Darker Than Black

[Anonymous G]

"I'm freaking sick of this weather." Roland grimaced. The downpour in the streets matched his disposition, it seemed to him at least that the city hated him as much as he it. The contractor looked across the empty apartment that was to be their base of operations for the foreseeable future and made a face at his doll, who only stared blankly back. Her unrelenting gaze sent chills down his spine - a relatively new sensation - and created an awkward eeriness throughout the room. "Geeze, would you stop doing that?" He asked.

"Yes" She said meekly, shifting her gaze towards the window next to him. A knock on the door broke her concentration and she slowly turned to see Roland already answering it. A man dressed in a suit and sunglasses stood in the hallway with a basket of fruit. Roland stuck his head out to check for anyone else in the hallway before turning to their new guest.

"'Mother' wanted you to have this house warming gift." He informed them, almost shoving the basket into Roland before quickly disappearing down the hall. Roland quickly shut the door and tossed an Apple towards Jamie before rifling through the wicker basket. After a second of picking through fruit, he retrieved two wallets and a letter from the bottom.

"This one's yours" Roland told Jamie before tossing the wallet at her. She let it fall to the ground before bending over to pick it up. Inside could be seen a student ID with her picture and a fake name on it along with two hundred dollars. "Your allowance, I guess." The contractor mused before tearing open the letter and dumping the contents into his hand. A set of car keys and an address spilled out, causing Roland's eyes to light up. He quickly stuffed them into his pocket and put on his coat and hat. "I'm going out, stay here and... not cause trouble." Roland announced.

"Yes." Jamie replied simply, moving towards a outlet in the wall.

[Tiger Sora]

Beads of water streamed down the diner window, Cortez sipped alittle more of his coke. 'Certainly never get used to this place' he thought. Afew minutes of blank staring passed before a large woman set down a plate of fries and a roast beef sandwich dripping with gravy. His mouth watered but he made no acknowledgment of receiving the food. Thats when a backhand his his arm and he looked up at the woman. "What no thank-you Rolonda, nothin"? Boy whats wrong with'chou". Cortez looked up "You know I don't like rainy days and I'm never cheerful on them". Rolonda pointed a hairs width from his nose "Boy you better brighten up around me or I'll chase your furry behind outa here with the broom like last time. Now do as your told and eat your food".
"Yes mam" was all he said to her, and he had to if he ever wanted to eat here again. Rolonda was like a mother figure to all the regulars which there were alot of. And you didn't give her no gruf else you were booted out like what she probably did to her own kids. His fangs dug into the sandwich and he was leaning so not to get gravy all over his chin. One he'd finished his food and drink Cortez quickly paid and left for the subway saying nothing when he left but giving an apologetic look.

Cortez boarded the train and sat next to a man wearing a trench coat and a hat nearly tucked over his eyes. After a brief ride and signals given they both departed at the same stop, Cortez picking up a note from the seat which no one noticed him do. He wouldn't read it there, way to dangerous, so he made for his apartment.

[Anonymous G]

As his footsteps echoed across the street, Roland slummed through the rain, cursing the frigged weather under his breath. It wasn't long before he reached the address that was indicated on the keys. There, in a near-empty parking complex, an unmarked white van sat patiently for his arrival. "Guess it was a little bit much to expect a new corvette or something." He chuckled to himself before rushing inside the garage to avoid the rain. It was there that he felt a shock of electricity run through his spine. Something was perhaps watching him, lying in wait in the shadows. Roland quickly shook off the thought, he knew better than to rely on gut feelings, or at least he tried his best to ignore them.

Roland jogged to the van anyways, fumbling with the keys before swinging open the driver's side door. After checking the sun visors and the glove compartment, he determined that there was nothing out of the ordinary in the driver cabin. The contractor quickly swung around to the back, surely there was a set of instructions hidden somewhere. He pulled the door open and peered inside the dark cargo bay, inside, next to a couple lock boxes was an overstuffed package bound by string. "Bingo" He whistled before producing a pocket knife from his coat pocket and cutting away the string. Out came a mobile phone and the keys to the boxes next to him. Before he had time to even put it away, the phone began to ring, prompting Roland to awkwardly accept it while struggling to grab the keys that had just fallen to the floor.

"I see you've found the car, Risk." A middle-aged woman spoke at the other end.

"I take it was you who was spying on me then?" Roland replied, noting the feeling he got earlier. He had an uncanny knack for spotting specters.

"Oh, you would know by now that I'm always watching." She retorted, giggling a bit. "There isn't much our Specters can't watch, my dear." Roland grimaced at the revelation.

"Creepy." He noted before opening up the lock boxes. "I bet you get a real kick when I'm in the shower."

"Quite. Now, you will note that all of your equipment is here and accounted for. The briefing and your current assignment are inside as well." The sound of paper being shuffled around occupied the space between conversation. "There are BSA agents operating in the area who are working the same assignment as us. I know it isn't like us to play nice, but do try and avoid any confrontations, we certainly don't need them to make our lives any harder than they already are."

"Copy that." He replied. With that, she hung up, leaving Roland to check over the assignment.

[Light_the_Wolf14]

Zeke walked down the alley way, the rain pouring on his head "Looks like I'm stuck in the rain again" he sighed to himself and looked around for somewhere dry at least "I gotta get outta the rain or I'll get sick" he thought and found what looked to be the remains of a building "I guess this is where I will sleep tonight..." he walked on towards it "It probably doesn't have a bed but ,hey, at least its dry" he thought and kicked a can

[Anonymous G]

Roland didn't waste time getting back to the apartment, dragging the foot-lockers upstairs with him. Reaching the base of the stairs, he almost bumped into another tenant. "Shoot, I'm sorry." Roland apologized, flattening himself against the wall so she could get through.

Her voice was almost a whisper, "No trouble at all," She responded before bowing. The tenant gave him a strange look before walking past.

"Huh..." Roland mused under his breath before hurrying up the stairs. When he arrived at the apartment, Jamie was still spacing out at a wall. She didn't turn to him, and only finally reacted when he carelessly dropped the boxes on the floor.

"Hey" She finally said in a muted tone. Roland patted her on the head, he thought about sending her off to buy some food, but decided against the idea knowing that she probably wouldn't know what to get or where.

"Let's get some food, yeah?" He asked. Hell, he wasn't even sure if dolls ate anything at all. She simply nodded her head and put on her coat. If there was anything about her that he liked, obedience was one of them.

After driving out to pick up Chinese food, Roland went through his mission briefs as he ate. The patter of the rain on the roof of the car was the only sound between the two as they slowly picked at their food. His briefs mostly contained bios on known Orion members, their abilities and behaviors, and their last known whereabouts. What interested him the most however was a meeting time between suspected Orion members and an unknown party. The information came with an unknown source and was indicated as unreliable by the brief, but it was as good of a start as any. He had several hours to kill beforehand, and filled the gap by purchasing some necessities and other items before dumping the doll at the apartment.

"Stay here, and don't open the door for anything." He informed her before equipping himself with the usual gear. He handed her a radio, preset to his frequency. "Keep me posted on any contractors nearby." Roland ordered before promptly leaving.

[Poliwirl100]

Xan sighed as he walked past some sort of appartment building, relentless as the rain to get where he was going. Today's job was all the way across the city and it was a simple 'fix my computer'. He fixed his coat so it'd keep out most of the rain "Lousy weather" he muttered as he continued walking through the downpour

[arinot]

Aisling sat in her apartment watching the TV.
It was off... it wasn't worth watching at this point. She'd been sent to New York to gather information on some group called Orion... what ever that was...

and her first order was to lie low. Why? who the hell knew...but she did as she was told.

The apartment was clausterphobic at best... it was more a studio than an apartment. She'd taken the time to close the blinds and ready her equipment, all of which was in a sports bag by her battery operated radio, which was currently playing soft postrock. the tones were much more calming than the hell that she'd gone through... well, she wasn't aware it was hell until recently, up to recently it was just a job.
"ughh..."
no... she didn't want to think about that right now... she just wanted to rest a bit... maybe eat a curlywurly? yeah, a curlywurly! Delicious caramel goodness ought to calm her down.

She opened her bag and moved past the weaponry and clothing, to find that all she had left was a few chocolate bars. She quickly remembered she'd eaten all her curlywurlies on the plane due to some of her nightmares caused by the turbulence.
"Dangunit!"
she turned and let her weight fall upon the wall, which creaked easily... even from her light body.
she stood a little longer before pulling her laptop out and finding the nearest convenience store. She was gonna have her curlywurly!
thankfully, there was one just around the corner, in stock too! she quickly grabbed her wallet, and her rod... just in case. She still had the logic that she could be trailed, even at that moment, and should be prepared. Orion was unpredictable at the moment and caution was necessary.

She practically burst out the door and was scurrying to the store. The cold bitter rain was quite annoying, and her jacket only shed so much... she was starting to get cold an... wait...
she felt her coat get warmer... followed by a bit of steam coming off her...
"M****NKEYC***KSH**FU**ONT****YF****KING FIRE"
she got a few looks, and coughed a few times.
"I got Toure... C***KMONKEYS... *ahem*... I'm so sorry... tourettes"
she grinned a kindly apologetic grin to the middleaged man nearest her.
"Hey! this is Brooklyn. Everyone has Tourettes"
she laughed, as to keep in the vane of things, and walked on. Her jacket keeping her warm in the cold unforgiving rain.

[Light_the_Wolf14]

Zeke looked around "No body around" he sighed and flickered out of sight before reappearing next to the building "That comes in handy" he smiled and reached into his pocket pulling out a butterfly knife which caused his smile to go away "But I hate the price" he flicked the blade, pulled up his sleeve, and made a cut on his arm

[Tiger Sora]

Cortez pulled back the curtain to one of his apartments window. The street was bare as far as he could see. "Wonder if I'll discover anything tonight". Closing the curtains to unwanted eyes, except any dolls, Cortez waked back to his desk. A bare wall held up behind it so nothing could be looking at his computer. For a small fraction of an hour Cortez scanned over files on his computer, before shutting it down. Cortez pulled his coat on and swiped his keys off from the desk. At the door he paused, fingering the handle of an umbrella. With a long sigh he locked up his apartment and slung the umbrella on his shoulder. 'I hate rain'.

[Anonymous G]

"Status" Roland hissed into his transmitter, crouched inside the foreman's office that overlooked the warehouse. He had slipped a couple 'watchdogs' on his way up, narrowly getting spotted by one of them as he slid into one of the windows of the office. There, he couldn't move around too much, as every step, every movement, and even every shift of his weight caused the boards underneath him to groan in objection. Still, he had no complaints, here he was, able to overlook the meeting and record as much as he wanted. While getting out could prove to be a problem, the heavy rain will finally prove to be useful for once.

"There are six contractors on the floor. Two with you on the second floor, three more on the roof." Jamie replied in a near-whisper.

"Any dolls?" Roland ask, which, thinking about it was actually a pretty dumb question.

"No." She answered quickly. Roland peeked around the corner to see the two contractors in question playing cards on the catwalk above. He was about to move to get a better look, but he was interrupted by a squeal of tires and the slamming of doors. "Two more are coming. A doll is with them." She informed him almost immediately. Roland's heart sank, but he had no choice but to stay put. He didn't know what the doll's specter was like, and it could be for something useless for all he knew.

[Poliwirl100]

Xan reached the man's appartment complex and was buzzed in. He reached the appartment and knocked before walking in. The whole place had the sweet smell of pot smoke and he gagged at the smell. The man on the couch led him to the computer "I bought it just the other day and tried to hook it up but it wouldn't work." Xan took a look at the back of the tower and sighed

"The cords are all wrong." He showed the man how to connect the wires properly and guided him through the start up programs.

TBC sorry

[Poliwirl100]

Continued

"Okay that'll be $20" Xan said as he finished setting up the last program when he heard the cocking of a pistol

"Let's negotiate the price" The man said as he held the gun to Xan's head.

"Seriously?" Xan asked

"I need that money for my grass." The man said before every thing became colorful. He began to see things that weren't there and everything was weird. Xan held out his hand "$50 for the hash." The man nodded and handed it over. Xan then rushed out and pulled out a pink marker.

[Anonymous G]

The new arrivals each had a very distinct look. One, a tall lanky man in a black suit with long silver hair, and the other an overweight, squat Irish woman with pale white skin. A camera dangled around her neck, a small accessory that seemed to contribute to an American tourist look. Between the two stood a young wolf boy wearing a simple tattered gown and carried a messenger bag. "The doll," Roland assumed as he moved to get a better look. The floor made muted groans at every step he took, making him cringe every time. Three men went to greet the three newcomers, each armed with sub-machine guns and wearing matching suits.

"Boss says that this is the real deal." One of the welcoming party piped up as he produced an unmarked compact disc. "Now, this makes us even." He put it back in it's case and stuffed it into a duffel bag that Roland couldn't see into. The man gently threw over the bag while still carefully training his sights on the three. Without inspecting it, the doll grabbed it and quickly retreated to the car, leaving the two contractors behind.

[Tiger Sora]

Cortez sidestepped a deep puddle in the middle of the sidewalk. A door burst open afew feet infront of him a small boy ran out carrying a bag and quickly entered a car. He made no move on it but this was defiantly the place he needed to be. To remain inconspicuous he carried on down the street and rounded a corner. Cortez grinned as he folded his umbrella "Finally the enemy makes it's first move known". The shadows melded and he dashed off down the road towards the car. The warehouse was probably full of all the contractors and goons so why not take the boy who was clutching that bag to his chest like a precious toy. 'Unguarded and weak my luck couldn't be sweeter, but I'll still have to find out what they're doing in there'.

[Anonymous G]

"Even?" Replied the tall, lanky contractor. "Surely you must be joking." He said while cracking a smile. The contractor's eyes light up as if he was using his powers. The entire room froze, but there was nothing to impregnate the silence. Finally one of the men took a few steps forward.

"As sure as a bullet to tha' head, bub." The suit barked. He slid back the primer of his glock and pointed it at their guests. "Now, I suggest you and the fatass leave before this negotiation turns ug-" He managed before the lady hymned a high-pitched note, with her power in full force, the man crumpled to the ground while clutching his chest. The entire room was taken aback as the man gasped for air for a few moments before falling silent on the ground.

"She killed Benny!" Cried one of the men before unloading his mp5 sub-machine gun on the two contractors. Immediately, a wall of concrete burst through the floor to stop the bullets. Using the distraction as a cover, Roland quickly slipped out of the hanger and confronted the contractor on the roof. He immediately put a shield around him before getting pelted by several bullets at once. The force knocked him off balance, making him fall off the roof and landing heavily on the ground. He rolled out of sight, and with the wind knocked out of him, he struggled to pull a piece of glass from his pocket.

"Chew." He commanded himself, ignoring the pain as much as possible while rolling out from cover again. This time, weapon drawn, Roland returned fire and hit the contractor square in the chest and neck. The man fell like a rock on the ground beside him, landing with a sickening thud. "I need to get to that package Jamie!" He radioed as he hobbled around the warehouse.

"A new contractor is currently in the area with the signature of SPN-2475, you don't have much time."

"Shit." Roland cursed before breaking into a full sprint.