Okay. I'll deal. You guys attack, I do the subterfuge thing, import the programs, play stupid, and then kill a few of my own. Wheee!
~~~~~~~~~~
[i]She moved slowly through the back alleys and sideways, changing her outfit as she walked. On the way, she paused at an old friends house, dropped off her fatigues, and completed her outfit. Then, armed for the battle, clothed in her only armour, she continued moving. They greeted her at the door and she moved upwards through the halls without a single qualm. The attack wouldn't be until she had finished the majority of the import. She hoped.

Without thinking, she turned on the computer and began the downloading programs. The Triad were leaving her alone, as she had requested earlier. Good. All the better to cheat the program codes with my dear.[/i]

".....simple creatures are the easiest to manipulate."[/COLOR]

[Ravenstorture]

[color=darkgreen][font=gothic][i]Malania looked at her watch. Couldn't read the numbers. Kat...where...where is the music? Where was that guy... the one who stopped her from falling over when the support of bodies fell away on one side... he wasn't there. She couldn't smell him. Unless, of course... he smelt like oil... the familiar scent of sweat ocillated and stripteased itself down into a little hard ball of russian dialect. It said, "Dura! Alkash... Malania, shiryat'sya de?" Malania didn't dare open her eyes, she smelt the sunlight, felt it swearing at her pale, planet-frost skin. "Nyet." She muttered, answering the question as to whether or not she had injectd drugs. What time was it? Groping in the self-inflected darkness, her world took a left turn and beeped loudly, making Malania seriously considering throwing up. She found her wrist, and found her watch. Couldn't feel her arm... what did that mean? Not hers? A sliced open strawberry, pressed to her ear, still warm from the sunshine, whispered, "Chetireh." Four in the morning? Where was she? The fruit kissed her temple and warm, powdery snakes engulfed her upper body, tempting her to collapse against this hidden medusa. Katarina, the one that had always been there when the ocean and the sky reversed. But not anymore.
Darkness lurched sideways, the snakes constricted. Malania threw up, but didn't feel it on her. If anyone else was here, she might bother about being embarrassed... until then, she complained to the strawberry about the heat.[/i][/color][/font]

[The Harlequin]

[font=gothic][color=indigo][i]Katarina leant back against the truck, grabbed Malania by the arm, and sighed. A Dragon next to her looked on in derision. Katarina caught the look, unfortunately for him. She absently picked up the only thing she brought with her on this particular escapade. A rather large case. To the best of her knowledge, only she was so far aware of its contents. She decided it would be best to change that. She set the drunk Malania down, and knelt beside the black piece of baggage, and unzipped the top compartment. A nice shiny bit of black metal greeted her, with a rich, dark brown wood. Double barrel, sawn off, six bullet capacity...and enough power to put your average RPG to shame. The good old Waste Class combat shotgun. Katarina lifted it out lovingly, and its twin shone beneath it. She transferred the first to her left hand, and lifted the second. A black kelvar vest, with long sleeves with odd tubes on the inner arms completed the set. The Waste shotgun, as well as the high bullet capacity, also had the advantage of being loaded from the back of the butt. The strange tubes, hooked to ammo strips that run down her back, could be fed straight into those openings, meaning all Katarina had to do was to flick her arms forward and hold the guns in the right place to reload.

She stood back up, checked on Malania, and leant back against the truck. The Dragon, who had probably never had that kind of interesting set up at his disposal, just glared. In fact, Katarina shouldn't have had it either, but a nasty experience with a Canadian bounty hunter with German connections had lead to the interesting find. Which settled her firepower needs most of the time.

Malania made some comment about Katarina's overkill tendencies, unfortunately it was cut off by gunfire.

Katarina tensed, raising her left gun, her body angled to absorb the recoil. Which meant she ended up being completely side on to the door they were watching. Katarina rather fervently hoped that when someone did come out, it was someone she was meant to shoot.

For her sake though, the arrivals were preceeded by a sudden disintegration of the door through gunfire. Several surprised looking Singaporians, suddenly relieved of the neccessity to risk death by pausing to open a door, were somewhat less happy about the sudden removal of the leading two deserters, in one shot. Katarina pulled the trigger again, and caved in another idiot's chest cavity. She was grinning maniacally, waiting for a third chance, when a hail of gunfire moved in the wrong direction. Towards her.

She looked left, and smiled. She flicked her German miltary coat away, and another shot erupted. The right shotgun, fired crosswise under the arm. The gunner, carrying a heavy assult gun, had most likely been pretty confident of his advantage prior to that point. Katarina looked down. The Dragon was on the ground, gasping and bleeding. Malania was slumped against the truck, unconscious. Katarina sighed, and slung her guns over her shoulders. Chances are she'd have to give her mouth to mouth again....[/font][/color][/i]

[Ravenstorture]

[color=darkgreen][font=gothic][i]Gunfire. Headache. High blood alcohol content. Feeling the warm, fetid air on her face, Malania began to wake up a little bit. Leaning forward, she put her legs on her ankles and ran her fingers up her legs. She was still wearing what she was last night, two guns on her thighs. Pulling them out, she finally opened her eyes. The first scene that greeted her was the contents of her stomach and half a van. No one else to be seen, this particular street seemed to have been abandoned.... now to test her feet...

Thank god for platform FMBs. Finding a wall to lean on was a bit of a hit and miss, but when someone shot at her, she began to open her eyes a little more. Little by little, things came back to her. The flashes of enemy, like fluorescence in her drunken nightvision. A slice of black on the top of a low building.... Taking aim with one arm held loosely infront of her, she fired. Right through the head... Ah, not only feeling invincible but also still a brilliant shot. A knife to her throat, she spun and found herself face to face with a slim, middle aged singaporean woman. Not on her side. She burped loudly, and the woman smirked at the scent of heavy drinking on her tounge. (i'm sorry people, I know they say you can't smell vodka, but I've lived with an alcoholic for nearly twenty years. You can.) Slumping against the woman, she went to drop Malania, but as soon as the woman shifted the knife lower Malania opened her mouth wide and took a huge bite of the woman's jugular vein.

Now not only was she staggering around drunk and armed, but covered in blood. This is definately the way to go.

All of a sudden she was kneeling... not quite ready for it yet. The action seemed to have moved in the other direction, however, as she was still alive. But she was alone. Malania wasn't stupid - people like her didn't wait for people like her, why should anyone else?

Time to take advantage of the blood and fall down, pretending you're dead. Sleep....[/i][/color][/font]