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Post by .Merios on Jan 30, 2011 14:09:58 GMT -5
"Uh.. Let me remember... Ah. That's it."
Matthew watched as the shopkeeper moved around his items and behind his counter, searching for something underneath the desk and finally withdrawing a newspaper. He lifted it and set it on the counter, pointing to a story on the front page.
"There's not much 'undiscovered' nowadays."
The newspaper headline read "Staff of Odja'naral stolen, no leads." Matthew sighed a bit, looking up at the man. He nodded slightly.
"So, Medusa took this? How?"
The man started speak when some shouting started roaring up in the distance along with movement and shuffling. Matthew gave the man a nod and snatched the newspaper, turning around and stepping away, looking for a clean exit.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jan 31, 2011 8:29:42 GMT -5
'Staff of Odja'naral?' Aya rubbed her chin, locking the name of the artifact in memory behind several chains.
Matthew had picked up on a ruckus, Aya heard it too. It seemed pointed in their direction and Matthew was quick to start moving away from the vendors, "Thanks for the tip," showing her gratitude. If the girl had had a little Egyptian dosh in her pocket she would have gladly left it on the bench for him; unfortunately it wasn't Snakes lucky day. Aya wasn't prepared to fish around her wallet for the info with fuzz breathing down her neck.
"That's us Tyson," she noted to the soldier, "Need to assume if Matthew gets his mugshot that it'll get Medusa's full attention," turning her back on the Matt's contact, spotting a couple of Royal Cairo guards; several police officers all in tan fatigues followed behind them pushing their way through the crowd.
<"The one with the scars!">
Quickly it was summarized that the Smiley face was the target, "Let's try and make some distance between them and him," Aya suggested while walking away from the merchant, signaling Tyson to keep close. Turning a corner Matt had taken, Aya counted down from ten keeping an ear out on the pursuers.
They followed around the corner as Aya hit zero, swiping the leg of a watermelon stand with her foot. gratuitous amount of fruit filled the lane with the law enforcement barreling right into it.
The ivory girl had taken off at a jog immediately after the vandalism, ignoring a peek over her shoulder to see the officers crushing, tripping and slipping on the faux red flesh; the merchant stepping out in front of them shouting through his lungs in Arabic at the damage they had dealt to his goods.
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Post by Mikey on Feb 1, 2011 2:43:00 GMT -5
Tyson stayed quiet when Matt was talking to his contact, almost saying something with Matt’s chosen greeting. He resisted the urge, because it soon seemed to play out for the better. Luckily. He was going to do that to the wrong person and end up in a world of trouble one of these days…
They got their info, and were prepared to make their exit, but the noise outside told him that it wouldn’t be that simple.
“See?” Tyson said, taking a peek at who it was that was trying to rain on their parade. “I f**king told you didn’t I? Go around breaking s*** and beating people up, you get the cops on your ass.” He said. Regardless if it had been because of that or something else about him, Tyson decided it was time for an ‘I told you so’.
He stayed close to Aya as she signaled and waited for her to do what she was going to do, eyeing the placement of her foot and having a pretty good idea. He had been prepared for it, tensing up his leg against the ground when he knew they were going to have to run. He just hoped his leg was up for it. He’d still having a bit of stiffness in it. He just hoped it was muscles being used less often and not a problem that he didn’t know about.
Fruit flooded the street and the cops slowed down to navigate the melon massacre, all the while Aya and Tyson taking off in a jog down the street. He was glad she kept the pace slow. Even at full health, he knew he couldn’t keep up with her at a full run.
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Post by .Merios on Feb 1, 2011 4:53:21 GMT -5
He stayed ahead of Aya as she demolished the watermelons much to the dismay of the watermelon-seller, to be honest. He quickly stuffed the newspaper into his right front pocket and took off in a sprint, the alleyway was short, and he quickly made double-time getting to the end, his feet smacking the pavement rapidly as he could feel his heart beat quickening in his chest. He stopped and skidded around a corner, stopping for a moment and considering his options. Head down another alleyway which lead to a dead end but with a fire escape? Or into the crowd and attempt to lose them there. He opted for the alleyway, not caring much for Aya and Tyson's decision- this was his mess, they weren't after them.
He rounded the corner with his right hand gripping the cement as he jogged down the alleyway, taking note of a strategically placed dumpster underneath the opposite side of the fire escape. He turned to look behind him, hearing shouts getting closer as well as the padding of his companion's feet. He quickly scrambled on top of the closed dumpster and turned to face the fire escape. He stamped his feet onto the metal and pressed down, launching himself forward onto the lower rung of the high fire escape ladder. He pulled himself up slowly at first and gaining speed, rapidly ascending the ladder. He thought for a moment before positioning himself on the metal grating, kicking the ladder and letting it drop to the ground. Mainly for his comrade's sake if they chose to follow him and less for the police- if they wanted to risk their lives climbing up, so be it.
Without turning to check if the men were in the alley, he spun around and headed up the first set of stairs, then the second. "There he is! Up there! Matthew sighed, stopping at a window of a seemingly unoccupied apartment. He gripped the base of the window and lifted it up, hearing the wooden lock snap under the pressure as he heaved it high enough for him to enter, which he did.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Feb 1, 2011 7:33:00 GMT -5
Matthew had chosen to avoid the next crowded street; it was either lose the police through a mess of Egyptian citizens or lose them through a series of tight corridors. The decision of the latter was sound; Aya didn't exactly want to cause a stir among the civilians. However she figured the three of them required a little more strategy.
"Ty," Aya stopped at the entrance to the alley, "Go get a ride out. A cab or something. Meet us on the other end of this complex," Tyson could blend in with the crowd and lose any heat he might have; compared to the physical state his leg was currently in, the man would be able to give them a metaphorical leg up in the situation. Aya slapped him on the shoulder signifying their separation before following Matthew down the alley.
The dark limestone walls and claustrophobic space left a tunnel vision impression, an almost unrealistic sense of overconfident focus set on the length of alley ahead. Aya spotted Matt clambering up a dark green fire escape, the entire metal structure rattling and creaking under his footsteps.
Jumping to skip a couple of rungs, Aya ascended the emergency ladder the misunderstood perpetrator had dropped for her. Matthew could be seen breaking in through one of the windows as she climbed; a sound bite of 70's Miami cop flick music tuned in for a moment, her sense of humor drawing a smile on her face as she imagined Matthew with curled hair, detective moustache and a pair of Aviators escaping a pursuit from a deal gone awry.
She rolled over once reaching the top and kicked her heel against the top of the ladder, the weak bolts snapping like rotten wood causing it to crash to the stone ground, "Let's see you deal with that," Aya teased while heading up to the window her partner had assaulted through.
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Post by Mikey on Feb 1, 2011 7:55:58 GMT -5
“Got it.” Tyson said simply, breaking away from her as he made way toward the streets. She said ride, and Tyson had one thing in mind. Something that would be damn near impossible to spot in a crowd of vehicles exactly like it.
A taxi, of course.
He made it to the main road and took a look around, saw a cab that seemed to stand out. Door open, the owner hauling a suitcase out of the trunk for a tourist. He strolled across the street and looked around, waiting for the man to come back and catching his attention. He walked toward an alley, looking back as the driver followed him out of curiosity. Tyson turned around and motioned for the man to come closer. One more look, and Tyson grabbed him by the neck, pushing him into the wall of the building.
He knew big cities. Knew how many people would walk past an alley and never look inside. Knew that ninety percent of them would walk away if they happened to see a robbery in action.
He pulled the Glock from his waistband and held it near the mans face. He started to plead for his life, and Tyson let up on the ‘gun in face’ antics.
[“Easy. Me and my friends are doing some bad stuff for good reasons, and we need your car. Gimme the keys and your license. The cops will find it, it’ll be returned to you, no one gets hurt.”] He said in Arabic. The man seemed to understand. Even if he didn’t believe the giant in front of him, it looked like he could get out of this alive. He reached into his pockets and pulled out his wallet and keys. Tyson put his gun away, took the plastic card from Armand Hassani’s wallet, and gave it back to him. He reached into his own pocket, pulling out a wad of bills and putting it in Armand’s hand. About a hundred bucks.
[“Have a drink, you look like you could use it.”] He said, walking away as if nothing had happened. Armand stayed quiet and didn’t move. Good man.
Tyson entered the cab, started it up, and drove off in the direction Aya had gone. He had no clue how he’d find them, but he could probably follow the cops and destruction to find them.
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Post by .Merios on Feb 1, 2011 14:49:10 GMT -5
Matthew heard the smack of metal behind him but paid no mind- he was in the center of what looked like a furnished living room, a TV in the center with a couch nearby. A bookcase in the corner signified a "lived-in" look as well as a few magazines strewn about on the coffee table. He quickly moved into the kitchen, the carpet beneath his feet a welcome feeling as he stepped through the threshold. The first thing he eyes landed on was a bowl of fruit which was much too shiny to be real- plastic. "Hmm.. A show apartment..."
He shook it off, heading back into the living room as Aya scrunched herself into the window, shutting it behind her. A smile crept onto his face knowing she'd follow, but he wasn't too sure if the giant would be crashing up the fire escape after her. He stopped at the door, putting his right hand on the knob to exit the apartment. He turned to her, a little bit out of breath.
"Where's Ty?"
He said, turning the knob and opening the door into a hallway, leading left and right, with an elevator at the far right end and a set of stairs at the far left. He had to make another tactical decision- take the elevator that would definitely be faster to the roof, but could possibly be stopped? Or take the stairs, seeing as it's a guaranteed route to the roof, albeit tiring and time-consuming. He turned to Aya, a raising his eyebrow.
"Your call, Doll."He said, glancing in anticipation as the elevator doors dinged open, a young Arabic couple hand-in-hand stepped out, smiling and talking as they passed Matthew, blissfully unaware of their present situation.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Feb 1, 2011 23:52:22 GMT -5
"He's getting us a ride," stepping through the apartment threshold.
Matthew discovered they had a choice, leaving the decision for a means of escape up to Aya, "Elevator," she whispered before the pair passed them, taking quick yet controlled strides towards the chrome sliding doors and thumbing the rooftop key once they were inside.
Predictions could be made that the police would be working to lock down the building. Aya knew it wasn't a matter of 'If' but 'When' they would cut power to the elevator. Surprisingly they had made it to the 8th floor before the entire box shuddered and the fluorescent lights went out; a dull red bulb blinking on in replacement bathing the elevator in a crimson hue.
"Grab one of the doors," Aya pointed. Prying open the sliding lid; the chrome doors were no match for both of them combined. A larger gap existed for the floor below than above, however there was enough room to see what was happening on level 8. Several apartment residents were leaning out of their doorways, others stood in the hall talking to neighbors, all wondering why the power had just been severed, "The Bill want you pretty bad, Matt," Aya remarked before gabbing a hold of level 8 and swinging herself down into level 7.
Heading for the stairs; it was assumed taking the elevator those last 5 floors had created decent distance between them and their pursuers. Aya barged through the stairwell door to shouts from below, leaning over the railing and spotting a full riot squad. Looking up detailed they only had 3 floors left, "Not much further," the girl said as she started up the stairs.
The whole time Aya was trying to figure out how the hell they were going to spot Tyson from the rooftop.
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Post by Mikey on Feb 4, 2011 9:45:29 GMT -5
Tyson moved through the streets in the borrowed cab, checking rooftops at every opportunity. He knew that was what Aya would pick, and had a feeling Matt would pick the same. They could do some jumping and s*** that the cops couldn’t, they’d pick it because it was the best way to lose the heat.
The only problem was finding them. He knew what way Aya had gone, and the best he could do was follow the police.
Which seemed to pay off. He turned onto a street and saw the police barricade, the men moving into the apartment building that the cops were stationed outside of. He pulled down the street and was pleased that it was almost empty, any other cars choosing to avoid the street when they saw the block. He pulled into an alley on the street and got out, looking at the building that was being breeched by the riot cops.
Not much for him to do now but to keep the engine running and hope the two of them could get to him. His eyes followed the path he would take if he were them, from the roof of that building and across the street to the one he was parked next to. Down the fire escape that hung on the wall right next to him, and to the waiting cab. Easy enough, if you could clear the jump.
“Come on…” He muttered to himself, his hand planted on his side, ready to pull out his Glock if the cops started to sniff around. He wasn’t too hip on shooting police officers, but he would do what he had to do if they started shooting first. Maybe he could avoid an incident like he had with the drivers if he had the drop on them. But so far no one gave two s***s about a cab in an alley way. So far…
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Post by .Merios on Feb 4, 2011 12:52:03 GMT -5
He grunted as he helped Aya pry open the elevator doors from within, watching her slip down into the 7th floor. He peeked up at 8 to see a few civilians poking out of their doors- nothing suspicious. He grasped the top of the floor of level 8 with both hands and swung himself into floor 7, landing on the ground with a smack on all fours. He followed Aya, mostly quiet as she burst through the stairwell door. He leaned over, then looked up.
"Not much further."
Matthew gulped in agreement and hoofed it up the stairs, trying to ignore the shouts and yells from below as the heavy foot steps got louder the further they got up the stairs. Matthew made double time, skipping a step every other bound until they finally reached the top with the roof door just down a short hallway. Matthew quickly sprinted for the door, bounding at full stride just to bull-rush the metal barrier with his right shoulder, metal ground against metal as the door groaned open, swinging aside and smacking against the concrete wall it was placed on. Still on it's hinges, but damaged.
"Huh."
Only one word could escape his mouth. Nothing was up here, there were no air conditioning units, no water towers. It was odd, but he had to think fast. He waited for Aya to flourish through the doorway before he grasped the metal door and swung it back shut, noticing that it wouldn't latch anymore. He shut it anyway and backed up a foot, bringing his right foot forward in a stomp, the force crunching the door inward and securing it in place- for now. It wouldn't stand up to the battering ram of a riot squad.
"Where's Ty?"He said, jogging to the side of the roof and looking over, seeing the barricade and the mass of people.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Feb 4, 2011 13:58:29 GMT -5
Taking backward steps from the rooftop door, giving Matthew space to cram the piece of metal back in place. Attention turned to the rooftops around herself as Matt asked Aya where the big guy had situated himself, "He wouldn'na gone too far," confidence in her reply. Tyson wouldn't make them huff it a distance; likely going with a more out from under their noses approach.
Iris of her eyes squeezed in as she believed she could see the buzzed head of the behemoth. Just as Aya were about to point it out for Matthew an explosion from the demolished door shook the rooftop, the bronze haired girl turning around in time to see a shotgun unloading a beanbag round in her direction, smacking her in the stomach. The explosive breech took her by surprise; she had expected more warning before hand.
Stumbling; Aya tripped on the edge of the roof. Exploiting to her benefit, the girl took hold before the fall, hanging over the street below. There was no other cover to save another beanbag from hitting her again.
She felt like an escaped animal, tranquilizer darts and beanbag rounds all flying in her direction, trying to free herself from the hand that feeds. Aya turned to look over her shoulder as best she could, sputtering coughs from her winded state. It had been Tyson she spotted earlier, "Matt. Jump over to the other roof," she thumb the direction; it looked like a fairly wide clearance, nothing neither of them hadn't done before.
Springing from the wall she clung to, Aya turned mid-flight with her hands stretched out latching onto the fire escape of the adjacent complex.
Another police officer had climbed through the window as Aya pulled herself up; neighboring buildings would be secured as well and any decent law enforcement group would have plenty of communication going on. A call must have gone through that they two perpetrators made it to the rooftops.
Grabbing the cop's rifle as he went to aim, Aya tussled with him briefly before the man whacked her in the forehead with the receiver. A slight daze followed the impact. He swung around facing Aya to the apartment; she brought her foot up in retaliation to the officer's torso and booted him in the diaphragm. The railing of the fire escape snapped allowing the cop to fall freely into a parked car below.
"Sh*te," Aya could feel things turning Enemy of the State for her. A dead cop only made things more difficult; a la lethal weaponry approved kind of difficult. Dropping the rifle, she scrambled down the fire escape subtly pointing towards the taxi below them to signal Matthew.
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Post by Mikey on Feb 5, 2011 8:03:32 GMT -5
“Oh f**k…” Tyson muttered, looking to see if anyone had seen the cop fall. Most of the ones on the ground had moved to intercept the super powered pair, funneling into the building. Not many had seen the cop fall to his death. But it was going to be on them. Damn it to hell.
He saw Aya out of the corner of his eye as she jumped down the last level of the fire escape, herding her into the back of the cab and giving her a push to signify that she should lay down to avoid being seen. He look up to see Matt following her path, and then swept the area for cops that may have seen what had happened. None. They probably hadn’t been expecting the suspects to leap from one side of the street to the other. But they had been quite quick with securing the buildings surrounding the one the pair had entered. Were they actually expecting the subjects to do the kind of stuff they had, or were they just that efficient?
Matt came down the fire escape next, and Tyson ushered him into the back and had him lay down like he had Aya. He snapped the door closed and hesitated to look around one last time. By now the cops were at the window, seeing the body of one of their own. They laid eyes on Tyson, and he snapped his hands in the air and put on an expression of fear. They snapped an order for him to get the f**k out of dodge, the benefit of never actually seeing him with them, and he clambered to the cab’s driver seat and sped off.
“Son of a b*tch!” He yelled to no one in particular. He let out a breath and cleared the tenseness from his lungs, turning onto the next street and looking around. The cops had started putting up road blocks, and he pulled into another alley to avoid it. He kept going through them and different side streets when one was not available until they were out of the range of the blockades.
“I think our time is running out.” He said. The last thing they needed was to get into a war with the authorities. Besides the fact that they had as much manpower and firepower as the corporation they were fighting, they could do their fighting out in the open. The cloak and dagger s*** was unnecessary when you had a badge on your chest.
“College?” He suggested more than asked, shooting a glance into the rear view mirror at the pile of tangled limbs in the back seat.
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Post by .Merios on Feb 5, 2011 13:00:50 GMT -5
Matthew straightened up in the back seat, reaching down to his legs and wrapping his right hand around a few tranq darts stuck in the folds of his clothing. They couldn't quite penetrate his skin, which meant they hung uncomfortable in places unknown. He let out a long sigh, letting his arms slink around the edge of the back seat, putting his head back to face the ceiling.
"College?"
Matthew shrugged, his eyes moving down to check and see if his Mateba was still intact- it was.
"Well, the last place this staff was seen was the museum downtown. Maybe we can get a lead there.. Or.. I guess we could go to the college, not sure why." He shrugged again, obviously not getting the point.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Feb 5, 2011 13:17:22 GMT -5
Matthew's lack in interest made Aya snicker, "Seems your curiosity didn't survive the jump," removing her yellow blouse to get a little more comfortable before explaining, "Tyson has a..." she rolled her wrist in the driver's direction, "Friend, who we think might know something about the artifact. She studies the stuff and has a place over at the University,"
The noun caused flashbacks of the brief moment they had spent in the Nevada Uni flutter through her mind, the corridor of slaughter with its red stained carpet. A part of her was glad they weren't fighting a war while heading into this educational institute, "It's more than likely she's heard of the theft, too. Could shed some light on why Medusa would want it."
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Post by .Merios on Feb 10, 2011 4:10:29 GMT -5
Matthew shifted in his seat, tilting his shoulder a bit to reposition the sheathes on his back- they were poking his side and making sitting down quite uncomfortable. He listened to Aya but couldn't stop fidgeting- something else was prodding his side. He sighed, looking down and swatting at his side with his right hand, feeling something hard and solid. He looked down to see a large syringe with a metal canister attached to it stuck on the folds of his jacket and belt, the tip blunt and broken. He yanked it off and examined it, lifting it up to eye level and shaking his head, concentrating hard.
His vision blurred for a moment as binary code wrapped around his periphery but then quickly vanished and reality returned. He sighed, handing it to Aya."Probably something about this vial, check it out on the way. We have a few minutes anyhow."
He slid off the sheathes and set them in his lap, reaching his right arm behind the seat and around Aya's shoulder, tilting his head a bit to rest on her free right bicep. He snuggled a bit, closing his eyes.
"Wake me.." He said in between yawns, "W-When we get there.."
[Aya, Matthew and Tyson have left the Market Place]
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