Date - 07th December
Character Name - Near
Location - Promise City, Ct
District - Police Precinct, Brigderton
Time - 0135 (1:35PM)
Near has always believed not every hero in this world is true to their code, and for that reason he remains isolated and for the most part he believes the same for the police. He walked through the precinct, having completed his extra curricula activity. He passed Mary-Anne who was barking orders at one of the new interns, her brown eyes catching a glimpse of Eddie who walked past without a care. Naturally a vigilante with few friends would need plenty of places to use as a home away from home, and the precinct was one of them. Located behind the wall of the locker room. A small, but very comfortable work space, equipped with a metal table, a computer tower buzzing and flashing illuminating the whole space and a wall of monitors. All connected to his AI-N back home.
'Sunohara.'
['yea?']
Edward began to type on the glowing keyboard. It clicks with each key press.
'The Stretch. Tell me about it.'
['Originally an old mine used for mining coal back in the day, once the industrial age ended it was abandoned. And because this is Promise city, naturally the worst of humanity decided here would be the best place to all reside.']
'It's very possible for the Slayer to reside there too.'
Behind his computer terminal was a suit cache, like the one from the bank. Full of gadgets and Nears armour itself. Or one of the suits at the very least. The case was air tight and glowed a bright blinding blue.
'Have you upgraded the suit?'
[Obviously, its me remember?'] Sunohara said smugly.
'Hit me.'
['Titanium weave lining. Heat resistant. And most importantly, cold resistant.']
'Excellent.' Eddie said with a grin rubbing his hands together like a kid at Christmas.
['Oh, and a few little surprises for you to find.']
Edward began to suit up, piece by piece the black armour clicked into place. The old iron was replaced by Sunohara's newly created black kevlar armour.
['The new kevlar armour is reinforced by a titanium tri-weave layer, no need thank me. It's much better than the old iron armour you've used the last four years.']
Eddie scoffed as he finished equipping his wrist gauntlets.
'It did its job, didn't it?'
['Barely. My projections said you'd be injured within the first year. And you was.']
'And I'm sure it will continue.' Edwards black gloved metallic fingers continued to type on his illuminated keyboard.
*click clack click clack
'The Stretch is my next hunt.'
['Or you could check another lead, your police friends, they mentioned the Owl, why don't we see her?']
Using the terminal's multiple flat curved screens Eddie flipped through the two possible leads, both side by side, their positions pin pointed on the map of Promise City. Every district of the city had an entrance into the Stretch, but the Owl owned a club, which sat on the Promise City Bay's coastline.
['Or maybe we could just, I dunno, buy a ticket for Oakhaven, New England? Apparently it has a witch ghost that haunts the city…considered one of the most haunted places in America…']
'I highly doubt its haunted Sunohara.' Edward scoffed.
['Could be a fun trip away from this dump tho… only 4 hours on the I-95.']
'I'd rather not Sunohara. I don't want to trade one city for an allegedly haunted one.'
Near walked carefully onto the roof opposite the boarded up mansion, bright illuminating lights brightened the outside area of the stretch. Armed Guards, in pressed suits stood outside, heavily armed, they carried AK-47s openly, showing the scum of the hellish Stretch their more than ready for a fight. 'Hey, you think that killer has been down here with us all this time?'
'I hope not. I could never look at this place the same again.'
Near couldn't jump over the gap, there was an open road between the two buildings with lit street lamps, something unheard of within the Stretch.
The thugs were numerous. Near knew a direct assault would be pointless, painful even. And so he knew he needed to go in quietly. As he observed he noticed more and more well dressed thugs appeared with a high calibre rifle.
'The Owl doesn't play around.' he muttered to himself.
['Well she IS the underworld's gun runner, Ed.'] Sunohara chimed.
The street that the mansion sat on was rundown beyond repair, built into an old runway tunnel, the many indents used formerly as maintenance areas were now small hovels that residents of the Stretch could use for whatever nefarious business they had, so as long as they paid tax to the resident queenpin, the Owl. Her mansion was boarded up for sure, but everyone knew about the inside's splendor.
Near had gathered the battlepicture he needed, and so he leapt down into the shadows, he managed to make his way to the mansion's lower levels. Using a rusted falling apart, now frozen ladder that led into the mansion's moat. The mansion's lower level was its basement, it was wide and filled with wooden crates, the Owl's merchandise.
Near scanned the crates around him, his visor analysing their contents.
His visor alerted him with the following messages -
[Drugs - Positive. Weapons - Positive.]
He also scanned the manifest, lines and lines of text detailed receipts, names and locations.
'The Owl's been busy, Sunohara.'
['Clearly. I have copied the evidence into the AI-N database.']
'Good. Some of these names I will follow up on later on. I'm occupied at the moment.'
[Already saved and have a list of names for your next case file.]
'Nice work Sunohara.' Near stopped the transmission, and reserved himself to the shadows, slowly he observed and listened closely at the henchmen which gossiped, some were amusing particularly the stories about him.
'I shot him once…. But he just stood there and stared…. I think he's immortal.'
(These idiots think I am immortal. No, those wounds still hurt even now) Edward thought to himself as he slowly climbed the wooden beams that lined the basements, wincing in silence as the stitches of the previous night's patrol pulled his cold frost touched skin. After a moment of painful silence he reached an air vent, he could finally continue his infiltration of the mansion.
Now in the cramped dark vent, Near was crouched low, his metallic bootsteps tapped lightly as he navigated the tight corridors of the air vent. Along each stretch of the sheet metal wall were air ducts that looked out into the mansion's huge rooms. Nearby thugs wandered the halls, shivering from the cold air that filled the mansion's vast halls. The cream walls were adorned with portraits of owls, and of what the old Promise City used to look like.
'The Owl, she isn't happy'
'No she ain't, I guess the news of the Galan Sisterhood backing out of the deal pissed her off more than we thought.'
The two henchmen dressed in puffy black coats, hands in pockets, slowly paced the corridors, their words vapor.
'So now what?'
'Well, guess wars coming.'
'Just what we need…'
The two eventually came to the end of the corridor where two huge mahogany doors led to the dinner hall. Inside dozens of more thugs relaxed, some on their phones, some smoking, and some helping themselves to the laid out spread of fruit. In the far corner, on a platform presiding above the hall sat a classical band, playing their instruments to a fine, relaxing high class tune, the very air felt high class. Despite the music, the hum of many voices still dominated the hall. The henchpeople were all men, wrapped up against the cold air around them.
'You'd think Madam Owl would install some goddamn heating up in this bitch.'
'You know how she is with money, besides, the MegaCorps would just increase the rate for heating.'
Then a scoff followed by a drawn out chuckle.
'Hey man, last time a MegCo slapped the Owl with extra tariffs she kidnapped his adult son, branded him and cut off his fingers…. Hasn't happened since!"
Near listened in. Every conversation revealed more that was to know about the Owl.
(So the Owl isn't like the rest of them. She wages war against the Megacorporations if they overstep… I should tread a little more carefully… but not too much.) Near thought confidently, he watched closer, listened ever more intently. His blue eyes followed the crowd, people of interest? He focused on the most.
He noticed a particularly large man on one of the balconies. With two of the server girls either side of him.
'You know what ?.. that meta human from a few days ago… the speedster one… I almost beat him.' He said overly confidently, pulling the two girls closer.
'Really?' One purred, grazing his fat neck with her long spitefully sharp nails… clearly she was dangerous, but naturally so was he.
'Yeah. The punk was almost killed by me. He tried robbing the bank! Mama Owl sent me, her favourite son, to defend her property.' He grinned, leaning in for a kiss, the server girl smirked giving him a peck while the other watched on biting her lip.
'Must be stressful being Mama Owls' favourite… do you ever unwind?' The other cooed her voice like syrup but thick like poison.
(What a joke. He was the first to get flattened by Speedstar, I remember because I checked he wasn't dead after being run over.) Near smirked under his grey balaclava.
Near leapt out of the vent, with a thud his knee impacted with the metallic ground. Crouched low, he clocked a nearby henchman, wide as a wall, tall as a tower. He had maybe minutes to react before an alarm would be raised. And so, with one swift, decisive brutal kick, he lowered the henchman to eye level, Nears eye level, and pulled him by his puffy grey coat in for a thunderous forceful headbutt.
CRACK
Dazed, the thug stumbled, before Near followed up with a further three punches.
Smack Smack SMACK
And then…
Crash
Henchman was on the floor, out cold, breathing heavily. His arms wide spread like an angel.
He'd won this battle but now he had a race against time, and the stopwatch had just begun to tick.
(I've got maybe minutes before his friends realise I'm here. Well, hopefully anyway.)
The Owl's henchmen, below on the lower level of the dinner hall continued to loiter around. None had noticed their colleagues' situation.
'Hey! Keep your voices down! The boss lady's here!' A lieutenant ordered, his puffy yellow jacket glistened from the candlelight that brightened the hall. The lieutenant walked, his hands in his front pockets, his bad head covered by a grey wooly hat. His stride dripped with swagger.
Two large mahogany doors slowly parted, the classical band continued to play, the music was calm, eloquent, it radiated money.
Then SHE stepped into the hall, stepping over the threshold of the great dinner hall doors. Her glass heels clicked with every step like gunshots, slow, deliberate and final.
CLICK CLICK CLICK
'FIFTY THOUSAND, GONE! WHAT THE F***s DO I PAY YOU F****S FOR?!'
She shouted as she slowly approached the lieutenant who failed to close the deal with the Galan Sisterhood.
'THOSE UP START, STREET TRASH, SCUM!'
CLAP the slap reverberated across his already cold face. Her white gloved palm imprinted the henchman's pale, prickly face. He just stood and took it, for if he acted even remotely in the wrong manner it would hurt.
Near hadn't seen her appearance until now, and her appearance was worthy of her terrifying affluent reputation.
The Owl spun around, throwing one of the many expensive glasses that lined the banquet table to the concrete floor.
SPLASH the glass exploded across the ground. Pattered across the ground, each sharp scattered wide.
Then she let out an anger induced growl.
'CLEAN IT UP!' she ordered, pointing a long finger at the yellow coated lieutenant.
As the lieutenant scampered off to clean the mess, his boss created in a bout of fury, she turned to face the crowd of thugs, women addicted to danger and associates, and said with a slightly deranged smile.
'None of you idiots even realised, we have a guest in the mansion…TADA!' She gestured to the crowd.
'MAY I LADIES AND GENTLEMEN PRESENT TO YOU, DETECTIVE BRADY!'
A spotlight illuminated the crowd. And he stood there, in a disguise, he was seized by nearby henchmen. The Owl cackled.
For Near, the evening just became even more dangerous, with the stakes even higher.