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Post by Turn 360 and walk away on Aug 27, 2008 1:38:25 GMT -5
"Damn it, which way though... You guys wanna contribute?" "Hm... how long ago were they taken? I mean, it'd have to be in the Western, I'd imagine. And North, too, if Valerio left it for us. but if it was planted, there's no way to find out. I say we try that." Alexei contributed, "It brings up a house, in south Vegas. not too far from Winchester." James replied. "Oh, shit. That sounds like a good place to look, huh? how about the other coordinates?" "A rice patty a while outside Sizhuang, China. The middle of the Pacific, and the Pacific, 100-some miles off the Australian border." "Well, I think we could rule out those last two." Svensky added. "Can Flask pull something out of that house? Owners?" "I bet I could," flask replied, himself, "Just give me a couple minutes." "Okay!" "Yah mon!" Jacob was back at the TV.
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"Simple enough," Michelle stated, as she drew the cue back with her left arm, and scratched, "I can do it pretty well with my left hand, and I've only not been a righty for a day. Here, I scratched, pocketed the cue ball, so you can shoot. go ahead and put it wherever you want." Michelle handed the small white ball to Carmen and she put it down. "Now, pick your shot, and put your hand out, like this, "she gingerly moved her hand to show her how to put her fingers and whatnot, "Put the cue down, and push forward. Easy enough, right? There you go! Hey, good first shot!" Michelle called as she stopped the wildly spinning cue from pocketing itself. She reset it and approached carmen from behind. "Try to be more, kinda..." she tried to reach around the other woman without making too much physical contact, "Be a little smoother." Michelle guided Carmen's hand through a couple shots. She eventually got the six ball into a corner. "Yeah!" Michelle exclaimed as she threw her hands into the air, "Okay, you got one, so go ahead and go again. Easy, right?" She decided against talking about the dressing room thing here. Maybe she'll find a reason to drag her to the bathroom, or maybe she'll never talk about it. But not here. While Carmen took her shot , Michelle approached the bar and ordered a Mojito martini.
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Post by V on Aug 27, 2008 23:38:57 GMT -5
Carmen was still very shakey...everyone made this game look so easy. Her unsteady hand made the cue wobble, as she took the shot. The white ball flew off the table, and into someones nachos. Carmen looked up at the woman. "Oh! I am so sorry. I-I didn't mean it I'm new to this." The woman wouldn't have it. She was with two other men, both wearing matching colors...even she herself was wearing a green tank top. They all had a similar bling on...these were gang members. The black woman approached Carmen. "What the fuck, bitch? Can't hold your fucking hand steady? Your going to buy me another thing of nachos." "Why? It was an accident." "Because I said so, bitch." "I've been having a bad week...so I suggest leaving me alone." "Well I'm going to make your week worse." "Psh try me." Carmen retorted, returning to the table. From the corner of her eye, she saw the woman swing at her. She was quick enough to duck. The other woman swung again. Carmen caught her by the wrist, twisted her around the back, and then stomped on the back of her knee. The woman went down quickly. "I warned you not piss me off. I told you I was having a bad week." She pressed the woman's arm up more, and applied more pressure on her knee. "No leave me alone." The other woman was wincing, straining, so she kicked her away. Carmen recovered the cueball, and went back to the table. "Hey bitch!" The other woman called again. "We ain't done yet." The two men with her seemed to be taking her side. "You're going down bitch. I'm calling you out." "Okay. You do that." "What? You scared? I'll take you right now." "I believe you tried. Great job there." "Shut up, bitch! You now who you're messing with?" "A corner prostitute?" "Oh hell it's on!" The woman pulled out a knife...and all the patrons stepped back, even Carmen. "Oh? You don't like knives." "I'd hate to disappoint you, but this isn't the first time a knife has been pulled on me." The woman charged her again, swung the knife. Carmen evaded it by stepping back. Then a gun cocked, and everyone gasped. Carmen had pulled out her weapon. "She flashed the badge of her agency quickly, before pocketing it. She made it so they thought she was police, instead of the actual SFOD. "Like I said, fuck off." The gangsters didn't look to happy, and left immediately. "This isn't over, pig!" One of them called. "Whatever..." The bartender approached her. "I think you should leave..." She sighed, and shrugged, put the cue down, and left for her car. She sat in the passenger side and waited for Michelle. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flask came back with the information. "It's registered to a Dale Gron. He's the guy we found with the transmitter around his wrist." "That makes sense then." James said. "Should we rally the team?" "Not just yet....these's still that long string of numbers to be deciphered...they might help us more, give us the full story." Jeremy interrupted. "Well, I'm stumped on that one. The string is too long for me to think of anything possible..."
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Post by Turn 360 and walk away on Aug 28, 2008 0:39:31 GMT -5
Michelle was still standing at the bar when the woman approached Carmen. She didn't think much of it, seeing as how everyone in this place was blasted out of their mind. half way through her martini, She decided to turn around, when the she heard a gun was brought out. In sheer amazement, she walked calmly out of the building, and into the driver side of Carmen's car. "Wow! What happened in there?" carmen told her the story, Michelle was looking in amusement. "Well, let's try this again, huh? I say YOU get the drinks this time, though." She mused, before pulling in front of another bar. There were a bunch of cars parked out front, so michelle pulled around and parked a couple blocks down. As she got out of the car, she looked around at the empty streets. "Carmen." Michelle sighed, heavily. "I... uhh... about today... earlier, I mean. Well... I... uhh... I wanted to talk... about... it..." Michelle lamely stated, letting her head hang low. slowly, she looked into Carmen's eyes and waited for a reply. "I-I'm sorry, but I think we... we need to."
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"Well, I'm stumped on that one. The string is too long for me to think of anything possible..." "Me too. But I think we need to jump on that. I really feel like the longer we wait, the less chance we have our team's still all alive." Svensky replied. "Maybe something we find there will help us. But first, we need to find the rest of our team. Where the hell did they go, anyway? Anyone know?"
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Post by V on Sept 3, 2008 20:30:18 GMT -5
Carmen looked to the ground, and shuffled her feet nervously. "Yes...I think we should..." She seated herself on the hood of her SUV, and motioned Michelle to do the same. "Uhh...well, I...I don't know what came over me...." she began, her voice starting to crack. She feared the events might break their friendship. "Maybe...it's because, my husband..has been so angry with me lately...and I needed comfort. I guess that's the way I could find it..." she looked over at her friend. "I hope it didn't damage our relationship any..." she said...before realizing she had used the word relationship. "Err...relationship as in being friends...not the other kind, you know..." she finished with a nervous chuckle.
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"Front door lady says she and Michelle went out." James announced. "Alright, tell them to get their asses back here, and suit up. We need to get going." "Roger that."
(Q.Q Sowwy, fillerage!!!)
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Post by Turn 360 and walk away on Sept 3, 2008 23:30:21 GMT -5
"Err...relationship as in being friends...not the other kind, you know..." "But... but... You have a-- a Husband! A family! Children!" Michelle looked at the ground and shuffled her feet, before standing beside Carmen's legs. "I-- I'm sorry if I sounded angry... I'm not. Really, I'm not... but... I mean... What were you thinking?" She looked at the ground and kicked at the dirt. "I think I need another drink..." Michelle turned around, still leading Carmen along towards the bar, when her phone went off. Somewhere within the depths of her hip pockets, That new song she loves, but doesn't actually know or was able to name, started playing. For a few seconds, she let go of Carmen's wrist and flipped open a small phone. "Yeah, uh-huh... Alright..." She let out a moan and turned towards the other woman. "That was Alexei. We have another lead on Molly... I suppose it was kinda stupid, going out pub crawling, when here was a mission, huh?" She tried to rationalize it, before sliding inside Carmen's SUV and driving back towards HQ. "But, that's coming from the person who's driving, after a drink, huh?"
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"Alright, tell them to get their asses back here, and suit up. We need to get going." "Roger that." "Aye." Alexei grunted. He picked up the phone and punched a bunch of numbers. "Get your ass up here, Romano. You and Hu are to be suited up and ready to load out five minutes ago!" "Whay dey beh ou' anywah?" "I don't know. But I will sure as hell find out. James, right? call in for a heli. I'm sure as hell not driving there."
minutes later, and engine roared and echoed as it entered the garage. "What the hell?" He shook his head and sighed. "Just... hurry up."
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Post by V on Sept 25, 2008 23:02:52 GMT -5
"I already told you what I was thinking..." Carmen stood up for herself, before sighing. Michelle began to walk off, but stopped a second later and took out her phone. Turns out, it was time to work off another lead. Carmen wasn't too happy, despite Michelle's attempt to joke. They returned to her car, and they were on there way back. When they arrived, the men were all ready. "What're you waiting for? get suited up!" James shouted to them. Carmen didn't argue, she took off for the locker, and suited up as fast as she could...which was about five minutes. Michelle seemed to be ready as well, and they all scrambled into the truck. Using the helicopter would be...well, pointless. The driver was ordered to go with haste...and he did. Taking detours of the roads. It was lucky the truck was marked with authority symbols, or they'd have been pulled over a thousand times. The entire teams was silent...up to this point atleast. Carmen began to wonder if they all were thinking the same thing. What was happening to Molly right now... "Destination in sight. Lock, Load and Standby." The driver announced. They all readied weapons, Carmen with a combat shotgun, and James with a stand assault rifle. The truck halted, and a buzzer sounded. That was the single to file out quickly, two people carried a ram, to break the door open. "We're coming Molly..." James said to himself.
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Post by Turn 360 and walk away on Sept 26, 2008 0:03:13 GMT -5
Alexei slowly rubbed the stock of his M5, pausing when the buzzer woke him from his trance. "GO! GO! GO!" The doors opened, letting the mid-afternoon sun stream into the dark truck. Once at the door, he stood out of the way and strongly knocked at it. "THIS IS THE SFOD! OPEN UP! WOULD IT HELP IF I SAID 'WE HAVE A WARRANT TO SEARCH YOUR PREMISES!'?" He counted to five, and knocked once more. This he pointed towards the door with two fingers, signaling the ram to be brought forward. On another count of three, the door splintered behind the force of the metallic ram, and it slowly opened on damaged hinges. Michelle grabbed it quickly, and sprinted back to the truck, where she stuffed it in the back, and closed the door. Alexei looked towards James and Little Jacob, pointed to his eyes, then pointed down a hall. To the rest, he drew a circle in the air, arm straight up, signaling them to form up. Together, the group broke away into separate groups of two around the house. Alexei was with Michelle, checking some upstairs bedrooms. "Oh... oh God... What's tha-at smell?" Michelle coughed through the small headset. "Wreaks." Alexei simply replied, before pushing open a door to a pristine, white-tiled room. Inside was a very ordinary bathroom, though, it was very well-kept. Inside the tub was something large, and black. he told Michelle to keep going, and inspected the black mass. The closer he got, the more he realized what he was looking for. Something in a black Glad Bag. With his rifle, he slid the plastic away. A man in a middle-of-the-road suit and tie, with a big nose and curly, light brown hair laid in the basin. In his face was cut seven small squares, from his jaw to his cheek, and eight, across his cheek, onto his nose. One of his eyes was gone. the empty area was instead, occupied by a pin button for an old Gala. The rest of his body was in near perfect condition, except for a gaping stab wound over where his heart would have been. "James. we have one dead body. You and Jake find anything?"
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Post by V on Sept 27, 2008 5:06:56 GMT -5
James and Jake were scouting the ground floor. There wasn't much up here...not even a TV. "Damn, how did this bloke live without things like TV? Atleast get a radio, man! He probably didn't leave to long, eh?" Jake tapped his shoulder, and informed him that Michelle and Alexei had found a body. "Guess not." In the corner was a pile of belongings. James was going to leaf through, maybe get the homeowner's identity. "Hey, Carmen went down into the basement, I think she's alone. Could you go check on her?" The question directed to Jake. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carmen was alone...although it didn't bug her much. Her position as the camera sentry made her used to isolated environments. She approached the basement door, and opened it. It was, not surprisingly, dark. She tried the light switch....nothing. Sighing, Carmen took our her flashlight, and flicked it on, holding it against the pump of her shotgun. She was hesitant to descend...but eventually, she began. The light was on her feet while going down, no one wants to misstep. She kept thinking that the door would suddenly close when she reached the bottom...as it always does in Hollywood movies. When she hit the floor...there was no sudden crash or anything. Carmen certainly felt better about that as she shined the light around the room. She gave an inquisitive look, as it seemed it was like a living room...it's like someone lived down here. Suddenly...the crash...the door closed. Thee sudden action caused Carmen to drop her flashlight, which rolled a good amount of feet forward. She was to frightened to move...to frightened to think...she held her hands to her mouth, dropping her shotgun, too. She murmuring in fear, slowly inching towards her flashlight. The beam was shining on a wall. She stared at the only light, while approaching. When she finally did, there was a figure in the beam...Valerio. "I know who you are...Carmen Hu..." Her eyes went wide. "Your efforts are futile..." his voice was low and ghastly. "You'll never find me..." And with that, he vanished... Carmen stood there, her eyes wide. The door opened again, letting in more light. She reached for her flashlight and gun, and ran as fast as she could for the stairs, seeing her teammate, Jacob, on top. She didn't care who it was, she simply wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him for comfort. Her face was covered in a cold sweat. "I saw him..."
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Post by Turn 360 and walk away on Sept 27, 2008 6:17:10 GMT -5
"I think she's alone. Could you go check on her?" "ah, mon. I be on it. You be doin' good on ya own, nah?" Given a small nod as a confirmation, Jacob turned away and searched for the stairwell to the lower floor. The entire house was a dull grey color. No light got in. No air, no nothing. it was completely stagnant, outside of a few flies buzzing around, no doubt drawn to the meat Alexei found. Soon enough, Jacob found himself in a small anteroom, yellowed, with peeling paint, and a single door. The door was jammed, though, closed so tightly Jacob couldn't open it. "Ah, mon. I be findin' the basement, but the door be jahmmed. Ah can' be openin' it." "Well, try harder." "Ah be tryin'! it won't budge!" Behind the door, Jacob heard a shill screech. "We be havin' prahblums!" "On my way, Jacob." "Aye. We're coming." echoed Svensky. Jacob continued to to try and fight his way through, now my shoulder ramming. As he backed up to get another charge in, the door, though sluggishly, creaked open. Jacob stood up and scoffed, wondering how that had happened, until Carmen shot out and wrapped herself around his waist. "I saw him..." "Who yah beh seein'?" Jacob questioned, before retracting back, away from the woman, and looking down the stairs himself. "I thank yah be seein' yah shadow! Theh be nothin' down theh!" Just to prove his point, he started down the stairs, followed quickly by Alexei.
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"Flask... you did get those numbers I sent you, right?" Alexei questioned. "Seven up, eight across. and a gala pin from the early nineties?" "Good. You should get this visual." "What am I looking at?" "It... it looks like red paint." "There? By the bookshelf?" "Uhh, yeah." "What's it... what's it say?" "Eye in the apple? Hold on... there's more." "'Do words have any... any meaning other than... than confusion?'." "Whah is thah suhpose' tah mayn?" "Svensky. What's it written in?" the Russian extended a gloved finger. what he touched was lukewarm, and like a jelly. certainly not paint. Michelle gasped at the revelation. Svensky just coughed a little, and faced his team. "We need someone to get light down here. After that, we search for whoever wrote this... and whatever they used as a palette." James bent down and picked up a rogue impact flashlight, and handed it to Carmen. "the eye in the apple... words have any meaning other than confusion..." Alexei turned the thought over, and over again.
Soon enough, there was light bathing the entire room, from a single halogen lantern in the center of each room, covering the entire lower level in a blue light. There was a main area, where they were all grouped, and three smaller rooms in the rear. In one, a small wooden chair stood, alone, in the corner, facing a painting that looked like it was done by a blind man, instructing a deaf man. In another, basic pantry items -- garbage can, spare bags, a small tool box, and laundry detergent -- dominated. In a third, a skinned man hung from some rafters, nailed, by his tie, to the supporting column. The threads were giving away, and he wasn't expected to stay up too long. he was crudely fleshed from the neck down, hastily massacred. In the corner of the small room sat a large apple, in good enough condition to eat, it seemed.
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Post by V on Oct 16, 2008 22:40:25 GMT -5
This riddle clearly made no sense to Carmen...however, she did know there was a dead man hanging from the rafters. That was enough to nearly make her shriek in disgust and fear. She buried her face into Michelle. All her time in SFOD, this was certainly the most...psychological thing they've been up against. She'd never been been so terrified on the job.
James however, seemed a bit left out. Alexei seemed to have the riddle figured out..as did a few others. "Well..perhaps I could be enlightened then." He said aloud, turning away from the three rooms.
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Post by Turn 360 and walk away on Oct 18, 2008 4:11:38 GMT -5
"Well..perhaps I could be enlightened then." "Does it look like I know any of this?" Alexei mumbled in James's direction, before examining the apple. "Look at this!" Around the apple were twenty or so evenly-placed stitches, keeping two halves of the apple together. Alexei took out his knife and cut the perfect sutures, leaving few on the back to act like a hinge. The meat of the red delicious was still crisp and white, probably treated with lemon. "Oh... my..." Inside the apple, where the seeds should have been, a white orb, with a blue iris stared back at the team. For one grotesque second, Alexei thought it was real, but soon his senses came back to him; he pulled it away, revealing a flat bottom. Somewhere in the world, a one-eyed doll still smiled. Below it was a note, scratched out onto simple lined paper. "The watchful worm? In Eden? Time is running out..." Alexei looked at the slip, and passed it around. "I can't believe... I can't believe this..." Alexei sighed, before jumping slightly as the corpse hit the ground. "Let's... let's go back... there's nothing to find here..."
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Michelle eased away, when Carmen's head met her body. She mouthed "later" and looked towards Alexei as he read the note. When it made it to her, She stared at it for mere seconds before giving up in exasperation. "Let's... let's go back... there's nothing to find here..." "Agreed." Michelle breathed. This place was starting to give her goosebumps, and it wasn't only the cold air.
Once back at HQ, Michelle took off towards the sleeping quarters, and mutely signaled Carmen to follow. Up the stairs, past the couch,where Molly's outer shirt still lay, the TV, still tuned to ESPN 8 "The Ocho", past the computer, running a virus scan, with James' game minimized. Through the doorway, and finally, onto her bed. A million things were racing through her head, and maybe, if she was lucky, she could get rid of one of those little racecars. "carmen: I want to say that-- No.." Michelle sighed, practicing before the other woman entered. "Carmen, I love you, but I don't love you. And I don't think i can, in that way. I have a relationship of my own, and you have one of yours. Maybe this will be one of those things--" She noticed Carmen enter the room, and, without any breath left in her, repeated what she said. After her statement, she reached over to Carmen's nightstand, and opened the door, where her diary was kept. She reached in blindly, and in a fit of utter horror, pulled out what looked like an ear. "Oh my FUCKING God!" She wailed before tossing it onto the table with a dull "thud". "C--C--Carmen... what's that... that doing in... in your.." nerving herself up, she approached the mass of flesh and held it up. It was very cold, certainly coagulated. It was placed there a while ago. On the earlobe, two small holes were present, and another one existed up in the highest arch. Whoever had this ear had it pierced a few times. Stuffed inside the lowest puncture as a slip of paper no bigger than something inside a fortune cookie. on it was scribbled "Kimberly" on one side, and on the other, a straight line was drawn through it. Whoever placed it didn't want to talk.
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Jacob willed himself to ask the question everyone was thinking, there in the living area. "Whah da Hell be wit' da ahppole?" "I don't know, Little Jacob, I don't know...." Seemed James offered up this, "Wasn't Eden, the garden of Adam and Eve?" "AH mon! and Eve be eatin' da ahppole!" "The original sin." "Yeah mon! The mishonary be tellin' us uv dis in the school!" "But where does that get us?" Alexei heavily replied. "Ah duhn beh--" Jacob was cut off by shrieking from the next room. Alexei dropped the apple, and let it drop 12 feet to the garage.
"Oh my FUCKING God!"
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Post by V on Oct 19, 2008 22:40:46 GMT -5
Carmen stared at the ear in as much horror as Michelle, however instead of shrieking, she was jaggedly exhaling. She reached for the rolled up piece of paper in the lower lobe. It looked like a fortune cookie fortune. With a shakey hand, she unraveled it...and her eyes widened. She dropped it, cupped her hands over her mouth, and stood their, with the look of that people would describe as "seeing a ghost". "Kim..." A mumbled escaped her, before she charged out the room, jumping down all eight steps of the stair set from top, and running to the parking garage. She was still in her combat gear. James ran after her. "Carmen!" He shouted to her. She stopped. "What happened?" The woman didn't answer, and James came closer. "Are you okay?" Finally, she turned around, her eyes flowing with tears. "It's just something...I'm going out...is all...I'll...bring something back." Before James could say another word, she ran into her car, started the engine, and peeled out...nearly hitting Alexei's truck on the way. James could hear the engine for a good minute or two, along with horns blaring and tires screeching.
Carmen sped home at nearly 80, disregarding stoplights and the like. The Expedition parked awkwardly in the driveway, and she didn't even turn it off, as she ran inside. She took two steps in...and the tears started to flow again. Standing before her...was her daughter...looking at her in confusion...and had both ears, holding a sandwich. "Mom?" Kim finally spoke. "Mom, are you okay? What happened?" Carmen didn't answer...she simply threw her arms around her daughter, and began to bawl like a baby. Kim threw her sandwich aside, and returned the embrace...her voice also starting to break. "M-mom, what happened?" "Oh Kimmy...it's fine...its...-sniffle- Fine." She hugged her daughter even tighter. "You have...-sniffle- no idea how happy I am to see those piercings in your ear. Wheres everyone else?" "They all went out to eat...I didn't want to go...I said I wasn't feeling well." They probably held that embrace for several minutes, before Carmen released and took a seat on the cough. Kim followed up, and hugged her mother's arm. "Mommy...I've missed you. Do you have to go?" "...eventually...but I'm going to stay as long as I can..." She looked outside. There was still plenty of sunlight, despite it being almost evening. "They'll page me if they want me back."
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Post by Turn 360 and walk away on Oct 19, 2008 23:39:11 GMT -5
"GOD DAMN IT!" The Russian screamed. "What are you doing!?" but his target was too far off now, and the truck wasn't hurt, after all. He stood wide-eyed as the skid marks traced a pair of parallel lines down the road. "Ah be Wohndrin' da same ting, mon." "In Spetznaz, That wouldn't have happened! We had discipline!" "This not be Spetsnohs, mon. Dis be Amereeca." "I miss Russia." "Ah beh-- Mehshel! Ya be look'n' lahke you be see'n a ghost!" The blonde shuffled into the room, white as a ghost, with with wide, awestruck eyes. "What's the matter, Michelle?" She held out, in shaking hands, the tissue that found itself in Carmen's drawer. "Whoos eeah be dis?" "k-k-k-k-Kimbely...." "Keembahlay?" "C-c-c-carmen's... Daughter..." "How do you know this?" Michelle held out the slip of paper, "And she showed me pictures, told me about her family." "Jesus..." "Ah mon..." "This is Valerio's handwriting. I've seen enough of it." "Guys?" "What's up, Flask?" "That dead guy in the last house?" "Yeah, I remember him." "He was an 'Arkosh Kovash.' Was a soldier in the Hungarian Mafia." "Anything else?" "Was a third cousin to Molly." "Thanks, Flask." "How deed Vohlohreeoh git eentuh thees plahce?" "I don't know..." Alexei retired to his corner of the sleeping quarters, to think things over. Hung up over his lamp was a small, tattered and stained picture of 10 men, in an unstained wooden frame. In it, Alexei stood, top right, in a group of men who graduated, or survived, Spetsnaz training. Of them, Alexei didn't hate three. He didn't try to stab 6 of them over the course of his career. He even still talked to a couple. In all of those, including the one he did aim for in target practice, had a big red X through them. Alexei looked at the photo, puzzled, for some minutes before turning on the lights to look at it closer. Slowly, he reached for his personal cellphone and scrolled through his phonebook to find a "Dimitri". Once he hit the green button, he set it to speaker and set it down. After seven rings, the answering machine picked up. "Hello, Alexei. I can assure you, Your friend can't talk right now. he's a bit... preoccupied. Did everyone enjoy their gifts? if you're listening to this, I'll bet you did." The voice sounded ghostly, almost like it was talking to him, not giving him a recording. He tried the other number he had, and it yielded the same results. "Guys... impromptu bed check..."
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Post by V on Oct 27, 2008 21:07:28 GMT -5
When it the sun had completely vanished, Carmen had to leave. "Mom...will you be back soon?" Kimberly asked, clearly unhappy that she had to leave. Carmen wrapped herself around her daughter, and held her close. "...I don't know...there is a big assignment right now, and we're not allowed back until we complete it." The older woman was starting to despise her uniform now. She began to wonder why she even signed up. Why she even went through all the strenuous training. Maybe she had more of a desire to serve back then. She kissed her daughter on the forehead, and faced away, eyes teared. It seemed Kim's were, too as she left through the door. Carmen stopped by a local pizza place, since she promised to bring home something. She wasn't exactly aware Valerio had a surprise for all of them.She arrived back at the HQ, with three large pizzas, the usual trio flavors; Pepperoni, Cheese, and the "combination" pizza. She greeted the people who were still in the living room...which looked like Jacob and James. "Hey guys. Brought food. Any updates on Molly yet?" They both shook their heads. "Strange things are going on though. The man that was skinned in the house, turned out to be a relative of Molly. Michelle told us where you really might have gone...looks like Valerio is messing with all of us. I'm afraid to look in my drawers tonight, haha..." Carmen forced a smile. "Well...dinners on me...I'm going to...wash up." She ran up the stairs into her quarters. Michelle was still inside. Carmen closed the door, and looked at her friend. "I need to talk to you..." She said, and stat down on her bed. "Listen...I...know I've been too...attached to you lately. And...I'm sure I've made you uncomfortable. I just...want to apologize. I went to see my daughter...and, just being with her made me come to my senses. I am determined...I want to bring in Valerio now...I want to go home to my family." She brought her legs in and hugged her knees. "And...I also need to thank you...for being the friend I needed through this. I just hope that me being clingy didn't damage it. I..I need a friend right now is all, you know?" Carmen really wanted to hug her...but she didn't want to eliminate the purpose of what she said. "That's all...I brought home food if you want some.....downstairs on the lounge table." She grabbed her pillow and faced the wall, hugging the cushion tightly.
James looked over at the pizzas, then Jacob. "So...what do you think of your job so far?" He tried to bring up small talk, as the game show in the background continued to play. Alexei had said to bed check a while ago, but James never did...fearing he'd find a horse's severed head under his covers. "I still haven't done my bed check...tell me, did it smell like horses up there?"
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Post by Turn 360 and walk away on Oct 27, 2008 23:38:16 GMT -5
"So...what do you think of your job so far?" "Wale, Ah be tinken dat this whoole ting be ah sayt-up." "I still haven't done my bed check...tell me, did it smell like horses up there?" "I be goin' in thah now." And with that, Little Jacob hauled himself off the low couch and lumbered over to the room. In one side was Carmen, hugging a pillow, across from Michelle, looking at the wall beside her, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't get it out. He went to the opposite corner, and sat himself down, heavily, on the mattress. The bed frame moaned in dejection, but eventually quieted with a small shift of weight. Beside his bed was a medium-sized Jamaican flag, spotted with oil where it'd been brushed up against and touched over it's years of service. In one corner, a small bit was discolored and ashen. Right where Badman had dropped the joint they were smoking, that night before He and Jacob went their separate ways. it was a habit, and Jacob had broken it (or thought he at least tamed it a bit), but Badman, he'd been the target of a few drug raids since they separated. Jacob loved the man, but he found money too alluring to pass up. Every once in a while, he'd see his old friend on the street, or parked at a stoplight, but it wasn't like it used to be. Beside him on the table sat a small alarm clock he'd picked up at a convenience store, and a deck of cards, missing the queen of spades and a seven of diamonds. Bellow that, in a small drawer, sat a picture, face-down, of himself and a slender, tall man, wearing a striped blue and white polo shirt and oversized khakis. His complexion matched Jacob's, and in one hand was a small pipe, propped at his side and half hidden at the camera. Badman was recently arrested for possession of a controlled substance. Jacob closed that door, and looked at his pillow.
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"That's all...I brought home food if you want some.....downstairs on the lounge table." "You're welcome... and--" Michelle's voice hitched as she tried to formulate how best to attack this, "and, well..." She broke eye contact and abruptly began studying the textured wall. A long time later, it seemed, bathed in complete silence, she spoke. "So, the Kid's doing... well?" Michelle gave Carmen a moment to answer, "I'm not hungry... but--" She looked wide-eyed, past Carmen, past Alexei giving hushed, semi-frantic phone calls, and past Jacob, giving a picture in a think frame an endearing glance. What she saw was a mirror. And when she slowly, sheepishly rose to her feet, the mirror became clearer. In it was a young man with his innards oozing out from his belly, pounding on the glass. The mirror rattled with every pound of his bloody, auburn fist. Eventually, Michelle shuffled right in front of that mirror, the one she sees every day. David was pleading for escape. Another man joined him; he had a gaunt face with sunken eyes, and wore the combat gear everyone else did. Except his had "Neuman" stitched into it, and was riddled with bullet holes. Another man, also bitten by someone's auto, began pounding against the glass. He was Brinks, judging from the vest. Michelle turned away, all color drained from her face. In a hurry, she rushed to the bathroom, to splash some water on her face. In there was a single wall-sized mirror. Brinks and Nueman greeted her, as well as David. A body approached from behind the group, headless, except for a flap of hanging jawbone. Isaiah Began beating away at the glass with the butt of a shotgun. They were all grunting, or maybe moaning, by now. And all in rage. She tried to turn away, to run, but the door slammed, it jammed. More men entered the room's reflection, A red-haired man named O'Malley, and a brunette who went by Richardson. The inside of the glass became only a single streak of crimson. The latin man who died from the stealthed enemies slid forward and began pushing others out of the way. An older man, who had commanded Echo, during the raid, was in back, reaching over the mob to get a hold of Michelle. a plump man Michelle remembered was Fred... and the other Echo member, who had a massive steel spike through his heart. Their eyes were glazed, and they grunted, and they moaned, and they fought, and they surged forward. And the glass fell, but the men didn't fall with it, and they fought forward. They wreaked of death, of decay. When they opened their putrid mouths, blood and saliva flew out of them and spattered Michelle. She wailed, and turning, took to pounding on the door. "LET ME OUT! HELP! HELP ME!" A cold hand brushed her shoulder, it oozed pus and blood and gore, and smeared the cocktail all over her back before she fell away, out the opened door, and landed at her savior's feet.
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Alexei wandered the halls, and, after reminding Jacob to take some pain pills for his still-healing shoulder, left to the rec area. In there was a ping-pong table, which was the only thing he cared to notice. With the radio up full blast, and one side of the table up, he proceeded to hit the little white balls back and fourth against the wall. A huge crash, loud enough to drown out that new song by Pink, echoed through the halls. Alexei rushed upstairs soon enough to see Michelle laying at the feet of Carmen, panting desperately and white as a ghost. "What happened?" "I.. I... I..." Michelle panted, unable to speak. Alexei turned the corner and looked into the bathroom, where she apparently flew from. There were flecks of silvery glass everywhere but every mirror in the complex was in perrfect shape. "I'll talk about this later." Alexei mumbled as he picked her up and dragged her to the infirmary.
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Jacob sat bewildered during the entire event. After the painkiller set in, he didn't think to do anything about the screaming woman in the closed bathroom, instead, he took out the picture and opened the back of the frame. Inside was a small bag of green substance, and a blue-and-white pipe, just big enough to fit under his monstrous finger. He put that away as soon as Alexei entered, and took it out again as soon as everyone left. "Jeezus, mon, what... did... Ah do, Baydmahn?" Jacob said after a sharp inhale. "What be goy'n on?" Jacob put everything away and left to the main room.
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