Darker than Black (IC)

[United Formosa]

(OOC The sign up is still open http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=208951)


A tall dark skinned man of Asian descent stepped onto the frozen sidewalk and looked around. Icy wind whipped through his short black hair as he started north. The man turned down a corner and moved silently through a back alley way. He stayed in the shadows to avoid detection. The only sound was a soft tap tap tap of his dress shoes, as the man was dressed in a black suit, with red undershirt. As he reached the well lit streets he pulled his hat down farther on his face and adjusted his glasses. After a minute he reached a tidy noodle stand with a small red plastic sign labeled “Mogi’s” raised over it. He sat down on one of the bar stools and waited for the store keeper to turn his attention to him. “What can get for ya, sir”, was the store keeper’s opening line.

“I’ll have the bomb voyage special please”, the man in the suit stated coldly.
The store keeper looked as if he was pondering something for a moment before speaking, “you Gao?”. “I’ll thank you to call me Doctor Gao, I didn’t dedicate eight years of my life to research for nothing.” The store keeper glared at Doctor Gao for a moment then with a satisfied look on his face picked a backpack up from under the counter. He strained to lift it because of the weight and handed it to Doctor Gao. Doctor Gao left some change on the counter, and the store keeper handed him a hand written receipt. On the front was scrawled “Detective Iso Matsuo. 4th precinct, office 13. 11:45”
Memorizing it took seconds, Doctor Gao then took out his lighter and burned the receipt.

“How boring another bombing”, Doctor Gao thought to himself and sighed, “After a while you’d think the police would learn to keep their noses out of dangerous people’s business. Or at least to be more discrete.”
Luckily the 4th precinct was only a few blocks away. The temperature was quickly dropping below 13 degrees. Doctor Gao took the time to stare at the night sky. It was so wondrous, so many stars like holes in the heavens staring down at him. Doctor Gao began to sing a Chinese pop song softly to himself. He was never fond of pop music, but for some reason this song was firmly implanted into his memory.

He arrived after 10 minutes of walking and stopped outside the front gate. An officer was standing beside his patrol car smoking a cigarette. Doctor Gao approached the officer and took the back pack off his back. The officer stared at him, a little surprised to see a man in a suit this time of night. The cop was in his late thirties with pepper hair and tired eyes. Doctor Gao spoke and his eyes began to glow red. His voice sounded layered like several people were speaking at once, “Detective Matsuo forgot this bag. It’s very important. He must get it immediately.”

The Officer froze and dropped the cigarette from his mouth.
“Hey, that’s police property”, he shouted and snatched the bag away from Doctor Gao.
“Of course officer, I just found it lying here”, Doctor Gao mused innocently.
The officer growled and swung the bag over his should and jogged up the stairs.
“Hey”, Doctor Gao yelled.

The Officer stopped to face him. Doctor Gao produced a small camera from his pocket and snapped a flash photograph of the man.
“Thanks “, Doctor Gao called as the man entered the station.
Doctor Gao glanced at his wrist watch. The dim LED light showed 11:45. He waited a minute then extracted a cell phone from his pocket. He pressed one on the speed dial and tossed the cell phone into the sewer grate. He took seven steps away from the building, then an explosion rang out from behind him. Fire began pouring from the windows of the police station as Doctor Gao disappeared into the night. From behind him Doctor Gao could also hear a cacophony of people screaming and sirens.

Doctor Gao turned right at the next intersection and continued to walk as he enjoyed the cool night air. He was still mulling over the events of his last mission. “Too simple”, was pretty much all he could describe it as. He started to wonder what exactly Detective Matsuo had done to piss off his employer. He sighed, it was probably just as well he had no idea. Doctor Gao turned a corner and began to hear noises coming from up the street. At first it sounded like gunfire, but then it shifted to what sounded like a sack of potatoes being thrown against a wall.
Doctor Gao listened closely to the noise as he continued on. After he passed a small family mart he caught a glimpse down an alley way engulfed in darkness. In the middle of the long corridor of stone a large man was standing over a screaming mass. The man was ferociously slamming his fists into the lump whom was howling in agony. It was not hard to discern the scream was from a women. Her assailant produced a knife and began thrusting it at her while shouting obscenities and other names that are not used in high society. Outside of a kennel that is.

Doctor Gao stepped into the alley way and strode toward the horrifying scene. He was appalled at what was unfolding in front of him. His face displayed potent disgust. In the heat of the moment the attacker did not hear him approach. Doctor Gao violently grabbed the man’s should and twisted him around to face him. The attacker was taken by surprise and dropped his knife. It clattered against the concrete ground and cast a red shadow on the wall. Doctor Chen’s eyes glowed crimson red and his face wrinkled in wrath,” you are going to go home. Your life has lost all meaning, all happiness, and all pleasure. You will stop eating, stop moving, and in a few days stop breathing.”
The man froze, turned around, and began weeping as he drifted down the alley way.Doctor Gao caught him after twenty feet, took a picture, and let him go. After he was gone Doctor Gao turned his attention to the women. She was crumpled in a bloodied heap on the ground wailing. The women looked up at him without words to say. Without another word he turned and exited the alley.

[Bayondante]

Unknown to Doctor Gao, there was a third party monitoring his movements since he left the noodle stand. The position this third part was monitoring from was from a window of the apartment across the street from the noodle stand. This party was a lone man in his late twenties with dark brown hair with some black seeming in between. His crimson red shirt was visible in the dimly light room of the apartment. The angle from which he was looking down from wasn't exactly the perfect angle. He can see a man in a suit enter and exit the noodle stand with a new bag. He got out from his line of sight after he gave that bag to a police officer nearby. He didn't really wanted to spy on this suited man, but the acts were outright suspicious.

(What am I doing? I'm spying on a random stranger. This is no good for a detective Phet.)

This man, who calls himself as Phet, mumbled a few words under his breath and stepped away from the window. He got his black blazer that was hanging at the door and wore it before approaching the door. He made sure to lock the door after he went out and got down the rusty green stairs. After entering a smoking area, he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and placed it between his lips. He rummaged his pocket once more to look for his lighter and pulled it out to light the nicotine stick he's holding with his lips.But Phet's face was distorted with disgust as he inhaled the cancerous smoke. He didn't want to smoke that much, but it's his price to pay....price for his powers.

Boom!

Just when he finally lit his cigarette, a large blastwave knocked him from his feet. He instinctively raised his arms to block his face to block the debree that was about to reach his face. Phet was caught with shock, but his thought pattern told him to walk towards the source of the explosion. With his athletic skills, it didn't require much energy for him to reach the blast sight.

"TCh!" He clicked his tongue as the heat was hurting his skin. Why wouldn't it? There is a building currently on fire in front of him. And if he remembers right, that was a police station that was near his apartment.

"Anyone okay!? Hey, someone answer me!!" Phet tried calling fro survivors in this disaster. But no noise was heard, until....

"*COUGH*!" He heard a person's hurting cough from a piece of wall under him. Phet quickly removed the burning concrete with all the strength he has, and saw who was under there. It seemed to be a police officer with pepper hair tainted with ash, and a severely torn uniform. But the man's tired eyes seem to have some signs of life in them.

"Who did this!?" He said at a shouting tone. "Who!!?"

It was almost a useless act, because the man was barely living. But Phet felt a callous hand holding his collar, and felt that this man was trying to tell him something. "What is it?"

"Cough!.....Iso Matsuo...Cough!"

"Who is he? Tell me! Don't die on me....Dang!" Phet placed the now not breathing man on the floor and picked up his cell to call 911. But someoen may have already done so because of the forming crowd. Things are in a haze for the detective, but he's got a lead and a name.

"Iso....Matsuo..."

[United Formosa]

When he was sure he was far enough away not to be followed, he hailed a taxi and rode across town to the old Tokyo university campus. He over tipped the cab driver and exited the car. The buildings were abandoned long ago, but somehow he felt solace staying in a place of learning.
Doctor Gao traversed the unkempt campus all the way to dorm building 1. The building stood seven floors tall, and looked as if it was condemned thirty years ago. Rust, mold, tree leaves covered the outside while some rooms were missing entire outer walls. Doctor Gao made the trip up seven flights of stairs to the top set of dorms. He inserted the key and opened the door slowly. Once inside he saw the familiar sight of his roddy abode. The walls of the other two dorms had been knocked down to create one master dorm. He removed his suit jacket and set it on the back of chair. As he untied his tie he called out “Xin, are you here.”

“Where else would I be”, a beautiful but monotone voice flowed back to him as a young Taiwanese women with black hair clad in old clothes emerged from the darkness.
“Have you eaten”, he inquired.

“No”, she answered sharply
.
“You know you have to eat. I cooked fish and noodles for you earlier, why didn’t you eat that”

“I was worried”

This caused Doctor Gao to stop in surprise. He placed his tie on the table.

“What did you say”, Doctor Gao asked incredulously.

“You have been gone all night. And you haven’t been near any water”

“Visors don’t get worried”, he grunted and went to open the refrigerator.
Her face remained emotionless. She approached him from behind, removed something from her pocket, and tapped him on the shoulder. He pivoted with a bowl of noodles in his hand. She extended her hand revealing a small necklace with a vial of water attached to it.
“Please wear this”, her voice sounded cold and unfeeling.
Doctor Gao scowled “cut this shit out. Sit down and eat.”

She sat in the rotting wooden chair, while he placed the bowl in the microwave. He took the necklace from her hand and stowed it in his pocket.
Thirty seconds later he removed the bowl and set it in front of her with a pair of chop sticks he removed from a nearby cabinet. “Eat. You will need your strength”, he ordered and began walking toward his bedroom. He could hear her slurping the noodles as she ate.
Doctor Gao reached his bed he collapsed onto it with exhaustion. Before he passed out, he removed the necklace from his pocked and stroked it with his thumb. He smiled before putting it around his neck and falling asleep. In the kitchen Xin stopped eating, the corners of her lips moved up about a centimeter, then she resumed eating.

[Bayondante]

The fire department was here in no time. Streaks of water splashed atop the burning flames, subduing the raging blaze, and leaving only the remnants of what used to be a police station. And as expected, police cars of identical colors and shapes surrounded the entire area, placing there tape all over the place to avoid people trampling over the place. They were following protocol because someone reported that it was an explosion. So they are investigating whether this was a terrorist attack, a bomb malfunction, or just a simple gas leak. And it's logical they come from a station across the city.

"...and that's all I know."

Phet was giving all he witnessed to a couple of officers. But he was clever enough to avoid speaking about the strange man from the noodle shop. If he did, this will last all night covering regulations and alibis.

"Seriously, that's all I have to give. I give you my word, cop-to-cop."

"Well...I really can't get any more from you. You also seem to be an honest cop...keeping you would be a waste of time, so I'll just thank you for your assistance and let you off." The lazy looking cop with the sloppy looking hair said just that and allowed Phet to leave.

"...actually, I have one more thing to know."

"What is it?"

"The man named Isa Masato...do you guys know anything about him?"

"Yeah, he was a cop in this station...wait." He turned away from Phet and signaled a couple of officers dragging body bags on a bed. They came to them right away. "This should be the one you're looking for."

He used his gloved hands to unzip the black body bag. Phet's expression twisted a bit as he met the burnt face of a man. He can no longer tell how this man used to look, he barely was able to make the nose and mouth. Phet requested to look in his pockets, and they allowed him to. Phet wore one glove and pulled a wallet out of the corpse's burnt pocket. He aslo got a few cards and a cellphone that amazingly survived the fire and took a photo with his own phone before he placed it in an evidence bag.

He looked at the contact list in his phone and found what he was looking or.
He hid the evidence he took from the corpse in his blazer and made sure the lazy looking cop was too busy talking to his partner.
"Now....where can I find who's related to you?"

[United Formosa]

Evidence acquired: Phet Weisslan
1x Photograph of wife
1x business card (Karigawa Dry cleaning)
1x business card (Oren Bar)
1x small yellow note: Tomorrow, 9:15, Pier 13, Kurisawa Fishing docks.
1x Drivers license
1x Cellphone

[United Formosa]

Doctor Gao awoke early the next morning. He arose in bed, stood up, then began to strip. He placed his clothes in a hamper marked Dry clean only. Doctor Gao carefully opened his closet door, and the sight of twelve identical suits, and undershirts met his gaze. He removed one set of clothes and began to move toward the shower. Birds were chirping outside, and the beginnings of sunlight were leaking into the dark room. Doctor Gao showered and dressed himself inside the bathroom. He emerged from the room followed by a cloud of steam. Fresh for the day he walked down the long hallway, but stopped to peak into Xin’s room on the right. He couldn’t tell if she was asleep it was too dark, so he proceeded to the kitchen to cook breakfast.


He steamed rice, chopped vegetables, made flower dumpling skins, and wrapped dumplings. He also steamed stalks of Bok Choy and made Hun pa using some left over lotus paste. The smell of food eventually drew Xin out of her room. “Zao”, he greeted her good morning in Taiwanese. “Zao”, she responded in her usual monotone voice. They continued their conversation in Taiwanese.

“Are you Hungry Xin?”
“Yes, very”

“I cooked dumplings they way you like them. Along with Hun pa and Bok Choy”

Doctor Gao placed the food on the table along with two bowls and two sets of chopsticks. Xin gathered some food and began eating.
“Delicious”

Doctor Gao smiled and began to eat. He was surprisingly hungry. It didn’t take the two of them long to annihilate the bowls of food. Doctor Gao began to wash the dishes while Xin retreated to her room and returned with a small plastic container intended for feet washing. She filled it with water, sat on the couch, and placed her feet in the water. Doctor Gao sat beside her, reading a novel. He was waiting for the call detailing his next assignment.

Several hours later his cell phone rang. He pressed the answer key and held the phone up to his ear.
"The money has been wired into your account”, then the caller disconnected.
Doctor Gao recognized the familiar voice of his handler, but he couldn’t place the man’s name. After a minute of searching for the man’s name in his head he decided this pursuit was irrelevant. After the call Doctor Gao decided he wanted to walk around the neighborhood. “Keep your cell phone close”, he ordered Xin before standing up and sauntering over to the door. He closed the door behind him and jogged down the stairs.
Doctor Gao reached the street by exiting the east gate of the university. He turned left and began walking. The sun was high in the sky at this point, he felt the warm light and the gentle cool breeze on his face. Somehow he managed to tune out the smell of cigarettes, burning petrol, and the sounds of motorists honking and blaring their horns at each other. He passed a few clothing stores before progressing by a small, hole in the wall, electronics shop. Several televisions were stacked in front of each other in the left part of the display case. All of the televisions were turned to channel 6 news. A very young and pretty Japanese woman in a suit was reading the latest headlines.

“And thanks to police help the man who robbed the family mart of Kurisawa street has now been apprehended. In other news a bombing at the 4th police precinct has left 26 dead and another 30 hospitalized. Police are still identifying the remains of the dead. Patrolman Ichigo Hatsumomo has been indicated in the event. Eyewitnesses say he entered the station with a large back pack minutes before the explosion. Suicide bombing is possible, but police are investigating any groups that could be connected. This is Kari Takehaishi channel 6 news.”

Doctor Gao listened to the story and couldn’t help but smile. “No leads huh? Seems I got away clean”, he thought to himself. Doctor Gao then began to walk away from the store. He checked his cell phone a few times as he continued waiting for a mission or something to do. When no calls came, he slid the phone back in his pocket. About that time he noticed a small bar across the street. He waited for a clearing in the traffic and jogged across the street to enter the bar.

The bar was nearly empty this time of day, in fact it just opened a few minutes prior. Doctor Gao approached the bar and sat in a tall steel stool. The short Japanese man behind the bar ,who was cleaning a glass, looked at him “what can I get for you?”
“Cranberry tonic”, Doctor Gao replied placing his elbows on the bar.
“You’d get your ass kicked ordering a drink like this where I’m from”, the bartender said smiling as he poured the drink.
“Id’ get my ass kicked where I’m from too”, Doctor Gao admitted.
Doctor Gao finished his drink and tossed some money on the counter. As he turned to leave he could hear the bartended call out “thanks, come again”. He didn’t turn to respond he just pushed the door open and stepped out onto the busy sidewalk. The metal door behind him made a loud banging sound as it shut. He began walking away from the bar when his cell phone rang.

“Got your new assignment Gao”, a familiar gruff voice came over the line, “pick up the details at your box at the post drop box in front of the university dorms.”

“Understood sir”, Gao responded. Before he could say anything else the call disconnected and he returned the cell phone to his pants pocket. With a new found determination Doctor Gao carefully jogged back across the street and fast walked back to the university. Upon his arrival he spotted the large rusty black mail container sitting in front of the gate. A dial on the side could be turned to point to one of two swatches, one green one red. The dial pointed to green this indicated something was inside the container. Doctor Gao checked to see if anyone was watching and removed the top to see what was inside. His eyes first landed upon a folded blue police uniform. He lifted the clothing and a manila file was under it. He grabbed the file and began to walk back towards the dorms. Doctor Gao thumbed the file open and saw a picture of himself attached to a falsified biography.

A quick glance revealed the file identified him as a police officer from Kagoshima by the name of Gosuto Ishimura. Several commendations for valor and upstanding service were also included. A small note was attached to the left corner. It read “infiltrate the police. Find out what they know about the Black Flag Army. If possible send them on a goose chase.”

Doctor Gao smiled, espionage missions always had a special place in his heart. It was almost if he enjoyed them. He only went up one floor when he reached the dorms. He held the master key and he only needed to change. Doctor Gao opened the door and the interior was identical to his own room except smaller. He undressed himself and redressed in the police uniform. He transferred his phone, wallet, and camera into the pockets of his new pants. He found a badge as he stuck his hand in his right pocket. He left it there for the time being, folded his suit and placed it on the bed. Afterwards he donned the police hat and exited the door.

Doctor Gao quickly walked down the stairs, and hustled over to the gate. He left the college’s grounds, hailed a cab, and took it to Tokyo’s downtown police headquarters. When the cab pulled up to the curb of the building he paid the driver and exited the vehicle. He jogged up the long staircase and entered the revolving door. Inside he found a large open room with cops scurrying about everywhere. A receptionist’s desk sat ten feet from the door. Behind the desk was a woman in uniform who looked to be European in her early 20’s.

As he approached she looked up from her paper work “how may I help you today?”
“Ma’am, could you direct me to the person in charge of transfers”, Doctor Gao asked politely.
“For that you need to speak to Captain Matomoto”, his office is on the third floor. “Sign this”, she handed him a clip board marked Visitors. Doctor Gao wrote his alias and handed the clip board back to her. She in turn handed him a small plastic visitor’s badge. Doctor Gao thanked the women and moved toward the elevator placed at the back of the room. He boarded the elevator with several other officers and exited on the third floor. After searching around for a few moments Doctor Gao found the Captain’s office toward the back of the floor. His secretary sat at a small desk outside a large oak door. Captain Matomoto was scrawled on the door in golden characters.

He approached the small Japanese women and smiled. “I have an appointment with the Captain about a transfer.”
The women glared at him then typed into her computer and clicked the mouse a few times. “I don’t see any appointments about a transfer today. What did you say your name was?”

“Officer Ishimura”, he answered calmly.

“I’m not finding anything. You’ll have to make an appointment and come back.”

Doctor Gao smiled warmly and looked into her eyes. “I’m sure it’s just a mix up. You know how hard it is to get something done in this bureaucratic mess.”

“I would be in your debt”, he added and donned him most suave smile.
The secretary fought the urge to blush and kept a stern look on her face. “Go ahead, he doesn’t have anything scheduled until lunch anyway”.
“Thank you”, Doctor Gao winked and opened the heavy oak door.
Inside the room was a large heavy oak desk. Sitting behind it writing on paper was a large heavy set Japanese man in his late forties. The man looked up from his paper work and glared at Doctor Gao.
“What the hell do you want”, he barked.

Doctor Gao shut the door firmly before removing his glasses. He walked over to the man’s desk and laid the file in front of him. His eyes glowed red and his voice echoed around the room “You received this file this morning. I am being transferred from a police station in Kagoshima. We also worked together on a murder suicide case a few years ago. You trust and respect me.”
His eyes returned to normal and he quickly took the camera out and snapped a picture before the Captain’s confusion wore off. When the Captain finally regained his wits he stood and a large smile come over his face. “Ishimura!”, he exclaimed, “I got your file and transfer order earlier. It’s good to see you again, what’s it been four years?”

Doctor Gao smiled and shook the Captain’s hand. “Yeah, about that long. How have you been?”
“Same old story. Wife took off last year, but who needs her. Dames like her are a dime a dozen.”
Doctor Gao laughed politely.

“So what brings you this far north Ishismura?”

“I’m investigating a terrorist organization called the Black Flag Army.”

“Jesus, that’s some top secret stuff”, the Captain responded.

“Yeah, I know. The boys down south heard they may be operating in the area and transferred me to gather intel.”

“We’ve had some attacks recently yes. I’ll clear you for the information. Here is the security code for pretty much anywhere you need to go”.

Captain Matomoto scribbled a series of number on a piece of paper and handed it to Doctor Gao.
“Go find a computer terminal and set yourself up with a password. Ill enter you in the system.”
“Thank you sir”, Doctor Gao saluted.

Captain Matomoto returned the salute and gestured toward the door. Doctor Gao turned, opened the door, and left. He closed the door behind him and spotted a cluster of computers not far from the Captain’s office. He casually moved toward the terminals, sat down in a leather chair, and turned on the unit. Once it powered on he created an account and began combing the police database.

[Austeres]

Tag; this is for my first post.

[Carathon]

Tokyo, Midnight

An man stepped down the lightly packed sidewalks of Tokyo. Normally the sidewalks were absolutely full of citizens on their daily communes and whatnot - but today only a few clumps of people traversed the paved concrete. More then likely due to the surge of terrorist activity, the appearance of the " hell's gate " (or as the locals called it, atleast ) and the plain fact that not many people wanted to be caught on the streets of Toyko at night, not that he could blame them. Damned ruffians running about and such.

He was heading through to the local police station, because as ineffectual as the local authorities may be, the police headquarters was a figural gold mine of information - not that the company needed any information, it was simply pleasant to know what the TCDF was up to. An explosion rang outwards, quite rudely interrupting his thought proccess. The man sighed, breaking into an light jog towards the source of the blast.

Unfortunately he arrived to see the station in flames and with an gaze over, he came to the conclusion that this was likely terrorist attack. As the blast originated from an single point and radiated outwards, quickly setting the entire building on fire. Though he supposed it could have been an unusually precise gas explosion.

He skimmed the minds of several distracted police officers, careful to stay outside of the police tape and the eyes of the police officers, trying not to be noticed, which was admitally difficuit considering his choice of dress - waistcoat, fedora, pocketwatch and cane as if he stepped directly from the 1920s. After half an hour of of lightly prodding mines with his mental feelers, he managed to glean an important bit of information ( among other useless facts ) the explosion originated from the office of one Detective Matsuo, further supporting his terrorist attack theory.

This could have been the work of the BFA or just as easily an single rogue terrorist. Never the less, he would pay an visit to Mister Detective Matsuo's residence annd if he didn't find anything of interest, he simply give up - after all, Heinrich Von Ricther or Doctor Freud as was his alias, had better things to do for the Company,



After paying an visit to the local 24/7 post office, and " suggesting " to the post master that he should look through packages sent to Mister Iso Mastuo, Heinrich had finally obtained the address of the slain detective and soon arrived at his residence, a two story house tucked in close with other houses, this being crowded Tokyo and whatnot. He probably was a family man, since there was little point in buying an large ( by Japanese stantards ) expensive house if you were living by yourself.

Luckily there was no one home, and he cautiously approached one of the windows. After abit of work, he managed to " jimmy " open the window and slip inside. It was an decent place he supposed, though he hated Japanese architecture. " Doctor Freud " got to searching the house for any sort of information as to why Mastuo might had been assassinated.

[Kyraina]

Joseph had just sit down on the sofa of his apartment in Tokyo when he heard a explosion go off. ~What the hell happened now?~, he thought as his secure cell phone for Aerosteel went off. "Yes boss?" Joseph asked as he he answered. "Get ur gear back on and go down to the 4th precinct police off ice and see what happened," came the reply over the phone. The call ended and Joseph started putting on his gear over jeans and tshirt. Joseph put on his baseball hat instead of his ballistic helmet and thought ~I'll bring it with me just incase~. Joseph left his apartment and walked down the street to the police station. He got there and walked around the outside of the scene tap and looked around. ~who building huh? well looks like from the wreckage i'd say it was a bomb mixed with a gas leak but I won't truly no more till the news report then I can really look around. Joseph left the scene and walked back to his apartment. Joseph woke up the next morning and saw the news report. ~bomb mixed with a gas leak makes since to me unless the bomb was made well enough to take out a whole building, if so that's one huge homemade bomb.~ Joseph thought to himself. Joseph called Aerosteel and was immediately patched through to a conference call with TCDF and Aerosteel. "So Mr. Bridges what do you have on us for the police station explosion?" said a voice over the phone. "From what I got from the scene and the news this morning was a terrorist attack mixed with a gas leak, but there is a small possibility of a homemade bomb could have been made well and strong enough to take out the building but a small other then that I have nothing else, Investigation I wasn't hired for so get a team on it. I got to report to my work area now," Joseph replied and then hung up. Joseph got ready for work and got in his truck and drove to the nearest TCDF building

[Austeres]

Walking to his home outside of Tokyo, Luke Bing started wondering. Though I am one of the most intelligent people on the planet, he thought. I am slowly losing my sanity. He entered his home, locked the door, picked up the video camera on his desk, and started recording. "Day 124," Bing said. "I have not totally lost my sanity, but it is working its way up. I calculated and noticed is that it will increase by .003% every two or three weeks. Don't know why I am still doing these.. Not like anyone is going to remember me. But I guess this is to keep track of how I am doing." He chuckled. "Weird.. I feel like that blue king guy from that one show my daughter used to watch. What was it called?" He thought about it and snapped. "Oh yeah. Adventure Time." Luke went a little weird eye and slammed the desk. Then he coughed and said, "See you tomorrow." Then he stopped recording.

[Eon Prime]

Miharu Shimizu
Tokyo

Miharu’s arms were sore. The grocery store was a short walk from her place, however, when carrying back a week’s worth of food it did get tiring. She preferred getting this done early in any event. When she reached the door to the building where she was renting her apartment she began shifting bags so she could reach the door, but a tall man with long dark hair cut off her attempts by opening it for her.

“Thank you Mr. Yamashita,” she murmured, inclining her head in a grateful manner as she stepped inside. Her landlord simply smiled and watched her as she began walking up the stairs to her apartment on the third floor, creepy as usual. When she reached her room she had to open the door on her own, walking inside she kicked the door shut behind her a little harder than she had intended. Her humble abode was in a state of reasonable disarray, empty cups on almost every surface, papers strewn across the table, and unfolded clothes spread across the couch. I will have to do something about that, she thought as she made her way to the small kitchen to put away the food.

When she was done she turned on the channel 6 news. “...And thanks to police help the man who robbed the family mart of Kurisawa Street has now been apprehended. In other news a bombing at the 4th police precinct has left 26 dead and another 30 hospitalized. Police are still identifying the remains of the dead. Patrolman Ichigo Hatsumomo has been indicated in the event. Eyewitnesses say he entered the station with a large back pack minutes before the explosion. Suicide bombing is possible, but police are investigating any groups that could be connected. This is Kari Takehaishi channel 6 news.”

She took off her black hoodie, tossing it on the couch, and sat down to listen. It appeared to her that today would be interesting after all.

[Zathganastan]

Looking on from the roof of the apartment he had been staying at as the chaos of an explosion in the distance, Nathan sat back and quietly laughed to himself at how easily the assailant behind the incident (likely a Contractors) was able to accomplish his task.As a Contractor himself he could hardly find fault in killing a few civilians when almost every known Contractor was being used as a living weapon.Something which deeply sicked Nathan after having risked his life dozens of times for others throughout his time in the military.

Reaching into his pocket a pulling out the card he had been given by a man claiming to represent the Black Flag Army Nathan began to consider officially joining the group soon but first he had a few loose ends around Tokyo that needed to be settled first.Chief of which was that he was still technically a member of the United States armed forces and his commander certainly, the only man in japan currently aware that he had not died in the event that created the Contractors wouldn't allow one of his men, much less a MIA deserter to join in on a terror campaign.The man needed to be silenced and Nathan was already plotting the commanders downfall.

Getting up and heading back down to his apartment room and locking the door behind him Nathan immediately began rummaging through his suitcase until he came to a small kit containing the parts to a sniper, grabbing the kit and laying out upon the floor Nathan began to assemble the rifle, taking special care not to make much noise for anyone out in the hallways to hear.As he began sliding the final pieces of the weapon into place, he quickly began eyeing the clock.

" Nearly midnight. good.The commander never was one for avoiding regularity"

he though to himself as he spotted his target, a car with an army logo painted on the side began rolling through a nearby block to round up drunken soldiers that liked to visit the nearby bars.Locking onto the vehicle as it turned the corner Nathan began to zoom in onto the back seat of the vehicle where his prey sat joyfully smoking.Going silent as the ringing of two bullets striking their target filled the air Nathan quickly disappeared back into his room window and started packing, with his former commander now gone Nathan would now be allowed to move much easier threw the streets without having to worry about local authorities being alerted to arrest him for desertion.

[Bayondante]

Traveling down the bustling street, Phet was looking through the evidence in his left hand, and the right hand on the steering wheel. He looked at one of the photos at hand and threw it towards the backseat because it was just a family picture of Isa's wife embracing her 3-year-old son. Phet wouldn't be able to pull himself to tell this family that an important family member had just ended his life by the hands of another. Memories of his own family flashed through his mind as the image of the dead police man and the happy family overlapped. Him sharing laughter, happiness, sorrow, and success with his own family...until they were in a pool of their own blood.

"...*Sigh*..." He exhaled smoke from the cigarette he was holding between his lips and threw it out the window once there was only 1/10th of the stick left. He pulled a new one out and lighted it right away though. He gazed down to his watch to check the time, 7:45.

(I'm not sure what date it is. He may have already been there, but there is no way to make sure because the one who was going to rendezvous with this person is already burnt to death....but I still have to go there to make sure...but first..)

Phet parked his car in a parking lot he found and got out of his car. He looked up and saw an old apartment that was worn-out by age. His gaze was directed to the third floor. If he was right, Isa Masato's place of residence was there. It was very convenient to have the location on the driver's license. All he had to do is ask from a few guy's in the force to look it up. He made sure to lock his door tight because this wasn't really the best part of town, and got up the stairs to the third floor. He took about 3 minutes or so to reach the designated door.

(Room 45...alright.) Phet gently clenched his right hand and knocked the door politely as to not startle the one's inside. He waited for the response and finished another cigarette doing so. He wasn't really a friend of patience, but it's a job requirement.

"Yes?" The door then opened, followed by a sweet voice of a woman. Phet then flicked the cigarette away and stepped on it. He faced the woman at the door and confirmed the woman in front of him with the photo he had just seen. Long glassy black hair, thin framed glasses, squinted eyes, this woman is surely Isa Masato's wife. Phet didn't waste time to show his badge to her.

"Sorry miss Masato, but I'm from the force. And I'm here to talk about your husband."

"Isa? That man must have been messing with something weird again did he?" She gave a tired sigh and welcomed him inside. Phet felt uncomfortable for not revealing the fate of her husband, but it's not exactly his department. He got in the living room, but refused to take a seat. He made sure that no one else was around and thought fast on what to say.

"So, what do you want to know about my husband?" She was the first to break the silence.

".....I heard you say 'again'. What has he been doing lately?"

She was concerned on whether she should answer that, but she gave in and started speaking. "For weeks now, he's been bringing work back home. He said he's about to meet an epic breakthrough of sorts. Believe me, he hasn't been himself for a while now. His eyes are of those that lack sleep, and he's been easily angered now a days. I wonder what he's been doing in his office?"

"Office?" Phet got interested in one word.

"Yes...follow me. You seem to be working on the same thing as him, so I guess it should be fine." She got up from the sofa and directed Phet to follow her to a room at the corner of his eye. She got a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She slowly opened the door and left it ajar. Phet got in, and admitted that he was a bit shocked. The walls were covered with papers, news articles, and photographs until not a single part of the three walls were left. It seems quite messy too, but there was some tidiness seen around the file cabinets. A globe was placed in the center of the room, lines and markings were made in various places ranging from the US to Japan. The one in Thailand, his homeland, caught his eye, but he dismissed it because it brought back unpleasant memories.

He approached the table and saw one file opened. He wore his gloves and flipped through the pages as he read at a steady pace.

(June 14....Misaki Roki was murdered brutally. Police officers on the sight were too afraid to approach the corpse because it had stakes coming out of it. And there seems to be some noise coming from the disfigured man....August 6....John Regan was found decapitated in town square with the rest of his body scattered around a rice plantation in China. The investigation was dropped on December 14 due to lack of evidence...)

He went through some more. Mostly about murders and strange occurrences all over the world. He finished the file and kept it in his blazer to study back home. But a small note hand-written by who seems to be Isa himself caught his attention. Phet gently lifted it up and read the words.


"For those who is reading this, I should already be dead. I may sound crazy, but please hear what I have to say. Tokyo is in turmoil. Ten years ago, an inscrutable and abnormal territory known as Hell's Gate appeared in Tokyo, altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape. The real stars disappeared, replaced by new stars. During this time, people possessing various special abilities emerged, each capable of different supernatural feats - they are known as Contractors. Each Contractor has a corresponding star, which reacts to their activities. As such, Contractors are usually identified by their star's Messier catalogue number. Kept secret from the masses, these individuals are known to murder in cold blood, smothering unnecessary emotions with logic and rationale. Their incredible abilities, however, are gained at the cost of their humanity - Contractors are thus named because of an involuntary compulsion to "pay the price" each time their power is used, which can range from eating particular foods and completing meaningless tasks, to self-harm and having their bodies change in peculiar ways. Various nations and organizations around the world train and utilize Contractors as spies and assassins, resulting in violent battles for valuable objects and information......"

Phet stopeed reading and kept the paper in his pocket. It's true that those words sounded crazy, but as a contractor himself, he can't say he's ignorant to the matter. He turned to face Isa's wife and gave his apology. He quickly stepped out in attempt to reach his car. He did so because it was almost time that the strange note said to meet Isa. He was right in front of the door...but he stopped once he felt someone tucking his shirt.

"Hey mister..." Phet looked down to see innocent looking eyes staring at him. The features seem almost like Isa's wife. So this must be her son. "You know Papa?"

Papa.

This boy's dead father.

Phet unexpectedly felt sweat run down his forehead.

"...Sorry kid, I don't..." Phet quickly opened the door and shut it before he had to commute with the boy. He could not stand the eyes of that child any longer. He did not want to be the one to tell him his dad is dead. He doesn't want to take the innocence out of those eyes. He knew he had one thing to do....

"I'm going to find this guy..." Phet removed his back from the wall, and inspected the clock in his phone.

Time.....8:52

[Bayondante]

Phet placed down his phone back into his pocket, just to hear it ring once again. He waited for it to ring a few times before picking it up. He knew that there was only one person who would call him at this time.

"Captain Matomoto?"

"Who do you think this is brat?" the rude and deep voice of the middle-aged man reached his ears. "There's been an explosion and a person killed by a sniper last night, and I can't find your as- in here all morning."

"It's only 9."

"Keep that attitude, and I'm shipping you back to Thailand." It was a liable threat, but Phet just scratched his neck in response. He pulled another cigarette and lit it. "Don't tell me your smoking again? I can't tell how messed up you are."

"Cut to the chase captain, what do you want?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just want to inform you that we're low on work-force because all of us are out there looking for evidence of the explosion and the sniper. If you are doing nothing, get off that couch and make sure you come here to get your next job."

The normal protocol once there is an incident. If something like this pops up, he immediately must inform himself to the captain back at his station. Captain Matomoto himself should be swamped by documents now. 26 deaths and a police station blown up, not to mention a sniper on the loose, should make the very little hair the captain has left fall off.

"....I'm just going to help a few guys patrolling around. It'll be faster to get the information straightly from them than to report to you first. So I guess we won't be meeting today."

"You lazy brat....you never change since the first time I met you a year ago. As arrogant as ever." He complained and gave a sigh befitting of his age. "...Do whatever you want. Just say hi to Ishimaru if you decide to show up. He's an old friend"

Then he hung up. Phet kept his phone and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

(Ishimaru? The chief never mentioned him before?) Phet shook his head to let the matter off and just thought of it as unimportant. Right now, he has to drive to the pier 2 blocks from here.

[Austeres]

Bing headed out into the city of Tokyo. Use your powers, a voice said in his head.
You again. I am fine at the moment. Not totally ugly yet, said Bing in his head.
You know you want to, the voice said again.
"Shut up!!" shouted Bing out loud. The voice was gone. Luke started muttering, "Damn thing.... Swear if it.." His voice drifted off.

When Luke got into Tokyo, he walked around looking for something to do. Maybe even meet someone nice, he thought. Even if it does not last.

[United Formosa]

Event: Attention Bayondante

A large man of Danish decent stepped outside into the freezing wind. His short blonde hair was blowing carelessly against his scowling face. After a few moments of slow walking he looked up to see a faded dark green plastic sign that read pier 13. The man lifted the heavy briefcase to his side and peered in. He viewed a collection of 20-30 files. Each contained a photograph and a short biography. The Scandinavian man shut the briefcase and set it on the ground. “Best I don’t know more than I need to”, the man thought. 15 years of clandestine service had taught him the less he knew, the safer he was. From his pocket he drew a pack of cigarettes and procured one from the small white box. He searched himself for a lighter, when he couldn’t fire one he touched his middle finger to the end of the cigarette and it began to glow orange. The man smoked half the cigarette then extinguished the flame by touching the embers to his arm. He grimaced, but years of paying his price has numbed the pain for him. He began to move back and forth trying to stay warm. “Where the hell is this Matsuo guy?”


Event: Kiyoko district (If I dont put a name beside the even. It is a free for all for whomever)

Five large drunk Chinese men stumbled out of an old style tavern named “Oren’s”. The men were very loud and very obnoxious as they managed to stumble to the end of the street. The entire way they were making lude gestures and comments as they passed a couple walking down the street. After several more blocks the men found them selves outside of a very very shady rundown motel. “Girls on me tonight boys”, one of the men hollered and the group cheered. “it’s all thanks to your new gift Guniko ,” the man paying continued. Perhaps the drunkest of them all took a drunken bow and nearly fell over. He picked up an empty soda can from off the ground, then it began to glow. When it stopped the can had become a stack of 1000 yen bills. This demonstration sent the men into a tizzy as they raced inside the motel. Unknown to them a suited man watched from the shadows. “Contractor Identified”, he whispered into his lapel microphone, then exited the shadows and crossed the street. He entered the motel, and after a few moments gunshots pierced the peaceful night silence.

[United Formosa]

Doctor Gao finished his preliminary screening. He had hundreds of gigabytes of files on the Black Flag Army pulled up. Most of the documents were unsolved case files. A good number of them pertained to crimes he had committed. Natsumi Nagoya age 25, cause of death suicide. Taro Yutsunaki age 36 cause of death, suicide. He continued this list until something very disturbing caught his eye. At the bottom of this list he found a composite sketch of a Taiwanese man of similar build to him and facial features. It by no means looked exactly like him, but it could be a distant cousin. Under the photograph were the words “TSZHG-276 Code named Doc. Possible powers are enhanced persuasion, telepathy, psyckenetics, brainwashing. Threat level epsilon do not attempt to apprehend alone.” Doctor Gao felt a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead. Even though the picture was inaccurate it was close enough to give him pause. The powers were accurate also. A quick reference to another document reveled the TCDF threat level chart. Beginning at Alpha ,the least severe, and continuing to Zeta the most severe. Alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, and the was only one ever recorded Zeta so continuing down the list was pointless.

Doctor Gao inserted a small flash drive into the computer tower and downloaded the remaining information he had yet to look at. He would look at it in the safety of his own abode. The flash drive made a soft beep when it was finished, and Doctor Gao removed it and stowed it in his pocket. He stood up to leave and felt a large, rough hand come down on his shoulder. Hard. Turning around to face whatever had laid its hand upon his shoulder, his eyes fell upon the large figure of Captain Matomoto. “Gosuto, before you left I wanted to issue your new badge and identification personally.”

Gao smiled and took the leather bound wallet shaped object from Matomoto. He opened it and found an ID card with all of his alias’s information on it, and a brass looking Tokyo National Police Agency badge. Gao turned to leave, but the sound of Matomoto’s voice stopped him.
“One last thing. I need you to investigate this little joint called Oren’s. It’s supposed to be a contractor bar, and many Black Flag Operatives are known to spend time there.”.

Gao saluted and the captain handed him a small sheet of paper with an address on it. Doctor Gao placed the items in his pocket and began walking toward the exit. He entered the elevator and took it to the ground floor. Once he was outside he hailed a cap and gave him the address of the old Tokyo University. He needed some time to process the information he had achieved, and he needed a plan to send the police away from the Black Flag Army’s trail.

[Austeres]

Luke was walking down a random street when he saw some people and one with a gun. At first, he thought nothing of it. But then, these piercing gunshots were heard. The ones who shot the other one(s) saw Luke and he ran.

After 10 minutes of running, Luke looked back and saw no one was after him. When he looked in front of him, he bumped into a girl. You fool! the voice said again.
Shut up! said Bing in his mind. Then he said to the girl as he helped her up, "I am so sorry, Miss--"

[Eon Prime]

Miharu had been going for her usual walk, and nothing unusual had happened. She followed her typical meandering route without deviation, that was until a running stranger 'bumped' into her.

The man was an American, apparently, at first she didn't even notice he was trying to apologize and when she did she responded with her typical dispassionate tone. "Miharu, my name is Miharu, and it was nothing," she murmured.

[Austeres]

"Again, I'm sorry," said Luke. "Name's Luke, by the way. Just ran from the guys who did those gunshots. You heard 'em, right?" All of a sudden, before he let go of her, his shape-shifting powers "turned on" and he looked like. What the hell? Bing thought. Miharu seemed surprised. Bing sighed. "Yeah, I am a Contractor," he said. "I got this ability and the ability to steal others' powers through touch. Do not worry, you still have your powers as far as I can from past experience."

[Eon Prime]

As soon as Lukes shape-shifting powers were revealed Miharu lept back out of his grasp, drawing a knife over the back of her arm where an abundance of feint scars could be seen. The blood that welled up from the wound drifted into the air, completely under her control.

"Who do you work for?" she asked, demanded really. Ready to kill if he should give the wrong answer, which covered pretty much everyone at this point as far as she was concerned.

[Austeres]

"No one at all," said Luke as soon as he started back to his original form, but slightly more disfigured. "The so-called terrorists here in Tokyo tried to recruit me over a hundred times and joined the TCDF. However, I quit because they always mistreated me. I believe you can tell why by looking at me." He had a feeling she didn't believe him. "You can check if you like. All I have in my pockets are thirty yen and a phone."

[Kyraina]

Doctor Gao finished his preliminary screening. He had hundreds of gigabytes of files on the Black Flag Army pulled up. Most of the documents were unsolved case files. A good number of them pertained to crimes he had committed. Natsumi Nagoya age 25, cause of death suicide. Taro Yutsunaki age 36 cause of death, suicide. He continued this list until something very disturbing caught his eye. At the bottom of this list he found a composite sketch of a Taiwanese man of similar build to him and facial features. It by no means looked exactly like him, but it could be a distant cousin. Under the photograph were the words “TSZHG-276 Code named Doc. Possible powers are enhanced persuasion, telepathy, psyckenetics, brainwashing. Threat level epsilon do not attempt to apprehend alone.” Doctor Gao felt a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead. Even though the picture was inaccurate it was close enough to give him pause. The powers were accurate also. A quick reference to another document reveled the TCDF threat level chart. Beginning at Alpha ,the least severe, and continuing to Zeta the most severe. Alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, and the was only one ever recorded Zeta so continuing down the list was pointless.

Doctor Gao inserted a small flash drive into the computer tower and downloaded the remaining information he had yet to look at. He would look at it in the safety of his own abode. The flash drive made a soft beep when it was finished, and Doctor Gao removed it and stowed it in his pocket. He stood up to leave and felt a large, rough hand come down on his shoulder. Hard. Turning around to face whatever had laid its hand upon his shoulder, his eyes fell upon the large figure of Captain Matomoto. “Gosuto, before you left I wanted to issue your new badge and identification personally.”

Gao smiled and took the leather bound wallet shaped object from Matomoto. He opened it and found an ID card with all of his alias’s information on it, and a brass looking Tokyo National Police Agency badge. Gao turned to leave, but the sound of Matomoto’s voice stopped him.
“One last thing. I need you to investigate this little joint called Oren’s. It’s supposed to be a contractor bar, and many Black Flag Operatives are known to spend time there.”.

Gao saluted and the captain handed him a small sheet of paper with an address on it. Doctor Gao placed the items in his pocket and began walking toward the exit. He entered the elevator and took it to the ground floor. Once he was outside he hailed a cap and gave him the address of the old Tokyo University. He needed some time to process the information he had achieved, and he needed a plan to send the police away from the Black Flag Army’s trail.

Joseph was on his way to the nearest TCDF building when his secure phone started going off. "Yes," Joseph said after answering the phone. "We have a case for you to start Joseph," said a female voice on the other end of the line. "Yes, Sakura what is it now?" Joseph then replied. "We have a incident that's possible contractor related at Oren's and a small hotel. Be careful Joseph Oren's is a suspected Black Flag Operations center so go in your civi clothes and not full armor," Sakura said. "Alright let me now when you know more Sakura," Joseph said as he corrected his coarse and headed towards Oren's. "And Captain," Sakura said. "Yes?" Joseph asked. "Don't get shot up this time," Sakura sad as the line went dead. Joseph shoke his head as he pulled into a ally and changed and then started heading towards Oren's again in his truck

[Eon Prime]

Miharu looked luke up and down, before relaxing, though by no means lowering her guard. The blood floating over her arm whirled back into her skin and that on the surface dried, sealing the wound. She pulled a bottle of vodka out of her bag and took a hearty sip before sliding it back into her bag. The knife she kept ready.

"You said you heard gunshots? Where, when?" she asked, not ready to trust him, and very ready to mistrust him.

[Austeres]

'Nother Contractor, Luke thought. "Back the way I came," he said. "'Bout 10 or 20 minutes.. Don't know how fast I was going to determine how long ago. But I do remember where. Follow me." Then he walked back the way he came. "A very pretty one at that," he muttered.

During the walk over to the location, Luke tried to make a conversation and asked, "So what's your story? Powers, I mean." At first Miharu did not answer. "Here.. I will go first. Got my powers back in LA around the time I was 15. I was a genius, and still am. But everytime I use these curses, I grow more disfigured and more insane. I can only do them by touching someone or something. Strange as it is, the effects did not actually take effect until around 142 days ago. Don't know why they didn't at the start. Since they started, I have been recording on my change everyday since then and noticed change by .003%. I do not know when it will start accelerating, though." Then Luke looked at her. "I told you mine.. Now will you tell me yours?"