ISSUE #8 (July 2019)
Written by John Cheese Featuring: Dare
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Wild Horses, Mealtide, Bludhaven
William Halden swore to himself as he saw what he thought was a homeless person camped out on his door. He had no personal hatred for those sleeping on the streets, but he'd run into some trouble in the past with a select few of them. "Okay move, it's daylight now so take your stuff elsewhere!" William growled as he deliberated on whether he’d have to step over the bundle of blankets concealing the person underneath. "I'll call the cops, you know what they do to vagrants right?" He added, hoping that he'd not have to go down that action. Some of the cases involving the police and the homeless he worked for Internal Affairs still haunted him. "No police." A small voice announced as the figure half-heartedly pushed the blanket off herself to reveal yellow lycra over grey skin, blood staining the pavement beside her. "Fuck!!" William swore as he bent down next to the woman, before taking her temperature, swearing again under his breath. Going to the door he unlocked the bar and brought the woman inside. While he wasn't a doctor William had proudly kept his first aid certificate up to date. It might not be much but it might just save the dying woman's life. City Docks Commercial Park, Bludhaven The old Praeda Enterprises building had been abandoned for years, but no longer as Mr Lawford, his face covered in a fox mask took a sip of coffee before looking back at the map of Bludhaven, his number two Mr Hardwick at his side, his mouth covered in a shark-print bandana. "Mr Desmond will retaliate swiftly and decisively." Lawford stated calmly as he punched pins into the map. "These facilities are to be sacrificed to keep the others safe. I assume you rigged them all with explosives strong enough to level the entire block?" "Yes." Hardwick replied bluntly as Lawford added a number of other pins to the board, these ones in a different colour to the ones marking disposable facilities. "I read your report concerning the girl." Lawford added as he took another sip of his coffee. "Smart, flexible and adaptive. No super human abilities and no advanced weaponry. That isn't much information, even by your standards." He sighed as Hardwick shrugged, his body doing the speaking he preferred not to. "I see, well we'll see what can be done later, for now we need more information on the city." He added as a man in a business suit, his face covered by a gas mask with attached respirator walked in with three glass panes loaded with circuits and wires. "And I... have that information." The new figure stated as he took the first pane and overlaid it over Lawford's map, coloured segments covering the city of Bludhaven. "I... wish you wouldn't...use those pins, they distort...the data." "My apologies Mr Lydecker, now what are we looking at?" Lawford asked as a second and a third overlay were added to the map. "This...is the crime map." Lydecker wheezed as he gestured to the various shades of red, before switching to a blue layer of paths and tracks. "This is the usual Bludhaven Police Department...patrol routes." He continued as he toggled to the next layer showing yellow dots. "And these...are sightings and arrests related...to the Dare vigilante." Hardwick mumbled something under his breath causing Lawford to nod slightly. "You're right Mr Hardwick, here are significant clusters regarding the sightings." Lawford replied as he looked over to Mr Lydecker, his hands typing on a wrist mounted computer, the sleeves of his business suit rolled back. "I have...passed on the locations...to the...Wake." Lydecker wheezed as a clicking sound from the corners of the room echoed around the facility. "Shall I... give orders... to deploy?" "Let them be our eyes." Lawford stated as a shower of black erupted from the shadows and an entire swarm of swept wing micro-drones took off, streaming out of the building like a flight of bats, each programmed with a location to survey. "Dare will likely reappear soon," Lawford stated as he walked to the broken window of the room, gesturing his comrades in arms to join him. "And when she does, we'll already be closing in for the kill." Wildhorses, Mealtide, Bludhaven Aliki opened her eyes to see her costume hung on the chair, her feet in the air, almost as if she'd fallen off backwards. Panicking she kicked off her blanket only to breathe a sigh of relief, she was wearing sweat pants, and wasn't on the floor completely naked. "Thank Officer Rhioden for those." William's voice announced as he walked in holding a large mug of steaming liquid. "You were a right state when I found you, hell there were moments when I felt we'd lose you." He added in a voice that was part annoyance and part worry. Sitting up Aliki groaned as a stabbing pain shot through her abdomen, flashes of her fight yesterday evening running through her brain. "You knew didn't you." She sighed as William handed her the steaming mug, the smell causing Aliki to wretch slightly. "Not like you were Batman or something. Even a mediocre detective could have connected you to Dare. Why did you think I made you change your name while working here?" William snorted as he handed Aliki a spoon and a napkin. "While I wasn't a fan of vigilantes when I was part of the Bludhaven Police Department my tolerance of them broadened when I retired. Eat that, it'll get some warmth in you." He ordered as Aliki took a small spoonful of the liquid and took a sip. "How did you know to contact Katherine?" Aliki asked as she took another spoonful of what she now recognised as Bovril. "Cop's intuition, I was in Internal Affairs, I can usually tell when two people are working together." William stated as he took a seat at the little table of the beer cellar. "Thank you I guess, I never thought that..." Aliki sighed as she saw William give her a knowing smile. "Bludhaven is always looking to cut you, beat you down. Katherine told me about your deal, if you're going to last a year then you're going to need someone to pick you up." William told her as Aliki put the mug of soup down and tried to get to her feet, the pain causing her to collapse. Surprisingly quickly for a man of his size William got up and grabbed her before she hit the ground. "Why would you do that?" Aliki asked in suspicion as William helped her up onto the chair her costume was resting on. "What do you want in return?" "I want this city to be respectable, to be healed, to make it stop making the people who live here its victims." William replied as he picked up the mug of Bovril. "As a cop I tried, as a member of internal affairs I tried, both times got me nowhere. You, however you stood up to take a beating and remained on your feet to take another one. I couldn't stop Blockbuster, but you might just be strong enough to get somewhere." "You saved my life and I could use some help." Aliki sighed as she looked around the cellar. "Especially against this 'Mr Shark'." "You murmured something about that." William stated as he went back to the table and stared at the corner of the room. "Katherine said she'd look into it. All you need to do is regain your strength." He added a mean smile spreading across his face as he turned back to Aliki. "After all your shift starts in half an hour." Katherine Rhioden removed a thick pile of files bound by fading rubber bands, the letters GCPD printed across the cover sheet. Releasing the first band she flicked through a number of files containing photographs of the victims of Gotham's most vile villains, as well as detailed MOs of the criminals. "Not enough local crime for you Detective Rhioden?" A smarmy, almost mocking voice asked. Not even turning to face the suited figure, half obscured in shadow, his green 'eyes' boring into her back with the intensity of spotlights. "Just following a lead Soames." Katherine stated coldly as she removed a file labelled 'Praedea Murders 2010' from the stack of cases. "I'm surprised they didn't kick you out after letting the Dare vigilante escape." Soames sneered as his 'eyes' narrowed, the pools if green narrowing as he skimmed the document Katherine held in her hand. "And I'm surprised they let you back on the force after your psychotic break." Katherine replied in an equally cruel tone as she turned the file over, preventing Soames from further snooping. "Who did you have to pay off 'Twist-Top' to get your old job back." Soames face showed little anger, least not on the surface as he masked his frustration with a chuckle. "No one, after my 'episode' was behind me I proved myself to the chief. Unlike you who swept in on her daddy's coattails like the spoilt princess you are." With a snort of laughter Katherine picked up the files and walked to the door, staring Soames in the glowing green sensors that served as his eyes. "You'd know about princesses since you’re in bed with the Countess." She hissed as he stepped out the way. "If I were you, I'd be careful, now someone's going after her, her days are numbered." Courtyard Logistics, Waterloo Docks, Bludhaven The Countess didn't laugh as she saw images of the mercenaries known as Fox, Shark and Vulture on the holographic display screen in her office. The fact that the information had come after she'd been informed of the incredibly high bail set for Thrilldevil's release. "What do we know about these three?" She asked the woman called Mouse dressed in a grey catsuit. "Lydecker, Lawford and Hardwick were the heirs to the conglomeration known as Praeda Industries." Mouse stammered as she read the Countesses displeased face correctly and decided to look back at the data Soames had sent her. "They didn't seem to be content with what they had, it seems like they wanted excitement and enlisted. Turns out things went badly for them. In 2008 Hardwick was accused of stealing from his fellow marines, no formal charges were brought against him, instead they simply beat him into a coma." "Was he actually stealing?" The Countess asked as she cycled through the photos of Hardwick's bruising. "Does it matter? When he was brought out of the coma, he developed communication difficulties." Mouse answered as she saw the Countess remove a roll of linen from her desk drawer. "Mr Lydecker was part of a UN chemical weapons inspection team investigating assertions of Quarac stockpiling chemical weapons. It turned out how you think it did." "Chemical burns and respiratory problems." The Countess stated as she bound her knuckles with the linen as photographs of skin lesions and charred skin cycled through the stockpiled images. "And Lawford, what's his story?" "He was in Afghanistan as part of an EOD team." Mouse answered as crime scene photos of an exploded HUMVEE appeared on the display. "Fisk Munitions, a branch of Pradea, built the mine that took his right arm and foot. It's a little too ironic considering Lawford wanted to move away from weapon's development." "You assume an assassination attempt?" The Countess asked as she got up from her desk and knocked on a panel on the back wall, the facade sliding open to reveal a mannequin wearing a ripped and burnt yellow leotard and thigh high boots. "On returning from the war their families disowned them, Lawford in particular had it hard when his fiancé married his father to secure a business deal within Pradea." Mouse announced as the Countess shucked her jacket and removed the leotard from the mannequin. "What are you thinking?" "I'm weighing up which problem is easier to deal with; Dare or the Terrible Trio, and for that I need a session in my power suit." The Countess replied as she removed her trousers and slid the leotard on. "An hour should do." She added as she went and removed a mask with an attached auburn wig made from real human hair. "Should I come to a conclusion sooner than that I'll call you." She announced as Mouse closed the holographic screen and walked out of the room, glad that she didn't have to see what was going to happen next. Aliki groaned slightly as she got out of the grey Honda Civic outside her home. "You live here?" Katherine asked as she slipped the car into park and turned off the ignition, her eyes focused on the abandoned building. "Ignoring the fact, you're squatting, but what about heating and water? How are you going to survive the winter?" "I don't know, I assumed I'd have left Bludhaven by then." Aliki sighed as she opened the door to reveal a dusty corridor inside. "You can't continue to live here, it’s not safe." Katherine stated as she saw Aliki begin to struggle upstairs, before rushing to help her. "Honestly if we weren't already here, I'd be tempted to take you back to my place. Still might actually." "I'll be fine for one night." Aliki groaned as the two women reached the top of the stairs, neither of them noticing the scab like covering of the telegraph pole outside to shift, its camera eye alerting its master's that their quarry had been found. |