Stirring the Hornets' Nest

[adstring_npc]

Characters: Lieutenant Patrick Cosgrave (adstring_npc), Mello (codename_m), Allelujah Haptism (alle_halle), Lockon Stratos (meteo_sniper)
When: Tursday, July 16th
Where: Just outside of the Inner City
Rating: PG-13 for violence, may be bumped up to R for the same reason
Summary: Mello is making his move

Comments

[codename_m]

The back alley might look relatively safe, but there wasn't time to waste there; what they had in their hands wasn't a man, it was a time bomb that could explode in their faces when they least expected it. It was extremely important to hurry up and take the soldier to the building Mello had procured himself as a temporary headquarter, hidden from anyone's view. But not without ripping the wolf's fangs out first.

Lockon and Allelujah knew the plan perfectly well, so when Mello started removing the man's suit and everything he possessed, he knew that they'd do the same without him having to explain it again. It was convenient to remain silent in the man's presence for now, until they got rid of all the bugs he was carrying. Chances were that anything they said could be heard in the scientists' basement, a stupid risk none of them wanted to take.

Once the man was completely naked and his belongings discarded in a random corner, the terrorists wasted no time to carry him to their basement, which would only be used on this occasion. The building had several floors, their destination was the third one. Their PCDs had been left on the second one, a precaution to ensure that no accidental voice or video posts would give them away.

When the poor man woke up, he found himself in a dirty and dark room, completely naked and tied up to a chair. The windows were fully covered with wood so that no sight of the outside world could be caught, and the room was timidly illuminated by a few candles on the floor. Not like the soldier could see anything, as his eyes had been properly covered with a piece of cloth.

[adstring_npc]

"Nnnngh ..."

Patrick's head was spinning, and he had the dinstinct impression that he was naked and tied up, both of which he hadn't been previously. His girlfriend not being here, there were two possibilities : the guys from the patrol were pulling a prank on him and hopin to get away with it, or ... something else. He couldn't really focus long enough to know what that could be.

He blinked in the darkness, bleary eyes trying to adjust to the low luminosity, only to discover that he was blinfolded.

"Guys ? This isn't funny ! I swear if any of you send a picture of it to Eiléan, there's gonna be hell to pay."

His voice was young, mid-twenties, and he was too bewildered right now to be frightened.

[meteo_sniper]

Lockon adjusted the helmet on his head. Another precaution. Even if it's visor was cracked, it still allowed him seeinng nearly everything around, while his face wasn't visible at all. He let the gun clunk, when he loaded it. If he was going to play a bad cop - if it was ever to be needed -, he could start doing it right now. Since the sound given away the action, and made the prisoner aware of presence of at least one armed person around.

He felt bad for the guy a bit, but well, he was doing his job, and such dangers were written into the contract.

[alle_halle]

Allelujah was keeping quiet. Lockon's move had drawn his attention, his actions making Allelujah worry a bit. In such state, with Tieria's disappearance, sniper was prone to find a target he could concentrate his bad feelings on. This time he had scientists.

'Don't pretend you're sorry.'>/i> murmured familiar voice in his thoughts. 'It's ony another game. I can take the lead if you don't like it.'

'Enough.' Allelujah narrowed his eyes, concentrating on ignoring Hallelujah and on their goal right now.

[codename_m]

Behind the dark helmet covering his face, a cruel smirk was etched on Mello's features. Lockon's gesture had made Mello enjoy this for what it was worth, even if he couldn't forget that this whole mess was a desperate attempt to obtain the control over his own life-- over his own death.

Firm steps took him right in front of the man, and Mello crouched down slightly.

"Your friends aren't here," he finally spoke, words slurring, his saccharine voice younger than Patrick's. "And I'm sure that you don't want Eiléan to worry much, do you? Don't worry; as long as you cooperate with us, no one will be harmed."

[adstring_npc]

Patrick wasn't highly trained for nothing. Sure, the noise of the gun could still be messing around from his friends. They'd done this much to some of the rookies, a while back. But he didn't recognize that voice, and he knew every voice of every member of his squad.

Reality started to poke at him, pushing away denial. He'd been taken captive by an unknown group and number. Managing a smirk, Patrick started calming his nerves. They'd just taken an ex-IRA mercenary. He knew how these things went.

"Sorry, you don't scare me." Okay, maybe a part of him was scared. He was certainly alone. "And I don't have any reason to talk. You've got me, but you don't have Eiléan. How about you let me go and we can forget this every happened. You're probably Outsiders, right?" There was no telling if more than one was involved, but for his dignity's sake Patrick sure hoped he hadn't been kidnapped by just one kid. "So you don't know what you're messing with. This isn't a game."

And it would be really nice to have pants back on, he didn't add.

[codename_m]

"Agreed." There was a smirk plastered in Mello's voice as he withdrew something from his suit. "This is far from a game." So soon as he had finished that sentence, a new syringe was sinking in the man's flesh. Midazolam, an anesthesia that could sedate the person without driving them into unconsciousness, with other interesting side effects like amnesia. It could also be used as a truth serum, as the man's senses and thoughts would be too numb for him to gauge the situation properly. From that point on, anything Mello asked wouldn't even be remembered by the man.

"We just want information," Mello continued. "Information in exchange for your freedom and well being. It doesn't sound too bad, does it?" He kept observing the man as he spoke, his reactions. The drug should be affecting him already, its effects had always been fast.

[adstring_npc]

At the sensation of a needle going into his arm Patrick stiffened. He tried to pull away, but he was unsuccessful. Carefully he regulated his breathing, trying to focus on what he needed to - name and rank. Time would tell how successful he would be. But he wasn't ready to kill himself yet, wasn't ready to activate the suicide device no matter how painless he'd been assured it would be. Sure, he'd come back to life, but in what shape?

He was getting drowsy, things were becoming mirky. "Information..." He shook his head, fighting it. At least he could start now on the safe information. "Lieutenant Patrick Cosgrave. Serial number 4762. Lieutenant Patrick Cosgrave. Serial number 4762." He just needed to keep that up.

[codename_m]

"Lieutenant Patrick Cosgrave..." Mello echoed, standing up right in front of the man. Behind him, Lockon and Allelujah were silent, watching the interrogation. "Tell me the name of your superiors."

[adstring_npc]

Whatever they'd given him, it was powerful. It was hard keeping his thoughts together, but in his head he could see the instructor shouting that slogan that had been drilled in his head as part of the Project's Defense Force : Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape. It had sounded like a bad joke to an ex-mercenary, but the training had been hard, and, obviously, useful.

'Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape'

He'd bide his time, hoping to get as much as possible from his interrogators without giving them anything of value. He had no orders to activate his device unless the safety of the Project was directly threatened. Soon enough, the people in the Center would be notified that his chip hadn't been scanned as his group returned from patrol. Thirty more minutes, and the system would declare him MIA, and th chip would start sending an SOS with his coordinates.

'Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape'

He didn't expect anyone to come though. They'd tried rescue operations in the past and those had been disastrous. But with his chip still active, maybe they'd consider another one to be too precious to lose.

'Ah ! Don't kid yourself, Patrick. You're gonna have to get yourself out of it.'

The question cut through the fog that was threatening to enguf him, and he licked his lips slightly.

"First Lieutenant Mvumbi Luthuli. Captain Inesinha Barros."

[codename_m]

"Do you know who they are working for? Do you know for what cause you are risking your life right now?"

Mello actually didn't expect answers to those questions, as he was under the impression that not even the soldiers themselves knew much about what was being cooked inside the scientist's basement. Still, it was worth knowing what exactly the soldier knew, or what he thought he was doing.

In any case, Mello's main goal was to learn about the security system. Obtaining answers on his on was always the best and only way to go.

[adstring_npc]

The first question was too open and vague for his drug-muddled mind. There were a whole lot of answers he could give to it, and gave him somewhere to hide, even if Patrick wasn't aware he was looking for a way out of it. "Government. Back home."

They might not still be connected, but there still were guidelines that the group held to. If they abandoned them, abandoned home, they'd be just as low as the Outsiders.

As far as what cause he was serving right now, well, that just seemed obvious. "We just want," his voice faded for a moment, "to get back home." That was the theme of everything, as far as he was concerned. Things had gone south and they couldn't get anything from this world that was worth it. If they could get home, all would be well.

[codename_m]

"......"

If the scientists shared the same goal, why hadn't they requested the cooperation of the outsiders instead of alienating them? Lack of trust? Whatever they had been planning inside their basement, it had to be something extremely dangerous to be kept under such a tight secrecy.

"You're doing it very well. A few more questions and we'll be done. Now tell me about the security system, everything you need to be allowed inside your headquarters, and what sort of dangers you could encounter if you weren't identified as a part of the crowd."

[adstring_npc]

Even in the middle of a drug-induced haze, Patrick remained a trained soldier. He let out a feeble snort of laughter.

"You really think I'm gonna hand you the keys to the place like that ? That's a laugh. 'Sides, you got no business in here. Saw what happened last time, didn't you ?"

He struggled against his bonds, muscles only half-obeying him as he tested their resistance.

"Not to mention, I know jack shit about electronic surveillance. They tell me to do stuff, I do it. They say 'go patrol, Lieutenant Cosgrave', and I say 'Yes sir', just like a good little soldier."

[codename_m]

"Ha ha," Mello laughed back, as if the conversation was pure amusement for both parties.

"Yeah, I saw what happened during the assault; there were many powerful people among the revels, but there wasn't much they could do against your army. I'll likely die if I dare to sneak inside your precious basement. This is why..." he leaned in again, a smirk plastered in his features, his voice lowering at the proximity. "You shouldn't have a problem with telling me. In fact, it's more convenient for you to do so. Would you risk being tortured and die now just to protect a secret that will as well just get your captors killed? Think about it. You risk nothing by telling us."

[adstring_npc]

Patrick blinked behind his blindfold.

"Basement ? What's in the basement anyway ?"

He shivered as the boy - he couldn't much more than a boy judging by his voice - suggested the telling him what he wanted would be the risk-free alternative. They really had no idea, those Outsiders.

"I risk nothing ? ... You really don't get it, do you ? If I don't tell you, you kill me, and if I tell you, they kill me. Tell me where it's a winning situation for me."

A sigh and a shiver. That drug was really doing a number on him.

"Why d'you want to go back in there anyway ? You wanna commit suicides, there's better ways."