The Mafia Queen (IC)

[Christian Confederation]

"The sooner we beat these commies we can end the corruption. And the sooner I can get back to work." Steve said. "I need to get a message out to my constituents.'

Antihero

Hmmm... Commies? Didn't George say some of the prisoners were Comm- AYE. Whatever. We'll get to the politics later.

"A message to the people?" Antihero asked, somewhat skeptical. "Well I would recommend keeping a low profile for now but if you find a way to deliver some message without giving our location away and it helps bolster the people's morale..."

He flashed Steve two thumbs up. "Give me a sec."

Antihero left briefly and came back with a small blue laptop and a printed document. "I'm going to show you a few things on the computer. This will help you stay in coms with Tom and the others. We may have a few meetings here and there to further coordinate the attack. I think Tom Gabriels and you will get along, he's ex-CIA. Heck, I wish I had a special forces background it seems like I MISSED OUT."

Antihero and Steve had a discussion very late into the night. Antihero showed Steve how to use their communications system; some intel was also shared regarding the planned attack on the Vault, the positions, and the expected threats. When all was said and done, Steve Johnson could decide to stay at the compound or find a different place to hide.

"It's up to you Senator," Antihero said. "This place is 100 percent safe and I am paying big bucks for this crusade against the mob; it's a huge project of mine. Feel free to stay if you want."

"I'll stick around. And I know a way to get a message out." He told him. Steve started to think about what he would say.

[Infected Mushroom]

Tom Gabriels

In the days leading up to the attack on The Vault, many developments had happened. The Antihero Force's operatives were at work in both New York City and Washington DC.

Joe Avati was doing small scale clean up in the New York underside; he had struck blood and now had his eyes on a sizeable laundromat-based operation run by mob runners Vincenzo Rizzo and Cesario Marino. However, Joel was interested in taking part in the assault on The Vault, and would postpone future operations.

Hacker Lorelei Martin had tested the waters of the dark web and reported that the mob had a new big player on the cybercrime scene, an old acquantance Boris Grisham (aka The smiling Bandit, aka Skill Monkey, aka Janus, aka Max Power).

In DC things got... considerable more explosive.

Joseph Langley and his associates were set to make a play around the upcoming Supreme Court appointment process surrounding Judge Yeager. Tom and Langley had maintained contact; Langley had relayed his strong sense that President O'Brian was a Mafia plant and that some kind of a big play was in motion. Days later, Tom became aware of a very large fight and battle at an establishment called the Queen B!tch involving mob players Paulos Fontana, Joe Langley himself, Zack (who had travelled to DC) and others. Tom Gabriels wasn't completely up to date on the particulars, but understood the situation to be in a very dangerous state of flux. The media hadn't been very clear on the reporting (the traces of censorship were evident) but that didn't impede Tom; he got his news from other sources.

Meanwhile, the media had been even more reluctant and shifty when reporting the spectacular events surrounding the disappearance and supposed murder of Republican Senator Steve Johnson of Texas by terrorists. Of course, Tom knew the real story. Antihero and Steve had managed foil a mob kidnapping , escape and now the Antihero Force gained a useful new addition. Johnson was going to be a big player in the upcoming Vault attack.

It was possible for Tom to delay the operation but seeing as the Mafia was somewhat distracted with developments in DC, it seemed that they had just the right amount of distraction needed to hit the Vault; hopefully complete surprise was achievable.

---

The Day of The Attack On The Vault
7:14 AM

New York Mountains, The Vault

All of the attackers would show up in pre-arranged transports. Along with George Hamilton, Tom, and Antihero... a large number of vehicles had been arranged to transport the fighters to the Vault in groups. Both entry and exit from the battle had been rehearsed a number of times; everyone knew their assigned positions and vehicles both ways.

The vehicles stopped far outside of the perimeter of the Vault itself; even further out than the last time Tom and company had launched their scouting from. Tom wanted to be 100% sure their approach wouldn't be detected. All the cars and vans had been painted green and they were now well-hidden amongst the trees and out of the main road.

The members stepped out of their vehicles. They would hike through the forest to the Vault area (it would be a sizeable hike through the trees); before then, they prepared their equipments.

The following individuals were showing up:

Tom Gabriels was dressed in a dark green sweater and cargo pants; complete with brown military boots. He suspected the area inside the Vault would be restricted so he wanted to balance long-range with decent medium range engagement capability. As such, he carried a customised Dragunov sniper rifle with a silencer (he switched the sights to his preferred NATO settings and he had enlarged the magazine capacity). He had strapped a large number of backup mags to himself. As a sidearm, he went with the standard M9 Beretta with silencer. Inside one of his boots, he hid a large combat knife (taking a cue from Antihero). To hide his face, he wore a dark green ski mask.

Antihero also appeared; he would be leading a team of close quarters shooters. Antihero was wearing his trademark navy blue, red, and white battle outfit and costume. His face was hidden behind a face mask, goggles, and helmet. For this mission he had his bullet proof vest and paddings. He carried a single M4A1 with silencer and enlarged magazine hold (the weapon came with a strap so he could place it and secure it on his back with ease). He had a single silenced M9 Baretta sidearm attached to his belt and generous ammunition clips for his carbine. Throughout his costume, he had two small knives and one large combat knife hidden.

Shiroi Kasamoto came to the battle completely dressed in black from head to toe in a ninja outfit and black boots. A very large, powerful katana "Raikiri" was attached to her back. She had a utility belt which contained some small but very powerful smoke bomb rounds, and a backup combat dagger.

Paul Lacrosse came. He came dressed in his old narco police uniform (illegally kept and hidden after his incarceration); however, there was a mismatch because he was wearing a black ski mask (was he a criminal or a police officer?). His 0.38 revolver was fully loaded and he had lots of magazines. Just before the battle, Tom had stopped by and given him a silenced MP5 submachine gun to increase his firepower.

Tom Gabriels surveyed the vastness of the forest and the plains before him. He knew exactly where to go.

"It's a beautiful day," Antihero remarked drily. "It's unfortunate that so much blood is about to be spilt."

"Oh REALLY?" Shiroi quipped. "I thought that was right down your alley."

"The others will arrive soon..." Tom said.

[Madrinpoor]

The muffled growl of Joel Avati's Kawasaki cut through the stillness of the Adirondacks in the morning. He cut off the highway and stopped near the treeline, stubbing out his cigarette on the grass, still damp with dew. He looked up and surveyed the area. Avati was wearing black sweatpants and a black shirt with a dark brown leather jacket overtop, still bloodstained from his fight at the laundromat. Tucked into a little band on the inside was his pistol, a black Sig P120 that he carried with him everywhere. He also had a butterfly knife in a belt holster, but that was it. Joel stuck to what he knew worked, which was just a pistol and a knife. Better to be simple. He still had bruises and scars from his fight, but he was ready for more of a fight. He walked over to Antihero — easy to spot with his costume.

"The morning's beautiful, isn't it? I doubt everyone supposed to be here will last it though. Shame. Ending a life is never fun." Avati said. He took out his gun and fiddled with the sight. Now to wait for everyone else to arrive...

[Christian Confederation]

American News Network DC Office
Tucker Hannity was getting ready for his show when a flash drive and a note arrived at his desk. "Who sent it?" He asked the Secretary who delivered it. "No clue sir." She said before leaving the room. "This better not be frickin Anthrax again." He said to himself before opening the note. 'Tucker I'm alive, There's a plot against the Country. I don't know much but this video will explain everything I do know. Play it at the top of your show tonight. Trust no one.- Steve.'
He looked over the the note in disbelief. It was Senator Johnson's handwriting alright. The signature matched the one on the thank you card the Senator had sent them after there first meeting on the show. "Boss, 5 minutes to showtime." His assistant said. "Listen take this flash drive and get it ready to show live as soon as we go live!" He ordered. "What is it?" She asked. "No time for questions just go!" He ordered.
The Tucker Hannity Show
"Good Evening ladies and Gentlemen, Tonight we have very serious matters to discuss!" The old reporter looked at the teleprompter and stopped. "Originally I was going to talk about the murder of Senator Johnson last night according to the police. Instead I have this letter proving the Senator is alive, As well as this video he has asked me to play for you now. ROLL IT!" He ordered.
The Tape
The Footage opens on Senator Johnson Sitting in front of an American Flag in an office Chair. "Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen, As the media has been reporting in the last 24 hours I'm supposed to be a dead man, gunned down in an ambush by terrorists." He said with a laugh. "As you can see I'm very much alive and well. The men who attacked me were no European Terrorists, I was attacked by gangsters. Gangsters working for a criminal at the top of a plot against America. They have infiltrated every level of government. Many members of Congress are in the mobs pocket. I don't know about the President or the militarys involvement or lack thereof." Steve informed the public. "What I do know is these are dangerous people who want to harm our Country. As you are watching this message I'm preparing to attack a mob stronghold in Los Angels. I will have more information for you after the raid. Stay safe, God bless you, and God Bless the United States." He said to the camera. Off camera an Antihero can be heard saying. "Steve we have to go!" He nodded before turning back to the camera. "And to my friends in the Government, Trust no one!" He said before saluting and killing the feed.
Antihero base near the Vault
Steve finished preparing for battle as his tape played on the TV. "That LA drop should get them off our trail." Steve Said with a laugh.

[Kaledoria]

Lorelei was anxious, as she put on a bullet-proof vest and forearm protectors. They were her size but still kind of felt like they did not fit. The thing suddenly felt to real. She opened up to Shiroi for some reason: "Looks like I have to come with you. No wifi or radio signal can reach deep enough underground for me to be joining you remotely. I'd love to say: 'Don't worry, I know how to handle myself in a fight,' but that really just boils down to a few drunk bar fights and occasional gropers who backed down on their own, when you show them clearly, that you fight back. Never been in a life-or-death situation. How do I prepare myself for that - you know, mentally?"

She had brought along a stun gun and was a bit shaky, imagining having to use it against Mob Enforcers with machine guns or the like. She let it rest on the top of the van for now and checked her other stuff: Her lightweight laptop in the not-so lightweight shock-absorbing, bulletproof casing, with a shoulder-strap to carry it. Her trusted multi-tool. A hand-held metal-scanner, as she had to leave the larger drone in the base. She did however take the smaller drone with her this time. The included frequency scanner and induction interface were more powerful then her own devices. She had, however worked on the remote control interface the evening before, allowing her to hook the drone up to her augmented reality glasses and her smart-gloves instead of the clunky VR-headset and video-game-like controller it came with.

Still in the van, lying on top of her seat, were her black ski mask and a slightly oversized black sweatshirt with a burgundy red stylized punk Circle-A on the chest. She had attached two pins, one of hammer and sickle and one of a red rose, to the collar. Even though she had never really been a political person (unlike some of the folks she had hung out with 5 years ago), she understood the irony of adorning herself with the symbols of three conflicting leftist philosophies. Still, even if those "communists" George had spoken of, would take her for a poser, this could create an opening that might allow Lorelei to approach them on an emotional level if they turned out to be "difficult".

[Infected Mushroom]

Tom Gabriels was stone-faced, the SVD sniper rifle was strapped to his back. He had a hand on a phone and seemed to be rapidly texting away.

“Some of the others are arriving,” Tom said as a-matter-of-factly.

“I’ll lead a lookout force to stand guard ahead while you’re on standby,” Antihero said, according to the plan.

"Wait Antihero," Tom said, passing him the military binnocular. "Don't forget your toy."

While the others were still arriving, Antihero would trek forward a few meters where a large hill allowed him to survey key positions ahead. They would be warned well in advance if sentries had been upped or if enemy forces were approaching; he turned briefly to Steve and Joe, “Feel free to come if you want. Or anyone else?”

Everyone would stay connected by COMs.

Antihero trekked forward and disappeared into the trees.

As Tom was texting, Paul Lacross was looking around nervously.

“Chill out Paul,” Shiroi said. “You look really tense.”

"Nah I'm fine."

Lorelei was anxious, as she put on a bullet-proof vest and forearm protectors. They were her size but still kind of felt like they did not fit. The thing suddenly felt to real. She opened up to Shiroi for some reason: "Looks like I have to come with you. No wifi or radio signal can reach deep enough underground for me to be joining you remotely. I'd love to say: 'Don't worry, I know how to handle myself in a fight,' but that really just boils down to a few drunk bar fights and occasional gropers who backed down on their own, when you show them clearly, that you fight back. Never been in a life-or-death situation. How do I prepare myself for that - you know, mentally?"

“Well you know,” Shiroi said. “The Mafia is just one evil plant, and we’re just cutting down the bad weed. It’s gardening, only with blood.”

Tom looked up from his phone at Shiroi, cracking a dry smile.

“Don’t worry Lorelei,” Shiroi said, “You’ll be safe. Just stay close to us. We’re going to need your hacking mojo once we get in, we’re not letting you die… Just stay calm, and if you’re in doubt, stay under cover. Rule number one: stay alive at all cost. Besides, I’ll bet you’ve seen a fight or two? Cut down some bad weed yourself?”

Paul Lacrosse

Paul thought back to the morning. He, Andrea and Nathan had breakfast. Things had gotten tense. His wife wasn’t happy and was sure he was keeping secrets (he was… and his job search story could only hold on for so long). Paul had lost his temper and left. If he bit it here… that would be hell of a bad way to go.

While the others chatted, Paul continued to check his MP5 and revolver. He was already regretting not going with Antihero to that hill. He could use the walk. Though according to Tom’s briefing… smoking was out of the question (and he hated that, this was definitely a smoking time).

[Kaledoria]

Shiroi was so fearless, that's why Lorelei had asked her, the Hacker analyzed herself. That Shiroi had first answered how to fortify her heart against feeling guild over the people they were about to kill and not against the fear of getting killed themselves said a lot.

Despite the various dangers she had gotten herself into, Lorelei had never been shot at.

But she was positive, that she had the mental fortitude to kill. Of course it had not always been that way. In the middle of pulling over the sweatshirt, she went back mentally. She had only been 15. Way to young. Checking her regular boards, she had read about the dirty cop she had just doxxed two days earlier. He had killed a man just out of a power fantasy and had managed to avoid prosecution due to - so it seemed - corruption. He had been a bad man, who would have likely killed again but when he was shot down in a drive-by in the morning after Lorelei had posted his name, picture, address, daily scheduled and proof of his crime, she felt, like she had his blood on her hands. It had traumatized her for two years. But she had worked through it. In the last five years she had "killed" three times again. Once by organizing the gun and twice by providing the information necessary for the person who was able and willing to pull the trigger. It had been much easier those times. She knew the names of her victims and the names of three innocents they had likely saved by the deed. This was still important for Lorelei, somehow.

She went over the sleeves and the collar to get the wrinkles out, then put on the mask, glasses and gloves and filled her utility belt with her tools and the stun gun. Finally she hung her laptop in the case over the shoulder.

"Okay everybody, just a reminder, if you have not turned off your smartphones, do it now, otherwise you could just as well be distributing business cards while we are in there," Lorelei announced to the group with faked confidence.

[CoraSpia]

On any normal road, the thrum of the ancient Bentley would not have stood out. This road was, however, totally deserted but for the team assembling there. Local residents avoided it for some reason, indeed it even seemed that the majority of animal life didn't want to venture here. Whatever the mafia used the vault for was probably producing something, probably on the most basic of natural levels, that just kept them away.

The car slowly came to a halt a short distance from the other team members and disgorged George and Kevin. When being George Hamilton, it was very difficult to appear stealthy, but the suit he was wearing today was a small concession to the attempt that the others wear making. Or...at least it was in so far as it was black; not being a military man he didn't own anything in camo colors. He was carrying his normal weapon, a Thompson submachine gun that seemed to be as old as his car: obviously however everybody knew that physical weaponry was not the area in which he excelled.

As a study in contrast, Kevin appeared in what appeared to be a genuine US special forces camo pattern uniform, complete with weaponry stowed in every place that it seemed possible to store it. His primary weapon was the high-powered p-90 in its underarm holster, however several wickedly sharp-looking knives were strapped to the childs belt. In a small pack on his other side, he had stored several grenades; it was pretty obvious he wasn't coming into this fight with the intention of taking any prisoners. This was something he quickly noticed that not everyone on the team had taken entirely to heart and he crossed over to where Lorelei was standing. The reason for his annoyance was made clear to her when he pointed an accusing finger at her stun gun.

"What's the plan?" he asked her, "Send them to sleep and then...I don't know, take one home to keep as a fucking pet? There's something you need to keep in mind when you're dealing with the mafia. Most people, they have lives to take. Families who love them, all that sort of shit. These guys though? They're not people, what you're performing here is a pest control operation. See it, kill it, move on to the next one. I've got a few better weapons in the car including my very favourite flamethrower. Would you like to borrow anything?"

[Kaledoria]

Lorelei looked at Kevin's selection of weapons. "I ... I don't think learning how to use a new weapon on the fly would be a good idea." That was a lie. One she had told herself, too, but now she realized, that the reason she had not organized a gun for herself was, that she did not want to make herself a target. To appear less threatening then the other members of the team could just buy her the time to flee if the mission went fubar.

She realized, this was not fair to the rest of the team. She looked for a .22 Caliber (her theoretical knowledge of firearms exceeded her practical knowledge) but the smallest Kevin had in store was 9mm. "I did a few lessons at a shooting range when I ... at age 18. Pistol only," she said and picked a gun. She fixed the holster to her belt, loaded a magazine into the weapon and put it away. "Thanks."

Lorelei activated her smart gloves and the camera feed of the drone appeared in the HUD of her glasses. She took of for a little field test - she had not yet tested how forest would affect the signal strength. She flew low above the ground to Antihero's forward position and checked all radio frequencies. Like before, there were two low-strength, occasional pings coming from the shack. Nothing else. She passed the information to the team.

[Christian Confederation]

Steve didn't have much time between learning DC and arriving in New York. He had Time to grab some clothes a Glock and his 1911 from his apartment. On the way up he grabbed some ammo and lunch. "I'm here. What's the plan?"

[Nagakawa]

-"

"You have nothing to fear." Leonie looked Zach in the eye, a glint of determination flickering momentarily in her irises. "Your father lives in California's 39th Congressional District, does he not? That's Joe's district. He won't let anything happen to a single resident of CA-39. You have my word, and his."

A tense silence fell over the bar.

"You're right." Exhaling deeply, Leonie continued her explanation of the situation. "Joe's been a Congressman for the past 24 years. He sits on the House Judiciary Committee, and from there, he pulls together all the non-affiliated Senators and Representatives to resist the agenda of the Mafia together. As for Fontana... well, I actually don't really know who he is, aside from him being a Mafia dude. You could try asking Joe, but I doubt he knows either."

"Hey." While Leonie and Zach talked, the bartender had come to their table, bearing two drinks- a rum cola with a slice of lime for Zach, and a glass of orange juice for the teetotal Leonie. "I figured you'd need some refreshment."

"Thanks." Leonie flashed a faint smile at the bartender, who nodded stoically and laid the drinks out on the table's coasters.

"Any idea what happens from here on out?"

"Oh, I just got a text from Joe", said Jesse, waving his phone about frantically. "He says he'll be sending some guy to pick up the mafia guys we've locked up in the basement. In the meantime..."

At the sound of the news, Leonie chuckled sardonically, before turning back to face Zach.

"I'd go back to your hotel and get some sleep if I were you", she said. "Though you'd do well to be careful."

...

[Infected Mushroom]

Steve didn't have much time between learning DC and arriving in New York. He had Time to grab some clothes a Glock and his 1911 from his apartment. On the way up he grabbed some ammo and lunch. "I'm here. What's the plan?"

Tom Gabriels

“Welcome Senator,” Tom said, giving Steve a nod as he looked up and clapped his hands. “We will begin the assault shortly. Antihero has already deployed himself a few miles from here to establish a scouting point… make sure we’re safe from attack while more and more arrive…”

He turned to Lorelei and noted that the hacker had begun to mobilize the scouting drones.

He walked over and began a bit of a briefing:

“Now as per our last scouting mission… we’ve established that the entrance to the Vault is roughly 1,500 meters out from here. George here, has given us reliable intel that the minefield-surrounded porthole will be watched but can be bypassed… and we can go in through a secret entrance by a small shed. We have it on good intel that it’s the most reliable way inside.”

He turned and looked around.

Yes we have a solid frontline. This should be good.

“Once we have the go-ahead from Antihero and the drones… we can march out in a large group towards the shed; George will lead the way. I’ll cover the march with sniper cover before joining you all as well.”

“Everyone have their positions and routes memorized?” Shiroi asked. “I’m kidding… OF COURSE right?”

---

Antihero

A few miles from the group, Antihero trekked up the hill and set himself up; he placed himself in prone position over a large patch of grass and began to survey the area beyond with the military binoculars he had received from Tom.

At last… this is going to go down in the history books. I can’t wait… A true gathering of heroes…

From this elevated position, he scanned the hills, the forest, the plains… not only in the direction of the manhole (Thank GOODNESS George provided us a way to avoid those mines) but also towards the shed. The objective was to locate any additional sentries or battle groups approaching.

The coast was clear, just like the last time Tom and company came to sweep.

“Alright,” he said at length into the radio. “No sign of hostile patrols. Lorelei, you’re clear to fly. Send in the eagles.”

The drones were now clear to fly, with a minimized chance that guards on the grounds would see the machines and get a scent for the incoming attack.

Antihero and Tom were hoping that no additional cameras had been added since the last scouting.

---

After getting the go-ahead:

Lorelei activated her smart gloves and the camera feed of the drone appeared in the HUD of her glasses. She took of for a little field test - she had not yet tested how forest would affect the signal strength. She flew low above the ground to Antihero's forward position and checked all radio frequencies. Like before, there were two low-strength, occasional pings coming from the shack. Nothing else. She passed the information to the team.

Meanwhile, everyone else was getting into formation. Tom with his SVD, George with his machine-gun (though his magic would be his greatest weapon), the heaviy-armed Kevin, Joe Avati, Paul Lacrosse, and Steve Johnson with their additional firepower, Shiroi with “Raikiri” on her back.

Once Lorelei’s drones provided additional intel, it would time to march out towards the shed.

---

Antihero

The sky was bright and beautiful as the drone flew out. Antihero’s masked face turned briefly westwards and noted the trajectory.

When he turned eastward again, he felt something was off.

Wait…

A coldness gripped his heart because he could make out-

Those damn trees!

The vantage point was good; it was the best possible under the circumstances but a few of those tree patches below had proved treacherous. Antihero zoomed in with the binoculars and saw:

Three goons came out of the trees; they wearing fedoras and suits; one of them was carrying a large hunting rifle. They were less than 150 meters away.

WHERE DID THESE THREE THUGS COME FROM?!

If their faces turned west at any point and saw the drones (and there was good chance of that any second now): the mission would be compromised; the surprise element would be gone.

Feeling a rush, Antihero began to descend from the hills. He said into the COM:

“This is Antihero, drone could be compromised, I see three hostiles approaching from the southeast side, less than 200 meters from my position. I’m moving in to engage before they can radio. Over.”

“W…WHAT?!”

Tom had shouted back but Antihero had already turned off the COM.

I can deal with the three, if they’ve got more behind though…

A shot from this M4, even if silenced, could alert other squads… I’ll do it up close instead.

---

Tom Gabriels

Unbelievable… They hid their squads this well?

Tom would have called it off, but it looked like Antihero had just decided for everyone…

“We’re going in!” Tom shouted.

He sprinted full ahead, hoping the group would follow. Tom didn’t like this; things were rapidly spinning out of control.

---

“Hey guys,” one of the goons said, squinting in the direction of the sun; what appeared to be a military drone flew by (despite the low flying altitude and Lorelei’s skilled efforts, it was somehow spotted). “The fuck is that?”

“It’s a DRONE!” another goon said. “Quick, Jimmy, call it in. If I’m not mistaken I th- GRAAAAHHHHH!”

His speech was lethally interrupted because he was suddenly grabbed from the side (around the shoulders) by what appeared to be a masked mercenary in blue, red and white… a nanosecond elapsed and his throat was suddenly and viciously slashed open by a large combat knife… his life instantly ended.

Before either of the two remaining thugs could react, Antihero turned (and while holding the corpse as a shield) threw his blood-stained knife at maximum velocity and power towards a second target.

CRACK!

A second thug (the one with the rifle) crumpled against a large oak, the sharp edge of the thrown knife having hit the head… The projectile struck with such fury that he was very nearly nailed into the tree itself like a board.

Antihero was going to go for his holstered pistol but the third thug had drawn out a revolver and fired.

BANG!

A loud gunshot erupted across the forest. Since Antihero was using the corpse of the first thug as a shield, the round struck the corpse instead. Antihero wasted no time in letting go of the battered corpse and rolling off to the side… he was a literal blur of blue, white and red…

“YOU BLUE WANKER!” the third thug cried out viciously as he walked forward, his revolver still raised. “You think you can come to THIS PIECE OF LAND?!”

---

Despite Antihero’s best efforts to eliminate the three thugs without alarm, the stray gunshot had been heard. And from two different patches across the forest now, two fire teams of 17 gangsters each appeared. They were converging from a considerable distance to the incident position. It would take them a while to get here (and not all at once) but THEY WERE COMING.

“This is Defense Team Alpha to Lion’s Den, shots fired, I repeat… shots fired.”

The Antihero Force’s attempts to pre-scout the forest had failed. Somehow, the mob had reinforced the area with sentries, and they WERE successful in keeping them hidden from even the greatly advantageous scouting point of the hill.

Since DC and New York, the mob had anticipated an attack here. There was going to be an all-out battle now.

Things were about to go mad…

[Christian Confederation]

Steve didn't have much time between learning DC and arriving in New York. He had Time to grab some clothes a Glock and his 1911 from his apartment. On the way up he grabbed some ammo and lunch. "I'm here. What's the plan?"

Tom Gabriels

“Welcome Senator,” Tom said, giving Steve a nod as he looked up and clapped his hands. “We will begin the assault shortly. Antihero has already deployed himself a few miles from here to establish a scouting point… make sure we’re safe from attack while more and more arrive…”

He turned to Lorelei and noted that the hacker had begun to mobilize the scouting drones.

He walked over and began a bit of a briefing:

“Now as per our last scouting mission… we’ve established that the entrance to the Vault is roughly 1,500 meters out from here. George here, has given us reliable intel that the minefield-surrounded porthole will be watched but can be bypassed… and we can go in through a secret entrance by a small shed. We have it on good intel that it’s the most reliable way inside.”

He turned and looked around.

Yes we have a solid frontline. This should be good.

“Once we have the go-ahead from Antihero and the drones… we can march out in a large group towards the shed; George will lead the way. I’ll cover the march with sniper cover before joining you all as well.”

“Everyone have their positions and routes memorized?” Shiroi asked. “I’m kidding… OF COURSE right?”

---

Antihero

A few miles from the group, Antihero trekked up the hill and set himself up; he placed himself in prone position over a large patch of grass and began to survey the area beyond with the military binoculars he had received from Tom.

At last… this is going to go down in the history books. I can’t wait… A true gathering of heroes…

From this elevated position, he scanned the hills, the forest, the plains… not only in the direction of the manhole (Thank GOODNESS George provided us a way to avoid those mines) but also towards the shed. The objective was to locate any additional sentries or battle groups approaching.

The coast was clear, just like the last time Tom and company came to sweep.

“Alright,” he said at length into the radio. “No sign of hostile patrols. Lorelei, you’re clear to fly. Send in the eagles.”

The drones were now clear to fly, with a minimized chance that guards on the grounds would see the machines and get a scent for the incoming attack.

Antihero and Tom were hoping that no additional cameras had been added since the last scouting.

---

After getting the go-ahead:

Lorelei activated her smart gloves and the camera feed of the drone appeared in the HUD of her glasses. She took of for a little field test - she had not yet tested how forest would affect the signal strength. She flew low above the ground to Antihero's forward position and checked all radio frequencies. Like before, there were two low-strength, occasional pings coming from the shack. Nothing else. She passed the information to the team.

Meanwhile, everyone else was getting into formation. Tom with his SVD, George with his machine-gun (though his magic would be his greatest weapon), the heaviy-armed Kevin, Joe Avati, Paul Lacrosse, and Steve Johnson with their additional firepower, Shiroi with “Raikiri” on her back.

Once Lorelei’s drones provided additional intel, it would time to march out towards the shed.

---

Antihero

The sky was bright and beautiful as the drone flew out. Antihero’s masked face turned briefly westwards and noted the trajectory.

When he turned eastward again, he felt something was off.

Wait…

A coldness gripped his heart because he could make out-

Those damn trees!

The vantage point was good; it was the best possible under the circumstances but a few of those tree patches below had proved treacherous. Antihero zoomed in with the binoculars and saw:

Three goons came out of the trees; they wearing fedoras and suits; one of them was carrying a large hunting rifle. They were less than 150 meters away.

WHERE DID THESE THREE THUGS COME FROM?!

If their faces turned west at any point and saw the drones (and there was good chance of that any second now): the mission would be compromised; the surprise element would be gone.

Feeling a rush, Antihero began to descend from the hills. He said into the COM:

“This is Antihero, drone could be compromised, I see three hostiles approaching from the southeast side, less than 200 meters from my position. I’m moving in to engage before they can radio. Over.”

“W…WHAT?!”

Tom had shouted back but Antihero had already turned off the COM.

I can deal with the three, if they’ve got more behind though…

A shot from this M4, even if silenced, could alert other squads… I’ll do it up close instead.

---

Tom Gabriels

Unbelievable… They hid their squads this well?

Tom would have called it off, but it looked like Antihero had just decided for everyone…

“We’re going in!” Tom shouted.

He sprinted full ahead, hoping the group would follow. Tom didn’t like this; things were rapidly spinning out of control.

---

“Hey guys,” one of the goons said, squinting in the direction of the sun; what appeared to be a military drone flew by (despite the low flying altitude and Lorelei’s skilled efforts, it was somehow spotted). “The fuck is that?”

“It’s a DRONE!” another goon said. “Quick, Jimmy, call it in. If I’m not mistaken I th- GRAAAAHHHHH!”

His speech was lethally interrupted because he was suddenly grabbed from the side (around the shoulders) by what appeared to be a masked mercenary in blue, red and white… a nanosecond elapsed and his throat was suddenly and viciously slashed open by a large combat knife… his life instantly ended.

Before either of the two remaining thugs could react, Antihero turned (and while holding the corpse as a shield) threw his blood-stained knife at maximum velocity and power towards a second target.

CRACK!

A second thug (the one with the rifle) crumpled against a large oak, the sharp edge of the thrown knife having hit the head… The projectile struck with such fury that he was very nearly nailed into the tree itself like a board.

Antihero was going to go for his holstered pistol but the third thug had drawn out a revolver and fired.

BANG!

A loud gunshot erupted across the forest. Since Antihero was using the corpse of the first thug as a shield, the round struck the corpse instead. Antihero wasted no time in letting go of the battered corpse and rolling off to the side… he was a literal blur of blue, white and red…

“YOU BLUE WANKER!” the third thug cried out viciously as he walked forward, his revolver still raised. “You think you can come to THIS PIECE OF LAND?!”

---

Despite Antihero’s best efforts to eliminate the three thugs without alarm, the stray gunshot had been heard. And from two different patches across the forest now, two fire teams of 17 gangsters each appeared. They were converging from a considerable distance to the incident position. It would take them a while to get here (and not all at once) but THEY WERE COMING.

“This is Defense Team Alpha to Lion’s Den, shots fired, I repeat… shots fired.”

The Antihero Force’s attempts to pre-scout the forest had failed. Somehow, the mob had reinforced the area with sentries, and they WERE successful in keeping them hidden from even the greatly advantageous scouting point of the hill.

Since DC and New York, the mob had anticipated an attack here. There was going to be an all-out battle now.

Things were about to go mad…

Steve had his 1911 a helmet and body armor he picked up at an Army surplus store on some side road on the way up from the Capitol. He was about to fight terrorists in upstate new York with nothing but his pistol and a Bowie knife. He changed the enemy and opened fire downing one before tackling another and drawing his knife.

[Madrinpoor]

Avati heard the bang of firearms and snapped up his head, his hand darting into his pocket and clutching his pistol. He ran towards the shots, maybe he could see where they came from and help his teammates. Avati sprinted through the woods, pistol pointed down with the safety off. He saw a flash of red — Antihero. That ego-chasing blowhard. Avati didn't like self-proclaimed "superheroes", but if Antihero could prove himself then maybe he would get a little more respect for him. All depends...

Avati approached a chain-link fence near the building, but he lost the flash of Antihero's costume. There were no enemies here...was the shot an accident? There was nobody nearby, but past the fence was the Vault. Why couldn't he just go in...wait for your team, he thought, it's not safe to go in there alone. But he would just scout it out...Avati whipped out his butterfly knife and started cutting away at the fence. He made a gap just wide enough to fit through, but as he stepped in his foot, BANG! Joel whipped around. There was someone shooting at him. An enemy! He was far away, but Joel needed to get out of there — he couldn't win a gunfight. Avati took his leg out of the fence and raced up the forested hillside, with staccato gunshots punctuating his heartbeat. He slid down into a crouch behind a thick tree, and watched the two thugs come closer, searching for him...fifteen feet...ten feet...

Avati burst out of his hiding place with a scream, and fired his gun at the thug closest to him. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! The thug jerked with each shot and crumpled with a shriek, as the other thug whipped his gun at Joel and started firing as Joel ducked behind the tree. BAM! BAM! The bullets cut through the wood, way too close to Joel's head.The thug charged forward at Joel's tree, gun raised...Joel held his gun in one hand and gripped his knife in the other, lunging forward and thrusting it at the thug. The thug doubled over and fingered his gun, but Joel slammed his elbow into the top of the thug's neck, knocking him to the ground and throwing his shot wide. Before he had time to recover, Joel jumped up, pointed his gun at the downed thug, and turned his head. BANG!

Joel ran through the woods, away from the two bodies. Blood was splattered all over his left side of his nice jacket. After those shots, if the rest of the thugs and his team didn't know he was here already, they did now. If only he could find Antihero...

[Kaledoria]

Suddenly, radio signals appeared allover the place. Lorelei took cover between the cars and flipped open her laptop. She fed the Mafia's chatter into a decryption program, but their encryption was to professional for her to crack it with a messages this short. She saved the messages for now. At least, by setting the secondary channels of the team's radios to the frequency, Lorelei could roughly triangulate the sources.

One signal came from the clearing with the concealed entrance. This made sense to Lorelei, the Mafia's signals would be just as unable to pierce all the way through the ground as the team's and thus the vault used something there as an antenna. Lorelei called the others: "One group forming a bit to the west, another one closing in on Anti from the north, Steve, Avati you should be able to flank attack them from the west and east, if you..." more shots through the forest interrupted her. Then another handgun, different caliber. It appeared as if the northern team was spread out more loosely then Lorelei would have thought.

The hacker focused on her drone again. The last Mafioso had taken cover, aware of the fact, that he was outclassed, and had thus left the corpses unobserved. One of them had just tried to call someone and their radio lay in the open. Lorelei seized the opportunity. She landed the drone next to it, extended the small arm with the induction interface and quickly found the bridge between the decryption unit and the speaker. By replaying one of the encrypted messages she had saved earlier (minimal signal strength around the drone, so that just this one radio would pick it up) she had a direct comparison of the encrypted and decrypted message and with this, her program was finally able to hack the Mafia encryption. She played the key to the team's radios and Commented: "We can eavesdrop on them on channel two now. But don't send anything there, yet, I have a special surprise for them waiting."

[Infected Mushroom]

Tom Gabriels

Tom had an earpiece on, so he could get reports from what was happening around the battle. As planned, Lorelei was operating the scouting drones and could report on the Mafia positions.

Antihero, Joe Avati, and Steve Johnson were now engaged in three different positions. He hoped that they were alright, though it was VITAL to keep the Mafia forces divided and confused. He could hear gunfights going off in the not-so-far-distance.

Paul Lacrosse (armed with an MP5) and Shiroi Kasamoto were close to him. They had reached a hill top now. Not quite the same one Antihero had scouted down from but one somewhat close to it.

Long before the battle, Tom Gabriels had made careful plans around the topography of this mountainous and forested area. He had memorised a list of hills and geographical features that could make for ideal sniping spots; those contingency plans were about to come into effect immediately.

"I'm going to set up sniper cover on that hill," he told Lacrosse and Shiroi. "Cover my weak spots around the hill."

A white-faced Paul nodded. Soon, the ex detective and the ninja woman were headed in opposite directions as Tom turned and began to scale the hill. The sounds of gunfires were still going off.

---

Amongst the forests, the third goon continued to look out for Antihero but somehow the vigilante had disappeared. The goon aimed with his pistol, his beady eyes scanning the field... his fingers ready to fire again. Crouching slightly, he adjusted his position and walked towards another patch of trees. He heard the faintest footsteps from behind. The goon turned around.

Antihero was approaching him from a distance, a silenced pistol was held out.

The gangster and the masked man exchanged a few shots. Antihero's pistol had a slightly different sound due to the silencer.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Antihero took a shot in the upper chest but this was largely blocked by the bulletproof vest he was wearing; the impact and trauma was still formidable but Antihero was strong such that he was able to keep on advancing and firing.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The gangster took a number of bullets in return. His entire body jerked around violently as he was cut down by the volley of pistol fire.

---

Antihero

Despite having eliminated hostile number three, Antihero was well aware that a larger battle was going on, as signified by all the heavy sounds of gunfire all around. He paused to inspect the damage; he could carry on, the vest did its job against the low caliber round.

I need to get back to the group.

First, he planned to make it back to a rock closer to the direction of the van and hill, where he had stashed away his M4A1 carbine by a brush. He needed the big gun for this one. He turned on the radio and confirmed he was still in play. Then he was about to leave, when he could make out a figure to the northwest.

Is that Avati? Flanking from the north as per the plan?

He pulled out his radio and said:

"This is Antihero. I'm moving in to reinforce Avati. Over."

He would double back, get his M4, and then head out to the northwest to reinforce Avati. Meanwhile, Tom, Shiroi, and Paul would continue to defend the hill.

---

Tom Gabriels

Tom Gabriels was now on the hill and he lying down silently, like a viper; his green clothes hid him perfectly. He could feel the dirt and the grass around him but as a disciplined operator, this was part of the work.

It's a good thing Paul and Shiroi will cover my weak spots. Best case scenario is that the enemy doesn't figure out where I am exactly...

Tom aimed out with his Druganov sniper rifle (with the context of the battle being in the open plains, he was already regretting not taking his M95 with its superior range). With practiced movement, he ran his scope across an arc; his eye looking out from the magnified scope.

There's one of the two large battle group...

A very large group of mobsters, more than ten were advancing through a patch of tall grass; a lot of rifles were held out but nothing that looked like a sniper or a designated marksmen.

I don't see counter-snipers. I have the range. Let's get them scattered out.

Tom placed his sniper out from a position between lots of leaves such as to increase the chances for concealment even after the shot. Tom estimated the wind and adjusted for bullet drop, then he aimed and fired...

CRACK!

He landed a fine shot over a few hundreds meters away.

One of the goons fell down at once (the round having gone through head and hat). The response from the large battle group was immediate. A large number of mobsters began to run in different directions, others threw themselves down unto the tall grass and out of sight. A large number of hand-held machine-guns and rifles began to go off in his general direction... but it was of no immediate danger to Tom due to how far away, elevated, and hidden he was.

Instead of returning fire, Tom stayed silent for a few minutes, just watching with the scope.

There's no hurry to fire... This is just to cause some confusion.

He still maintained the advantage of directional anonymity for now.

While maintaining cover, Tom began to speak into his earpiece, indicating that he had made long range contact with a very large group of mobsters. He indicated to Steve and Avati that they should be careful to avoid this large group because heads on, they still had more firepower. In the meantime, he, Tom, would try to delay their advance with more sniper fire.

[CoraSpia]

Kevin

Things had gone, in the usual vocabulary of George, 'totally tits up.' The drone had been spotted, which in his mind was not really a big surprise: now they were going to have to get their hands dirty far earlier than any of them had been hoping. It was no matter to him though, as long as he could find a position in this small stand of trees.

Cautiously levering himself up, he purched on a limb and looked out over the scene. The group which Tom had previously caused to run around in confusion was directly in his line of sight, but far enough away to miss the carefully concealed gunman.

What began was methodical and effective. The young boy simply found a target, aimed and terminated it; 5 in all went down extremely quickly to his well-aimed gunshots. Surveying the world with an emotionless stare it didn't even occur to him that he was behaving in exactly the way that the mafia programers and scientists had designed him to act. He simply aimed again, pressed the trigger and watched as kill number 209 breathed his last.

[Christian Confederation]

Steve finished his foe and continued. Shooting and slitting the throats of enemies as he advanced. "Where is the door?" He asked himself.

[Madrinpoor]

Antihero

Despite having eliminated hostile number three, Antihero was well aware that a larger battle was going on, as signified by all the heavy sounds of gunfire all around. He paused to inspect the damage; he could carry on, the vest did its job against the low caliber round.

I need to get back to the group.

First, he planned to make it back to a rock closer to the direction of the van and hill, where he had stashed away his M4A1 carbine by a brush. He needed the big gun for this one. He turned on the radio and confirmed he was still in play. Then he was about to leave, when he could make out a figure to the northwest.

Is that Avati? Flanking from the north as per the plan?

He pulled out his radio and said:

"This is Antihero. I'm moving in to reinforce Avati. Over."

He would double back, get his M4, and then head out to the northwest to reinforce Avati. Meanwhile, Tom, Shiroi, and Paul would continue to defend the hill.

Avati's radio crackled with Antihero's announcement. Avati paused and looked around, and he saw that flash of red again. Oh. It's that egomaniac again. Can't he wear something less...obnoxiously bright? He does seem like a good fighter though, so maybe he could help me advance towards the barn...

Avati leaned against a tree, reloading his gun and waiting for Antihero to arrive. He looked back on the corpses he had just shot...behind those gangsters, there were people. People with families, and stories, and probably hearts deep, deep inside. They didn't have those things anymore. Avati closed his eyes and sighed as he cocked the action. There was still blood splattered on his jacket, and even some on his face from the gangster he shot, as he was on the ground with a knife in his gut. No matter how many lives the thug had taken, Avati had taken his. There would be no more robbing from that gangster, no more killing, but no more laughing and no more loving. No more life. This was a hard business. It had been since he was a teenager, since he broke bodega windows to steal food and cash and liquor. Since he held innocent people over bridges for their money. Since he chased down criminals to sell them to other criminals. Since he beat the lights out of a policeman who shot his friend for selling crack with a tire iron. The tears ran down his face and the blood down the pavement. This was a dirty life.

Avati flipped on the safety of his pistol and looked at Antihero running towards him.

"Nice of you to show up. Now the whole mafia knows we're here with those bright colors, but at least you brought a fancy gun." Avati said, turning to face through the trees and towards the building.

[Kaledoria]

Lorelei finished her little trick and assigned it to a glove-gesture, then closed her Laptop. Even though the Mafia Goons were not coming in her direction, she felt unsave hanging behind. Keeping her head down she ran to Shiroi and Paul, close to Tom's sniping spot. At the same time, she ordered the drone to take of, launching it as high as possible at full speed. Once it had a good 200 meters altitude it was quite save but immediately as it rose above the treetops it could be exposed to fire. Luckily the Mafia Thugs were to concerned with enemies that shot back to care about a small, unarmed drone.

The Hacker listened to the Mafia radio communication.
"One guy in the trees, about 120 feet northeast of my position, I saw some muzzle flash."
"Okay, everybody rush him on my order."
"What about the sniper?"
"Okay, smoke screen first."

A few grenades were lobbed from behind cover and almost immediately smoke covered the area where the the remainder of the Mafia team was, almost (but not all the way) up to the position where Kevin was hiding.

"Go go go!" Lorelei heard on the Mafia frequency, then someone ordered some subgroup to wait, they were obviously gathering, somewhere in the smoke. She had originally planed to use the drone as a spotter but the smoke gave her a different idea and she maneuvered it closer above Kevin's position and then she heard: "Okay, ready, set, GO!"

That was also her sign. She performed the programed hand gesture with her smart glove and her radio (and that of any other team member that might listen to the Mafia on channel 2) was switched to channel 1, while she broadcasted a very simple signal on the mafia channel: 2 kHz Maximum volume!
While the radios might not have had speakers loud enough to be harmful, it clearly was a painful enough at this frequency. At the same time Lorelei let her Drone drop for a short moment by turning of the 4 rotors, then immediately turned them back up to full power as the drone was very close above the smoke.

[Infected Mushroom]

With relentless precision, Kevin had begun a fearsome and ruthless attack on the western battle group of the Mafia. His aim with the P-90, even at a long range was flawless such that every round found its mark. Almost at once the force of 17 was cut down by nearly an entire third.

The rest of the mobsters spread out before coordinating a counter. Smoke rounds were fired to obfuscate, radio transmissions were exchanged, then they moved into a lethal formation to counter. A few of them even managed to sneak up somewhat close in a bid to flank Kevin.

Then it happened:

The radios went haywire.

Due to Lorelei's action, the counter-attack was interrupted. Several goons cried out (giving away their positions) and some weapons were even dropped. A few stray rounds went off, further giving away positions. Over a dozen radios were thrown down in confusion.

---

Antihero

Antihero considered Joe Avati. The vigilante had done his homework and he knew the profiles and history of all of his allies (at least what Tom knew and disclosed). Antihero could respect the conviction of a man who was part of the streets, was familiar with its horrors, and chose a higher path; he knew Avati was a very skilled fighter. Deep down, he knew he himself wasn't a self-made man (though his father wanted him to be). Whatever the vigilante had made of himself, he, Antihero had started in life with an unfair advantage.

He took Avati's comment regarding the bright colours in good stride.

"You make a fair point," Antihero said, "I really should work on that green variation. Nice kills by the way."

He noted the corpses in the vicinity.

Further gunfire erupted from around them, some of it close by.

"Let's advance towards that barn," Antihero said. It was best they stick to that plan.

Crouching carefully, Antihero scanned the area with his M4 iron sights before moving tactically in the direction of the barn. There were a few trees nearby... he was hoping that Avati would follow.

Suddenly there was a rush of bullets. A hailstorm of machine gun fire erupted all around them.

---

From an unknown and unseen distance (though a considerable one) and hidden behind a fog of war... a section of the Mafia's battle squad was deployed. From various prone positions, they deployed a large number of M249 SAW light machineguns and were now heavily suppressing the two vigilantes without much battle vision. The objective of the suppression was not to hit them (since it was hard to see through the smoke and from so far) but to force them to stay in cover and unable to do much... whilst another force moved in for a flank.

---

Antihero

Antihero responded to the heavy suppression by leaping behind a tree and throwing himself down. He could smell the gunpowder as the air filled up with smoke and all around them, pieces of grass, dirt, and wood began to fly amidst the rising smoke of the relentless machine-gun volley.

We're going to get pinned.

He turned, hoping Avati had taken cover as well.

"Why do I get the sense that they've got a lot of ammo?" Antihero shouted over the cacophony.

---

Inside Lion's Den/The Vault
Under the Earth

Inside The Vault under the ground of the blood-soaked battlefield...

There was a vast, gigantic labyrinth of white corridors (all floors, walls, and ceilings were of a clinical white colour), several dozen locked rooms containing cells, power generators, high tech laboratories, and weapons storage (in addition to the general quarters of the thugs).

At the centre of it all was a large room full of control panels and two dozen rotating chairs, which served as the central command Lion's Den (AKA The Vault). There were a number of Mafia scientists but the one with the highest rank was none other than Dr. Pietro Gamgee, who had survived a most unfortunate earlier encounter with George Hamilton and weapon K-0032 (Kevin). He was wearing the exact same lab coat though his face looked considerably more tired, hardened, and lined. One of his hands had been replaced by a high tech metallic prosthetic, in effect making him a cyborg of sorts.

Days ago, the previous mob commander of The Vault had been replaced and Pietro was assigned here. Despite his failure to retrieve Kevin, the conniving scientist had managed to convince the Queen that he was still useful (and it helped that his father went further back with the High Table). After some setbacks on the important project here at The Vault by his predecessor, Gamgee was given command of the facility. The first thing he did was order massive reinforcements to the security. He saw that he was right to order more security cameras, though they weren't up in time for this blasted assault.

He turned to one of the officers. "How far away is the Metal Mage?"

"He's on his way. ETA 50 mins. I've also called in reinforcements from New York City; Gary Colombo himself will come in with the vans and the helis. Though they'll get here much much later. Hopefully we won't nee-"

"Take EVERY MEASURE."

He had underestimated K-0032 one time, he wasn't about to do so again.

[CoraSpia]

Kevin and George
Even without Lorelei sabotaging the Mafia's radio equipment, the trap that Kevin and George had laid was a crushingly simple and effective one. Kevin stopped firing as he was rushed by the now disorientated mafia fighters, there was no point in risking the always badly armoured George when the battle was already won. The man who had been lying flat to the ground rose as soon as the smoke did, his hands held out before him, fingers splaid.
"Good day boys and girls!" came a great basso roar, stealth entirely useless given his current plans, "Let's fucking play, shall we?" The hands shifted out biolently and at the widest point of their motion the ground growled before them.

What followed seemed like a scene taken from some fanciful religious text, not that the mafia's people would be there to tell stories about it. The very ground seemed to spit up rocks, driven by some localised wind into exposed faces and bodyparts. George stood there conducting, the screams of those hit lost beneath the screeching of the wind he had summoned and the complaints of the tortured Earth. When his hands dropped, a ghastly human charnel house was before him; 11 smashed bodies, lying amongst their weapons. With a contented smile across his face, Kevin climbed down from his tree to stand beside him.
"Squad neutralised," he reported calmly through the radio.

[Madrinpoor]

Antihero

Antihero considered Joe Avati. The vigilante had done his homework and he knew the profiles and history of all of his allies (at least what Tom knew and disclosed). Antihero could respect the conviction of a man who was part of the streets, was familiar with its horrors, and chose a higher path; he knew Avati was a very skilled fighter. Deep down, he knew he himself wasn't a self-made man (though his father wanted him to be). Whatever the vigilante had made of himself, he, Antihero had started in life with an unfair advantage.

He took Avati's comment regarding the bright colours in good stride.

"You make a fair point," Antihero said, "I really should work on that green variation. Nice kills by the way."

He noted the corpses in the vicinity.

Further gunfire erupted from around them, some of it close by.

"Let's advance towards that barn," Antihero said. It was best they stick to that plan.

Crouching carefully, Antihero scanned the area with his M4 iron sights before moving tactically in the direction of the barn. There were a few trees nearby... he was hoping that Avati would follow.

"There's no such thing as a nice kill." Avati muttered, following Antihero to the clump of trees.

Suddenly there was a rush of bullets. A hailstorm of machine gun fire erupted all around them.

---

From an unknown and unseen distance (though a considerable one) and hidden behind a fog of war... a section of the Mafia's battle squad was deployed. From various prone positions, they deployed a large number of M249 SAW light machineguns and were now heavily suppressing the two vigilantes without much battle vision. The objective of the suppression was not to hit them (since it was hard to see through the smoke and from so far) but to force them to stay in cover and unable to do much... whilst another force moved in for a flank.

---

Antihero

Antihero responded to the heavy suppression by leaping behind a tree and throwing himself down. He could smell the gunpowder as the air filled up with smoke and all around them, pieces of grass, dirt, and wood began to fly amidst the rising smoke of the relentless machine-gun volley.

We're going to get pinned.

He turned, hoping Avati had taken cover as well.

"Why do I get the sense that they've got a lot of ammo?" Antihero shouted over the cacophony.

---

Avati heard the rapid cracking of gunfire and dove down behind a rock, a few yards from Antihero, shielding his eyes from the debris flying every which way. There wasn't a whole lot they could do from this position, the gunner had them trapped. Avati crawled on his arms to a more secure position a couple feet away, protected from the gunfire by a rock and protecting his left flank by another rock. Avati took a little piece of paper and a pencil and wrote a note, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it to Antihero.

Our backs are safe. If anyone comes theyre shot by own mgs. If they come close they're shot by own mgs. Unless the guns stop nobody can get to us. If they stop we can run through the smoke. Radioing for help.

---

The radioes crackled with Avati's message.

"Me and---bzzt---Antihero pinn---bzt---hey are shooting with mgs---bzzt---to flank us. Need cover---bzzt---backside. By vault gate.

He turned off the safety of his gun and scanned the woods, at least what he could see with the dust. Damn, he thought, shoulda brought goggles.

[Infected Mushroom]

Tom Gabriels

Tom received confirmation from the radio that the western Mafia squad was down, courtesy of George and Kevin.

Seventeen take downs? I knew we were going to need some magical firepower.

Tom had dispatched a couple of hostiles with his sniper with long range shots, but it was time to re-position. Antihero and Avati were further ahead and it would be impossible to cover them without re-positioning. Just as the thought occurred to him, Avati's dispatch came in:

"Me and---bzzt---Antihero pinn---bzt---hey are shooting with mgs---bzzt---to flank us. Need cover---bzzt---backside. By vault gate.

That's not good. Signal's overstretched. I better act quickly.

Stealthily, Tom retreated from the bush on top of the hill and began to rush away, slinking into the green and disappearing. He wasted no time in re-adjusting the direction he faced and rushing forward; his movement was trained such that he took full advantages of the tall grass, brushes, and nearby trees. There were many many hills and he had them all mapped out and pre-memorized, he had an estimate on the best hill to cover Antihero and Avati.

As he moved around, he radioed Shiroi:

"This is Gabriels. Tell Lorelei her signals disrupt worked. Western squad has been completely eliminated 17-0. I'm moving forward to cover Antihero and Avati. Take your squad and move out to cover Steve Johnson."

Shiroi's voice yelled back wildly: "Aye Aye!"

The day is young and yet the grass is already soaked with blood...

---

On the highway
Hours away...

Across three separate highways in a very coordinated fashion, over fifty armed vans were travelling at a very high speed; all of them were armoured and were painted with dark colours. Above the lines of armored cars (inside each sat large forces of heavily armed gangsters), large forces of black helicopters were in the sky. These passengers formed a very large combined Mafia army consisting of fighters from all the NYC crews... Literally close to five hundred gangsters were on the way whether sitting in the vans or flying in by air.

Clearly the Vault mattered to the Queen, such that virtually an entire third of her entire army in New York was sent out on such short notice and in paramilitary formation, having planned for this very contingency somehow. The destination was clear: Reinforcement of the Lion's Den.

Leading this entire task force was a particularly smug Gary Colombo, "Lord of New York," an unnaturally tall and brutish individual in a grey suit and a scarred face sitting in one of the vans at the very front. A number of other mob commanders were inside the other vans as well, but Colombo would call the shots. He smoked a Cuban cigar liberally from the front seat as his driver manoeuvred the wheel. Gary spoke into the radio:

"Your Highness, you'll be pleased to know... the operation is in full swing and we are heading in at top clear speed. Kevin, the traitor George and whatever shit allies they've gone... they're gonna be HISTORY."

---

Fast approaching The Vault
Vel Kazo

However, there was another threat fast approaching from high high high above and it would get there much sooner. Across the endless scenery of pine trees and mountains, a lone figure was flying across on a high-tech futuristic grey-blue steel glider at a fearsomely high speed. The glider was strange in that it didn't seem to be jet-powered, instead, it was somehow travelling forward, as if powered by some kind of magical force or unseen futuristic tech.

The person who rode that strange glider with perfect balance was wearing a pinstriped suit like a gangster, a purple-coloured cape was attached to his neck... billowing in the back as he zoomed through the skies. His face was completely encased in dark grey, steel from all angles though lots of messy dark hair sprouted out from the top. His "facial features" if that's what they were, resembled those of a grinning jack-o-lantern carving. Large, half-moon shaped evil eyes were carved where eyes should be... they gleamed with a bright, menacing yellow-orange glare. The mouth was carved like a grinning pumpkin head with jagged teeth... again gleaming with malevolent, all-consuming light. He did not appear to have a nose or ears. Somehow his eyes and mouth seemed to grow brighter and hotter by the second, though somehow the heat was restricted and contained to perfectly form the appearance of a face. As he flew by, his hands were balled into fists, they were encased in gleaming metallic power gloves of some kind. A futuristic utility belt with unknown gadgets hung around his trousers.

This was Vel Kazo, the Mage of Metal and Vanguard of Destruction, and he had heeded the calling of the Lion's Den. One of the Mafia's most powerful weapons would soon be in play.

They will be no match for my magical power. Soon, I shall be immortalised in history amongst the highest bastions of the gods... Oh what gleeful destruction awaits.

Vel Kazo was not yet in play, but he was fast approaching.

---

Antihero

The machine-gun fire continued to rain down against them. However, for now the trees and the rocks provided protection for him and his ally Avati, though there was no guarantee for how much longer. Well... at least Avati had radioed in the reinforcements. Even amidst the suppression, Antihero tried to listen out for any footsteps though it was difficult. The vigilante kept his M4 raised, ready to fire should any mobster make a clear showing.

After a few minutes, a series of deafening cracks echoed across the forest. The machine gun fire seemed to slow down... some of the guns were being silenced.

Tom you devil...

---

From another hill overlooking the hill, Tom Gabriels opened fire with his sniper on the mob machine-gun nest with the accuracy and wrath of an avenging angel. One by one they fell as Tom began to silence the guns with long range shots.

---

As the machine-gun fire began to subside, the Mafia flank finally attacked. A force of seven goons rushed in from the side of the forest towards Antihero and Avati. Antihero wasted no time in turning and shooting, all whilst maintaining prone position to maximise cover as possible.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Despite carrying an automatic weapon, Antihero shot in single rounds, favouring accuracy and trying to make every single round count.

The mobsters fired back, many of the armed with AKs but they began to fall one by one; they were demoralised that somehow the machine-gun fire had stopped and Antihero's accuracy was unrelenting.

---

Paul Lacrosse

Shiroi turned to face Lorelei Martin and Paul, Paul looked particularly pale.

"Alright guys," she said, unsheathing her large gleaming katana and raising it high into the air. "Now is the time for action. We head to the northeast to reinforce Steve."

Paul had heard a flurry of movement. Responding, he turned and saw two gangsters walking in from about 50 meters out (SOMEHOW these few goons had snuck here). Without hesitation, Paul opened fire with his MP5 at them but because he was spraying at them on full auto, his accuracy wasn't that good. He soon emptied his entire clip, only managing to hit one gangster on the shoulder. The other gangster was shooting back with a hunting rifle. A bullet cracked by Paul (nearly killing him) and taking off a huge chunk of a tree's branch.

"FUCK!" Paul cried as he threw himself down into the grass. He looked around, somehow Shiroi had disappeared. Where did she go?

In a state of panic, Paul struggled to reload his MP5. The surviving mobster was approaching as he clicked his rifle, soon, he was going to be much closer. The other gangster was still in play, though wounded in the shoulder. A third gangster was emerging from a group of trees and joined them, he carried a second rifle.

---

In yet another section of the battle, Steve Johnson stood victorious, with five confirmed kills around him. Despite his controversial shoot and stab fighting style, he had somehow managed to emerge victorious due to his speed and calculated dodges. There was in part an element of luck as well because the mobsters were distracted by sniper fire and were facing the wrong way since they were calculating to hunt for Antihero instead (a flank from Steve, especially from this far to the east was unexpected).

Steve could smell the gunpowder and blood. He had just received radio confirmation that Shiroi, Paul, and Lorelei were trekking out to reinforce him. At present, he could see no more hostiles around him.

[Kaledoria]

Lorelei was out of clever ideas. Her drone could not even spot the ground here through the treetops, so she just ordered it to fly high out of gun range, hover and watch out.

When Paul emptied his sub-machine gun, Lorelei took cover, just as he did a moment later. She cleared the display of her glasses because it came down to low tech as she drew the gun she had borrowed from Kevin. She had shot a lot at the shooting range when she had arrived in the States. More as a rite of initiation then actual combat training but her body remembered the moves. She pressed her left shoulder against the tree she used for cover. The left arm sideways against the right tree side, palm up, it was a stable rest for the gun she held in her right. As she saw the first goon through the foliage she aimed center of mass and fired twice. She overcompensated the recoil on the first shot and it went low, into the gangsters hip, while the second shot went off to far to the right and missed entirely. Still, it caused him to scream and drop down, too. From prone position he fired into Lorelei's direction.

The young woman, too, dropped to the ground and (much in imitation of other members of her team) robbed to the next tree. When she got up to fire another shot at the guy who was still giving cover fire at her old position, she saw another gangster through the foliage. Keeping down the panic, she gave three shot in this third gangster's direction. He did not scream, and he vanished in a controlled movement to the side instead of down, so she had probably missed him, Lorelei assumed before herself taking cover again and crawling into a new position.