Post by Tzuvachyysh on Oct 9, 2017 3:03:23 GMT
<[ The conclusion to The Shadow Behind The Walls ]>
Enforcers surrounded the crumbling stack, not just on the ground but also in the air, and watching from buildings on all sides. There were no chances being taken on this mission. It'd taken time to move all the personnel and equipment into position, including but not limited to: clearing out the streets, alleys, and structures surrounding the condemned building, setting up sensor arrays, and taking observations. Attempts to enter with drones were futile, and either contact abruptly ended soon after entry or nothing could be discerned without breaking cover.
Multiple heat signatures were visible on the first floor as the hour ticked down, drones hovering around the windows; strangely, most were either blotted out or inaccessible, covered over in one manner or another, albeit not by methods out of the ordinary. Images and records received from their agent on the inside had been sketchy; few had survived their transmission, leaving blurred messes and garbled audio that no amount of cleaning up nor enhancement could decipher. It was painfully clear that something unusual was going on, but as they hadn't any contact in three days, and presumed them either dead or apprehended.
One battalion of Enforcers stacked up at the front door, prepping breeching charges. Drones sent into the first floor were the only ones that had survived, although one or two lost contact within several minutes. As far as those observations showed, the lobby was clear -- except external sensors conflicted with this data.
Once primed, the agents yanked on gas masks and broke into a flurry of action in short order: disruption devices were tossed through available windows on the first floor, suppressing any supernatural powers that might be warping reality; these were followed closely by gas cannisters, filling the lobby and adjacent rooms with a choking fog that should incapacitate most living things in the room; finally, the aforementioned charges blew the doors off their hinges, and two by two they entered to sweep the place.
The lobby looked much as it had for a while, albeit with a few changes; for one, a card table had been set up in the middle of the area, with three figures seated around it and a terribly-aged tea set laid out upon a frayed tablecloth. On the left, the ungainly boy Doppler; to the right, the young agent Jessie and her mutt -- front and center, a wide-eyed girl sat, dressed in (once lavish) gothic attire, with tattered frills and threadbare cloth.
Both boy and girl appeared trussed up but unharmed, with Jessie looking to be in much better condition than she had been as of her last report -- almost whole, in fact. Unfortunately, both appeared to also be choking upon the gasses tossed through the window. The stranger, though, merely giggled to herself. "Oh my! Such rude guests! All they needed to do was kno--"
She didn't get to finish her sentence before a taser slammed into her chest, sending enough voltage to incapacitate a horse coursing through her tiny, shrivelled frame. The shock was sufficient to send her sprawling from her seat, upending the table in her frantic spasming as the charge abruptly cut off; her giggling only got worse as she was surrounded and sacked.
Possibly expecting her to be subdued, one of the agents was abruptly bitten on the hand by the lanky girl, though it didn't go through his glove. That was quickly resolved as a bite guard was forced into her mouth, her limbs roughly jerked behind her back to be handcuffed, and her throat clasped in a neck brace of some sort, before being hefted out of the lobby and into an awaiting van.
The "hostages" weren't treated much worse, although they both received respirators to cleanse their lungs of the choking fog. However, neither were released, instead being lead to adjacent cars as monitoring equipment was setup inside the building and exploration teams were sent deeper inside.
Unfortunately, the place seemed to have been cleaned out. There were no anomalous properties, aside from faint energy readings (which could be the machines malfunctioning), no strange or dangerous creatures to be found; even the layout matched standard building specifications, though perhaps a bit too closely. For all intents & purposes, it seemed as though the building was just one of dozens from the surrounding area. Whatever alterations had occurred, they had been undone in a remarkable space of time -- or perhaps they had never happened at all?
As the van drove away, Maggy hummed to herself a little tune she'd once heard on the radio -- at least, before she'd smashed the thing for spitting obscene chattering from beyond Time & Space. Just the thought of new adventure made her giddy, especially after being cooped up in that dirty place for so long. Surely wherever she was taken would have plenty of suffering and agony to wallow in!
So what if it was some "inescapable" prison of DOOOOOOM!!? She was going to have so much fun with her new toys! What wasn't there to look forward to?
Multiple heat signatures were visible on the first floor as the hour ticked down, drones hovering around the windows; strangely, most were either blotted out or inaccessible, covered over in one manner or another, albeit not by methods out of the ordinary. Images and records received from their agent on the inside had been sketchy; few had survived their transmission, leaving blurred messes and garbled audio that no amount of cleaning up nor enhancement could decipher. It was painfully clear that something unusual was going on, but as they hadn't any contact in three days, and presumed them either dead or apprehended.
One battalion of Enforcers stacked up at the front door, prepping breeching charges. Drones sent into the first floor were the only ones that had survived, although one or two lost contact within several minutes. As far as those observations showed, the lobby was clear -- except external sensors conflicted with this data.
Once primed, the agents yanked on gas masks and broke into a flurry of action in short order: disruption devices were tossed through available windows on the first floor, suppressing any supernatural powers that might be warping reality; these were followed closely by gas cannisters, filling the lobby and adjacent rooms with a choking fog that should incapacitate most living things in the room; finally, the aforementioned charges blew the doors off their hinges, and two by two they entered to sweep the place.
The lobby looked much as it had for a while, albeit with a few changes; for one, a card table had been set up in the middle of the area, with three figures seated around it and a terribly-aged tea set laid out upon a frayed tablecloth. On the left, the ungainly boy Doppler; to the right, the young agent Jessie and her mutt -- front and center, a wide-eyed girl sat, dressed in (once lavish) gothic attire, with tattered frills and threadbare cloth.
Both boy and girl appeared trussed up but unharmed, with Jessie looking to be in much better condition than she had been as of her last report -- almost whole, in fact. Unfortunately, both appeared to also be choking upon the gasses tossed through the window. The stranger, though, merely giggled to herself. "Oh my! Such rude guests! All they needed to do was kno--"
She didn't get to finish her sentence before a taser slammed into her chest, sending enough voltage to incapacitate a horse coursing through her tiny, shrivelled frame. The shock was sufficient to send her sprawling from her seat, upending the table in her frantic spasming as the charge abruptly cut off; her giggling only got worse as she was surrounded and sacked.
Possibly expecting her to be subdued, one of the agents was abruptly bitten on the hand by the lanky girl, though it didn't go through his glove. That was quickly resolved as a bite guard was forced into her mouth, her limbs roughly jerked behind her back to be handcuffed, and her throat clasped in a neck brace of some sort, before being hefted out of the lobby and into an awaiting van.
The "hostages" weren't treated much worse, although they both received respirators to cleanse their lungs of the choking fog. However, neither were released, instead being lead to adjacent cars as monitoring equipment was setup inside the building and exploration teams were sent deeper inside.
Unfortunately, the place seemed to have been cleaned out. There were no anomalous properties, aside from faint energy readings (which could be the machines malfunctioning), no strange or dangerous creatures to be found; even the layout matched standard building specifications, though perhaps a bit too closely. For all intents & purposes, it seemed as though the building was just one of dozens from the surrounding area. Whatever alterations had occurred, they had been undone in a remarkable space of time -- or perhaps they had never happened at all?
As the van drove away, Maggy hummed to herself a little tune she'd once heard on the radio -- at least, before she'd smashed the thing for spitting obscene chattering from beyond Time & Space. Just the thought of new adventure made her giddy, especially after being cooped up in that dirty place for so long. Surely wherever she was taken would have plenty of suffering and agony to wallow in!
So what if it was some "inescapable" prison of DOOOOOOM!!? She was going to have so much fun with her new toys! What wasn't there to look forward to?
