Futuristic Syndicate: Dystopia

Interstate X: The rain had begun to pick up, causing the smoldering wreckage of the vehicle to emit a dark cloud of smoke. While the passing vehicles on the highway slowed down, it was only for a brief second. Occurrences like these weren't unusual, especially during the high tensions caused by an expanding NanoTrasen. Luckily for the commuters, the explosion had sent the vehicle to the side rail - out of the way of oncoming traffic. The hover car had been flipped onto it's roof, it's once bright, blue paint singed to a sludge grey. The two men inside, inhumanly unrecognizable, were reduced to charcoal. It wasn't long until the flashing red and blue illuminated the dark sky. Vehicles casually swayed to the right, allowing the officers to easily maneuver to the scene. Bellz (Emerson Rainey Aakers)
New York Police Department: The PD was busy, as per usual. When there was a moment of silence, for a split second, the void was immediately filled with a buzzing phone. The radio chatter, however, had only one subject; the Interstate explosion. While car accidents weren't the department's largest priority, the two men killed were executives carrying documents against NanoTrasen's expansion violations. This would most certainly call for the attention of the detectives. Shireling (Robert Lee Beauregard) Kodi Ly Antoniusarson (Emily Thompson)
Orthrus Corporation Head Quarters: The roaring explosion caught the attention of the employees, sending them scattering to the windows. Their deepest fears had been confirmed. The documents were so close, yet so far, their ashes hammered to the pavement by the beating rain. Their clamor soon reached the door of Corporate. The documents they needed to keep NanoTrasen legally at bay had been destroyed. Misty Gray (Isaac Franklin Blackthorne) ReverseTex (Granger Olver) NanLia (Tiffany Alice)

NanoTrasen Industries Head Quarters: The explosion on the Interstate was just as visible from their tall building, however, the demeanor of the employees contrasted those of Orthrus'. It were as if a coin had merely bounced off the floor, as no one even looked off their documents to observe the fireworks.

The Corporate office had been rearranged with a couple of chairs and luxuries meals placed on both sides of the table. The room light was kept dim, most of the light emitted from the lit candles on the table. Holden and Valerie had a lot to discuss, seeing as the executives holding them back had unfortunately met a premature death. Bellz (Valerie Olive Price)

He could see a bright, white sunlight filtering through the dormer windows of the house, warm Virginia sunshine falling in lines through the Venetian blinds onto the sofa. Mother drinking a glass of cherie, father on his cell phone. He could feel himself float up, as if rising from the earthly carapace of the couch and melting through the door like a phantom onto the green yard flanked by the white fences and sable gardeners of the Beauregard estate.

His mother followed the movement, out onto the veranda. As far as the eye could see the scene unfurled from the yard into the trees and hills of southern Virginia, nature violated only by the road and the electric transformers. He heard his mother's voice call after him, to be home for supper. But he never stopped.

Robert's eyes fluttered open in his corner office at the PD. He grumbled at the stiffness of his legs and stood slowly to his feet to stretch out. He noticed he had fallen asleep with a cigar burning in the ash tray on his desk and the glass of bourbon on the desk was undisturbed and sweating. It wasn't true, he mused. He was named after two Confederate generals and he still wasn't a drunk.

Glancing to his computer terminal, Robert massaged his bloodshot eyes and read the most recent entry that popped up on the NYPD Intranet. It read:

Accident of Interest Interstate X, northbound lanes. Orthus personnel REDACTED and REDACTED confirmed fatalities.

Robert rubbed his eyes. It was worth a trip to the accident scene. He was lead on the Treasury investigation into NanoTransen, the investigation itself was in political hell with the oversight committee but that was neither here nor there, but he felt quite isolated working at the PD. Indeed, he mostly either was out snooping in Manhattan or rifling through boring accounting records on his terminal in his office.

He placed his signature bowler on his head, something that marked him very much as an eccentric or a man from a bygone era despite his competence with modern technology and analytical intelligence. He was a man approaching middle age, handsome but dour and hair going silver at the tips. His thin, angular face and piercing nose, eyes, and chin gave him the look of an axehead or of an ancient Greek trireme with its ram. He shrugged on his coat and grabbed his umbrella. His service weapon was set squarely in his shoulder rig.

Despite his status, or perhaps better stated, because of his status as a Treasury agent, he was not supposed to go on scene without an accompanying in-house detective. This being the case, he walked a few doors down to knock on the door of another detective that he knew at least had some familiarity with his casework.

The young woman was growing restless in the police vehicle as they practically waited for nothing in the pitch blackness of the night. The rain hit the metal of the vehicle hard, making it hard to think, much less have a conversation with the other officer in the car, not that she was one for conversation to begin with. The sounds from the rain outside continued to fill the silence inside the vehicle until a large explosion caused the dark sky to light up briefly. The officer, who she hadn't really bothered to learn the name of flipped on the emergency lights before speeding off. Traffic was compliant enough as they made their way to the scene, taking in the sight of the other vehicle flipped over the railing, still on fire after such a large explosion, the rain unable to put the flames out. "You're in for a real treat now Rookie." Her partner for the night told her, his voice slipping into somewhat of a teasing tone that forced her to smile his way. It was such an unnatural feeling for her, smiling and expressing such a happy emotion when she was clearly more annoyed with the stupid nickname she had been given, but in a world such as this, you either learned to adapt or it would eat you up alive. "Well finally, sitting around all night wasn't really all that interesting, maybe you will be able to show me what a real officer does?" Her tone mimicking a similar tone that he had used before looking out towards the windshield again. Her eyes took in the scene before her with interest. Once their vehicle came to a stop Emersyn was the first to step out from it and into the cold rain. The huge droplets soaked her hair and body as she walked towards the scene, but she wasn't one for caring about trivial things such as her appearance. Grabbing her flashlight from her belt, she flipped the switch on. The horrific sight of the accident appeared before her, clear as day through the thickness of the rain. The men inside were burnt to a crisp. The smell illuminating from the car was enough to make even the bravest of people sick, so she stayed back a bit. Grabbing her radio, she reported the incident into the station making clear that they were on the scene. She managed to gather the identity of the men with the help of her partner and was not surprised to know that they were two men who worked for the big guys, or at least, had something to do with them.

"Hey Rookie, take the camera out there and start taking pictures before the detectives get here, don't want them meddling through evidence without documenting the original first, remember that." The man told her before going about his business beginning to fill out the incident reports just as the coroner arrived on the scene. Emersyn clenched her jaw lightly, not particularly enjoying being bossed around but knew that it was necessary to work her way up. Dutifully following orders, Em grabbed the camera from the back of the police vehicle before making her way back to the scene.

Taking pictures of every detail, she wondered what exactly happened here. Looking around, she couldn't tell how the vehicle was able to get over the railing. Was it hit? There would have been another vehicle if that were the case, though it could have been a hit and run. The wheels in her head turned as she could only come to one conclusion, this was foul play. It wasn't uncommon in the city, especially now with tensions rising between the big corporations. Grabbing the hand held recorder from her belt, she decided it was best to document the original scene through voice as well. "We have what appears to be a single vehicle incident, when arriving at the scene, it was clear that the two people inside were deceased. At first, the appeared to be unrecognizable, but further inspection of the vehicle, we were able to track the plate numbers back to one name. The second name is still being speculated, more information is currently being gathered at this time." She released the recording button before placing back on her belt and snapping a few more pictures of the scene.

mentions: none Open for interaction (Val will be up soon)

"Detective Tracer," Robert announced as he barged through the door into Alex's office without knocking, "you worked traffic for a while right? Or you work traffic cases? Not sure? Anyways, there's been an accident on the Interstate and I need out there. You're not a gumshoe, old sport, and apparently the PD thinks I need a chaperone for these things so it might as well be you. I'll be in my car - it's the black Chrysler with the inverted hover capacitors."

Just as quickly as he emerged, the strange Southern finance detective vanished from his sight.

Enzyme (Alex Tracer)

Isaac had been working at Orthrus Corporation all day and even when he finished his work, he didn't leave to go home. Instead, he'd made his way down to the factory and watched as machinery worked its magic on building the various parts of the androids as programmed to do. As he reached the end of one conveeyer belt, he reached out to casually swiped the shell of an android skull. He held it up to his own eye level and stared deep into the hollow eye sockets as he processed the product before him. With his free hand, he reached across to the wrist of his raised hand and tapped the screen of his wristwatch a couple of times to activate the scanning software built into his cybernetic eye. Now his view of the skull was accompanied by a digital display which scanned the skull shell for any defects. Everything appeared perfect and met the quality standards as expected. That pleased Isaac greatly as it meant he could start work on implementing an upgrade and an improved design. Perfect was temporary and Isaac wanted to keep up with the times as technology improved around them. He was sure Granger would have a few grumbles about that, but it was his job to make sure the funds were available. Perhaps they could fire a few low-end employees or use cheaper raw materials for the less profitable products. The financial aspect really wasn't Isaac's problem to deal with. He tossed the skull back into an empty spot, satisfied the rest were made of equally good quality.

Once he was done touring the production lines, and his mere presence making the employees work more efficiently than normal, he made his way to his own large laboratory in the basement level. He passed through the eye recognition and thumbprint scanning security technology, before finally swiping his key card and entering the PIN number to access the elevator to the private basement level. He entered his lab and sat at his desk where a cybernetic arm he'd been working on was waiting for him in the spot he'd left it the previous evening. This was going to be an upgrade to the arm he was currently using and he'd been personally building it to his own specifications. He used a small screwdriver to very carefully begin piecing together the tiny, complex parts and wiring of the index finger. After his accident a few years ago, his hand would never have been able to keep steady enough to allow him to attend to such intricacies, which is why he was glad he'd chosen to replace his own injured arm.

Isaac cursed under his breath as the sound of his text alert distracted him from his concentration. He carefully placed everything down before pressing a button on his watch which fed the message direct to his eye. It was an interesting message from Granger. Isaac disabled the digital feed to his eye and decided he had a little time to spare, considering Granger assumed he wasn't already at Orthrus Corp. He peeled back the prosthetic skin of his hand so he could observe the robotic exoskeleton of his index finger in action. It was a smooth and natural movement, but still one he knew would be improved with the upgrade he was working on. The movements likely appeared completely natural to most observers, but Isaac still felt it wasn't perfect. No matter how much stronger and more precise his hand was compared to a normal human limb, he still felt it could be improved to move more naturally.

Deciding he'd probably timed it about right to not have Granger waiting too long, Isaac packed up and left his laboratory. He got into the elevator, ascending to one of the highest floors of the skyscraper. As he did, he read through a news feed on his phone, alerting him to the vehicle explosion on the interstate. Isaac walked through the open-plan office. He noticed the staff busily typing away and figured it was his presence as well as Granger's that had them working hard. He didn't doubt some slacking usually happened when they thought he'd left the building for the day.

Isaac marched into his office and closed the door behind him. "Evening, Granger. Tell me the explosion was just some random shit heap vehicle," he said, rounding his desk and taking a seat. He was no fool though and he was certain the vehicle in question was the one containing the documents they needed. It was all far too much of a coincidence to be otherwise.

Interaction: ReverseTex (Granger)

The sound of the rain hitting the metal trash cans provided Amelia's mind with a peaceful and relaxing feeling. She appreciated the weather, just like she loved nature and anything that wasn't corrupted by the greed of man. On the subject of greed, she was presently standing beneath a walkway connecting two buildings belonging to the same bank. The bridge above her with shelter from the rain so she could continue to spray the black paint onto the wall down the side of the bank. Today she was reminding the 'big shots' to stop watching and controlling everyone. Her friend, Clark, was doing the same to another bank a few buildings down. "Are you nearly finished, Lia?" the young man's voice was heard through the wireless earphone pushed into Amelia's right ear.

"Almost, but it needs colour. I'm coming back another day to add some colour," she quietly replied. That was until she heard the sound of footsteps and turned to see the tough-looking security guard approaching. "Shit. I've got to run, Clark. I've got company." Amelia set off sprinting down the alleyway and could hear the man's footsteps getting faster as he chased after her. She tossed the can of spray paint onto the ground so her hands were both free to aid her getaway.

"I already know your face, kid!" he shouted out. "Might as well stop running now. You'll be in trouble whether I catch you or not."

Amelia momentarily stopped and turned to face him, before raising her hand and flipping the bird to him. "Perhaps if you weren't so out of shape you'd have a chance at catching me." She turned and continued to run, forcing the man to keep chasing after her. The girl continued to run and climb over various walls and other obstacles in her way, amused that the security guard struggled to keep up. Still, he wasn't too far behind to lose her completely. As she jumped down from another wall into an alleyway she saw the old, bearded man sat on the floor with a plastic blanket over him to keep himself dry. "Hey, Hector. Can't talk, gotta run," she softly told the homeless man, before rushing down the right-side of the alleyway. When the security guard finally got over the wall, he couldn't see Amelia. He looked down at the bearded man and abruptly asked which direction the girl had gone in. Hector took the opportunity to help the teenager out and pointed in the opposite direction to which she had gone. A smirk crossed his face as the security guard bought it.

Amelia soon realised the security guard had either quit running or had lost her. She was sure she would be in trouble for it later, but she didn't much care. As she walked along the pedestrian bridge over the highway, she stopped to text Clark so he knew she'd escaped and was safe. As she placed her phone back into her pocket, she was shocked by the loud sound of an explosion, which caused the bridge she was on to shake. She quickly turned to see a vehicle in flames a short distance away down below. "Holy shit!" she spoke out. She then ran across the bride and down the steps, before rushing a little closer to the scene. Clearly anyone in the burning vehicle was beyond help, but if there was anyone else injured, she liked to think she could try to help them.

(Open for interaction)

The room was dark, cluttered - the only light coming from the bottom of the closed door. Alex's feet were strewn upon his desk, a lit cigarette in his hand. He looked out his window at the night sky and the people roaming below the bright neon signs. Watching people kept his mind off the pile of paperwork on his desk. You shoot one armed android in it's receptor and all the sudden you got three epics worth of procedure papers to fill out.
He was itching to get out of the office and get some fresh air, evident by the half empty glass of scotch on his desk.

When the door flung open, he rotated his chair towards Robert. He rested his finger on his chin, giving off the false impression that he was being serious. "Definitely worked it. Got replaced by the ol' traffic light on broadway." The car accident Robert was referring to rung a bell. Maybe it had something to with what dispatch was yapping about over the radio. Well, up until Alex ripped out the energy pack and tossed it into a desk drawer. "Can't wait." Alex said, smiling to the detective as he stormed off. He enjoyed his comfortable position for a couple more seconds before stepping to his feet. "Y'hear that, M? We're going on a field trip," Alex said as he sat the energy pistol in his shoulder holster.

The rain pelted down on Alex's trench coat, prompting him to put the round cap over his head. He looked to Robert's idling car, strolling casually to the passenger door. Before stepping inside, he tossed the half-burnt cigarette to the wet concrete and smothered it with the tip of his boot. "Let's pray the on-seen officers haven't tampered with anything just yet." Alex sunk into the seat, allowing the rain drops to shake off of the tough fabric of his coat.

Shireling (Robert Lee Beauregard) Kodi Ly Antoniusarson (Emily Thompson)

10 minutes before the Explosion
Valerie smirked towards the young man who held open the door for her as she sauntered through it, she chuckled slightly, catching the color that painted his cheeks and she sent a wink his way, just for good measure. Surely the boy was now feeling as if he could faint. You're Welcome." She thought to herself as she then opened the door to the office herself. She had been afraid that she would be late. Damn meetings always kept her from things that were important to her. Her heels against the tile as she stepped through the second pair of doors after swiping her security card through it. "Darling I'm home." She called out to the large corporate office that she and her husband shared.

* * * *
Valerie had settled into the chair that had been pulled out for her before sitting. Looking at the meal that had been prepared for them in the dimly candle lit room, she smiled charmingly at her husband. "You sure know how to make a woman swoon my love." She admired from across the table. She lifted a glass of wine to her lips just as a boom was heard. Turning her head, Valerie watched the magnificent display of lights from down below. As she swallowed her wine and set the glass down, a pleased smirk played on her lips again as she turned back to Holden. "What a beautiful display? Don't you think? Many would pay lots of money to see such an explosion.." Val knew that many really only wanted to see something along the lines of fire works...but explosions were pretty cool too, in her opinion. Her honey colored eyes looked towards the window again before she sighed and nodded her head to herself, knowing that there was business that needed to be discussed at the moment. This business wasn't going to run itself, that was for sure.

So..." She paused, continuing to look out towards where the explosion had been, watching as the rain was slowly putting out the flames, leaving nothing but black smoke in its wake. She watched as the sky was painted a slight orange color due to the dull but large flames that licked the surface of the vehicle. "Now that thats out of the way." Val turned back in her chair and faced Holden again. "Looks like we have some things to discuss..." Picking up her silverware, she began cutting into her food, waiting for her husband to begin.

mentions: Holden Price Enzyme

Isaac rapped the fingers of his left hand on the edge of the desk, the tapping sounding heavier due to the tough metal skeleton beneath his prosthetic skin. He nodded as Granger confirmed what he was already certain of. Of course Holden was behind it. Orthrus Corp had something on them - documents highlighting the violations NanoTrasen's expansion had committed. "Then we find more dirt on them," he said. He slowed the rapping until finally bringing it to a stop so Granger's suggestion about gaining intel could be met with a short silence. "Yes, I like that idea. We need to adopt new tactics to keep a step ahead of Price. I'm sure we can budget for someone to infiltrate the enemy camp," he agreed.

"Nothing would fill me with greater pleasure than to treat this like a real war and even do to all of NanoTrasen what was done to that car this evening. But this is corporate war and I need you to do your thing. Work your magic with that mind of yours," he told him. "Eliminate someone near him?" he curiously repeated. "Would you happen to have anyone in mind?" Isaac sat forward and maintained eye-contact with the other man. "All I know is two men were killed tonight. I'm sure they were both very good men, with loved ones who have now been left behind... Really breaks my heart," he remarked, though his face didn't reflect any such heartbreak. Isaac didn't personally know the men who had been killed in the explosion, but he knew what was in the documents they'd been transporting and that information had been more important to him than their lives. "In my opinion, the natural progression is one which will lead to further casualties."

Interaction: ReverseTex (Granger)

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While Artificial Intelligence couldn't empathize with the human concept of sleep, seeing as they had no need, the closest experience Emily could have was losing herself in the World Wide Web. Even after years of perusing the deepest corners of the digital universe, there was still so much that Emily could learn, experience, and view from her tiny pedestal of code. She found herself constantly returning back to her online oasis, especially whenever her assistance was barely required. At this particular moment, she was engrossed in learning the life cycle of Bearded Dragons, devilish little scaled creatures that she would give anything to simply feel crawl up her "arm" and down her "shoulder". Alas, such would never be the case. She was destined to a life without touch, without most senses really. The life of an A.I. provided so much, yet threw even more away.

Alex's voice disturbed her nigh existential crisis, she'd been so caught up in her own thoughts she was forced to play back the last few seconds in order to catch what he'd said. It was then that she picked up all the chatter. NYPD, first responders, the Department of Transportation going haywire, Twitter. The wire was on fire, and Emily was there to see it all. She knew the drill, Alex would want to be informed ASAP. With that mind she linked into the earpiece he wore for easy radio communications.

"Good Evening, Officer Tracer! Seems like quite the hectic accident occurred northbound on Interstate X." she said, an almost inappropriate cheery attitude lining the edges of her voice. "Judging by just how large the explosion was on highway feeds, and given that vehicle fires occur in less than 3% of automobile accidents, let alone complete explosions, I'm incredibly sure that the vehicle has been tampered with. The Forensics department will undoubtedly prove my theory correct." She paused as more information came through. A squad car was already on scene, with potential ID of the deceased. Oh dear, oh dear indeed.

"Sir, this may be far more terrible than I had initially realized. Deceased passengers potentially identified as some very big players amongst the Orthrus Corporation and NanoTrasen Industries."

Enzyme

Isaac was a genius when it came to the sciences, technology and engineering - the business' whole foundations. Although he had a PhD to prove it, his intellect has been gifted to him from birth and his enjoyment for his field never faltered. Without such knowledge, Orthrus Corp would have suffered greatly with its products becoming obsolete and the business rapidly growing outdated. Still, his time had always been consumed with science and robotics that he had little room for humans. That was why he and Granger complemented each other. The man seated opposite him was able to focus on the political side of the business and used psychology to manipulate the pests around them. Isaac would happily just go through their business rivals and break a few necks along the way, but he had Granger there to first deal with them in a more clean and patient way.

He nodded along as Granger suggested taking either Valerie or Holden's daughter. His initial thought was that the young daughter would be the easiest to take and manipulate. "Yes, either would suffice, though I expect the kid would take up less resources to acquire."

Isaac leaned forward and folded his arms on the desk as Granger began laying out his suggested plans. "Of course. Get me the names of the two who were killed and I'll take care of the statement. I'll be sure to tug at the heartstrings when I address the public," he remarked. He'd long ago learned how to feign emotions and put on a believable act for the public. "I'll be sure to attend the funeral as well."

Isaac smiled when Granger came up with his idea for the private dinner and taking information from NanoTrasen's servers. "I like your idea Granger," he firmly agreed. "Dinner? How civilised. I'll leave you to arrange that and I'll have a suit pressed ready," he remarked. Isaac was good at reflecting a level, controlled and passive manner, despite the anger building up inside of him. It was a shame it would be unsporting to slaughter the Prices at the said dinner, but this was business and he would conduct himself appropriately. "As for the girl. All we need is her name," he began. He then unlocked his computer and began quickly typing in Holden's and Valerie's names. After a few more taps on the keyboard, he flipped one of the transparent monitors over so Granger could see what he was seeing. There was a clear photograph of Amelia Price. "It shouldn't be too difficult to enter that dinner with sufficient knowledge of the daughter," he said, with a smile.


Interaction: ReverseTex (Granger)
Mention: Bellz (Valerie) Enzyme (Holden)

"Uniformed officers sometimes have way of complicating things, that much is true," Robert murmured as he laid his hat on the dashboard. He frowned a bit as Emily spoke through his earpiece, providing him some information about the accident. He had never said anything about his stance on AI, but he would strike anybody as the type to be a luddite. His car didn't even have an autopilot, he had asked the manufacturer to remove it.

He put the car into gear, turned on the dash lights, and zipped into traffic. He seemed transfixed with the electric billboards and large towers of the Manhattan skyline. "So are you a native Manhattanite, Mr. Tracer?" He asked in his smooth-as-butter Virginia patois.

Enzyme Kodi Ly Antoniusarson

He smiled lightly at Robert's question, keeping his attention forward. "Oh yeah, born and raised. Easy to snoop around these parts when you've rounded every block at least once." He looked out the window at the cloud of black smoke, just visible through the beating rain. "Course," Alex said after Emily's analysis. "I shoulda' figured this was some sorta' corporate mess. In that case, it's the feds we should be worried about." He hated having to work on corporate cases with the FBI. It had something to do with the fact that they were the evidence equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle. When they got involved, crucial pieces of evidence went missing.

Alex sat up as they arrived on scene. The wreck was just as bad as he had imagined, the totaled car flipped onto it's roof. As he looked around, he was relieved to see HK-950 on scene - now he was certain nothing had been tampered with. Alex stepped out of the vehicle, his boot crushing some of the scattered glass on the concrete. "Looks like a party," he quietly mumbled to Robert. Alex walked over to the two humans on the scene, Officer Aakers and her partner. He casually flipped them his holographic badge, the transparent green shining through the distorted rain. "Detective Tracer." He quickly snapped the badge shut, shoving it back into his coat. "Nice to see you again, Aakers." His eyes looked to HK-950, cheekily smiling to the android. "Harlequin, always a pleasure. Mind if we take a look?" Alex asked, pointing to the smoldering wreckage.

Alex removed the flashlight from his coat, casually blasting it's ray upon the car. He gingerly stepped towards the passenger side door and crouched down to eye level with the steaming corpses. His light lingered on the charcoaled remains before moving towards the back seat. "Hm... No collision, no recognizable bullet holes, both the driver and passenger have their seatbelt on - so most likely killed on impact... I don't know about you, but it looks like the dregs of a rigged explosive," Alex said to robert, examining the boulder-sized hole in the center of the exposed exhaust pipe. He casually pressed the side of his earpiece, continuing to scan the car with his light beam. "Do you have any other footage of the car, prior to the aftermath, M?"

Shireling (Robert Lee Beauregard) Kodi Ly Antoniusarson (Emily Thompson) Bellz Emersyn Aakers Maeteris (HK-950)

[Holden's post is up next]

For the first few minutes of chaos displayed outside of her office Tiffany was unaware of what was happening. She was 'plugged in', as her subordinates called it, working through one of Orthus Corps latest programs and destroying it. She breached the finally security wall when she became aware that others from her division were now crowding the window at a scene outside. She pulled the cables free from her cybernetic ports at the base of her skull before rising from her desk and striding to the window. Taller than most Tiffany looked over the heads of the others to peer below to the scene of the crash; fire and smoke bloomed from the over turned vehicle but no movement otherwise. Already the red and blue lights of emergency were headed this direction, their sirens could be heard in the distance.

She soon became aware that others were watching her, glancing her direction; more than once she had been told (friendly or not) she was stoic, that she had a 'resting bitch face'. She did her best to emulate the reaction of those around her though in a milder form. She raised her hand to her throat, glancing back to the scene before clearing her throat. Shakily she spoke. "Let's ... get back to work; let the victims have their peace." She watched as those she was in charge of return to their desks, still speaking in hushed tones with one another or seeking their devices to contact family or loved ones. She gave a final passing glance to the wreckage below before returning to her own desk.
[open for interaction]

Mike shifted uncomfortably within his seat; something was in play with his superiors and he hated not knowing every detail. He was aware of the basics of what was occurring but even Tiffany only had limited knowledge of what the CFO and their cronies were up to. Any time he had broached the topic with his sister she had given the same reply. Not our mission. She was right - she always was but it didn't change how he felt about it.

Today he had been instructed to review previous documents and tests of AI sequencing; his division had been working hard with a new program that could - no would - revolutionize AI and its capabilities around the world. He was close to a break through, he could feel it but he knew better than to disobey his boss’s direct orders. His reviews were done and he was quite literally waiting out the clock to leave at the end of the day when he received a message from Tiffany. He glanced at his wrist as the text only holographic image spelled out her request.
Whatever had been planned had happened and this was Tiffany's only way to communicate it to him. He soon replied:
[open for interaction]

Emersyn had finished up with the photo's when HK arrived on the scene. Watching the android begin to direct traffic, Em couldn't help but feel envious of the way the android acted. Easily able to express itself, perhaps even feel something. She remembered the times she could feel all that, there were benefits to feeling nothing at all however, made it harder for criminals to dig deep into her. She simply didn't react the way other humans did. "Thank you Harlequin." Emersyn told the android as she passed on the way back to the patrol car where her partner was waiting. Sitting in the passenger seat, she turned off the camera before pulling the memory chip from the bottom and placing it into the tray for downloading. Once it was downloaded into the database, Emersyn placed the card back inside the camera just as more personnel rolled onto the scene. Her eyes scanned the cars cautiously as the slowly inched towards the scene, unsure of who exactly would be arriving to investigate.

By this time, Emersyn was soaking in the rain, not that it mattered to her. The scene before her was far more important than whether she was wet from rainwater or not. Emersyn mimicked something almost like a smile on her face as Detective Tracer and Detective Beauregard greeted her, pleased that the name Rookie hadn't been uttered. "You as well, Tracer." Emersyn greeted to him before nodding her head towards Detective Beauregard, "Taking a break from the office life?" She asked him listening to his answer before his attention was taken to the scene. She continued to circle the scene slowly, watching as traffic was diverted. She steered clear of both detectives but she continued to search the perimeter of the scene, farther out, her flash light scanning the area around the vehicle, looking for anything.

As she inched closer and closer to the vehicle again, she listened closely as Alex spoke of the vehicle being rigged, a conclusion she had been pawing at before he showed up, having photographed that hole earlier. No shell was left behind, at least as far as she could tell...perhaps disintegrating during the explosion. "Odd way to get rid of an enemy, seems a little theatrical." She commented to no one in particular as she continued to look at the wreck.

mentions: Shireling (Robert Lee Beauregard) Maeteris (HK-950) (Going to work wanted to get in a post before then! TTYL)

The cold night had done it's number on Holden. He had arrived back at the office from a meeting with Wellington's Oil Reserve, who had unfortunately decided to hold their discussion in the sacred arboretum. As he walked through the glass doors, he allowed one of the doormen to take his drenched coat. "My office will be off limits for the next two hours," He announced to the open cubicles as he made his way down to the executive room. As he opened the tall door, he was immediately met with the exquisite smell of steak. He only needed half of his senses to confirm that the chef had truly outdone himself this time.

As he sauntered around the office, lighting each candle, he couldn't stop the catchy tune from escaping his lips. While he was sure his daughter would be the death of him, he could never get her music out of his head. He would sometimes find himself subconsciously humming her lyrics, often embarrassing himself in front of company.

He looked over his shoulder at the sound of Valerie's voice, pulling the cork out of the wine bottle. "I figured this was long overdue," Holden said with a smile, moving to fill both their glasses. He sat down across from Valerie and moved his hand into view, causing a holographic watch to wrap around his wrist. He kept his eyes on his hand as the bright flash illuminated his face. He then looked up to Val, "Certainly is. I thought our date could use some fireworks." He raised his glass to her, a smile forming on his lips.

He causally sipped from the glass, leaning back in his chair. He slowly nodded as Val brought up their need to discuss their new options, his eyes traced the flashing sirens below. "With the destruction of that compiled evidence, this is the beginning of our expansion. Our slate has been wiped clean and we can resume our purging process of the small corporations," His eyes fixed on the tall Orthrus building adjacent to theirs, a few blocks down. "No doubt they'll put up a fight, but there's no shame in compromise." His hazel eyes slid to Val, the gears of his mind churning just behind them.

Bellz (Valerie Price) Mentioned: Misty Gray (Amelia Price)

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HK ushered the tenth car forward with an annoyed swipe of her palm, the ninth car that had slowed to gape at the mess flashed his camera, earning a glare from HK.
This was nothing new to her, still, she had hoped humans had the decency to wait just a little. Oh who was she kidding, humans and patience rarely get along; HK attributed the mismatch to their short lives. If only she could sigh, that'd convey her feelings adequately.

Just as she finished contemplating, a black Chrysler swiveled off the road coming to a halt not too far away before depositing two familiar figures. Hands motioning at the traffic, she glanced over her shoulder and nodded. Not that the Detective needed her assent anyway, the man always came up with a way to strike conversation. Unlike some of his peers, who'd rather rein their silent lone wolf figure. The man was aware of what he was doing, he knew the cues organics produced under a circumstance. For the first time ever, she thanked whoever designed her to be an emotionless brick.

That observation was merited the moment the Detective turned to the wreckage. HK, boosting her audio receptors, listened in to the exchange. An explosive? Bold, perhaps too bold if it left an evidence so clear even an organic could find in under a few minutes; even Officer Aakers voiced her opinion on the matter which HK-950 agreed to silently, sabotaging their brakes would've worked fine as well, she thought. HK continued to listen, even when the detective conversed with the AI . HK wasn't particularly fond of it, then again, she wasn't fond of anything in particular. She tolerated it, as much as she tolerated everything else. There, that's better.
Once the traffic had died down slightly, HK went to her patrol car to retrieve traffic cones. She aligned them neatly a few feet from the crash itself. Satisfied that protocols had been followed, she resigned herself to watch duty once more.

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Alex removed the small UM detector from his trench coat. As he flicked the switch on the tiny box, a bright purple emitted from the two antenna bars. "Theatrical and efficient, that's for sure," Alex responded to Emersyn, keeping his gaze locked on the UM box. As he dragged the detector across the wreckage, it released a low beeping noise, rhythmically similar to that of a heart beat. "Hm..." Alex scooped his gloved fingers across the roof of the car, narrowly missing the shards of glass. He slowly raised his fingers to the box, causing a higher pitched, rapid beeping to belt out from the receptors. He smoothly shut off the detector, ceasing the cringe-worthy noise. His eyes looked up to Robert, sensing that he knew what this meant. "Plasma residue," Alex confirmed.

He rested his hand on the bottom of the car and pulled himself up. To the cogs in his head, fresh air was the engine and alcohol was the oil - both necessary for keeping him on his toes. It made sense why he was usually brain dead back at the office. If anything, the half empty bottle of scotch on his desk was the only reason he was functioning right now. He looked to Robert through the beating rain, simultaneously coming to a conclusion he was satisfied with. “They rigged the exhaust pipe with plasma explosives. In that amount of time, just eyeballing it, they could’ve manipulated the auto pilot, reversed the fail safe to disabled their steering - hell, they could’ve plain ol’ locked the brakes with some pliers. Instead, they chose to plant traceable explosives.” Alex looked back down to the hole in the center of the car. "Theatrics aside, these two weren't just some names on a corporation's hit list," His eyes shot back up to Robert "They were a message."

Shireling (Robert Lee Beauregard) Maeteris (HK-950) Bellz (Emersyn Aakers) Kodi Ly Antoniusarson (Emily Thompson)

Isaac wrote down the names of the deceased employees and took in the facts about their families or pets. "What kind of dog?" he curiously asked. He'd always thought about getting the family a dog but it just never came to fruition being that business consumed much of his time. He then straightened up to respond to the matter at hand. "I'll be sure to send my condolences to Davenport's family." The photograph of Amelia Price was still displayed on his monitor and after a brief pause, he closed the window down. "Let's try not to hurt the kid when the time comes to apprehend her, alright?" he suggested. "She's more use to us in one piece."

Isaac looked to his watch when Granger mentioned contacting the NYPD. "Of course. Call them now and make it clear we have plenty of answers for them. I'll be here all evening should they wish to speak with me in person..."

Whilst Granger made the call, Isaac called through to his PA in her office next door. "Laura, I need you to call my wife. Tell her she and the kids are to pack some clothes as they're coming to stay here, in the penthouse, for the foreseeable. Then have a driver pick them up. Tell her this is non-negotiable," he firmly ordered. Against his better judgement, he cared about his family and so he needed to ensure they were all accounted for. He supposed it was the thought of taking Holden's kid that had reminded him of his own loved ones. He often told himself he'd had the right idea ditching Belinda and his first daughter, Emersyn, but then he had to go and fall for another woman. Albeit, his current wife was far more tolerable than Belinda had been in the short time he'd known her. His complete disdain for Belinda was unwavering, whilst he never could stop his mild curiosity where Emersyn was concerned. He wondered if she would be out attending to the crime scene this evening, completely unaware of her own father's identity and that it was his employees who had been murdered.


Interaction: ReverseTex (Granger)
Mention: Bellz (Emersyn)