Thread: ʜᴀʟ ❖ ᴄʏᴏn

TEAM ASSIGNED: AGENT TRUSZ MUIR

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"Lately, there's been a group of wild-haired, crazy-eyed delinquents running around town! They're terrorizing the children and vandalizing homes! The local authorities don't have the manpower to manage the situation! We don't want to live in fear anymore! Please help us get rid of the problem!"— [CLIENT #811C]

OBJECTIVE: Find the listed targets and make arrests where and whenever possible!

LOCATION: LOS ANGELES, DISTRICT-BASE 6
WEATHER: CLOUDY / HARSH WINDS
TEMPERATURE: 19.5C / 67F

DATE / TIME: 22 MARCH 5614 / 1000

SETTING: Los Angeles, District-Base 6 is on the outskirts of the city and as far away from the District-Prime as possible. The city, despite being so close to the hub of all worldly entertainment, is a mess of poverty and hopelessness. Iron bars cover every window and doors. Homes are falling apart—paint peeling, roofing missing, and graffiti on every other wall.

Despite the presence of decade-old technology sitting at every street (you can hear the sound of the gravity-rail rushing by overhead every few minutes), it doesn't seem to have done very much for the people of District-Base 6.

INTELLIGENCE: The local group of thugs call themselves "Brave Hearts" and is composed of the local teens and young adults. They ride hover-cycles (high-tech motorcycles) and travel in groups of five or more. The gang itself is fairly big (roughly forty members) and is decently armed.

The boss is a woman with the handle "Candy Pops" (29) and her second-in-command is a man by the name of "Jake Reynolds" (36). After Reynolds, the chain-of-command moves onto T.K. Bonds (unknown).

Their hideout is an old factory in District-Base 6, located in the southwest area of the district. "Brave Hearts" specialize in drug trafficking and extortion. Their compound is fairly well-guarded with sentries keeping watch at all hours. It is suspected that the local law-enforcement is on their payroll.

There is, however, no indication of synergist energy involved.

THREAT LEVEL: LOW / RANK C-2

MISC DETAILS: Avoid too many civilian casualties. Arrests are preferred

Los Angeles—the city of angels—was a decrepit and dirty place. Everything looked worn and standing on its last leg. Everything looked ready to fall apart at the word "Go." And District-Base 6 was no exception.

"Talk about run-down," Wen let out a low whistle as he peered over the edge of the rooftop and down into the cracked, weed-strewn roads below. "Why would any gang want to run this place? You couldn't even give this place to me."

He laughed as he stepped away from the edge and returned to the group, his character decidedly relaxed. "So, what is the game plan? We can't really just go running into the building, demanding the arrest of... ah, Candy Pops."

When Wen had first heard the name of the gang leader, he had to mentally and physically will his body from combusting in laughter. Over the years, he had seen and heard a lot of weird, unusual things, but this one was just absurd.

For starters, "Candy Pops" wasn't even threatening.

"I mean, judging from intel, we already know it's going to be painful to try and brute-strength our way through the compound. We also don't know how many people are inside and what kind of firepower they have..."

The factory, with its barbed-wire fencing was less than forty-feet away and, with Acaelus helping out, it should have been a breeze—blow up the factory from a distance, eliminate threat, mission over. But this was a training exercise with real consequences, which means no relying on the S-Rank agent for everything.

Acaelus raised his gaze from the small tablet that listed the missions directives and he narrowed his gaze at Wen as he stored the gadget in his pack. “This is somebody's home—” Acaelus glanced around and sighed before he shook his head and pulled his reading glasses off and slid them in the inside breast pocket of his jacket. “Never mind. We're not here to criticize or defend these peoples home.”

This horizon was so different than Halcyon's crystal-clear sky, it was almost like a dirty fog was continuously shrouding the once bright skyline. The cityscape was dotted with fading lights, casting a dim shine through the cloud of pollution that was just another result of the war. To this day had not been cleared.

No matter how many missions outside of Halcyon Acaelus had been on, the state of the outside world always made him cringe. The image before him made Acaelus have conflicting feelings for the poor citizens; the feeling of pity overtook him for a moment, until he remembered why exactly the area was tainted this way. These people had risen up in the attempt to smash out the Synergist's—their kind—and had failed. Incredibly. The proof of that was now clear to them all.

“Our intelligence of the compound is slim, but also very informative where it is most needed.” Acaelus explained. Turning his attention to the group. “We have all had a chance to study the blueprints that were provided. Unfortunately, it is true, we are still unsure of the amount of hostiles or what entrances they will be stationed at. As well as the kind of weaponry they have at their disposal.
“Our main objective is arresting the leaders of this particular group. Make arrests in hopes that when left with no head this faction will fall to ruins. If we can accomplish this without much bloodshed—it would be appreciated. Hopefully these children will learn some sense and avoid something like this again.” Acaelus shifted his stance and looked over his shoulder towards the factory base before returning his gaze to the team.
“As I see it, there are several ways we can go about completing this mission.” He paused and let his gaze rest on Wen directly, “Agent Song, I believe you may be able to use your Degree to bring a curtain of fog over the building and surrounding area, allowing us a bit of cover and give us the opportunity to scope out the compound from a closer perspective. The air will have to be thick, but I believe you may be able to pull from the pollution already in the atmosphere and simply thicken and concentrate it—we are all equipped with masks to prevent any harmful toxins the air might have in it, these are in your packs.”

He patted his altered uniform on the side of his torso, indicating where a bulge of a pack could be recognized under the fabric. Each of them had one, but they weren't all in the same place as his.

Behind a sealed compartment held several objects that were equipped at the beginning of the flight to aid in their assignment; a pair of spectacles that allowed them to see in the dark without the need for a light (it also held the ability to pinpoint heat sources); breathing contraptions that filtered contaminated air and let them suck fresh air into their lungs. And finally, each was given a pick-locking device.

Acaelus nodded when he was confident they understood and continued, “When there is enough and we have been given the chance to find an entrance that is either unguarded or less of a risk, I can create illusions to draw attention away from the building itself, so we may enter and commence the capture of these individuals.
“From there, things should go rather swiftly. We will avoid casualties where we can, our main objective is the capture of the three leaders, and not to slaughter the entire group.”

When he was finished Acaelus pulled from his pack a ear-piece that let him stay in contact with them all and placed it around his ear. "Anything to add?" Acaelus asked in sincerity. Whenever he was leading a team into assignment, he needed the plan to be flawless.

For a second, Wen was dumbfounded. Acaelus wanted him to turn the dry heat of LA into more fog. And he wanted it the size of a football field.

"Oh yeah, just give me a minute to transform the dry, twenty-degree air into a big, fat fluffy layer of fog," the sarcasm was hard to miss. "And who do you think I am? Xue-Lian reincarnated? Do you even know how big that compound is and how much energy it would take to do what you're asking?

"It'd be easier if you asked me to just cover everything in ice. Which, in case you didn't know, I can't do."

Letting out a low, derisive laugh, the blond shook his head and shrugged. This was far too much work and planning for a low-level, non-synergist assignment. "You know, we could always just create a distraction—lure some people away and make it easier for us to sneak in." Inching closer towards Kanon, who he had strategically stayed next to, Wen whispered, "How about we team up and do something? I'm sure we'd make a great pair." He smiled and his eyes curved with suggestions.

accessdeniedThe day had just begun and Kanon had already developed certain opinions about people on the team. First of all, that Wen fellow had expressed his dislike at being in a situation such as this; and in the rudest manner. Kanon bit her lip, wondering if he was even suited to be an agent with the sort of attitude? Treating a mission like a joke...Kanon couldn't approve of it. A small frown appeared on her face as she opened her mouth to say something- but Acaelus took the words straight out of her mouth.

accessdeniedIn the short time that Kanon had interacted with Acaelus, the male managed to live up to his famed name. He took charge with precision and the way he commanded the group was professional, and Kanon respected him for that, and hoped to do the same as he was in a few years.

accessdeniedShe sighed as Wen opened his mouth and began to ramble on about how he could not do what Acaelus asked of him. So he doesn't live up to her name, hmm? I'm disappointed. The woman blinked as she heard someone talking to her, and turned her head to see the speaker. It was Wen again, and he was suggesting that the two of them team up. Kanon didn't really understand what he meant by 'doing stuff together'; after all, Wen didn't seem like the type of person who could make up a plan any moment. "No thanks."

Wen was used to having women throw themselves at him—pleading, begging, and wanting to be his number one, wanting to be his all and everything. He was, however, still new to flat-out, point-blank rejections.

It's not to say that the blond hasn't ever been rebuffed, but the sting of "no" always made the blond flinch a little, reel in his place as his brain scrambled to protect his unbelievably fragile ego. It always felt like a slap to the face.

Shaking off Kanon's cold response, Wen ran a hand through his hair, his nails dragging hard against his scalp while his brain worked overtime to recover. "Ouch, so cold, Kanon." Despite the refusal, Wen managed to keep his smile, the slow languid curve of easy confidence and good charms. He may have had his ego slightly bruised, but Wen was hardly finished. "If you keep this up, how am I supposed to ask you out to dinner later tonight?"

And maybe this was the reason Wen was never assigned to mentor a graduate. The agency had no need for another agent like the blond.

"And what exactly can you do, Agent Song?" Acaelus said in a tight voice as he glanced to the blond with a raised eyebrow.

To say that his patience was running thin with this man, was an understatement. Acaelus had never worked with him before—a small blessing, until now—they had graduated the same year, but the man's mind-set towards this assignment was appalling to say the least. It was becoming a challenge for Acaelus to keep a straight head.

If he was able to easily admit that he was far out of his depths? Shouldn't that have made him strive to become more? Acaelus pondered as he surveyed the man with a look that could cut.

“I would like to know are you suffering from acute memory loss.” Acaelus prompted and crossed his arms while turning his body so he was facing Wen directly. “This assignment is a low level mission, yes, and most definitely not one that you are used to being assigned to. But it is the first field mission for Agent Masami. Which means that it is just as important—or even more so—as any other. And it will be executed with the same amount of regard any other would be given. We will not be going into this compound with no plan of action. So I will ask you, if you cannot manage the task I have asked of you, to any degree: how do you propose we-”

However, before he could even finish his thought, Wen answered it quickly by moving himself next to the young graduate, almost rutting up against her like some dog in heat. Exhaling a heavy breath through his nose, Acaelus shook his head and cleared his throat, gathering the attention once again with a tense jaw. “Thankfully, that is not the only alternative we have of completing the mission.” He paused and frowned, “Now if you are finished neglecting the assignment with inappropriate notions—such as your ego being injured—can we please get back to the matter at hand?”

With this, Acaelus pulled the slim device from his pack and tapped on the screen until a projection of the factory's layout was illuminated in a fluorescent green on the face of the floor at their feet. “If we come around to the south gate we will have a clear shot to the garage—where, we are informed, they hold their vehicles—from there I want you, Narrin,” Acaelus lifted his light gaze to the flame-haired Agent. “to set this building on fire; a small flame will do.
"Masami, you will aid Narrin in burning the building down, giving his flames the air it needs to grow. Giving us the distraction we need to infiltrate the base." Acaelus snapped his attention to Wen and breathed in deeply, “Agent Song and I will shut down any attempts at fighting the flames. I'm going to assume that there is technology that triggers water to extinguish flames in the building. It will be our job to find and shut that device down, as well as keeping any hostiles away from our team.”Acaelus clenched his jaw and tapped the screen of the tablet absently, addressing Wen in clipped tones, "Does that sound like something you can go along with, Agent?"

To the average bystander, Locke listened in silence as the two started to bicker, however that wouldn't of had been the correct wording for the situation. Instead, Locke was sizing up the location, comparing the maps and blueprints he had gotten a look at the night before. He was also reviewing the intel that he received, a process in which was a unorganized thing in his mind on its own.

It wasn't until his name was uttered did he remove himself from his trance and actually started to listen. His eyes widened and his eyebrows raised slightly, seeming almost interested in what the other man had to say.

Oh. A fire. Fun. He finished up his thoughts and organizing the information before becoming a little bit more aware of all that was around him. A glance up, dirty sky, like a paper that had many eraser smudges on it a look down and around trash, the place looks like a dump, and oh? Technology? Gravity rail. Nevermind. He sighed and thrust his hands into his pockets, just waiting for the okay to get to the adrenaline part of the mission- his favorite part.

"Does not having a stick constantly shoved up your ass, sound like something you can do, Agent Trusz Muir?"

That was what Wen was thinking, but this is what Wen actually said: I can do your mom.

No, that's not actually what he said (but, rest assured, the thought was most likely floating around somewhere in his brain). Rather, Wen just nodded, his expression nonplussed. He may not have liked Acaelus (the word "hate" seems to be more accurate), but he wasn't foolish enough to start a personal fight with the man.

'The faster we do this, the faster I can stop seeing his stupid face.' Cracking his knuckles in a sign of readiness, the blond asked, "So, are we gonna do this now or what?"

accessdeniedHis reaction to her words was off putting, to say the least. The male seemed rather perplexed as to why Kanon would say such a thing as that, though she was only telling him her thoughts. What an odd man...

accessdeniedAnd again, Acaelus took over, issuing orders to each one of the teammates. Kanon listened intent on absorbing every little piece of information the older man listed, her eyes narrowing in concentration.

accessdeniedShe looked towards Locke, who seemed to be more of the quiet type. After all, he wasn't joining in the sass fight. Kanon hadn't really interacted with the redhead much, but she decided that they would work well together if he would stay quiet.

accessdeniedShe then looked towards Acaelus, "Understood."

"Excellent." Acaelus nodded curtly at their collective confirmation and stored the device back into the compartment before taking lead towards the edge of the roof where there was an emergency fire escape leading to the misty grey ground below. It was old, rusting and appeared to be so deteriorated that it might fall apart if even an ounce of weight was put onto it.

Acaelus was starting to question the Agencie's logic behind dropping them off on the top of a fifteen story building without a safe route down.

Hesitantly, Acaelus glanced over the side then squared his shoulders and eased a testing step onto the grated floor and pressed down. The entire structure groaned and trembled at the pressure and Acaelus tensed automatically. The team at his back made the swooping feeling in his stomach seize when he remembered that he had to take the first leap.

The trip down was a swift one, a race to get off the steps as quickly as was possible, with Acaelus drawing courage from an optimistic little chant of words in his head: 'you'll be fine. you'll be alright. just don't look down'.

Only when the solid asphalt was beneath the soles of his boots once again did his shoulders sagged with relief.

Their access onto the grounds of the compound weren't essentially easy; three guards dressed in odd ratty apparel attempted to trigger the warning, before the team had even passed the surrounding fences. They were knocked out promptly and stored behind a nearby shed.

The vehicles garage was a small enough warehouse that was located on the outskirts of the factories grounds, but it was still stationed behind the chain link fence that looked dangerously close to being alive with electricity. Acaelus made quick work of bypassing these fences using the device they were provided with, to pick the chain lock that was blocking their access—things were taken so simply in their world, it was almost sad—and they were in.

“Make sure your communication devices are equipped correctly.” He waited, looking to Kanon to make sure that she understood what he was indicating before he extracted his staff from where it sat nestled between his shoulders.

They were standing at the loading dock to the garage—the dock, he knew, was the hostile faction's way of illegally distributing goods and harmful substances throughout the city—readying for the dividing of the team. “Stick together, Agents. We will be able to trace each others actions on our wrist trackers and if there is anything that needs immediate attention, simply speak up. We'll hear you. But for now, lets keep our voices to a minimum.” Acaelus resisted the urge to let his sharp gaze shift to Wen at his last order. “The signal that the first part is successful will be obvious, if there is no sight of flames within the next twenty minutes, we'll return here.”

The team moved quickly from the rooftops to the edge of the compound and was now only a few minutes away from entry. Wen could feel the familiar tickle of adrenaline shoot through his veins, pumping him with a need to hit and hit hard. But he kept his excitement to himself.

There just wasn't any point in sharing his thoughts with this group of cold, mute, and asshole. Plus, Wen knew when his words weren't being appreciated.

After the taller man explained the plan for the millionth time (and Wen had rolled his eyes for the billionth revolution since the start of the mission), the blond inched along the edge, careful to keep within covers. With his back pressed against the iron-cold walls, Wen concentrated on the palm of his hand.

He imagined the coldness of a pool—its solid, but not solid surface breaking as he dove into the blue. And, slowly, water gathered in his hands, shaping and drawing into a tiny ball. It was no bigger than a tennis ball, but for its purpose, the size didn't really matter.

After all, size wasn't always everything.

Wen rolled the creation two feet away from him and as he waited for the summon to stop, he focused on the warped, but vague reflection on its surface. Bent metal railings, wavy-looking weeds, but no distorted-looking guards. Collapsing the ball, Wen darted forward and took cover behind a stack of red-brown metal barrels, the signs of "danger" peeling from the containers.

Well, this seemed like a good place to watch for any wannabe-firefighter. Glancing back at Acaelus, Wen signaled "clear" and waited.

Locke stepped onto the fire escape with ease, his weight causing it to creak some, but that was all it seemed to do. The redhead didn't feel a shock of fear as he looked down at the others, who carefully moved down the side of the building with very extreme caution. He chuckled quietly and to himself before looking back at Kanon.

"Well, Agent Masami, shall we go?" he asked, a red eyebrow quirking up with a playful smile. The grin on his face wasn't malicious, only silly in an odd sense, before it disappeared as he started to descend down the rickety stairs.

When he pulled himself down the last step of the ladder and his feet hit the ground, he took a step off to the side and adjusted his collar. He checked his communication device that was looped around his ear and then the tracing device that was on his wrist. All good? Great. Now for fire-time.

He then installed the location into his tracker and then watched as Wen had moved forward with a careful skill. Locke couldn't help but smile at how the blond had thought to look around the corner. That was smart. Didn't expect that from him. The clear was given and his gaze went to Acaelus, waiting for his "go" sign, and glancing back to see if Kanon had made it down safely.

accessdenied"Well, Agent Masami, shall we go?" The words of a certain redhead snapped Kanon out of her daze of thoughts. Her eyes flitted towards the source of the spoken words, and she nodded at Locke's words, moving to follow him down the stairs, her boots making a clunking sound with each step they took, and the staircase itself letting out a creaky moan as well. Kanon bit her lip; she was comfortable with large heights, but not feeling unstable.

accessdeniedAfter she'd made it down the stairs, Kanon looked at Locke, and gave him a quick nod to signal that she was alright. It's time to get into action, I suppose...Just need to wait for Acaelus's signal... the female's eyes scanned the perimeter, then waited for the aforementioned signal.

After a short nod of affirmation towards Kanon and Locke, Acaelus started off in the opposite direction that Wen had gone. Towards the other side of the building, Acaelus took to the slim darkness of the structure in an attempt to give himself some semblance of disguise. The shadows were non-existant on the side of the building that he had chosen to follow unfortunately, and it wasn't long before a pair of guards found him. Acaelus quickly took note that one of the two had a walkie-talkie device cradled in his hand and pressed to his lips, and he was speaking into it with hasty words.

Each one looked to be about half his age. Which said a lot, considering. They each had scars lining their bodies in various places, where as he, had none. Evidence of their misfortune, a stark contrast to what he was used to, growing up in Halcyon. The image of them advancing head on without some sort of backing, almost made him stop in his tracks. Almost.

Stepping from the line of shadows, he engaged them first; one of them rushed at him but before he could land strike Acaelus swiped the boy across the head while dodging another blow coming to his side from the others weapon. It was a dance for him. He managed to knock them both unconscious within a matter of seconds and dragged them to the wall of a building opposite the one that would be burning within minutes; Acaelus checked their pulses to ensure their survival, before he moved on.

When he arrived at the back of the building, he noticed Wen crowded behind a stack of barrels and nodded in his direction as he went to the back of the building which held the box panel embedded in the wall. While he disabled the controls, in a short voice directed at Wen he warned, “We might have visitors.”

Wen watched as Acaelus took down two guards, making quick work of the two. 'Show off.'

"We might have visitors."

The blond rolled his eyes, but his lips stayed sealed. Peeking through some of the spaces between the barrels, Wen caught sight of two more guards. They wore ragged-looking clothes, patched and frayed at the edges. One had matted hair and the other looked halfway at death's door. 'Disgusting.'

Bringing his hand down in a striking motion, a shallow puddle of water formed at the feet of the two. The water shot up and wove around them like fluid vines, twisting around their bodies and encircling their necks. One of the men, startled, dropped their walkie-talkie. The other reached for his gun, but Wen was faster.

A pillar of water shot up, the pressure knocking the gun out of the other man's hand. Using the same pillar of water, Wen bit down on his lip and rammed it into the men's chests—knocking them off their feet and onto the floor.

Releasing the summons, Wen fell onto his knees as he clutched his head. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply—as if he was starved for oxygen. Exhaling loudly and inhaling deeply, Wen waved to Acaelus and shook his head in protest. I need to rest, he wanted to say. Too much.

But all he managed was: I...to... too much.

It was then he heard a voice coming from the unconscious bodies. "Hey, what happened you guys? Why are you... What is all this water doing here??"

Looks like the visitors got there early, so much for keeping watch.

The "go" was given and the head mentor had went on ahead, engaging in a quick knock-out session with two rugged looking guys. The sounds of something dragging on the floor and then a curt warning. Locke blinked at how fast the man had worked and held back the urge to just sit there and marvel. He usually wasn't the kind to do that, but when something that would have taken him a little bit more time to do, it was done with the grace of a dancer.

Stop ogling his work and get on with it, you idiot! he scolded himself. He let out a sigh and then turned the corner, sticking to the shadows and the plan. The red haired man came to a stop behind a rather large box, which had the same smell that of a garbage can. He paused from what he was doing when new voices came in, but Wen and a bit of water took care of them.

A quick dash to the other side and the assumption that Kanon was right behind him, Locke felt rather pressed for time, as he was right to be. Just as he had ducked into the building, he started to search for flammable things.

The building was a simple garage, with things laying about. Everything seemed grimy and disgusting and eerily quiet. The man walked about, his steps nearly silent as he came around to a vehicle. A slight smile painted his lips when he found a familiar red container sitting on the ground. He picked it up before unscrewing the lid and then carefully dumping the gas onto the ground around the car.

When he was done, he tossed the can aside and then he brought his hands together, closing his eyes to focus on creating the flame in his hands. When the warmth flickered against his palms, he pulled them apart and pointed his fingertips towards the ground. The flame didn't just spit from his hands uncontrollably, but it floated it carefully to the ground, as if he were placing an expensive wine glass onto an unstable surface.

"There we go. Flames." he sighed, extinguishing his hands. A slight ache nagged at the back of his mind, the pain more dull than piercing.

Jake Reynolds was having a bad day. First, he lost his wallet. Second, he lost his phone. And third, he was almost out of fuel for his bike.

Grumbling underneath his breath, the brunette scratched at his chin, his nails catching in the stubble he called a goatee. "What the fuck am I gonna do? Shit." He hadn't planned for much today other than picking up another pack of cigarettes and taking a pit stop at the local strip club. But no wallet meant no smokes and no scantily clad (to nothing-clad) women.

And then the fourth bad thing caught his attention: smoke. Confused, the man started running to the source of the smell. It was getting stronger—did a gas pipe leak again?

When he rounded the corner, he caught site of a redhead setting fire to things. 'Damn arsonists.' Pulling out a gun from the back of his waistband, Jake pointed it at the man and said, "What the fuck do ya think ya doin' here?"

Locke turned to the dark haired man and quickly found that he was burning the wrong thing. Apparently the owner of the bike was pointing a gun at him. Oh. Well. Shit. At the sight of the metal, the agent raised his hands to the sides of his head, after he tapped his tracker, a double tap to the screen that would cause a silent back-up call. With the gun pointed at him, there wasn't much he could do.

"I was," he cleared his throat. ""Looking for a friend. I saw the fire here and tried to use the dirt to smolder the flame." I've got three guns on me, right? he reminded himself. One under the am... two at the waist. He only has one, and Kanon may be able to distract him so I can pull one out... The plan played out in his head, but the only real worry he had was that it might not work.

Ugh, I'm such a worrywart. I've got faith in these guys, right?

"Putting out a fire, my ass."

Jake knew all about the punks around the city and he knew that not a single one of them was the good samaritan-type. "Git over there," he gestured with the gun, briefly pointing for the redhead to walk to left. "Git or I shoot ya dead right now."

accessdeniedKanon raised an eyebrow when Locke poured gasoline around the car in the garage. Wasn’t he supposed to set the building on fire? However, he was of a higher authority than she, and Kanon assumed that Locke knew what he was doing. This was disapproved by the fact that there was now a man pointing a gun at Locke’s head- wait, wasn’t that their primary target?!

accessdeniedTch... Kanon frowned, her mind running into overdrive. What should they do when their enemy has a gun pointed towards them? Run? Fight? No, the best decision would most definitely be to relent. The dark haired male seemed dangerous. Slowly, Kanon began to move to where he directed Locke, nudging the male to do the same.

Kanon nudged Locke's arm toward the place where the man had told them to go. He merely glanced over at the girl before sighing and moving over to the spot. He pulled his arms down slowly to his sides, his eyes drifting between the fire and the man that the red head finally managed to recognize as the primary target.

Oh. Well, again, shit. He had an idea.

Out of the corner of his eye, Locke could see the flames start to grow higher and higher, the smoke starting to fill the air. He ignored the need to pull out his breathing mask (so as to not startle the target), by making most of his concentration sit on the fire. At the moment, the man was rather unpredictable, and Locke didn't want to be completely without a form of protecting himself.

Better to draw from a source then to create on your own.

The fire wasn't a small one, but there was nothing Jake could do about the situation. It's not like he could just summon water or something. He ain't no goddamn synergist.

When the two moved sideways, Jake pointed again with the gun. This time, he wanted them to move forward.

"Git, to the door now. And keep ya hands where I can see them. Now git."

Now Candy is going to have to hear about this and probably TK. And they should hear about it sooner rather than later. "Hurry up, before the fire gets any worse!"

Acaelus didn't even bother to glance back when he heard the sounds of strangled voices behind him; Wen was a trained Agent and he assumed the man could take on the guards when they attacked. The trembled whisper in his ear was what made him curse under his breath and finally bring a slight shock of power streaming through his fingertips to speed up the process of shutting down the buildings water system.

The panel's screen dimmed and started to blink red when the shots began to explode around him. A bullet bit into the wall next to his shoulder and Acaelus' breath hitched in his throat before he ducked behind the row of barrels beside him, seeking cover as he rushed to grab Wen.

The next rain of bullets ricocheted at the floor by Wen's feet as Acaelus dragged him to safety behind the blockade of vats. When they were both situated behind the barrels again, it was then that Acaelus noticed the danger signs painting the sides of the tubs of metal and he groaned inwardly. He sent a short prayer to a God he didn't believe in and reined in his focus. However once again his attention was taken away when a vibration at his wrist rippled up his arm and voices crackled into his ear.

His aching brain muddled through the routes that could be taken. They could give themselves up and attempt an arrest from inside a hostage situation. Or somehow fight there way through this mess.

Wen had knocked himself out from over exertion—if Acaelus was guessing—and only managed to bring two of the hostiles with him. Acaelus was shrouded behind highly flammable barrels of an unknown substance like a mouse hiding from a feline, with gunfire raining around him—at least the hostiles weren't choosing to investigate closer, considering they continued to fire their guns and neglect the fact that technically they had the upper hand in the situation. And Kanon and Locke seemed to have gotten in some sort of situation that left them unable to complete the first half of the plan. A plan that was evidently back-firing completely.

His eyes opened when the headache seemed to dissipate as a new plan formed. The two of them were lucky that the barrels hadn't exploded with them hiding behind them. Acaelus picked himself up slightly from the crouched position he was in, from hovering over Wen in a defensive position and twisting his frame in order to face the barrels. Their capture wasn't an option.

Acaelus pressed his palms against the strangely warm surfaces of metal and focused on the energy within him until it was pulsing through the creases of his fingerprints and was shaking like the feel of small kicks of sound on a speaker when the music was turned up high. The summon was a small one, but effective as he pushed himself back into a crouching stance and picked up Wen and threw him over his shoulder. He kicked sideways with a hard smash against the barrel, that he had just infused with a small amount of his bright energy and pushed off into a sprint in the opposite direction.

It was only a moment when he heard the satisfactory boom of the barrel exploding and then the sound of shouts echoing behind him. Retreating around the corner he ran for the front of the building—Wen flopping against his back with each step—where he would meet with Kanon and Locke. And the dark haired hostile—scratch that... target.

The explosion echoed throughout the building and Candy's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What was that?"

The man sitting across from her shrugged, but he had risen from his seat all the same. "I'm gonna go check it out." Slipping a gun into the back of his waistband, the long-haired male made his way towards the exit, his stride brisk.

---

The air outside was putrid and sticky—typical LA weather.

Wrinkling his nose in disgust, the blond walked in the direction of the sound, half-expecting it to be nothing more than an empty container falling off the back of a truck. But when he rounded the corner, the sight of fire and burning bodies made him draw his gun. "Looks like something interesting finally happened."

---

Over the sound of the slight fire, Jake could hear the distinct signature of a bullet being fired. Of a lot of bullets being fired. Shit, was this a territorial dispute?

"Hurry up, you two!" Jake growled as he gestured menacingly with the gun again. "Or I will shoot you!" And to make sure they knew he was serious, he fired off one round at the ground close to their feet. "Candy is gonna wanna see what you bitches are up to..."

It was then the brunette caught sight of another two oddly dressed characters. One was hanging unconscious off the other (impressive, considering the blond's size) and the other looked dangerous. "Shit, this is an ambush!"

Without thinking, Jake fired two more shots and hit the button on his radio. "Shit, we're being attacked!"

accessdeniedKanon sighed, and did what the annoying man wanted her to do, beginning to move towards the indicated places. She didn’t blink when the bullet was shot towards her feet. However, the dark haired man became distracted for a moment, glancing to the commotion that was going on outside.

accessdenied”Shit, we’re being attacked!”

accessdeniedThis, along with the two other gunshots made Kanon certain that this man was becoming frantic. And feeling frantic lead to illogical behavior. She shot a sideglance towards Locke, then gave a slight nod to him. A slight breeze began to stir around her feet, and in a matter of seconds, a wind was shot from Kanon and into the already blazing fire. The fire swelled, roared, and swelled again, growing larger the more Kanon fed the wind into it.

The shots rang through the air and as if in slow motion Acaelus twisted around as quickly as possible. Instead of the bullets sinking into the man slung over back, they blasted into his upper shoulder with an impact so excruciating, it blazed through his flesh like poison seeping through water. The pain made his legs feel weak under the weight he hadn't noticed until the wounds tore through his skin. He dropped to a knee and let Wen's unconscious body slip out of his grasp and to the concrete next to him.

The smouldering fire that sat a few feet aside suddenly blazed with life, giving Acaelus the distraction he needed to pick himself from his kneeling crouch and ignore the searing pain in his upper body and the leak of his blood soaking his uniform. He gripped his quarterstaff tighter and rushed the Target. The first strike he made was to the lower half of the man's body, making his legs sweep out from underneath him and collapse to the ground with a loud thump.

Acaelus dropped his staff, kicked away the man's weapon and flipped him onto his chest, pressing him to the quickly warming ground. Grappling to catch the hostile's wrists together before he managed to gain a hold on them with a bloody grip as he restrained him with the slim bar of the handcuffs. When Acaelus touched down with a slippery thumb on the activation button, it tangled against his flesh and dug in tight enough to hold him secure.

Acaelus pulled him up by the metal of the handcuffs as he stood himself and regarded Locke and Kanon without taking his gaze off the target in front of him, who he was now leading back to where Wen was laying, “We need to leave this area, if the fire or the guards calling for backup doesn't bring a hoard of this sort,” he shoved the man in front of him to the ground, far enough away from his Agent but close enough for him to keep an eye on, “Then the explosion I caused out there, certainly will.
“Narrin, Masami. I need you both to hunt down our main target, this... Candy individual.” Acaelus took a moment to unzip the pouch over his ribcage and extracted a roll of white bandages and an antiseptic pen. After he spilt some of the solution over his marred skin, he tossed the empty container away and tore a long strip off with his teeth, he pressed the film just above the first wound that was still seeping crimson blood and began to wrap the entry points with practised precision. “I'll be waiting here. With Wen and this one—if I recall correctly, his name is Jake.” Acaelus looked up as he wiped his hair away from his eyes, leaving a smear of blood above his eyebrow, and steadied his gaze on his Agents. “As much as I'd like to allow you more time. This hasn't exactly gone according to plan. So please, be quick.”

The fire was gaining more and more life with the added air that Kanon had provided and once Acaelus gave the two the go-ahead he moved to Wen's sleeping form and quickly located his pack. He removed the breathing aid and made sure it covered his nose and pressed it over his lips, until it lit up a pale green, indicating that it was functioning. He did the same for himself and picked up his staff from the floor, clasping it tight as he waited for the next round of hostiles to attack.

Gunshots continued to echo against the quiet, but the man's stride lacked urgency and care. He walked, almost leisurely, towards the source.

"Shit," Jake's voice broke through the radio, his words panicked. "We're being attacked!"

"By who?" Candy asked, her voice rougher than Jake's. "Who is behind this, Reynolds?"

But Jake never answered and it wasn't long until the man knew why: Jake had gotten himself into a bigger mess than rival gangs.

"He's indisposed. I'll take care of it, Candy," the man drawled, his voice a pretty mixture of something European. "Also, it's not a rival gang. It's agents from Sidereus. Two are coming for you, love."

With his radio held to his lips, the man, in a pretty East European drawl, said, "It's Sidereus Agents, Candy. Two of them are coming for you."

"What are you doing then, T.K.?" She sounded angry and scared, but more scared than angry. "Why don't you stop them?"

"Because I'm going to be busy dealing with the Son of God."

---

"Also, it's not a rival gang. It's agents from Sidereus. Two are coming for you, love."

T.K.'s voice came through the radio loud and clear and Jake, despite being handcuffed and injured, didn't miss a word. "Synergists?" He gasped, his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "N-No, this isn't—T.K.! Help me!"

A man with long light-brown hair stepped out, his eyes red and his gun pointed square at Acaelus's head, a sniper's dot trained on the target.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise, running into the one and only Acaelus Trusz Muir."

T.K. seemed unconcerned, but Jake was frantic. He didn't want to go to prison—he couldn't go to prison again. This would be his third strike and, under the new system, he wasn't going to ever taste sunshine again. No, he absolutely couldn't go back to the slammers. "T.K., shoot him! I don't want to go to prison, I—!"

The gun never left Acaelus's head, but Jake was sliced cleanly in half, his torso separating neatly from his waist. His eyes were open, the shock evident in his expression. But he was dead long before his head met with the ground.

"Now that the liability is gone, why don't we get serious, descendant of De Luca?"

By now it was obvious that T.K. wasn't just another henchmen of Candy's. In fact, "T.K." wasn't at all who the debriefing papers had said he was. He wasn't an unknown bodyguard of low threat-origins. He was Hyde, a high-priority wanted criminal. He was Hyde, a man responsible for over a hundred different deaths.

---

(A/N: This post is made under the assumption that both Kanon and Locke have entered the building in search of Candy and her crew.)

“Hyde,” Acaelus breathed in a sigh and his fingers twitched around the staff, aching to strike out with his weapon immediately. But with the barrel of a gun touching against the damp skin of his forehead and the finger of a psychopath resting easily on it's trigger, it would have been a careless move—at least without the proper amount of force behind the blow, “We've been looking for you for a long time—.“

His words were cut short when the man he had restrained began to plead for his freedom through the exorcising of Acaelus' life, but Acaelus knew better. He knew the man that was currently holding him hostage under the threat of his skull being blown through. So he wasn't at all shocked when the sickening sound of a body being sliced open followed by a wet flop to the concrete, hit his ears.

And that was the moment Acaelus was thankful that Kanon and Locke weren't anywhere in the vicinity. This was a man he could handle, but he wasn't confident that he could accomplish such a task with the added burden of their safety cradled in his hands.

"Now that the liability is gone, why don't we get serious, descendant of De Luca?"

Of course Hyde would know who Acaelus was. Sidereus knew about Hyde, so it was no surprise that he would have done research on their Agents. Considering it would be the highest ranking Agent's that would be chasing his trail, Acaelus was most likely one of his most researched individuals.

Acaelus levelled his gaze on the man, looking past the metal of his gun and staring with an unconcerned gaze into the man's eerily bright eyes. His heart was steady but loud in his ears as he rolled his staff between his fingers, letting crackling power sift like thickened water over silk sheets and charge the metal with as much energy as he could muster without Hyde catching on too quickly, “No witty banter this time? No, It's been so long. How's your family? Seen any stellar films recently? How many people have you murdered since the last time we've spoken?” Acaelus' lips twitched as his voice growled mirthlessly. “Right down to business then, shall we?”

On the last syllable of his words Acaelus slid his thumb down the activating line to enable his staff's end to extend to it's full reach. The power sizzling along it's length vibrated with intent in his grip as it impacted with the man's side hard.

Acaelus dropped out from under the red line in a swift roll and prepared himself for the next assault. Sure that it would come as swiftly as he had made his move. The fact that not even a shot resounded before he was able to deal a blow to Hyde made his heart beat quicken for the anticipation for the next strike.

"Shit."

Hyde dropped the gun and, with the safety turned off, an unintended shot was unloaded. "Ah, how careless of me," the brunette bit out as he waved his injured hand in a forward and backwards motion. "Stupid of me to have forgotten about your staff."

But then the look of pain twisted into a predatory grin, his eyes suddenly dim with an odd hunger. "Just kidding." The fanning of his hand stopped and, from it, a silver of wind, strong and precise, swept at Acaelus. It missed his face by centimeters—didn't even leave a scratch. But, in its place, Hyde took off several locks of hair, the pieces fluttering lazily to the ground. "Thought you needed a new look. I mean, long hair? Do you even know how fat it makes your face look?"