Pierce chuckles and nods "I do carry around a number of blades, but yes, on the range is where I shine
From around the corner appears Sam looking at the piece of paper and tapping her foot in what seems to be frustration." 'We' were sent some requisition from Black Chamber. That idiot forgot to call Agent Q as well. Agent L is getting his things as well and naturally didn't say anything." After she says this she turns on her heel back around the corner.
[b]"that figures, it's what they say about "government intelligence""
"That said governments have intelligence files as thick as my arm on all of us?" Shrike asked blandly. He, for one, had never seen much purpose in belittling the capacities of large organizations. He knew from personal experience that the occult intelligence agencies tended to look somewhat bumbling up until the point when they were knocking on your front door with a stack of commandos loitering on the sidewalk.
"Come on now, I'd like to see what you all can do before I put my life and sanity in your hands."
Pierce snorts as he pulls out his sniper rifle, which, if nothing else was top of the line.
he walks to the range, trusting them to follow. He focuses and his firearm glows slightly as he looks down the sights. he raises his fingers to feel for the ever so slight currents the AC provide. Despite the silencer, the target itself exploded from the strike to its head, completely blowing the head off of its body.
He pauses "I'm also trained in stealth"
Shrike applauds politely and somehow not ironically. The use of Agent Brosnan's talents was obvious. There always seemed to be a surplus of things that needed quite killing from a great distance on these sorts of missions.
"How about you, Agent Q? Sam?" He was curious to see just what the Black Chamber found useful to instill in their agents.
"I'm busy with these things Shrike!" yells Sam's voice from around the corner. "Why don't you make yourself useful and see if you need any of this?"
Your all at this point talking to each other, working out who is who and who said what when a voice pops into all your heads. Its lady P and she sound flustered.
::"There has been a change of plans, we have a salutation, New orders, grab what you have and head out the studio to the main road, move now."::
She orders, as you start to move she goes on.
::"No time to get transport there, Look in the IDs, I sent, you all have military ones. Use them to comendire something heading south to the river. Get to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Here is what we have, about an hour ago a lone German night plane flow low over the river and dropped something into Kew. Air raid wardens sent a bomb squad in, and lost contact, sent someone to check on them and same thing. We have Home guard closing off the area at the moment, Story is its a gas attack. But a warden there says they can see "things" moving in the trees. Right now by pour chance your the team closest and free, so get there, have a look and report soon as you can. This is top priority, nothing else matters."
Then she is gone.
Brosnan, Q and L MI Captain Army,
Shrike Commander Army
US or English as nationality
"They hit Kew with something?" Although he did not resort to crass displays of his displeasure, it was frightfully easy to hear the notes of simmering outrage in his voice, held in check by tenuous propriety.
He paused only to collect his coat and limped out deceptively quick for someone with such a bad leg. With his cane, suit, and steeled frown, he looked as though he intended to have stern words with whatever was incapacitating military personnel at the Kew Botanical Gardens and fully expected to be listened to.
Dismissing the disguise, Agent L grabs the large bag and follows the surprisingly quick Shrike. As they are leaving L is looking for an empty vehicle to requisition.
Dismissing the disguise, Agent L grabs the large bag and follows the surprisingly quick Shrike. As they are leaving L is looking for an empty vehicle to requisition.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Off to one side unloading wood for the building sets, is a small 4 tone Foden Truck
There is a young lad and a driver unloading the last of the wood planks.
Pierce frowns as he refocuses his mind. He wishes he hadn't spent his psionic energy on this crude display. But he follows the others without visible complaint, and sets about cleaning his rifle and sharpening his knives in the car."anybody know how to drive?"
Noticing the truck and the people, L crouches to hide and moves over to dispatch the owners/witnesses.
Attack driver(non-lethal) |
Attack young lad(non-lethal) |
After knocking out the two L moves to the limp body of the driver and retrieves the keys and wallet. He then moves toward the vehicle and into the drivers seat. This whole process, Agent L's expression does't change.
Agent Q helps Agent L with moving the bodies, and ties them up. He gets into the van beside L.
Sam grabs her gear and follows the others--she nearly forgets that she cast a glamer on herself, and after a brief moment of temptation to walk around as a poor facsimile of George VI she dismisses the illusion.
"Alright we could have just commandeered the vehicles with the military IDs like Miss P said, but sure, let's go knocking out civilians and stealing their cars willy-nilly," Sam says sarcastically, and briefly checks on the man and the boy to make sure they're still breathing.
After the others enter the truck Agent L uses the keys to turn on the vehicle and drives toward the exit of the studio.
"I'm going to need directions to get there Agent Shrike. Also," L reaches at his side and tosses the wallet he picked up at Sam, "Agent Korematsu, I took this so that we know where to return this vehicle."
You move fast and Agent L moves with skill knocking out both men with ease. Dumping the two in the back of the truck.
They off you got to the mean exit, a night card looks as you but there is no barrier out only a bar coming in.
You head south, you spot the river and Kew the other side, turning left you head for a bruge over the river and soon get to Kews north entrance. There are to home guard there baring the way.
The night is thick with fog from the River Thames, and as the bombing is on few if any lights outside.
"-I know you chaps aren't used to operating in Britain with the consent of the government, and I don't know how you do things over in the States, but over here we have protocols for commandeering and returning vehicles and other resources during wartime. As such, I would greatly appreciate an attempt to avoid unnecessary wear and tear on my countrymen. Ah, here we are." It was the tail end of the sort of thorough scolding of agents Q and L that only a scholar or teacher could dispense, delivered in between precise directions to Kew Gardens.
Shrike slips down from the cab and looks about, waving over one of the home guard and showing the prepared ID. "James Shrike. I've got a bunch of specials here to deal with the situation inside. Any changes?"
"No, we have procedures for commandeering vehicles stateside, too, I think he just wanted to hit somebody," Sam said as she geared up. She straightened, shoulders back, chin up, all the height of professionalism. It slips a little as she gets a look at the location. A zoo? Why bomb a zoo?
Agent L speaks up in his normal bland voice, "Agent Shrike and Agent Korematsu, it has been explained to me that incapacitating possible witnesses often prevents them from enduring torture from those seeking information about my movements. Because they did not see or interact with myself. I will refrain from taking initiative in the future and defer to your decisions except in the most dire situations. If you will accept this strategic analysis, I believe it would be best if Agent Brosnan climbed atop that aviary for initial sight purposes," pointing at the Western Aviary.
"What my colleague says here is unfortunately true. Even seeing a high-security operative can get one tried for high treason. Given that you operate under different rules, I'll differ to your authority."
"and What is that supposed to accomplish, what with all this damn fog, you can hardly see in front of your face"
The two home guard come over, asking you to identify your selves. Seeing Shrike's ID they stands starter. One is old about 60 the other a lad no more than 16.
The old on talks
"Commander Shrike, sir, me and the lad where told to stay here when Sargent cooper heading in with them bomb lads. We hears them chatting and then them shouting, well there in their Sir, you think there is a problem with the bomb that go dropped."
Behind him boy looks half scared to death. The boy pipes up.
"That ant the whole of it and you know it's"
The older man looks back,
"Shut it Billy or I'll"
But the boy seeing you does not.
"Sir there is something more, See when the stopped I went to have a butchers, I hear this noise see. Something not... human, animal like sir, sound like crunching and ripping sir. It thinks maybe some-ert got out."
The older man is staring daggers,
"Sorry sir we had a pint or to before we...
But the boy goes on.
"I ant been drinking I swear Sir, my mum says it bad, Sir I goes and has a look, Tommy here stays so he ant seen it. BUT I did. I saw some-et just for a moment, down where the bear pit is. I was fast, some-et from hell, it had... Wings and claws it had. I ant mad I tells ya it did, I was looking past the bear pit Sir it was there just coming out it was"
The older man, just walks up to the lad and lips him of the back of the head. The boy goes silent.
The older man turns and smiles at Shrike
"See sir, seeing devils he is, Lad been reading to many of them penny books sir, He's a but soft in the head. So Sir what are your orders."
"You lads just keep an eye out. No hairing after anything that comes tearing out of there, you hear? This sort of oddness is what us specials are kept around for," his sudden welshness served him well for dealing with rank and file troopers like this but it was still odd to hear him speaking in anything other than the carefully scrubbed accent he had used previously.
Stepping back from the grunts he turned to the others. "Easy Mr. Brosnan, our American friends have likely never dealt with a proper pea-souper before. You should trail behind us, say twenty or thirty feet. I'll take point. Ms. Korematsu, I'd appreciate it if you were backing me up. Agents L and Q, if you could flank us and skirmish as needed, that would also be useful. Objections? Questions?" Shrike certainly was not giving orders but he hoped his suggestions seemed reasonable.
"On your lead Agent Shrike," L responds as he draws his light pistol in ready and moves into formation.
"Indeed, that seems like a good strategy. Agent L, mind going into melee?" Agent Q draws his kukri, smiling slightly.
[B]As good a plan as any[b]"he nods and follows 20ft behind
The two home guards men look on as then your lost in the fog, heading to the bear pit. Its mostly quiet just the odd sound from the roads outside and animals moving when you get close. Then as you round a bend you hear a sound like wet scraping coming from just up ahead.
"I apologize Agent Q, as usual I do not get your humor."
Pierce pulls out his primary firearm and looks down the sights to see if he can tell what it is
"Easy, let's take it slow," Shrike says. While he does not hunker down or skulk along the shrubberies, he does elect to carry his cane and adjust his steps. It is clear the effort of keeping a reasonable stride with his bad leg bothers him but he is surprisingly quiet as he begins to close the distance to the sound.
Sam nods and follows Shrike, keeping an eye out and keeping as quiet as she can manage.
The think in the ground is moving, something stubby from it comes our and hit the ground with a wet thump.
Shrike continues to limp forward carefully, cane held up but not at the ready even as an improvised weapon. It occurred to him that now would be a terrible time to find out whatever they had been sent to quell had picked off agents Brosnan, Q, and L. It would be just his luck to run into something more talented at the ol'sneak and stab than the Laundry or Black Chamber were.
Agent Q sneaks along like a jungle cat, positioned so he can rush in to flank with Agent L.
As Shrike gets lose he starts to see what it is,
It's what's left of a man, some of his green inform can still be seem.
His been scalped, one eye is missing and his jaw. His left arm is still whole but his right is just a stump, with them he is tying to pull himself forward. But it hard going, because the lower part of his body is missing, trailing from his wast is what looks to be his intestines. A gergugling sound from his whats left of his mouth as hes one good eye sees you and the will that kept him going seems to end and he slumps, his head hitting the ground.
The rest of you see Shrike come close to the thing in the mist.
Shrike looks down with a strange distance in his eyes. Taking his time, he kneels and rolls the dead man onto his back. Gloved fingers fish out his identification tags from around his neck and snap one of the fabric tags free. He folds the dead man's remaining hand over the other tag and closes the man's eye.
Standing straight, he pockets the taken tag and takes a slow centering breath.
"Time to say hello to our new German friends," he says in a calm voice and snaps the tip of his cane against the pavement. Suddenly, the air behind him is full of shapes, stirring the fog with slow motions. It was a halo of weapons coalescing from the space between spaces with a dreamlike slowness. They only seemed partly there, as though they were merely the idea of memory of weapons made fleetingly tangible.
Another sharp tap from the cane and a malevolent energy seem to course through the weapons. This arrayed, Shrike resumed his path forward. A great sword and bearded axe, both of the sort once used to violently inconvenience mounted men in armor swung down to Shrike's sides like faithful wolfhounds.
Pierce looks down the barrel of his gun as he follows behind "it would be rude not to give them a show of our appreciation"
You move past the dead bomb disposal man to the bear pit, a large round whole in the ground that once held a bear before the war. Not moved up county to stately home and safely away from the sounds of bombing.
The whole is now full of boxes and planting equipment, a lader leaders down into it. As you come close, something moves fast, jumping up out and left, its inhumanly fast, and before you can get a beed on it to shoot to hit, it blots for a large building, Its human in from but wrong, the legs and arms are to long and the head to big.
You all give chase and get there just in time to see two doors smashed in. On one door it says, medical station.
Its one of the temporary medical stations set up to take locals of there is a bombing, London is full of them, most not used unless there is a Blitz attack close. This one seems empty of sick, and waiting for use.
On the wall its says Kew Museum, that must be what this building was before it was re designated for use as a Blitz medical station.
Shrike looks to the others, with the halo of ghostly weapons churning the air behind his head and a strange silvery glow leaking from his eyes, he looked like something that belonged in the fog and mist.
"I'll take point again, the rest of you keep quiet. We don't know if it saw anyone other than myself."
At the movement, Sam raised her sidearm, but it was gone before she could hope to react. "What the hell is going on here..." she murmurs to herself. She follows as instructed.
As you enter the building you, find an the entrance, some things seemed knocked over. There is no light or power, a stair wall leeds up and swing doors to the north. No one is in the room, but some spots off red blood leed to the door.
Taking what very well might be the most obvious path, Shrike heads for the door the blood leads to, calls the greatsword into a striking position, and goes through.
"There is fear in the air here, thick too. I'd say we move forward, but be on your guard," Agent Q mutters, waiting for Agent L to move into the room together.
Without a word Agent L does a quick scan for danger and then begins investigating the blood and where it leads.
All the while still being sneaky.
Sam heads in, keeping an eye out for danger and her weapon at the ready.