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 Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:25 pm
Once everyone was in, they headed back home.
They landed on top of the building instead of at its base as they had formerly entered. The elevator brought them down to Hade's level, and after a moment they passed through the flush-sliding glass doors into Hade's office. Today it was actually not dark. It was in fact quite well illuminated, and they could clearly see Hade's balaclava and agentcoat. His gloved hands were drumming on his desk; he was standing, and his one visible eye's eyebrow was crunched tightly down. It was not in anger, though. It was something different.
"We all know what happened out there. Do any of you have anything to say?" he asked. Valya whimpered in response, but the poultices that had been given to them last time they returned home injured was again available.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:28 pm
Shae raised a hand. "Yeah. That was a bit more than we expected in terms of opposition. A lot of our men," he gestured at himself and Gabriel, "are talking about how we didn't prepare them, and we might not be fit to lead them anymore. How do you propose to solve this?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:33 pm
"I suggest you send every dissenter into this office and I will deal with them personally. It was my mistake that left you unprepared for the conflict. That was not Boeing. That was GM. GM got involved. I don't know why, and I'm not entirely sure I want to know why, but I wasn't watching my leads and they successfully pulled off something under my nose. The fact there weren't many, many, MORE agents is surprising to me.
"Anything else?"
Alyx paused, then spoke. "What about... what about the ending?"
Hades paused, but said nothing, looking down at the desk so his face wasn't visible.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:37 pm
Shae was not all that thrilled with the response, but he took it. After all, the mission had been completed, and that was all he truly cared about.
"How well did we do?" he pressed.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:41 pm
Hades gave a shrug, looking up. "Given the bad circumstances, you performed above any comparable agents. Oh, that reminds me," he said to himself.
"Agents... all of you but Ivan, you have the chance at getting another upgrade if you want it. Any preferences, or should I choose for you?"
Alyx grimaced, but she seemed determined to push her point despite the avoiding of topic. "What happened to Ivan?" she demanded. "What actually just happened there?"
Hades glared at his desk again. "I don't know. I need to talk to Ivan privately, so if you'll finish this," he told her impatiently.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:47 pm
Ivan stood there quietly, his glasses teetering on the edge of his nose. He tilted his head back at a strange angle and they came back up to cover his eyes as he reopened them. He looked around and patiently watched the others, showing no concern what so ever.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:53 pm
"And what do we mercenaries get?" Shae interjected softly.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:55 pm
"What do you want?" Hades returned quickly. His eye was fixed on Ivan, unreadable without more facial features exposed.
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:00 pm
"Money is no longer an object," Shae said. "Our men are set. We need something else. Something that will give us an edge, like the Agents..." He trailed into thought.
"Wait! Like the Agents! What's to keep us from becoming Agents?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:06 pm
"Depends on how many you're talking about," Hades replied thoughtfully. "I could implant basic implants in maybe... ten of you, with the cash I have on hand right now. Albeit Miss Valya will most likely be bringing in a few extra bucks," he added pointedly. Kaylene whimpered again. "I still have those pictures, I expect a declaration of allegiance within the half month.
"You two at least I could give a single level to with that sort of cash if you so care."
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:12 pm
Shae looked at Gabriel. "We'll talk and let you know what our decision is."
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:34 pm
Map updated, a little.
New weapon proliferated: RPG-7
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:05 am
((RPG-7? ******** YES.))
"Could we upgrade arms further?" Cado asked. "Also, that shotgun... doesn't work for me. I shouldn't be getting close enough to use it anyway."
He opened a private channel with Ivan. Your behavior changed out there. What happened? I can't say I especially like you, but for a moment there you spazzed out. I was watching you; you were trying to keep her alive, then you spun, threatened her, and just.... You froze for almost full minute, perfectly still. And I can tell, if you really meant to kill her, she'd have been dead. So... what happened, precisely?
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 3:33 am
Ivan stood still trying to make as little movement as possible. He looked over at Cado out of the corner of his eyes, but his vision was still masked by the orange tinted glasses. He coughed slightly and then went back to his rather dull stance.
”Honestly, I don’t know. For one minute I was there, the next I wasn’t. It felt as if I was being suffocated, forced into a dark room, my ears felt like I was in a wind tunnel. Someone was talking to me, a voice I haven’t heard before. Something about Sin, and heaven, punishment, and then I came to, I was holding Valya and that’s all I know. Honestly, I think I was being mind controlled by some crazy fortune 500 group.”
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:41 am
Hades nodded slowly. "Arms upgrade... that works." His gaze went from Cado to Ivan and back. To some degree he was aware they were communicating; to what degree, neither of them could be positive.
Alyx interjected, "I'd like the Heart 1." Hades nodded vaguely but didn't shift his gaze. Steven and Jack shifted uncomfortably and turned to leave; surprisingly, Hades didn't stop them.
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