Fishing Part 4

[Living_Hellfire]

Saturday, May 24, 20:47hrs Local Time, 2025

 

Jessica Sanchez stepped out into the soft drizzle of the late evening and turned South, towards the docks of Peregrine Island before pausing under a streetlamp and turning right, down an alley towards the soft glow of a steel barrel in which blazed a cheery fire. She stopped at the appointed spot, mid-way and waited.

 

"Alright, then, Agent?"

 

She turned quickly, peering into the darkness to spot the cherry of a cigar glowing brightly in the dark under a rooftop overhang. She pulled up the collar of her overcoat and relaxed her shoulders. "Mr. McRae, thank you for meeting me."

 

"Did it werk?"

 

"Yes, they took the bait and now they're scrambling."

 

The cherry of the cigar flared again and the scent of tobacco smoke filled the alley.

 

"We're currently tracing their activity, they seem to be relocating to a backup facility in Mercy Island. We don't have the exact location yet, but we will. We are currently tracking transport vehicles as they evacuate the warehouse facility in Sharkhead." She paused "Mr. McRae, I hope you don't mind me asking, but when Sergeant Rafiq asked you to scare them, was that what you had in mind?"

 

"Nay, lass, I dinnae mind ye askin' 'tall." Hard soles scraped against pavement. The moment hung suspended in the air. "Now, ye were sayin'?"

 

"Right." Jessica cleared her throat. "Long story short, we think Lord Recluse is revisiting his Arachnoid project."

 

"How so? An' what does that have tae do with Superadine?"

 

"Well, I will answer that question, but first I want you to meet someone. Will you excuse me a moment?" Agent Sanchez made her way towards the street and motioned to a scrawny, middle-aged man with face tattoos and threadbare clothing. They spoke closely for a moment and then the pair made their way back down towards the burning barrel.

 

"Mr. McRae, this is John Doe, he is our informant inside the Superadine operation in Skyway City."

 

"Wait, 'Mr. McRae'? You didn't say  anythi-" The cigar bloomed in the dark, reflecting off of burnt-orange lenses under the overhang. "Oh, no. No! You never said anything about him! You brought The Devil?! Longbow are working with The Devil now?!"

 

The Man in Black chuckled. "I assure ye, ol' Scratch doesnae give a lick, mate. Me an' Lucifer have very little in common other than ancestry."

"Listen!" Hissed Agent Sanchez as she grabbed the ex-con by his shoulders "This is your best shot, do you understand me? It's either this or you go back to the Zig. Tell him." They stood facing each other for a moment before Jessica rapped him on the shoulder. "Tell him!"

 

John Doe sighed. "They're adding something to the 'Dine."

 

"And... tell him the rest."

 

"I don't - Look, Mister... " He put his face in his hands for a moment before looking up again "Listen, Mister... whatever you're called, I-"

 

"Ye ken well me name, lad." His voice was pregnant with power as he spoke and for a moment the rain felt warm against the ex-convict's skin. "Now, tell me what ye know."

 

"It's blue."

 

"What's blue?"

 

"The stuff, the stuff they put in the 'Dine. It's blue and it comes in these little vials about yeah big" John held up his hand, thumb and index finger three inches apart. "It gets added to the batch as a final step before it gets shipped off in the Skiffs. That's all I know." His head swiveled between the agent and The Man in Black. "That's it!"

 

"Go." Said Agent Sanchez and the ex-con sprinted to the street and disappeared into the evening.

 

"Agent Sanchez, I'm still nae certain o'where this is headed."

 

She jammed her hands into the pockets of her overcoat and leaned closer to the building, out of the rain. "As I'm sure you're aware, Longbow has multiple concurrent operations at any given moment. One of the parallel investigations we have concerns Dr. Aeon who, approximately eight months ago simply disappeared from the radar. We discovered approximately five months ago that he's got a satellite laboratory on Cap Au Diable where he's been working on some project or another. Our agents and sources tell us that he's been working on a neuro-amplification agent designed to render the subject incredibly susceptible to suggestion."

 

"So... " Said The Man in Black as he puffed his cigar "Ye reckon Aeon is werkin' on a substance fer Ol' Stevie in order tae finally bring tae heel his failed experiments, then?"

 

"Yes, that's essentially it, but it's more than that. As you know, Superadine will cause the subject to grow in both size and strength. Imagine an Arachnoid the size of Wretch, but completely under the control of an Arachnos commander. Now imagine an army of giant, supersized Arachnoids. That's what we think is happening."

"That would be a wee spot o'bother indeed."

 

"Indeed."

 

"What's the plan, then?"

 

"We're going to launch a two-pronged assault. An elite Longbow strike team will hit Dr. Aeon's lab with the help of a handful of meta-humans who specialize in teleportation and combat support. We're going to try to wipe out Aeon's research and any active samples he may have stockpiled in his facility. Meanwhile we want you to hit the new production facility on Mercy Island and take it out entirely. Leave nothing standing. As panicked and disorganized as they are it should be a relatively soft target."

"Alright, then... What's the time frame?"

"Twenty-eight hours from now."

Edited Monday at 02:46 AM by Living_Hellfire