The parking garage looks harmless from a distance. It’s a four story structure, colourful tarps and blankets draped over the outside, making seeing whats happening inside impossible. There’s activity by the front door, and when you focus on that, the picture becomes far more sinister: the glint of a sniper rifle scope, armor beneath orange and purple garments. They are prepared for enemy action.
Cassandra Havelock lies on a nearby rooftop, frowning and holding a set of binoculars up to her freckled face.
Blake approaches in a crouch, lying down next to her. She sees he brought a black rifle with a scope and silencer.
“Innocent hippies, huh?”
Cass growls. “Oh, yeah, it’s a fuckin’ meeting for peace and happiness and stopping climate change down there. Bet you anything they got Bee smoke. Also, additional bet, they try to use hostages to play with our hearts. How you want to handle this?”
“We bait and switch. You get down there, ready to charge. I’ll engage the snipers from up here. You then go in the door, doing what you do best.” He reaches into his coat and removes the zip line launcher she may remember from Twin Falls. “I’ll then come in from the top. Maybe we can ruin their hostage plans that way.” He pauses for a moment, his Aviators on her face. “Be careful, Mrs. Havelock.”
“I’m always careful.” Cass grins. She stands and hops off the edge of the building, like she’s simply stepping off the bottom stair of a staircase. You have a couple of minutes before the Havelock Train of Chaos starts.
As she approaches the door, Blake raises the M39 rifle and takes aim at the first sniper. He may not be as good as long distance as a trained man like Ethan, but hunting all his life, at up to 500 meters he’s almost a crack shot. He squeezes the trigger, sending the heavy .308 round towards the enemy’s face. If he confirms a fall, he seeks the next target.
The two guards at the entrance go down, their rifles clattering to the ground. Two shots, two kills. You see a bright green light spark at the entrance, and a woman yelling. “HEY, MOTHERFUCKERS, IT’S HAVELOCK IN THE HOUSE -”
That’s as good a signal as any, you suppose.
Blake slings the rifle across his back, next to the sword, and fires off the zip line. Holding on to the handles, he leaps down, whizzing across the cable swiftly. Once on the other side, he draws his pistols, looks for a stairway, and tries to make his way down silently. He hopes to surprise any hostage takers from behind.
A man in grey and purple robes is trying to herd the children and non-combatant spouses of the Dawnbreak up the stairs. They are resisting. “Come along now, we’ll keep you safe -” He croons.
Blake raises the left-hand pistol and as he walks, shoots him 3 times, aiming high on his back.
The Dawnbreaker goes down. As he falls, you see something on his belt -
Anti-Bee grenades.
Blake curses under his breath as he crouches down, grabs them, and clips them to his harness under the coat. “Get to the roof,” he says curtly. “Cops will be here soon.” He then continues down the stairs, towards the sound of combat.
They look at you with wide eyes and then rush past you, being herded by their mothers and fathers. As you head down the stairs, you realize Cass has drawn most of the combatants to her.
You hear her shouting and the sound of gunfire, but beyond that, it’s impossible to tell what’s going on.
Do you take your time and scour the place for information, or go help her clean up?
Since he can’t tell whether they deployed gas against her, Blake can’t take the chance. He would otherwise have preferred to search the place first. Growling, he makes his way down the stairs.
The first floor is where the action is happening. Cass Havelock has her back pressed against a wall, face a bit pale. She grins at you as you come down. “Hey!” She says. “I uh. Hmm. Could use an assist, I guess.”
She peeks around the corner and fires her SCAR.
If you look beyond the wall, you can see a good twenty or so Dawnbreakers, armed, coming closer. They’re armed - mostly with melee weapons, but a few rifles. And, of course, the Bee smoke grenades.
They seem to think they have Cass pinned down and relatively helpless.
Blake vaults over the banister, landing easily on the floor. He begins walking toward the Dawnbreakers, firing both pistols at their backs as he approaches. Cass sees that instead of firing wildly, he’s as usual controlled, one pistol at a time, making each shot count. The .45 rounds hit hard enough that even wounds should knock them down.
The first wave of Dawnbreakers goes down, and Knight-Captain Havelock peeks above her cover and fires with the SCAR again, taking a couple more down. The rest weigh their odds, consider, and begin to run. One of them throws a Bee smoke grenade at their own feet, hoping that Blake and Cass won’t want to move through the smoke in pursuit.
The man is wrong. Jericho takes three running steps, then goes airborne in a flying kick that takes him through the smoke, his foot impacting the grenade thrower in the middle of the back. He holsters the empty pistols and draws his sword. “You either drop face down to the ground and wait for the police, or you all die.” His voice is cold, and outwardly there’s no sign the gas affected him.
“D-Dawnbreakers, I - I command you - to preserve our lives. It is what Mother Fleming would want.” He gets down on his hands and knees. “Sir, I am Father Ricardo Luis, and there - I am the man who controls Dawnbreak personel in the area. Welcome to our humble church.”
Cass ambles over, still coughing a little. “You always shoot at new visitors to your church? You always drug them, asshole?”
“Keep them covered, ma’am. I’m gonna take a look around.” Blake returns the sword to its scabbard and reloads his pistols. He then heads back upstairs to see what he can find.
There’s a letter from Mother Ruth Fleming amid papers with grocery lists, rosters, and supply run details.
Luis,
We need to keep them on the back foot. See if we can scrounge up blackmail. The Havelocks, Maris, Willis, Blake - the usual suspects. We don’t need to discredit them to their respective orders - just their peer group. Strip away their popular support. Convince their friends that they are up to infidelity, struggling with alcohol problems, anything. Use Reeves - man has experience.
I will be in the city next week. Prepare for my arrival.
Mother Fleming
Blake pockets it then returns downstairs to Cassandra. He taps the headset as he goes. “Operator. Send the cops. We got them on illegal weapons, child endangerment, and possibly kidnapping.”
“Really? The civilian police?” Cass raises her eyebrows.
“THis is New York,” he shrugs. “Got some news, but its gotta wait til we’re rid of them.”
“Sure. I guess things work differently in the Big Apple. Should I skedaddle, clean up?” Cass gestures at herself. “I stink of smoke and blood. We can get lunch or something when you’re done dealing with the po po, though.”
He nods. “Good work. You all right?”
She laughs. “Fine. Thank you. The more I train with you, the more confident I am without ...” She chews on the inside of her cheek for a moment. “Look, it wasn’t a repeat of West Virginia, right? That’s a win.”
“OK. Before you go... “ He shows her the letter.
Cass’s smile fades and she tighens her fist around the letter, crumpling it. “Piece of shit asshole motherfucking turd sucking -”
“Why mad? This is just another opportunity.”
“Opportunity?”
“We know where she’ll be.”
Her eyes brighten. “Yes. I call dibs.”
Blake gives a small smile and nods.
“Wow. You’re giving me King and then Fleming? You’re a generous man, Mr. Blake.”
He shrugs. “It’s all about getting the job done, Mrs. Havelock.”
“Pfffffffft, nah, it’s because you’re a nice guy.” Cass grins. “Alright. You take care of things on your end. You don’t need a Templar hanging around complicating your report. Keep me updated on Fleming, OK?” She salutes. “Anything else I can do before I get out of your hair?”
“I’m all set, ma’am. Heard anything from Mr. Havelock?”
Cass checks her phone. “He and Grace just wrapped up at the gym. Uh. Shit.” She taps on her phone some. “They had - wow. A forge creating some sort of ... sludge based off anti-Bee gas and... human... flesh.”
“What? What for?”
“It’s supposed to be the next step in fighting us, apparently. Bees, I mean. CHRIST, I FUCKING HATE CULTS SO MUCH.”
“Let’s see if we put an end to this one, then.” He nods. “You wanna kill a snake, you gotta take the head.”
“I dunno.” Cass sighs. “We took out King. Look at where we are now.” For a moment the Knight-Captain looks very tired, and very sad.
“We keep killing their leader. Until no one’s willing to lead them. Make sure they know whoever tries, will be dead.” The casual tone lets her know he’s dead serious.
“Sure.” Cass sighs and shoves her hands in her pockets. “It just... ain’t fun, anymore. I guess. Alright. I’ll see you later, Blake.” She turns to leave.
His only answer is a raised eyebrow. When was it ever fun?
Cassandra Havelock lies on a nearby rooftop, frowning and holding a set of binoculars up to her freckled face.
Blake approaches in a crouch, lying down next to her. She sees he brought a black rifle with a scope and silencer.
“Innocent hippies, huh?”
Cass growls. “Oh, yeah, it’s a fuckin’ meeting for peace and happiness and stopping climate change down there. Bet you anything they got Bee smoke. Also, additional bet, they try to use hostages to play with our hearts. How you want to handle this?”
“We bait and switch. You get down there, ready to charge. I’ll engage the snipers from up here. You then go in the door, doing what you do best.” He reaches into his coat and removes the zip line launcher she may remember from Twin Falls. “I’ll then come in from the top. Maybe we can ruin their hostage plans that way.” He pauses for a moment, his Aviators on her face. “Be careful, Mrs. Havelock.”
“I’m always careful.” Cass grins. She stands and hops off the edge of the building, like she’s simply stepping off the bottom stair of a staircase. You have a couple of minutes before the Havelock Train of Chaos starts.
As she approaches the door, Blake raises the M39 rifle and takes aim at the first sniper. He may not be as good as long distance as a trained man like Ethan, but hunting all his life, at up to 500 meters he’s almost a crack shot. He squeezes the trigger, sending the heavy .308 round towards the enemy’s face. If he confirms a fall, he seeks the next target.
The two guards at the entrance go down, their rifles clattering to the ground. Two shots, two kills. You see a bright green light spark at the entrance, and a woman yelling. “HEY, MOTHERFUCKERS, IT’S HAVELOCK IN THE HOUSE -”
That’s as good a signal as any, you suppose.
Blake slings the rifle across his back, next to the sword, and fires off the zip line. Holding on to the handles, he leaps down, whizzing across the cable swiftly. Once on the other side, he draws his pistols, looks for a stairway, and tries to make his way down silently. He hopes to surprise any hostage takers from behind.
A man in grey and purple robes is trying to herd the children and non-combatant spouses of the Dawnbreak up the stairs. They are resisting. “Come along now, we’ll keep you safe -” He croons.
Blake raises the left-hand pistol and as he walks, shoots him 3 times, aiming high on his back.
The Dawnbreaker goes down. As he falls, you see something on his belt -
Anti-Bee grenades.
Blake curses under his breath as he crouches down, grabs them, and clips them to his harness under the coat. “Get to the roof,” he says curtly. “Cops will be here soon.” He then continues down the stairs, towards the sound of combat.
They look at you with wide eyes and then rush past you, being herded by their mothers and fathers. As you head down the stairs, you realize Cass has drawn most of the combatants to her.
You hear her shouting and the sound of gunfire, but beyond that, it’s impossible to tell what’s going on.
Do you take your time and scour the place for information, or go help her clean up?
Since he can’t tell whether they deployed gas against her, Blake can’t take the chance. He would otherwise have preferred to search the place first. Growling, he makes his way down the stairs.
The first floor is where the action is happening. Cass Havelock has her back pressed against a wall, face a bit pale. She grins at you as you come down. “Hey!” She says. “I uh. Hmm. Could use an assist, I guess.”
She peeks around the corner and fires her SCAR.
If you look beyond the wall, you can see a good twenty or so Dawnbreakers, armed, coming closer. They’re armed - mostly with melee weapons, but a few rifles. And, of course, the Bee smoke grenades.
They seem to think they have Cass pinned down and relatively helpless.
Blake vaults over the banister, landing easily on the floor. He begins walking toward the Dawnbreakers, firing both pistols at their backs as he approaches. Cass sees that instead of firing wildly, he’s as usual controlled, one pistol at a time, making each shot count. The .45 rounds hit hard enough that even wounds should knock them down.
The first wave of Dawnbreakers goes down, and Knight-Captain Havelock peeks above her cover and fires with the SCAR again, taking a couple more down. The rest weigh their odds, consider, and begin to run. One of them throws a Bee smoke grenade at their own feet, hoping that Blake and Cass won’t want to move through the smoke in pursuit.
The man is wrong. Jericho takes three running steps, then goes airborne in a flying kick that takes him through the smoke, his foot impacting the grenade thrower in the middle of the back. He holsters the empty pistols and draws his sword. “You either drop face down to the ground and wait for the police, or you all die.” His voice is cold, and outwardly there’s no sign the gas affected him.
“D-Dawnbreakers, I - I command you - to preserve our lives. It is what Mother Fleming would want.” He gets down on his hands and knees. “Sir, I am Father Ricardo Luis, and there - I am the man who controls Dawnbreak personel in the area. Welcome to our humble church.”
Cass ambles over, still coughing a little. “You always shoot at new visitors to your church? You always drug them, asshole?”
“Keep them covered, ma’am. I’m gonna take a look around.” Blake returns the sword to its scabbard and reloads his pistols. He then heads back upstairs to see what he can find.
There’s a letter from Mother Ruth Fleming amid papers with grocery lists, rosters, and supply run details.
Luis,
We need to keep them on the back foot. See if we can scrounge up blackmail. The Havelocks, Maris, Willis, Blake - the usual suspects. We don’t need to discredit them to their respective orders - just their peer group. Strip away their popular support. Convince their friends that they are up to infidelity, struggling with alcohol problems, anything. Use Reeves - man has experience.
I will be in the city next week. Prepare for my arrival.
Mother Fleming
Blake pockets it then returns downstairs to Cassandra. He taps the headset as he goes. “Operator. Send the cops. We got them on illegal weapons, child endangerment, and possibly kidnapping.”
“Really? The civilian police?” Cass raises her eyebrows.
“THis is New York,” he shrugs. “Got some news, but its gotta wait til we’re rid of them.”
“Sure. I guess things work differently in the Big Apple. Should I skedaddle, clean up?” Cass gestures at herself. “I stink of smoke and blood. We can get lunch or something when you’re done dealing with the po po, though.”
He nods. “Good work. You all right?”
She laughs. “Fine. Thank you. The more I train with you, the more confident I am without ...” She chews on the inside of her cheek for a moment. “Look, it wasn’t a repeat of West Virginia, right? That’s a win.”
“OK. Before you go... “ He shows her the letter.
Cass’s smile fades and she tighens her fist around the letter, crumpling it. “Piece of shit asshole motherfucking turd sucking -”
“Why mad? This is just another opportunity.”
“Opportunity?”
“We know where she’ll be.”
Her eyes brighten. “Yes. I call dibs.”
Blake gives a small smile and nods.
“Wow. You’re giving me King and then Fleming? You’re a generous man, Mr. Blake.”
He shrugs. “It’s all about getting the job done, Mrs. Havelock.”
“Pfffffffft, nah, it’s because you’re a nice guy.” Cass grins. “Alright. You take care of things on your end. You don’t need a Templar hanging around complicating your report. Keep me updated on Fleming, OK?” She salutes. “Anything else I can do before I get out of your hair?”
“I’m all set, ma’am. Heard anything from Mr. Havelock?”
Cass checks her phone. “He and Grace just wrapped up at the gym. Uh. Shit.” She taps on her phone some. “They had - wow. A forge creating some sort of ... sludge based off anti-Bee gas and... human... flesh.”
“What? What for?”
“It’s supposed to be the next step in fighting us, apparently. Bees, I mean. CHRIST, I FUCKING HATE CULTS SO MUCH.”
“Let’s see if we put an end to this one, then.” He nods. “You wanna kill a snake, you gotta take the head.”
“I dunno.” Cass sighs. “We took out King. Look at where we are now.” For a moment the Knight-Captain looks very tired, and very sad.
“We keep killing their leader. Until no one’s willing to lead them. Make sure they know whoever tries, will be dead.” The casual tone lets her know he’s dead serious.
“Sure.” Cass sighs and shoves her hands in her pockets. “It just... ain’t fun, anymore. I guess. Alright. I’ll see you later, Blake.” She turns to leave.
His only answer is a raised eyebrow. When was it ever fun?