RP: Neshaten [Division 5] - Case 01 - Nothing Lost is Nothing Gained

Not long after Cirillo acknowledged the order with a curt nod, a faint popping noise caught his attention and white smoke billowed out on the first floor. Below him looked like the view from an airplane when descending through wispy clouds. Soon that cloud overtook him as well and visibility plummeted. He fought his instincts to get out of there; that's what this person probably wanted. Either they wanted to force them into an ambush below, or for them to recklessly charge ahead.

Instead, Cirillo walked up a few extra steps to change his position. If the enemy memorized their locations before using the smoke, he'd be out of the way. Then he waited patiently, focusing intently on his hearing for now and trying to see how his squad mates would react.

"Fuck that," Hana answered as he rolled his shoulders. A hiss of pain escaping as he gave his SMG a one over. "I fucked up - I'm taking flak, Captain," He answered. Holding a brief moment of eyecontact with Leo before he turned on his feet. Nodding in agreement with Kyet. "On your command," he stated to Leo. Standard issue with a superior in the field, command fell to him. Though as Hana took point, the charred plating and cloth could be seen. And a vicarious liquid crawled down the shredded plating. And although he was more akin to a fox, the operator seemed to fight the pain akin a wolf. "There's no doubt more tripwires," he estimated as he formed up next to the charred doorway.

Graveyard

Leo looked between the two operators and nodded, he was glad they were keeping professional though that’s operator candidate screening for you. “Noted operators, be ready for ambush and more traps, you said the door was open before so the chances it’s trapped are low. Kyet open and swing it wide, we’ll cover.” Leo said, forming up beside Hana in a crouch, his own SMG pointed at the door handle which was on Kyets side.

The door was in fact safe, the nearest trap being to the immediate right upon entry, an impossibly hard to spot tripwire linked to an airgun hidden in a box. Not a lethal wound but painful none the less. Boxes were scattered further from the door, some stacks reaching the rafters 5 meters above. The black clad assassin waited, limbs entwined in netting to conceal his shape amongst the spider webs and beams. As their voices reached his ears a wide grin split his face, the Daur moved further around to the corner and waited on his haunches.

He’d make his move when opportunity presented itself.

Highrise

Adrea winced as the smoke went off and he was shoved upwards, not because of pain but because he’d hoped to engage on their terms. Regardless the commander moved up the stairs some and took a crouched position near Cirrilo, levelling his SMG.

With no movement at the door the Daur assassin silently opened the door and slipped into the smoke. Her form kept low and slid round the side, hugging the wall, the only sign someone was moving being small motions in the cloud. Soon enough she reached the corner and waited for a moment, trying to listen for any other movement. The sounds of boots before she’d opened the door indicated two on the stairs at least but three had come in.

In a moment of perfect clarity a glimpse of the black figure was shown to the keen eyes of Cirrilo as he watched the door. A glint off the blade giving away the weapon, which was now only a meter from the somewhat concealed figure of Arynn.

There's no time! Cirillo thought, trying to think of how to warn Arynn in half a second. He'd have to act himself.

Cirillo fired a few shots just in front of Arynn, aiming between her and where the assassin would be heading. He hoped this would distract them for just long enough. Cirillo then barely finished saying "cover me!" before vaulting over the railing. He aimed to fall directly where he estimated the enemy would be, hoping to knock them over.

Highrise

The few metal needles that flew through the air plinked harmlessly off of the stone wall creating a metallic pinging sound, the blackclad attacker faltered for a moment at the sudden sounds before barely sidestepping the falling form of Cirrilo, his gun still managed to catch her on the shoulder however sending the assassin stumbling backwards. The daur snarled and brandished her blade in a combat stance, crouching low and making a swing at the operators upper thighs aiming to injure his ability to dodge and move.

Now that she was facing the immediate threat her side was exposed to the smaller form of Arynn, though it was obvious this knife-wielding daur was keeping an eye on her surroundings, she knew there was more than one operator here and had to be careful of flank attacks.

Highrise

Arynn tensed up as Cirrilo's weapon piked towards her, ducking and moving away from the wall quickly. With a pair of clicks her flashlight was on, pointed horizontally and flooding the smoky room with blinding light. The helmets of the team would be able to adjust quickly - Sher'Meso just hoped that it was faster than their assailant. Not delaying, she blind-fired her own needler downwards, praying for a lucky kneecap-shot to cripple the blinded unknown.

Hana formed up with a nod. Waiting for Kyet to push open the door. Though battle-hardened as he was, the sting in his back was hard to ignore. Though he did so and stepped around the corner to the right. On edge as he trimmed his rifle at the surroundings. Almost missing the spot, though seeing a glint that was just out of place, he stopped in his tracks and raised a fist to make sure anyone following wouldn't crash into him or pass him, before pointing out the wire and getting closer to it. "Tripwire on me," he whispered through comms. Waiting just infront and holding his rifle trimmed - making sure to check his surroundings.

The force of the fall pulsed through Cirillo's body like electricity, stunning him for a brief moment. His wrist ached slightly; a good sign that he hit someone on his way down. The glint of the assailant's knife caught his eye a little later than he would have liked though. He pushed himself back with his lead leg, hoping it wasn't too late to get out of the way.

"I'll snip it~" Kyet spoke as the ex-agent silently padded forwards, her green and gold eyes scanning around before the wire caught her eyes, making the young operator's pupils contract as she swung the SMG to rest against one shapely, armoured hip - flicking back up to check the crack in the door before snapping to the wire once more, a small pair of wirecutters being pullet from Kyet's vest as she reached out to carefully snip the tripwire, "Cleared, ready to breach~" she quietly continued, rising back up to press her tail against the wall and shoulder the SMG, Kyet's tail hanging low as she prepared to breach.

Highrise

Adrea kept his gun trained on the assassin but didn't have a clear enough shot to take it from the stairs, mentally cursing himself he threw the gun down and rushed down the stairs to provide backup.

The sudden light threw off the aim of the assassin as she shielded her eyes, though not quite enough to miss altogether as the wicked blade slashed across the left thigh of Cirillo. The cut wasn't deep but it would sting for a bit, as the daur girl whipped around to slash at the source of the light several needles embedded themselves in her own thighs with a stray shot landing just above her hips. With a yelp of pain she tried to jump backwards away from the two operators and tripped over herself in a panicked frenzy. The girl scrambled around to try and keep moving towards the door despite the two operators that now had a massive advantage against her.

Meanwhile, the commander finally reached the bottom and moved to block the doorway. "Arynn restrain them, Cirillo are you hit?" he barked, his piercing gaze locked onto the daur girl on the floor.

Warehouse

"Alright, good work. Continue sweeping the building." Leo said, moving in last and closing the door behind them. It was easy to spot several more tripwires around and even easier to avoid them, anyone could tell they were placed there deliberately to draw attention or distract. Leo moved over to a nearby crate with its lid half pried off. "Empty here, check as we go."

Meanwhile their own stalker followed along quietly in the rafters, waiting for one of them to move slightly away from the others, that would be his time to strike. The daur hoped his partner was sticking to the plan over with that other group, they couldn't afford to fail this task for their boss or they'd end up wishing they had a bit more fur like a Laibe.

Around the warehouse were many stacks of crates and debris, some without lids and others that appeared unopened for years, a light further along tried desperately to fire up and remain on with its ancient globe, seemingly triggered by their entry into the room.

Highrise

"Just a scratch, I'll be fine," Cirillo called back. Once he was sure his teammates had the suspect watched carefully, he bent over and looked at the wound. It was a pretty shallow cut. He was glad to have taken it instead of something worse possibly happening to his partner. It wouldn't be good to just leave it exposed, he thought, fishing through his med pack for gauze and a small patch of medical dressing. With that and a small bit of disinfectant, he completed his hasty fix and readied his gun once again. The pain didn't bother him; on the contrary, it helped remind him he was here in the field.

Highrise

Arynn didn't waste time in pinning the weakened Daur to the floor, wrenching the blade out of her hand before cuffing her. "Suspect secured, but she's bleeding." The tiny, tiny operative wasn't actually sure if there was any blood - what she knew for sure was that their assailant had been shot more than once, and she'd rather make sure that they didn't lose a potential lead. Her light clicked off, once again plunging the room in comfortable, Neshie-friendly darkness. "She's secured and restrained. Who are you?" Arynn asked the Daur below her.

Hana held his rifle up, covering for Kyet as she went to work on the wire. Taking a delibirate moment to exhale softly and grunt. Before his colleague gave the OK. And so, the grizzled operator moved onwards with soft, silent footfalls. Making sure to press his heel down first, before slowly rolling over the sole of his foot. Making little to no sound. He glanced over at Leo, before at Kyet and gave a curt nod.


Without even a second of hesitance or fear, the operator broke formation and took point to close the distance between himself and the faint illumination. Trusting that Kyet and Leo realized to cover him. If they didn't, well, he wouldn't be around to complain about it. Though that was also the only retirement plan he had in mind.

Highrise

"Good work operators." Adrea said with a nod and a thumbs up, apparently having switched back to his laid back personality already as the Daur hopped back up the stairs to retrieve his own weapon.

"Heh, I'll never tell you anything bitch, and you're already too late, they knew you were gonna come here before you even did. You'll never get ahead of us." The girl spat at Arynn while stuggling on the floor, trying to kick anyone who was within range of her legs before letting out another yelp of pain. the needles embedded in her legs and waist wouldn't just disappear. "You and your fancy little group of trained killers, you're just dogs on the leash of the royals. You'll all be dead soon enough."

Adrea meanwhile had collected his gun and moved back over to the other two, looking down at their captured enemy with a smirk. Not so smart if they only sent the one person to stop them. "Arynn, contact HQ and get us a Prowler to pickup this one, it seems clear that we aren't going to be finding what we came here for. Deniska, you and I will probably have to drag her out of here, find something we can gag her with to avoid any unnecessary noise." The commander pushed his SMG to his back before roughly grabbing the left shoulder of the Daur assassin, drawing his pistol with his own left hand. "Guess it's handy they teach you how to use a pistol with both hands for times like these am I right?"

Warehouse

Leo saw Hana moving off towards the light and brought his weapon up, keeping an eye on the area around the other operator. Glancing back to Kyet he sincerely hoped she wouldn't also run off in another direction, he only had one of himself to cover them after all. "Anything interesting over there?" Leo half whispered half hissed towards Hana, checking another opened crate and still finding nothing.

The light continued to flicker in the ceiling above the Daur as he drew near, struggling to keep itself going. Around the dying light stood several stacks of boxes, slightly higher density compared to the rest of the space with several pathways between the boxes and plenty of potential hiding places. The boy in the rafters grinned to himself, one of them had broken off from the pack at last and now was his chance. Hopping around quietly the assassin moved to position themselves above Hana, taking a small rock from a pouch on his belt he flicked it down one of the pathways, the tight space would make it hard to use weapons and difficult to move around. The perfect ambush spot.

High Rise

"Roger," Cirillo replied, glancing around the stairwell for ideas on what to use. Noticing the cleaning cupboard previously used as cover by Arynn, he jogged over and yanked the doors open. He grabbed a roll of paper towels, then began to wad a few up as he walked back over.

"I might need your help getting her mouth open," he said, pressing the bundle against her mouth until they could force her jaw open enough. After, he pulled the roll of gauze out of his first-aid pack and wound it around her head a couple times to keep everything in place. Satisfied, he stuffed the medical bag away again and grabbed the assassin's right side, drawing his own pistol into his free hand.

"Ready when you are."

Hana exhaled a soft breath as he reached the flicker of lights, glancing at one of the crates, removing the lid and slowly lowering it to the side. Before passing a brief glance inside. However, the noise produced by a falling pebble causing the operator to be on edge once more. Glancing down the sights of his weapon as he exhaled a soft breath. "Noise," he whispered in response to Leo's query. If anything, it had ambush all written over it, with them already having set off a trap. But then again, they had to continue down the warehouse and make sweeps.

And so, the Daur considered his options briefly. Before stirring into motion once more. "Moving towards," he informed Leo, before stepping into what possibly could be his demise. With silent footfalls, keen senses and no less than his head on a swivel.

Highrise

Arynn was already contacting the D5 headquarters to send a status report. She nodded towards her in-charge. "This is operator Sher'Meso. We are requesting a prowler-type vehicle for prisoner-suspect transportation. Subject mentions knowledge of our plans, there may be a mole." She really hoped she was... Well, she wasn't sure if she wanted to be right or wrong. If she was right, then the enemy had infiltrated the very organization made to counter them, and so soon into her career. If she was wrong, then any number of security risks could exist... They might know her identity, and of her family, and worse...

Highrise

Adrea assisted in getting their captive sufficiently gagged before they set out, each of them only able to wield their sidearm if they wanted any accuracy. "Arynn, take point would you?" The commander said as though it was nothing more than a casual stroll in the park, flashing a toothy smile at the small Daur as the team entered the corridor once more.

"Copy that operator, a Prowler has been dispatched for asset retrieval, secure extraction site for arrival in 5 minutes."

The voice of an intelligence operator came back to Arynn through her earpiece after her voice was matched against the operator database and her identity confirmed. Meanwhile nothing seemed any different to when they'd come into the building a while earlier, the doors were all still closed other than the door their would-be assassin had come in from.

"Your concerns about a potential traitor have been noted and will be forwarded to the Director, if you have any names in mind don't share them. The Ai'Seru under command of Leo Ci'Rado will be debriefed upon your return with the Director present, inform the other members of this when you can."

As they spoke the doors of the nearest Division 5 district HQ were retracted to reveal the Prowler, a large ground vehicle by Neshaten standards with a low rumble to signal its departure. The glossy black side panels of the armoured carrier reflected the mid-morning sun lazily as the vehicle took off heading straight to the operation area. The driver keeping a sharp eye on the road, scanning for any signs of trouble on their trip while the gunner kept the sonic cannon pointed dead ahead, ready to react in an instant should they be threatened.

Warehouse

Leo barely had time to react to the information presented to him, Hana had moved out of sight between some boxes chasing a noise and potentially being baited into a trap, though at the same time it could all be a distraction to make him run after the other operator, leaving Kyet alone for just long enough that she could be a target. Deciding there was more open space where he and Kyet were and that the short female would be more than capable in a fight the captain rushed after Hana, those boxes would be a nightmare for fighting in-between.

As Hana ventured further in and out of sight the Daur in the rafters made his move, pulling out another knife he dropped down behind the operator aiming to drive his second blade into Hana's neck. Whether it was luck of the drunk or a higher entity delivering a miracle the assassin misjudged the angle by a hair's breadth, his knife deflecting off of the helmet as he dropped down and running a nasty slash down the operator's shoulder and back on his right side instead. Though the smaller Daur was thrown off initially he quickly recovered and lunged with both knives, not aiming to kill but rather to disable Hana and capture him, slashing at his legs while trying to put a blade to his throat and gain the upper hand.

There was a slight stagger of Hana as the knife scraped past his helmet. A flinch, mayhaps of being spooked all of a sudden, but he simply couldn't help but wonder why there was even the slighest lapse in his concentration. He should've heard it coming, hell, he had to know it was coming. It was all too convienient and the noise they set off with the trap would naturally alarm any foes in the building.

He fucked up.

All those thoughts slipped from his mind as he began to feel time slow. Turning on his feet, the SMG clattered to the ground. A dagger whizzed past his plated torso, there was the slightest tear of fabric. A knife was slipped from it's sheathe and a pistol was pulled up to favour close combat. Just in time for operator Karekhrabro to squeeze a round off, aimed for his assailant's shoulder, swiftly backstepping as he did so.

Highrise

"Please don't get too relaxed, sir," Cirillo chided politely. With one hand holding up the bound assassin, he leveled his pistol and scanned around them. Only one door had opened; the rest remained exactly as they left them.

"Sir, after we drop the prisoner off, I'd like to double back and investigate where she came from. Is that okay with you?" He wasn't sure he'd find much, but even just finding how she entered the building might give insight into her training. If they won the lottery, there'd be something more damning there, but Cirillo didn't get his hopes up.