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Post by ramenigma on Nov 13, 2016 13:15:13 GMT
The ride wasn't a pleasant one, that can't be denied. Literally bumping shoulders in the back of the van to the sound of cheap, tinny radio tunes in the desert heat. The sacks over their heads didn't help things, either. Still, it wasn't all bad. There was the money to look forward. Brother, was there the money to look forward to...
And for the lucky saps who didn't want for cold, hard cash. There was the promise of a favour. Just like in an old gangster film, but this time the Godfather's been replaced with government officials in matching sunglasses and cheap suits. They called it the Aberrant Crime Eradication Project. ACE.
Fancy name for what essentially was asking people to put a hit on a guy.
But, hey. Who's judging? If a bunch of guys in the senate or whatever wanna call on the world's top crooks and crook-catchers... So be it. They're certainly the group most in the know. That's for sure.
Finally, the van begins descending down a slope and pulls into a cavernous expanse. The agents file out the "guests" and line them up, removing the sacks on their heads. This, it would seem, is the first time they've gotten to meet their allies and rivals.
"Greetings, I'm Dr. Schrader!"
A man in glasses and a white labcoat stands before the group. Behind him is a large steel door, the entrance to the inner compound.The room around him, however, is a clean and sterile white. Presumably quite different to the compound inside.
"I trust you've all read through the forms explaining the process?" he begins, grinning from ear to ear.
He's a brunette with green eyes, though it's hard to really tell behind his thick glasses. He looks to be in his late-thirties, though it could be the stubble ageing him a little. He's a little on the stocky side, but a little taller than average. Hardly so. He's the only non-participant there who looks particularly pleased.
The forms he speaks of were a basic set of papers you got. They gave you the general goal of the program, and that you would be staying in an exact replica of the Crow Estate manor house. It also mentioned something about... teams. Anything else was left to the wayside, it seems.
"Good, good." He doesn't wait for an answer. "In that case, allow me to begin by welcoming you all to the project! With your help, we believe we shall achieve some wonderful things within these walls!"
He pats the steel door lovingly.
"However, before all that begins, we'd like to ease you in." He makes a carefree motion with his hand. "So, off the bat, if you have any questions... Ask them now. Because once you're inside, you won't hear a peep from me."
He laughs.
"That said, don't ask too many questions. We'd like to get you into our facility as soon as possible so you can begin socialising and getting yourselves comfortable, of course!"
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Post by bbladerxring on Nov 13, 2016 13:51:19 GMT
Arch grumbled. Boy, this piece of shit had some nerve. Cooking in the desert was even worse than freezing on the streets. This asshole was going to have to pay for making him put up with all that. Maybe he would die later, after he coughed up the money. Maybe a few of the others would, too. He overheard some whining he didn't really care for. Whining bothered him.
And so did this jackass standing in front of him. Arch took a step forward, staring a whole through the man.
"Okay, asshole. You did what you wanted. You roasted us like a group of fucking sausages and brought us here. Now give me my share of the money, or I'll tear your head clean off." He reached out to grab the man, showing he was dead serious.
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Post by gemellidreamer on Nov 13, 2016 16:00:40 GMT
If Lise was particularly bothered by the desert heat, she did a very good job of hiding it. Well, it wasn't like there'd be much use complaining about it to the others with her. If things went as well as she imagined they would, then she would be paid more than enough to cover any of the inconveniences that she had faced. Besides, loudly complaining would take far too much effort, and that was energy that she wasn't willing to expend when it didn't bring any gain to her. Considering the relative lack of danger at the moment, there was no real reason to be on guard. As long as she paid just enough attention to make some mental notes about the other people with her and listened to all the information presented, things would probably work themselves out. Hopefully the others felt the same way as her, she didn't particularly feel like getting involved in any drama this early if it could be avoided.
That hope was shattered when someone immediately decided to threaten Doctor Schrader, apparently being much more fond of needlessly threatening people than Lise was. Hm, that was strange. She was pretty sure she would have remembered if they were getting paid extra to randomly threaten people. Lise immediately considered the pros and cons of stepping in to interfere. On one hand, it'd be better if this doctor stayed safe so that he could give them the info that they needed, and she was pretty sure that letting him get injured would probably be a bad idea. On the other hand... This was a group of the world's most experienced criminals and crime stoppers. If they hadn't expected something like this to happen, then Lise would be very surprised. With that in mind, Lise was sure that Doctor Schrader could handle himself, or that he had someone who could handle things for him.
Well, at least she now knew what kind of people she was dealing with. She was honestly impressed that Arch had the energy to threaten someone this early. She was also a bit concerned about his blood pressure, but not enough to comment on it. Oh well, she was a professional, she could act like all of this was normal and ask a question anyway. The most important one, considering Doctor Schrader had implied that he didn't want a million questions from everyone.
"Understood so far. So, how will food and refreshments be handled? What's available?" Lise asked, loudly yawning as she did so.
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Post by DreadLasagnaArchduke on Nov 13, 2016 17:18:42 GMT
Tombstone rocked back and forth lightly in silence for a few moments, his eyes closed and a smile on his face. One of their group had decided to attack the gentleman who seemed to be in charge, already asking for money before things had even begun, while some other lady was asking about food, a valid enough concern.
He stopped his rocking, and took his banjo off his back, tuning it briefly. Finally, he spoke up, and began plucking away at it. "There once was a man name of Schrader, who went to spelunk in a crater. He'd soon trip and fall, his brains hit the wall, his knowledge was left none the greater." After playing his little song, he strapped the banjo to his back once more. "Well, there's my contribution. Anyone else know any songs?" he continued rocking back and forth, smiling.
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Post by Bad Pasta on Nov 13, 2016 19:16:38 GMT
A second man is now standing besides Dr. Schrader. You don't think he was there from the beginning, but he's wearing a matching labcoat. He's thin and a few inches shorter than Dr. Schrader, with a mop of orange hair. He looks like he could be Dr. Schrader's assistant and has an air of professionalism...
At least until he puts his hands on Dr. Schrader's head and starts feeling around.
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Post by Try Biển Noodles on Nov 13, 2016 19:31:40 GMT
As soon as the bag was removed from his head, Lucius hurriedly reached for a cigarette in upper right vest pocket as if he were a child reaching for his first meal in deals. Hands shaking, he grabs his lighter from his pants pocket and brings it up to his mouth where his cigarette now rests. Upon lighting the cigarette, he takes a big breath of the smoke in, and though he flinches during the breath, relief washes over him as he exhales. "Finally, I thought that hell would never end."
The heat hardly fazed the shifty looking guy despite being heavily dressed and having a heavy case strapped over. Finally at peace, Lucius looked up towards the sky and muttered to himself, "89:32 No matter how much you got on my nerves, I will always miss you my dear."
Now listening to the doctors spiel, Lucius could not help feeling impatient to get the job done. He only had so many cigarettes on him, and doing the job without them was not an option. "Let's just hope this goes smoothly without incident."
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Post by blackrudone on Nov 13, 2016 20:08:12 GMT
Chris' eyes wandered lazily across the white surface of this new containment. Clean and quiet, it did not seem like a bad place. Building an underground replica in the first place seemed like quite the feat. He couldn't help but admire the effort, intentions behind the whole thing aside. After a nod to confirm his appreciation to himself, his attention focused back on where it should probably be at the moment - their host, Dr. Schrader. After listening to the rest of the intrduction with closed eyes, Chris nodded once again before bothering to raise one of his hands out of the pockets of his coat.
Midway through the motion, he realized something disruptive was currently going on. He wasn't sure what they were trying to accomplish by straight up assaulting their host, aside from losing their shot at the reward and subsequent solitary confinement. For a moment, he considered if it would be smart to interfere. Less people would mean less rivals at this thing, after all. In the end, however, he remembered his priorities and raised his hand, like a student patiently waiting for his turn.
"Hey, you wanna stop being so noisy? You're free to waste all the time you want later, but some people here have actual questions. Good? Just so."
He put his hand back into his pocket and closed his eyes again, waiting for an opportune silence to fill with his query.
"So about this 'favour'... can we get proper disclosure here? We can ask for anything we want, right? You're not gonna back out of that if it's not quite conforming with our fine laws, I hope."
His right eye opened and fixed itself on their host's face, wondering if this man would really make good on his offer. There was still this saying, 'too good to be true'...
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Post by inspectoralnoodle on Nov 14, 2016 4:08:59 GMT
Hot. The ride leading to this complex was unpleasant. No doubt the others here had felt the same way. Whether they chose to be vocal about it was their own choice. Given their downward descent and the heat from earlier, there was a high probability that they were in an underground complex beneath the desert.
While all the others had their sacks removed from their head, Katsurou somehow still had one over him. As the hand of what he assumed were the armed escort went to remove it, he nudged the hand away with his shoulder and moved,c indicating he did not want it to be taken off. When no further attempt was made, it was clear they got the message.
"Well I certainly hope the facilities here are much better than your transportation." He spoke, voice slightly muffled by the sack, yet still audible. "Seems to me you ran a little tight on the budget. No air conditioning or decent music? Hah. Even the man with the banjo there would have sufficed."
He laughed, his hands going to his pockets. The long silver chain coming out from his right vest pocket implied he kept something there, perhaps a watch. "The one beside me has a fair question. He must be thinking this is all too good to be true. Though at this point it's too late to back out."
"Since the lady asked about our food, I will cover our accommodations." he said, his head turning slightly to the general direction of the woman's voice before facing back to the doctor. "I would hope you at least have good rooms. I was once on a luxury liner with hammocks for beds. Unfortunate if we'll all be sleeping on the floor in a futon."
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Post by ramenigma on Nov 14, 2016 4:14:01 GMT
"Ahaha..." Schrader laughed awkwardly, his eyes glancing at the man prodding at his head. For a second, he looks like he's going to say something but he keeps silent. In contrast, he barely notices the very large and angry man grabbing the front of his coat.
Probably because as soon as he did so, the government agents littering the room instantly trained their guns (handguns, machineguns, the works) on the brute.
"Archie... If I may call you Archie?" He begins with a soft smirk. "If you would, uh... Let me go that'd make this easier for both of us."
He sighs. Or more... gives a half-yawn.
"You did read the contract, didn't you? That should have covered that this isn't simply a come hang out in the back of a van job. Lord knows what help we'd get out of just that... If you recall, your job has barely begun so..." He stops. "...You WERE able to read the contract, weren't you?"
Just as he asked the question, however, he was met with a few from around the room. Tombstone's... he ignored. The others, however, he responded to with an affable tone. A frankly cheery one, in fact.
"Nourishment is not a problem! The estate is fully stocked with food and drink. There's enough to last more than a week, with a range that covers all manner of dietary restrictions or general fussiness! And the accomodation, well, it's nothing to write home about but it's more than comfortable enough, I'm sure you'll find. Now, as for the promised favour..."
He chuckles.
"We did say that we would grant any request if it was in our power. Take that as typical legal rules not having proper jurisdiction in governmental decisions pertaining to this project. We would hate to limit your, hmmm, reward."
He chooses his words carefully, but the meaning is clear. When it comes to the war against organised crime, the government was more than willing to get it's hands dirty to ensure their victory.
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Post by bbladerxring on Nov 14, 2016 6:45:52 GMT
Arch snarled at the man he grabbed by the collar, then turned his head back around to face the man who tried ordering him around. Who the hell did this snarky piece of shit think he was, ordering him around like that? Oh, he was going to get it later... after he was done with this annoying doctor man.
"Okay, YOU don't call me Archie. That nickname is reserved for people I can tolerate. Which amounts to maybe three on the entire planet. The name is Arch. It's a COOL NAME. I'm a badass, macho asskicker, and I'm also your worst fucking nightmare. And don't go forgetting that."
He turned his attention to the bossy piece of shit.
"And YOU don't tell me what to do, ever again. I say what I want, I do what I want, and I rip out the intestines of whoever I damn well please. And that includes yours, if you piss me off enough. So, watch what you say around me, or I'll TEACH your ass some manners."
Once he got that all out of his system... Arch realized something. The man was spewing more nonsense. He was trying to get out of paying him the ten million he was promised. Typical businessman sort. There was always a loophole. Always an excuse. Well, nobody was going to screw him out of THIS kind of money. This fucker was going to pay up, unless he wanted his brains splattered everywhere.
"...By the way, what's this bullshit about a contract?! I sure as shit didn't see no fucking contract! I saw "ten million dollars" in a letter I was sent and signed up! What's this piece of shit trying to pull?! Let's kill him and take the money ourselves if he doesn't want to pay up!"
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Post by blackrudone on Nov 14, 2016 9:44:50 GMT
"Bloody-"
Chris slid a couple steps backwards, his gaze wandering around the room again. They've only just arrived, yet he was sure he had found his least favourite person as early as this. A file appeared in his right hand from seemingly out of nowhere, spinning and otherwise being played around with.
"Look here, just a friendly suggestion. Manners is a good keyword here."
The file stopped dead in its tracks and was used to gesture around the room - at the gun-wielding agents - hoping this would somehow get the message across that he was not keen on getting caught in the crossfire because someone else thought it was smart to start a fight here. Chris realized something now. This guy called 'Arch' was definitely an utter and complete idiot. Did he seriously think this was some sort of charity, where he could just walk in and get cash money for free? He gave the man one final look to be sure. Something about the whole appearance felt very familiar to him. He knew this type of fellow. Trying to provoke them needlessly usually shouldn't end well for your nose. Chris' eyes widened slightly in mild amazement as he caught sight of a rather reminiscent tattoo on Arch's arm. After a moment of silence, Chris settled on just throwing his head back and looking around the ceiling.
"Hello, new home." he mumbled, apparently addressing the room.
At least there would be no problem with his favor, if the doctor's word was worth anything.
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Post by Bad Pasta on Nov 14, 2016 14:53:56 GMT
"Ah..." Robert let out a small cry of surprise when his specimen's head was lifted out of his reach. (The other events didn't seem to bother him too much.) He stood there with a look of disappointment and dejection, very much like the expression of an elementary schooler when their ice cream scoop falls onto the ground.
However, after a few moments, his face calms with a wave of resolve, and he does the only reasonable thing--he walks over, hoists himself over the mountain of a man, sits down on his left arm and shoulder, and continues his inspection of Dr. Schrader.
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Post by inspectoralnoodle on Nov 14, 2016 17:53:59 GMT
Katsurou shrugged his shoulders, satisfied with the answer. "Well, I guess we're not royalty. I'll make do with what we get."
At least he got confirmation on the reward as well, even he had doubts about the legitimacy of this whole project. For all he knew, this was set-up to investigate crooked cops and catch the world's greatest criminal minds. Though now he knew that couldn't be possible, because there was someone dumb enough to not read the agreement in whole. Arch was making a big fuss and by the sound of things, it wasn't going so pretty right now. Did he hear guns being trained on them? He certainly had no plans over being shot. He just got here! Usually people want to shoot him about a day or two after, depends on the crime he solved and which type of criminals are involved.
"You know, there's not much use for ten million dollars if we end up dead. They've got the weapons advantage here and I don't have a great history with those myself. So it'd be great if all our blood stayed INSIDE our body, just saying."
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Post by Try Biển Noodles on Nov 14, 2016 19:18:02 GMT
Seeing as his fellow cohorts were beginning to converse, Lucius decided it would be good to get to know his fellow team mates and rivals. Scanning the group for a good target to introduce himself to, the rocking Tombstone caught his eyes. "Uh... maybe I should save talking with him for later... he looks a little... eh... unstable?" Lucius made a quick prayer hoping the two are not paired up, then continued searching for someone to start off introductions with. Eyes grazing past the four woman, Lucius quickly and eagerly dismissed them and added them to the list of people he hoped were not on his team.
The makeup artist continued to mutter to himself as he assessed the others in the compound. "Let's see, that leaves us with the guy who calls himself Arch... to rough for my taste, a shifty looking doctor... I probably should keep a ten foot pole between the two of us, Mr. money bags McGee... seems like a show-offey bitch type to me... though more appealing than the others despite bragging about being on a luxury liner..." Finally, Lucius's eyes settled on Chris. Even though he couldn't make an accurate assessment of his character at first glance, he certainly respected his 'get the job done' attitude. Despite all the deplorables in the group, the first impression Lucius got from Chris made Lucius want to be placed on the same team as him.
Lucius ensured his large makeup kit was properly secured on his shoulder as he walked over to the blonde criminal. In a withered tone, Lucius spoke to him with one hand on the makeup kit's strap, other in his pocket. "I'm not one for needless introductions, but it would be good to get to know who are friends and who are enemies, I figured I would take the first step. The name is Lucius Dunup, but feel free to call me whatever, I do not really mind."
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Post by bbladerxring on Nov 14, 2016 20:43:42 GMT
The smartass in the group said something to him again. People were telling him to stop what he was doing.
These things were bothering Arch. If he cared more, he probably would have said something... but even if he was in a better mood, there's a good chance he wouldn't care ENOUGH to retort further.
...But, the main reason he didn't say anything, is he cared far more about the annoying little shit who saw fit to climb upon his shoulder and sit. Arch frantically waved his arm around, trying to shake the pest away, inadvertently thrashing the doctor, the leader, whoever you would wish to call the man Arch had a death grip on before he gained some unwanted company, around a bit as well. He did NOT care for this kind of intimate male contact. Especially not from strangers.
"What the fuck?! HEY!!!" Arch growled and yelled, desperately trying to shake the unwanted guest off his body. "Get the fuck off of me, you little weirdo! I'll bash your goddamn head into the ground if you don't stop!"
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