STGOD - Maelstrom, Vol. I

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Invictis malastaw misacrinis malriumrack!" The wizard chanted. As the spell completed, he polymorphed into an air elemental, and slipped the door and moved with the speed of a gale force windstorm toward the freedom of the night air

....

"Coralum et Orbadiaintegtum!" Alvarius said into his crystal. Soon after, an elemental of his own was summoned into the room the guards occupied. The one was made of water. As soon as it materialized it it shoved tendrils of itself into the orifices of several of the guards. Mouths, nostrils, eye-sockets, other places. All were forcefully intruded upon by water which was stronger than it had any right to be

[B4UTRUST]

The guards were taken down by this assault upon them. Some lived, some died, and they would need therapy for years to come to get over this. A few might have enjoyed it a bit but they didn't speak up. At any rate the mage got away.

Bliss got up a few moments later and righted his overturned chair, sitting and carving another piece of steak and putting it in his mouth, chewing slowly. The blood on his neck was drying and his back hurt like hell and was bruising rapidly into deep blacks browns and purples. The vamp's body was cooling quickly as what was left of its blood pooled beneath its body. He ate another piece of steak and sighed to himself, taking a swig of beer. There was no need to waste a perfectly good steak, though he had been enjoying himself a bit with the vamp.

[Ra]

Hassan took a sip of champagne, and answered, "All I know about your friend is that he's a lunatic, a psionic researcher that set up shop about half a year ago. Nobody knows anything about him."

"Six months ago?" Selene asked. "Where did he set up from?"

"That would be hard to say," Hassan said dismissively. "He could have set up anywhere, but most guesses are in Eastern Europe."

"So in other words, nobody knows anything about this guy," Demi quipped. "Just great."

"I have told you everything I can, Mister Ferency," Hassan said flatly.

"Very well, then, I thank you for your help. I'll be on my way," Mark answered.

Hassan then snapped his fingers, causing an Orc guard to grab him by the arm. Hassan added, "I've done something for you, Mark, you do something for me."

"Like what?" Mark snapped.

Hassan leaned forward, and answered, "There's some people threatening my channels. Go to Liverpool, and eliminate them."

Mark crossed his arms, and said, "I'll need more information than that, Yusef."

Hassan rolled his eyes in disgust. "Must I always explain every detail to you? Someone is threatening my little... blood trade business."

Selene snapped, "And what the hell are you doing trading blood?"

Hassan noticed her elongated canines, and smirked. "Why do other races ship food, my dear? Think about it. I ship blood for medical use, as well as gratifying your... needs. Mark, I want this-"

"We don't have time for this!" Selene shouted.

"I take it you aren't the mercenary type?" Hassan remarked.

"She's my boss, actually," Mark shrugged.

"Well, now you have two bosses," Hassan grinned. He then stirred his glass, and added, "Get it done."

[Comrade Tortoise]

Xendrik litersally flowed toward freedom, and finally burst into the night sky slipping under and through any doors in his way.

He was miles away before the spell ended and he rematerilized in his human form with Alvarius standing before him.

"Good job" he said.

"COuldnt have done it without your assistance"

"Perhaps, but you could have cast every spell I used. And you got yourself out. It just took a bit of inspiration" the older wizard responded. The younger wizard smirked, he realized something about his master.

"You know... for someone who calls forth the evil energy of the universe... you sure seem to care about a lowly peasant boy turned wizard"

"I dont summon the forces of darkness idley boy" the master snapped. "What greater good is there than forcing evil to do good's bidding? Even if you take a little bit of that evil with you. Besides, I raised you from the age of six..." he trailed off, as if not wanting to really reveal the genuine affection he felt for his ward. "And I have use for you."

With that, he spoke the words which were by now familiar, and teleported them both to his tower.

[Ra]

"This is ridiculous," Selene argued. "Do you always just let people 'hire' you at the drop of a hat?"

"Mercenary work and prostitution aren't as dissimilar as some people would think," Mark laughed. "Both of us do an illegal job, both of us do it for profit, and both of us go unappreciated the next day."

"You fail at being amusing, my love," Demi remarked, picking at him.

"Well, I don't fail at getting the job done, or at watching my ass," Mark defended.

Just as he said that, Mark felt a hard blow to his head. The hit send him flying into the wall, just as a dark figure dropped down, aiming two large pistols right at his head. Selene already had her own weapons out, but the attacker was already on Mark, and was clearly ready to use him as a bargaining chip.

Mark gazed up at his attacker, noticing that she was dark-skinned, with pointed ears. A Drow. Her hair was dyed orange, quite an unusual sight.

"By the gods, why does this always happen to me?" Mark fussed. He then glared at the Drow, and said, "Vel'bol zhah nindol bauth?"

The Drowish attacker looked at him curiously, and replied, "Usstan kyorl nindel dos telanth Ilythiiri..."

"Natha lotha," Mark shrugged.

"Nau selg'tarn. Vel'bol chaon xun dos inbal xuil Hassan?" she demanded. "What the hell are you doing around his ilk?"

"Just getting some information," Mark snapped.

The Drow stepped closer, aiming a pistol right in his face. She sneered, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't cap your ass right here, Darthiiri!"

"Maybe because my wife is about one word from casting a good spell to get me out of this mess," Mark laughed nervously. "Oh, and Selene would blow you away too."

The Drow rolled her eyes, and said, "What are you looking for? Speak!"

"We're looking for information on a man that was running a... lab... in Budapest," Demi said.

"So you are," the Drow laughed. "That Yuri guy?"

Mark struggled to a sitting position, and said, "What do you know about him?"

"I was hoping you knew," the Drow quipped, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, we would get a lot more out of this by working together, not blowing each other away!" Selene protested.

The Drow nodded, and lowered her pistols.

"What would your name be?" Demi asked. "You sound like an American from your accent."

"Maddie Webber," the Drow answered. "Now, get your asses in gear before the cops find us."

Mark sighed, and said, "Yes, ma'am."

[Narsil]

With but a flash of light: a groaning, wheezing electrical sound pierced the London air. A blue box shimmered into view, materializing from across the gulf of time and space. After a brief moment, the Doctor poked his head out from the doors.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he added, "Looks like we've arrived in London, east end."

"Excellent," replied the Elf as he stepped out of the small craft, "tell me, Doctor, what's your plan?"

"Simple, find out where Rose is... rescue her, and then go get a cup of tea."

"Fair enough," he raised a pointed ear to the open air, "the sooner we start, the sooner we find her."

[Ra]

Webber corraled the group into her car, and sped off down the London avenues. She then said, "So, what is this about? Your little problem with this Yuri guy?"

"My wife and I were hired by a man named Kraven to investigate Yuri's lab, and rescue one of his men. Selene is one of his fighters, she's here to..."

"Make sure you don't fuck up," the Vampyre added.

"Right," Mark nodded. "We were able to escape through special circumstances, and I decided to come here and ask Hassan if he knew anything. Does that explain everything nicely?"

"It does," Webber snapped.

"I suppose I should introduce ourselves then," Mark said. "I'm-"

"Mark and Demitra Ferency," Webber finished. "Who hasn't heard of you? I swear to Lolth, you're some of the most careless operators on the face of the Earth."

Mark raised an eyebrow, and said, "Careless?"

"Your little incident is the top story on CNN, for fuck's sake," Webber muttered.

"Whatever, we need to stop whatever's going on here," Demi said. "And with Hassan expecting us to go to Liverpool, it only makes matters worse."

"What does that snake want you to do?" Webber asked.

"Eliminate some people going after his black market blood trade operation," Mark explained. "Selene sees it as a major diversion."

Webber grinned. "On the contrary, let's go see what's up with this."

"What?" Selene remarked.

"Genetics, blood, Vampyres, something big's going down," explained the Drow. "We're gonna stop by my place real quick, and then we need to go check this out."

[Comrade Tortoise]

"So, what use do you have for me?" Xendrik inquired rather forcefully.

"Oh dont give me that look. I would have helped you out of there regardless... At any rate, the same individuals who attacked and captured you, have also been coming after me. They have already destroyed my base of operations. Twice. They forced me to create, and relocate to, a tiny island off the alaskn coast. Thankfully, the water is shallow and rocky, so ships dont come by, that and I did put up a ward of invisibility.... Still, I need more defenses if I am to be capable of withstanding their attacks. Unfortunatly, I am not powerful enough on my own to put them up."

"Which is where I come in"

"You and a young woman named Demitra Ferency. Though she doesnt know about it yet... Nor will I really give her much choice..."

[Ra]

The mysterious Drow Maddie Webber pulled into the parking lot of a London hotel, and hid her pistols, along with a finely crafted Adamantine dagger, in a bag. She then gestured for her "companions" to get out, and follow her. From her attire - a t-shirt and red jeans, she seemed somewhat out of place at such a fine establishment, but no one seemed to pay her any mind. After a short trip up the elevator - or lift, as the locals called them, Webber led them to her room.

The Drow tossed her bag on the bed rather dismissively, and started gathering some things, including ammunition, high-tech tools, and of all things, a sword, which she tossed Mark.

"I don't know how to use this, Ms. Webber," Mark sighed.

Selene snatched the sword, holding it by the scabbard.

"Good," the Drow snapped. "If you tried to wield it, your hand would burn off."

"I see," Mark laughed.

Webber then tossed Mark a rucksack, and slung another across her back. They were out as quickly as they had come in, with Webber only stopping long enough to check out.

"So, where did Hassan tell you to go, exactly?" Webber inquired.

"No clue, he just told us to go," Mark said.

Webber then looked down, and pulled a card from Demi's back pocket. She glanced at the card, and handed it to Mark.

"You don't look at your wife's ass enough," she snapped. "It was in her back pocket."

Mark protested, "I do too! Just hard to do when she decides to always follow me."

"That's so you can be the one to get kicked in the head, my love," Demi laughed.

"Charming, isn't she?" Mark sighed.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Several gunshots echoed, followed by a horrible scream. Severely wounded, Kreshna could only lying helplessly on the snow while Agent Edward Bliss engaged in a desperately hopeless meele combat against Specimen 001. Having exhausted all his ammo, Eddie now had to resort to hand to hand range. Not a very good prospect, considering the specimen had reached the final stage.

It was a transport mission gone awry, as the C-130 transport that carried them crash-landed in a snowstorm. 'Project Nosferatu', so they called. A secret weapon developed by the Wacthmen, the goal was to create a cross-breed between Vampires and Werewolves; a new breed of super-soldiers which were totally controlled by the Watchmen.

Or so it seemed.

The initial experiment was quite promising, as the new breed were capable to survive sunlight since childbirth. However, the geneticists said that this new race of vampires could evolve even further, where they would be more formidable in each growing stage. Specimen 001 was just born three months ago, and Watchmen scientists had been injecting it with high dose of hormones to accelerate its growth; they wanted to observe what the vampires were capable of in their final stage.

Well, too bad the scientists were not here to watch, as Specimen 001 was slaughtering each and every Watchmen agents; highly trained men, recruited from the best world could offer like SAS and Mossad, were now being slaughtered as the creature went rampart.

Shaking with pain, Kreshna tried to reach his M-203 equipped carbine. Loaded with special reactive grenades, it was their last resort against the creature. The contingency plan was clear; should Specimen 001 managed to escape during transport, the first priority is to capture it alive. Kreshna cursed the order while watching Agent Bliss being eaten alive by the creature; he gritted his teeth while grabbing the carbine, knowing that Eddie would die in the explosion as well. But after what happened after the Specimen broke loose, every sane person knew that it should be stopped at all cost before reaching the populated area. To hell with the order.

To hell with the order.

"I'm sorry buddy," he pulled the trigger.

The last thing he saw was the grenade's smoke trail before everything turned black.


It was three AM when the professional assassin was abruptly awaken up from his sleep, sweating. He took a cigarette and walk to the terrace of his apartment, trying to catch some fresh air.

It was the dream again.

Agent Bliss was not only his trusted partner, but a good friend as well. The initial relief from knowing that cybernetic surgeries would help Eddie to survive was quickly followed by grief, as he was soon being put in a mental institution while nobody was allowed to see him. None had ever seen Edward Bliss again ever since.

Lighting his cigarette, he cursed the order, cursed the Nosferatu project, and cursed the entire supernatural race in general that had caused all the tragedy to happen.

Vampires. He especially hated vampires, for an obvious reason.

Watching the city lights from the balcony, his mind floated back to Kennedy International Airport where all things started.

Standard Code of Conduct dictated that Watchmen Agents were not allowed to be romantically involved with each other, but breaking all the rules, he and Agent Lana Lopez found themselves in love with each other. They managed to survive, however, by consummating their tryst in secret. She had considered to resign from the Watchmen to save their relationship, but his long assigment in Southeast Asia -dealing with Phillipine vampires called Balarong- had added more strain on their relationship.

He remembered how broken he was when Lana picked him up at the airport, telling him that she was impregnated by another man; a noble of French origin named Comte André d'Beauffort. Full with tears, she told him that she actually still loved him, but they had to separate from each other for the sake of both. It was the last time he saw Lana; the moment of her last kiss while she telling him in tears to not trying to find her, for such attempt would expose their relationship to the Watchmen and would cost their lives.

And since then, the whereabouts of her and her baby were unknown.

Well at last it the truth was totally hidden from him until about a year later, after he was assigned in the disastrous transport mission to carry Specimen 001 from the Wachmen's secret lab in Alaska to the headquarters in New York.



Comte d'Beauffort was a vampire.


Her pregnancy -among other things- was orchestrated by the Watchmen. Specimen 001 was Lana's baby, being injected by various growth hormones since birth to observe the capabilities of the genetic engineered vampires in their final stage. The French vampire was under the Watchmen's control, being blackmailed and intimated to seduce and impregnate Lana.

And Lana... as soon as he discovered the truth, he also discovered why the Watchmen chose Lana for the experiment. It was a secret she had been hiding from him all the time. Lana.... She was a werewolf, being recruited by the Watchmen solely for that reason. She had proven herself to be a capable agent nonetheless, while receiving a regular dose of serum to prevent her transfiguration. Well, maybe except in certain times when the Watchmen needed to fight fire with fire, he suspected.


Nonetheless, discovering what the Watchmen had done to Lana was his last straw. He soon resigned afterwards. He and Bliss were among the best agents the Watchmen had, and now one had ended in a mental institution, the Director did not want to lose the other. He insisted anyway, telling everybody that he was tired and merely wanted a peaceful live. Well, that was the 'official' version. The truth is that Kreshna had secretly became an assassin for hire only known by the codename 'Iceheart' among the intelligence community. Driven by his hatred against the supernaturals, and armed with exceptional skills and brutal effectiveness, the assassin soon gained reputation while keep being anonymous. Nobody had never had direct contact with 'Iceheart', let alone knowing that the assassin was actually a retired Watchmen agent.

And for a reason totally unknown to the potential employers, he always avoid any contracts targetting werewolves.



Staring at the city lights, Kreshna inhaled his cigarette deeply, contemplating the investigations he made in the previous two days. He still maintained contacts in CIA and NSA, as well as few insiders in the Watchmen; trusted people that never bothered why he asked all the information, and were also unaware that the ex-Watchmen agent was actually the mysterious assassin codenamed 'Iceheart'. The need to cover his identity only allowed him to dig out 'general' informations and gossips, though. But he had got all the basics he needed.

Well there was quite a rumor among the intelligence community about a Russian telepath named 'Yuri' who tried to cross-breed Vampires and Werewolves. When combined with Alvarius 'magical' signature recorded during raid in the hotel, as well as the involvement of the mercenaries Mark and Demi Ferency, it was not hard to figure out 1+1=2. Among the intelligence community, Alvarius had been known to keep vampires or werewolves as underlings, and the factory surroundings was known to be his territory. The best guess was that Yuri geneticists were kidnapping Alvarius' vampires, and now the Wizard had hired mercenaries to retaliate.

Anyone who had ever joined the Watchmen knew that dealing with Alvarius was never a pleasant experience. Being wealthy and powerful, Kreshna knew that the Wizard would not sit still facing this Yuri threat. Mark and Demi Ferency were not pushover either, although they were notorious for preferring 'gun blazing' method instead of subtlety.

Alvarius may be powerful and relentless, but Yuri, with the vampyres on his hand, had the potential to be the most dangerous man in the world. In early stage, this genetically engineered vampires -or 'vampyres', as popularly dubbed- can merely survive sunlight, but in final stage they would be really deadly, as he had experienced first hand in the disastrous transport mission. The reason why the Watchmen cancelled the experiment was due to the difficulties in controlling those final stage vampyres. In fact, it was almost impossible to do so because in their final stage, a vampyre always suffer from insanity and maniacal rage. But Yuri -rumored to be the most powerful telepath on Earth- possessed the ability to do what the Watchmen was unable to do five years ago; mind control. An army of vampyres in final stage, totally loyal to and mind-controlled by Yuri, could spell doom to humanity,

Also joining the fray was none other than the Watchmen. The Watchmen naturally wanted to take back their stolen 'skeleton in the closet' from Yuri's grasp. Unlike the two other parties, the Watchmen did not rely on either magic or psionic capability, but being brutally efficient and resourceful, they may be the most feared group compared to the other two. Being an ex Watchmen agent, Kreshna knew that eventually, the Watchmen would always get what they want.

Because no matter who won, and no matter who lost, the Watchmen would always win.

But the devil you knew was always better than the devil you did not know, and Kreshna, despite all the bad things associated with the Watchmen, believed that they were still the best party to be trusted to keep the vampyres instead of an unstable, powermongering Russian telepath or a megalomaniacal, rich and powerful Wizard.



Well with two powerful factions were trying to stop Yuri, the assassin felt a little relief. Now it was the time to take care about other things that should deserve his attention as well; like money. This morning he had read the classified ad on New York times -a way for the potential client to contact Iceheart- and after making some long distance call to the phone number mentioned in the ad, he was informed that the client wanted to meet him on Hydepark the day after tommorrow.


Unable to go back to sleep, Kreshna lit another cigarette and checked his fake passport, wig, and spectacles. The name was 'Percy Wong', a Singaporean programmer currently resided in New York. He had booked a flight to London. Maybe this new job would be really interesting.

[Ra]

Soon Webber was heading out of London, driving in the direction of the freeway. She sighed, and took the time to get some answers out of her new companions.

"Ji tesso uns'aa, Darthirii. Lu'oh mzilt d' vel'bol dos telanth zhah seke?" Webber asked, reverting to her native tongue. She then glared at Mark, and added, "Usstan xuat plynn valyrine ulu ulnen."

"Jal d' ol zhah seke, ussta Ilythiiri abbil," Mark answered. "Usstan zhahus quarthen a natha Sanguine izwin 'zil Kraven, ulu ragarrl whol ukt noamuth sargtlin. Rilu'oh, Usstan inbal mzilt mzild ulu telanth."

"What the hell are you two saying?" Selene asked. "It'd be easier if you-"

"Vith'ir!" Webber sneered. She then shot a glance at Mark, and said, "Do continue."

"Once we were hired, we were confronted by a wizard called Alvarius," Mark sighed. "Whether he was helping us for good or bad, I don't know. I think he was a Planewalker."

"I've heard of them," Maddie nodded. "Even worked with them a time or two."

"After that, we went after the compound, found his man - Vincent - easily enough," explained Mark. "What piqued my curiosity was that they had, in addition to normal guards, these unarmed men, with some kind of cybernetic enhancements on their heads. After we raided the lab, one of them attacked me with some form of pyrokinesis."

"From the description, he was probably one of Yuri's initiates," Maddie answered. "I know little about them, just that this Yuri guy is obsessed with psionics. He thinks it's the next step in rivvin evolution, or some bullshit."

Mark then recounted the raid, and what they had discovered in the genetics lab, including the twisted experiments to combine the DNA of Vampyres and Wherewolves into a new breed of supersoldier. As the Elven mercenary explained the situation, the Drow's expression turned increasingly grave.

"This shit's deeper than I thought," Maddie sighed. "You found a dirty little secret of his, that's for sure. We've gotta spend as little time on this side-quest as possible, and get back to Budapest. The question, is will you tag along, or are you really just in this for the money?"

Mark nodded. "I may be a mercenary, but I know when someone has to be stopped. We'll be with you."

Maddie then said frankly, "Lu' Usstan orn mir dos ulu dosst xan'ss. Chi' uns'aa, xor jous dosstan tlu natha nadorhuan, lu' dos orn el."

"I'm an Elf of my word," Mark reassured her. "I intend to do what I can to stop this man, if that's possible. Frankly, we shouldn't leave the city just yet."

"Indeed, there is more we could learn at the moment," the Drow said. She then found a place to turn around, and pondered the situation. Webber still had more questions that needed answering herself.

[Comrade Tortoise]

The two wizards sat on opposite sides of a room awash with a red light which had no material source. Each one had a large book open before them, and in the center of the room there was a large pentagram drawn on the floor in human blood. On each point there was a candle mounted on the top of a human skull and in the center of the pentqagram was a perfect circle drawn in salt.

"Alright. have you prepared for a major summoning before?"

"Yes... Once when I was your apprentice. It was my test to see if I was ready to leave your service"

"Yes... I remember now... you did well. Remember though, this is not like summoning an alemental. The creature we are going to eventually call forth is one of pure malice. If we lose containment of it, it will be very angry and will not hesitate to strike us down or posess one of us. If that happenes, we must strike it down quickly if we are capable... or kill ourselves before it takes our soul. Do you understand?"

"Yes"

"Good... we are only activating the containment field tonight, we have other things we need to do, not the least of which is getting our third wizard and finding a suitable sacrifice in order to make containment and summoning easier"

"Alright"

"Now, when I say my part, say yours. If either of us makes a mistake we will have to redraw this pentagram and the circle, and I am running out of blood, and fat to make the candles..."

The younger wizard laughed

Ianus Copiae copie EGO to order vos , audite meus dico

Ianus copiae copie audite nostrum dico

Postulo nobis accersitus diabolus

Accersitus Diabolus Accersitus Diabolus

Per vestri vox servo nos ex vulnero

Servo nos servo nos servo nos ex vulnero


Ianus Copiae copie EGO to order vos , audite meus dico

Ianus copiae copie audite nostrum dico

Postulo nobis accersitus diabolus

Accersitus Diabolus Accersitus Diabolus

Per vestri vox servo nos ex vulnero

Servo nos servo nos servo nos ex vulnero


Ianus Copiae copie EGO to order vos , audite meus dico

Ianus copiae copie audite nostrum dico

Postulo nobis accersitus diabolus

Accersitus Diabolus Accersitus Diabolus

Per vestri vox servo nos ex vulnero

Servo nos servo nos servo nos ex vulnero




With the incantation finally finished, the pentagram glowed a deep violet, the red light in the room coalesced into a pillar bound by the circle of salt with the sound of carillon bell. Both wizardw wre drained

"Will we be able to do this if the illusionist does not comply?"

"yes.. but it will be that much more difficult'

[Destructionator XV]

"I need a description," a man wearing formal attire spoke to someone on a telephone in his London hotel room.

"Understood. We'll take care of it, Excellency" he finishes and puts the handset down.

"Gentlemen," he turns to three other men in the room, "I have another job for you. Saffir and I will continue our meeting as planned."

Once he explains the job, the three men load their concealed pistols, exit the hotel, and get into a rental car on the street. They stop on a road that leads to the freeway, two men get out and retreive large briefcases from the trunk. The third loads an Uzi and remains in the car.

Unnoticed, they make their way up a fire escape on a building to the roof. There, they open their cases.

The first man assembles a large, high powered sniper rifle, and takes a position where he can see the entire street below. The other takes out an AK-47 and watches the sniper's back.

"Don't fire until you have a clear shot," a voice sounds through their ear pieces, "we can't afford to miss."

They wait patiently for the car carrying their targets.

[Destructionator XV]

The car carrying Mark Ferency drove right towards the sniper's position, oblivious to the presence of Khan's men.

He carefully takes aim at the Drow driver's head, waits for the path to clear, and calmly sqeezes the trigger.

A muffled sound is heard as the deadly bullet flies out of the barrel at supersonic speeds, but this sound was quickly downed out by the sniper's word: "FUCK!"

His timing was just a millisecond off, as the bullet bounced off the car's frame, damaging the windshield, but not shattering any skulls like intended.

He quickly takes aim to fire again...

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

OOC: I guess some time had passed since Jon's last post (the dialog with Webber) and Adam's first post (the ambush on Mark's car), hadn't it? I mean, it took at least 7 hours for Kreshna to travel from New York to London. If this post ruined the time consistency, then tell me so. I'll then delete this post and re-post it again several posts later (when what's happening on Jon/Adam's scene has reached 7 hours).



===============================================================


London Heathrow Airport....




"Here's your passport, Mr. Wong. Enjoy your stay in London."

A mild-mannered man with mullet haircut and thick glasses replied, "thank you," then proceeded.

'Percy Wong' took a glance at his watch; it was still several hours before his scheduled meeting with his client's representatives at Hyde Park. As they have agreed, one of the representatives would wear a purple lily on his suit while bringing a copy of The Times. However, they did not know what Iceheart's representative would look like, so 'Percy' was supposed be the one who greeted first with the words they have agreed on the phone.

He then walked outside and called a cab.

[Destructionator XV]

OOC: This meeting takes place a number of hours after the ambush, but since one event should not alter the other, we will post them at the same time.

The two other men go to Hyde Park seperatly, one of them walks around like a normal visitor while keeping an eye on his partner, while the other will actually do the talking.

If this 'Mr. Wong' was not up to the task, he would be leaving this park with the fishes in the lake which bisects the park.


Khan's man sits in a bench in an out of the way part of the park, reading the newspaper. It did not take long for someone to sit next to him and speak.

"Might I have a look at the weather section, good fellow? I understand the next few days are to be rather cold."

"Aye, it will be cold enough to ice even the kindest hearts," Khan's man recited the approiate response to the passphrase.

Now it was Mr. Wong's move.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Khan's man sits in a bench in an out of the way part of the park, reading the newspaper. It did not take long for someone to sit next to him and speak.

"Might I have a look at the weather section, good fellow? I understand the next few days are to be rather cold."

"Aye, it will be cold enough to ice even the kindest hearts," Khan's man recited the approiate response to the passphrase.

Now it was Mr. Wong's move.

"My jolly good chap," 'Percy Wong' replied while touching his own spectacles, "my good employer may be icy-hearted, but he fully trusted me to carry the discussion with you. Shall you hand me the scientific journals, then?"

That was the appropriate second reply. On the phone, Kreshna had told Khan representative that 'Percy Wong' was to fully represent himself on the negotiation with Khan's men, as well as receiving the mission details. Now Percy waited for his counterpart's reply......

[Destructionator XV]

"Mr Wong," Khan's man starts while keeping a lookout for passerbys who might overhear the coversation, "let's cut right to the business. My employer wants your employer to kill a man of some importance. We want it done quickly, and we don't want anyone suspecting us."

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

"Mr Wong," Khan's man starts while keeping a lookout for passerbys who might overhear the coversation, "let's cut right to the business. My employer wants your employer to kill a man of some importance. We want it done quickly, and we don't want anyone suspecting us."

'Percy' replied, "Sir, the fact that your employer had contacted my employer indicated that the man is of some importance indeed. I presume, of course, that your employer is more than capable to afford the price. Before we discuss about the fee, I wish you don't mind giving an insight about the person your employer want to get rid of."

[Destructionator XV]

"The target is a British nobleman, named Mr. James. He is going to be well guarded. But more than that, he is actually an elf... with magic powers. Can you do the job?"

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

"The target is a British nobleman, named Mr. James. He is going to be well guarded. But more than that, he is actually an elf... with magic powers. Can you do the job?"

Kreshna quickly thought. There is only one British nobleman named 'James' who also an elf; Sir James Hyde-White. He knew his elven name as well; Tanthalos Quailisentri. The British-Elven nobleman was under the Watchmen's close scrutiny some years ago; a level 11 Cleric with Lawful Neutral alignment, Tanthalos was the current patriarch of Quailisentri Elven Clan. It was probably the richest and most affluent Elven Clan in England; real estate, investment banking, retail chain, you name it. The clan has it all.

The nobleman's only son, Julian Hyde-White, was an upstart Formula One racer who had died in a circuit accident in Monaco few years ago, so currently the only viable successor would be his cousin -which was also rumored had been aiming to take over the leadership ever since. However, the disguised assassin suspected that there was something else behind this 'forced succession'.

It was not his business, however. His concern is merely take the order and execute it as smooth as possible. 'Percy Wong' coughed, then replied, "I presume that the person you mean is Sir James Hyde-White, isn't it? If that the case, then the fee is seven hundred thousand dollars, while fifty percent should be paid in advance. Do we have an agreement, then?"




OOC: alright, I knew the 'Tanthalos Quailisentri' is probably a cheesy name. If anyone could come up with a better Elven name *cough*Jon*cough*, please feel free to PM me. I would edit the post accordingly then.

[Ra]

A loud richochet and shattering glass alerted Maddie Webber to the ambush. She briefly glanced down at the ring she was wearing, and thanked Lolth that she had invested in the magically enchanted item.

"Ambush!" she snarled. "Hold on!"

The Drow ducked, and stepped on the gas, peeling through the streets past numerous cars. Selene had already drawn her twin Berettas, but in combating a sniper they weren't so useful.

"I can't see him," Mark said. "You sure you don't want me to drive?"

"Fuck that," the Drow quipped. She then swung the car around a turn, not caring where the avenue went; she just needed to get out of there. Pulling in ahead of a large truck, or Lorry, as the locals called them, Maddie hoped it would be enough to block any further attacks.

[Destructionator XV]

"I presume that the person you mean is Sir James Hyde-White, isn't it? If that the case, then the fee is seven hundred thousand dollars, while fifty percent should be paid in advance. Do we have an agreement, then?"

He has done his homework, he thought to himself.

"200,000 in advance, 525,000 after confirmation of success."

[Destructionator XV]

The sniper takes another shot, but the car sped off, and he missed again. He stands back up and turns to his partner. They move quickly back down to the ground.


Meanwhile, the third assassin steps on the gas to follow the car. He recklessly careens through traffic, with is right arm, holding his Uzi, out the window.

A spray of the bullets flies out his weapon. Some bounce off the back of their car, and at least one hit a bystander on the streets. But the loss of innocent life was of no concern whatsoever to these men.

The sniper's partner uses the butt of his rifle to break into a random car. I young man looks at them, screaming "What the! That's my motor!"

The two killers get in and speed off. Over their wireless earpieces, they are talking to the other driver

"They are going down 13th ave! Cut them off!"

"Roger that!" And they floor it, going almost 100 kph through the city streets.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

"I presume that the person you mean is Sir James Hyde-White, isn't it? If that the case, then the fee is seven hundred thousand dollars, while fifty percent should be paid in advance. Do we have an agreement, then?"

He has done his homework, he thought to himself.

"200,000 in advance, 525,000 after confirmation of success."

Not really a problem, Kreshna, thought to himself, two hundred thousand bucks is more than enough to cover my initial expenses.

"It is a deal," 'Percy Wong' replied, "I will inform you when the job is done."

The two men shook hands.


========================================================


Moments later, in an internet cafe at Soho....

If there was a part in the Watchmen's information network that was only lightly secured, it was their 'encyclopedia' of supernatural subjects. The directory, however, was indeed meant to be published among the intelligence community. Intelligence agencies like the MI-5, the NSA, or the Mossad can browsed the Wacthmen's directory if they need information on supernatural people. Updated on regular basis, it was the most reliable source of information among the intelligence agencies.

But of course, even 'lightly secured' would turn the hackers away. For starter, even though you can use internect connection, you need a special, console-based application to access the directory. Next, the connection utilized a propetiary, highly-encrypted protocol being encapsulated in TCP/IP. Third, the directory used two-factors authentication, where a logging user did also need a dongle as well as supplying password. And finally, the knowlegde that such directory actually existed was limited among the intelligence community as well.

Naturally, Kreshna's dongle was confiscated when he resigned while his account was deleted as well. However, keeping contacts with the underworld always paid.


An Mei Ling -or 'Annie' as he always called her- was probably the most talented Electrical Engineer ever graduated from Fudan University. She was taking a graduate program at MIT when the FBI arrested her for publishing an article on how to circumvent ClariaSoft Digifence 4000; the once-powerful DRM solution used by RIAA. The PRC government -who also sponsored her education- soon bailed her out. However, upon her return to China, the Chinese Ministry of State Security soon noticed her 'other talent' and recruited her as one of their 'freelance' hackers.

Kreshna first knew her during the indicent known as 'Raging Dragon' where the powerful sorcerer Lo Pan tried to take over Hong Kong. The PRC asked the Watchmen for assistance, and they were romantically involved for a brief time, although ended up as friends; especially since he shared her views and hatred on DRM. Now she also worked as freelance hacker for the largest software piracy syndicate in Asia, as well as doing her jobs for the Ministry. She never regretted her return to the PRC, however, as she always said, "democracy doesn't mean a thing if you cannot even make backup copies of your legally-purchased CDs!"


Now Kreshna inserted his "clone" dongle -another of Annie's marvelous creation- into the PC's USB port, and started the client application directly from the CD he had inserted. The Watchmen's supernatural directory asked for an account, and he typed the username and password of a backdoor account belonged to the Chinese Ministry of State Security.

After being granted access to the console, the assassin typed SHOW ALL WHERE OFF_NAME='Sir James Hyde-White' FROM PEOPLE INCLUDE=PIC FRAMES=FALSE.

The Watchmen used command-based console to access their directory, for an obvious reason; if a hacker, somehow, managed to break into the directory, all he would get was nothing but an unhelpful text console.

Moments later, the information appears. Although he already knew the Elf's background, he read the section anyway just in case he missed something. Satisfied, he soon moved to recent updates; everything he needed was there including newly-acquired habits, social life, and other updates.

A thing the assassin noticed, among other things, is that Tanthalos Quailisentri -Sir James' Elven name- had just acquired a magical device called 'Amulet of Aerial Protection'. Kreshna frowned, and typed further.

SET COLWIDTH=20

FIND RECNO, TAB_NAME, COL_NAME WHERE UCASE('%_NAME_%') LIKE UCASE('Amulet%Aerial%Protection' FROM GLOBAL.


There is only a single entry of the said amulet; it naturally belonged to the 'artifacts' table.

RECNO TAB_NAME COL_NAME
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
3A451FA272B4 ARTIFACTS NAME


The assassin typed again:

SHOW ALL WHERE RECNO='3A451FA272B4' FROM ARTIFACT, INCLUDE=(PIC, VID) FRAMES=FALSE

The Amulet of Aerial Protection was a new invention made by the Wizard Alvarius -the name made him frown- that emmitted a Solid Fog spell effect around the warrior. However, spell effect had been modified in such way that instead of forming a cloud that would hamper everyone's movements, the spell actually created a Protection From Arrows +20. The result was very effective; while wearing the Amulet, one would be completely immune to small-arms projectiles and grenade shrapnels.

Kreshna contemplated, considering his options. Assassinating Sir James would require some tricks.



But the good news was he probably wouldn't need to use firearms at all.



The assassin logged off and exited the application, whistled with satisfaction. The Watchmen's encyclopedia was always his most reliable source when planning how to do a mission.

Soho's red light district may be less interesting at noon, but I gotta' pay a visit anyway, he thought.