Help Wanted

[Grace]

Sorry folks but this is a fast ball and I can't discuss details in the open.

I need help from as many people as can respond that are already in the DC area.

All I can say is that it's a rescue mission and there will be gun play as well as possible supernatural threats. Normally I'd handle a job like this solo but I think I could probably use the back up this time out.

Additional details can be provided by PM, serious inquiries only.

[Slayer]

Count me in, I will await your PM.

[Grace]

Thank you for your assistance last night, Slayer.

For those of you who are wondering, this is how it all got started.

To be honest, I was a little surprised when about a week ago, Holister contacted me about a job he wanted done.

Poor little guy was worried that no one had been looking for Azrael. The money he was offering was so below par that I almost said no. But then I figured I’d give this whole, “Pro-Bono” thing a try. You know, try a good deed and see where it goes.

Besides, my ears are still ringing over a scolding Ron gave me about a time I should have shot but didn’t. I may be paying for that mistake for a long, long time.

So I told the good sheriff to keep his money and started to work.

My investigation soon revealed that the decapitated body that was found was a red herring. Probably meant to throw people off the scent. It didn’t work.

There was a lull in my progress forward trying to find Azrael at this point so I started looking backwards. Trying to get a sense for who he was. The skills I learned tracking down Vlad came in handy on this caper.

Azrael… liked to fight. There’s no denying that. He must have been in every European war for the last four centuries. Compared to Vlad, this guy was wearing a neon scene throughout history.

I guess it keeps a body from getting bored.

Eventually I started picking up his scent again. I’m not going to reveal too many details here. Suffice it to say that I tracked him down to a warehouse outside of town. I was even able to get inside the building for some quiet sneaking around.

I could hear him screaming before I saw him. They were using the sort of interrogation methods that Brutal has become somewhat infamous for. Real high voltage stuff. No need to describe it more than that.

There were more guards present than I was prepared to deal with alone. So I slipped out again. That was when I put out the call for help.

The call was answered.

[Holister]

Is he alive?

[Grace]

Of course he is, but you're getting ahead of my narrative, Benji.

[Hannah]

So thats what you were up to last night.

[Holister]

Well what happened?

[Joe Smith]

Don't hold out on us. Inquiring minds and all that.

[Holister]

Exactly.

[Grace]

Patience boys, you can't rush a girl.

The reverse is not, however, true.

Two people were able to offer their help on such short notice.

As can be seen earlier in this thread, Slayer was one of the first to volunteer. I was somewhat hesitant at accepting his aide. For some reason I had visions of having to stuff his body in a closet, mid-assault.

At least meeting him in person has proven he doesn’t wear a skirt. Nor does he seem to be equipped with pom-poms. So probably no bi-sexual red-headed side-kick either.

It honestly wasn’t a surprise when Ron also stepped up to help. I wouldn’t have been offended if he had sat this one out. He’s been reconnecting with Hannah and that’s important right now. But well, he’s Ron.

We knew going in that we were outnumbered. My earlier reconnaissance had determined that much. Our opponents were well armed and probably professional shooters. There were no obvious supernatural threats but none of us were willing to take that risk.

Basically, when it came to planning, we had two viable options. Either some sort of stealth entry or a lot of speed and aggression. Perhaps not surprisingly, we went with speed and aggression. Lots of emphasis on AGGRESSION.

There were two weak points in their defence that we could effectively exploit. The first was the roof and the second was the walls themselves.

That is how we decided on grabbing a big Mack truck and using it to plow through one of the walls. Slayer was driving and I was riding shotgun. And while we were doing that, Ron was to come through the roof to secure the high ground.

They weren’t planning on our method of entry. So when our recently acquired truck busted into the building like the Kool-Aid man on steroids, everyone turned to look what was going on. What they got was two heaping eyeballs full of flash-bangs. To follow up, I was popping CS gas like there was no tomorrow.

That was when Ron made his presence from the ceiling known.

[Holister]

You took the wall. Nicely done. Probably went for the wall neath' the window where you knew there'ld be no structural support. They never see that one comin'.

[Ron Caliburn]

I can’t claim to be the bob builder Bert is, but I am pretty handy with a breaching charge. In this case, I had the advantage of building blueprints supplied by Techno, and one of those portable elevating platforms, to let me blast in on the upper level.

I also got lucky in that one of the goons happened to be right on the other side of the wall when the charge went off, the blast knocking him off the catwalk to the floor thirty feet below.

I plunged through the gap before the dust had cleared. The arrival of the truck through the loading bay doors had thrown the goons in the place into disarray, my job was to keep them off balance while the snatch team finished their run.

Fortunately, I happened to have the perfect tool for that job, a Milkor M32 loaded with a mix of stun grenades and pepper ball grenades. The stun grenades blind, deafen and disorient. The pepper-ball grenades sting exposed flesh, causing pain while at the same time spreading a good-sized cloud of OC blinding them and choking them. In the eight seconds it took me to unload the cylinder I’d reduced what had been a unit guards to a mob of confused rabble, desperately seeking cover.

I dropped the last pepperball right next to the bald guy working the electricity; he dropped choking and tearing up.

I let the sling take the MGL and pulled out the new toy that had arrived in the mail for me just that week, a short-barreled HK417 intended to be a demonstration model for sales to police SWAT teams. It was about the same size of the compact HK416 I had been using and could mount all the same accessories, but had the added plus of full-powered 7.62 NATO ammunition, which proved to be the right choice on this night as the goon’s body armor would have stopped the HK416’s 5.56 NATO rounds.

I engaged the unsuppressed goons with controlled pairs to the centre mass. I dislike using lethals on humans, but these guys were well armed and had been watching a torture session without batting an eye, so I figured they were both scum and professionals, so I didn’t mind taking off the kid gloves.

Meanwhile, the truck screeched to a stop just short of Azreal.

[Holister]

Nice job Ron.

[Ron Caliburn]

I was fortunate the 417 carbine arrived this week. If I'd been using the 416 I'd have had to rely on headshots to drop the goons. I'm fast and accurate, but I can be a lot faster if I don't have to be quite as accurate.

I was also fortunate I'd take taken the time to attach the M26 MASS to the 417 too.

[Holister]

They sounded tough. Any idea who they were? or what they wanted with Az?

[Hannah]

I figured Dad and Darcy had been up to something when they both showed up sweaty with big grins on their face. Good thing they also smelled of cordite too, otherwise they'd have been in trouble.

[Grace]

I figured Dad and Darcy had been up to something when they both showed up sweaty with big grins on their face. Good thing they also smelled of cordite too, otherwise they'd have been in trouble.

In trouble?

I wasn't aware we were in need of a chaperone.

[Ron Caliburn]

Apparently.

[Hannah]

Well Ben seemed to be convinced you two were . . . I like Ben and all but I'd hate for him to be right on this. I'd feel so bad for Wie.

[Grace]

Hannah, I would never do anything to hurt Wie if I could at all help it.

I like working with your dad and I'm starting to think of him as my friend but that's as far as it goes, promise.

[Hannah]

Don't worry Dar, I don't think you would, but Ben was so insistent, I had to wonder for a moment.

[Holister]

What? He's a man, she's a woman. They're both mature adults. If they happened to " be intimate " its their choice. Its not like Wie is still in the picture anymore. Sides's, Darcy and ya' dad make a nice couple.

[Grace]

What? He's a man, she's a woman. They're both mature adults. If they happened to " be intimate " its their choice. Its not like Wie is still in the picture anymore. Sides's, Darcy and ya' dad make a nice couple.

Sure we're both adults. He's also about 13 to 15 years older than me.

It is our choice and our business. So it's about time you butt out of it.

Wie is still in the picture.

We're not a couple.

Is that plain and clear enough for you?

[Hannah]

Ben, dad and Wie aren't together, but they are still connected. Also, think of what Wie would feel reading this sort of stuff.

[Holister]

Nothing. She's blind. Besides, ya' Pa has every right to be happy, even if it means datin' a younger woman.

[Grace]

Nothing. She's blind.

I see someone took their jackass pills this morning.

Besides, ya' Pa has every right to be happy, even if it means datin' a younger woman.

I agree, maybe he'll find one. I ain't it.

So, are you ready to drop it like you said you were going to and like I told Slayer you were going to when he started in on you for this crap? Because at this point, I'm getting kinda sick of the High School, are they or aren't they bullcrap you're perpetrating here.

[Cybermancer]

I figured Dad and Darcy had been up to something when they both showed up sweaty with big grins on their face. Good thing they also smelled of cordite too, otherwise they'd have been in trouble.

Does this mean that Nemesis is still in the DC area?

[Holister]

I'm getting kinda sick of the High School, are they or aren't they bullcrap you're perpetrating here.

Touchy this morning aren't we. Oh relax and take a chill pill Nemmy. Its all just harmless goofin' on ya' & Ron, but I'll knock it off if we can hear the rest of the story.

[Hannah]

Nothing. She's blind. Besides, ya' Pa has every right to be happy, even if it means datin' a younger woman.

Ben, do you have any idea how crude and insensitive to Wie those comments are? I'm hoping you don't because that would just mean you're being an ignorant jackass instead of being a mean-spirited piece of trash.

I suggest you take a really hard look at this, realize you screwed up and send Wie a really sincere apology.

[Hannah]

Does this mean that Nemesis is still in the DC area?

You should ask her, even my father has gotten past talking about her like she isn't even there.

Seriously, why is everyone here so rude today?