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Post by Mikey on Nov 18, 2008 14:41:34 GMT -5
Considered to be one of the most sacred rivers in all the world, it helps form the border of several countries, as well as funnel into both the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. don’t think about trying to use to it escape though. It dead ends into land at all sides.
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Post by KR0R1C on Nov 1, 2012 10:41:41 GMT -5
Lat/Lon :: 31.698085 / 35.449619 Location :: Dead Sea Estuary / Jordan Tributary Time :: 0900 hours It was already getting hot outside. Warm weather wasn't unusual in West Bank but Sam was already starting to miss the cooler climate she was last in. Presently she rode with along in a convoy with a team of mercenaries. Sam and Aya had needed some equipment and a way into west bank so the raven girl had called in a few favors with some old military friends. Back in France, Sam and Aya had eventually found the recipient of all the EBR cargo. A lot of it had been damaged along the way for several reasons, but the contractors had been scavenging it all out of the wreckage anyway. It took a little convincing but the duo pried out enough information to give them their next target. An extremist group in Israel who was playing with all the wrong toys. With some research they found out that these same group had recently placed a large order from an even shadier group; which they had yet to dig up anymore on, for what was being called the C-Virus. Yet another adaptation of the Progenitor, and more reason for Sam and Aya to bring the world crashing down on these terrorists. What these guys planned to do with the EBR tech and the C-Virus could not possibly equal anything good. And that is what the heroins planned to stop. The convoy came to a stop off the side of highway 90 just where Sam had instructed them to. "Looks like this is it," came the voice of her old friend. "You be careful out there." Sam could see the age lines growing ever deeper on his face. However her face remained its same youthful beauty. "You know me, Archer. I always play it safe," she said with an evil grin. "If by safe you mean the sorts of things we pulled of in O.D.S. then Im going to have to repeat myself." He said almost laughing. The two of them smiled before Sam reached in and hugged her old partner. "It was good to see you again. Thank you for everything!""Not a problem. If you need anything you give a call we'll be around." With that the raven unloaded from the Hummer and stepped onto the toasty blacktop. She wore clothing very similar to that of most soldiers and mercenaries in the middle east but with a little more womanly styling. Digital camo BDU trousers, tan cloth combat boots, her Beretta rested in a drop-leg holster, an Underarmor black t-shirt, thin form Dragonskin body armor, black 1/2 finger Blackhawk S.O.L.A.G. light assault gloves, and topped it all off with a black and white Blackhawk Tactical Shemaugh around her neck, a TacOps Cap with no badges and her hair pulled through the hole in the back, and Gunnar extreme polarized assault glasses. Another rider handed from the back handed her a large supply bag; which held her more job specific items, and her signature M-4 Beowulf. She waited on Aya to join her before waving the convoy goodbye.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Nov 1, 2012 19:32:23 GMT -5
Sharp scents of salt water assaulted the olfactory nerves as the single vehicle convoy neared the area of interest. Limestone shattered underwheel when the humvee came to a rolling halt. Heat shot up Aya's legs when her feet touched down on the hot plate of Middle Eastern soil, the protection of a roof vanishing to allow direct attach from the sun above. A single cloud hung in the sky, hardly enough to even wish for precipitation. A breeze still churned through the broad valley; Aya had packed light in terms of clothing wearing nothing over torso but a lightweight tan vest. Persperation could be seen on her forehead and arms, even she could not beat back the temperate conditions.
After arrested developments some weeks ago on the bullet train sailing over Europe, the two women managed to salvage something from an Op one would consider f**ked up beyond all repair. Aya had not expected to be drawn to the Earth's hot pot; it stood more as a courtesy call. Someone planned on doing something stupid with the deadly wares, it was their duty to stop them.
Pushing her rifle from her stomach around to her back Aya gave a nod to Sam's friends and allies, people who shared a similar cause yet had their own obligations elsewhere. She knocked her shades over her eyes, turning away and toward the scent of salt letting Sam finish her goodbyes.
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Post by KR0R1C on Nov 2, 2012 13:58:10 GMT -5
The convoy took off down the road kicking up sand and dust as their tires spun. Sam turned around to face the body of water they were about one kilometer from. You could see salt deposits lining the bank of the Dead Sea, strangley they looked almost like a massive collection of bones. Sam slipped into her rucksack and collected her mental notes on their job. A small village had been pieced together north of their current position. The info they had collected back in France pointed them to its general location. Sam didn't know if that would be the location of their prey, or simply a rendevous point. Either way there would be something for the duo to work with.
"Shanty village should be two klicks up into the Jordan. Any idea what we should be looking for once we get near there?"
The two began their walk along the rocky sand covered terrain toward their destination.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Nov 3, 2012 4:19:28 GMT -5
"Not sure. It's been a while since I've followed a lead on a whim," Aya admitted, holding back a shrug. As much as Sam's interrogation had been successful, all they had was a name, location, and description of the type of freight that was being long hauled through the Arabic wastes, "We've kept the EBR shipment from arriving, so there's nothing familiar we can use as a visual cue."
From experience being able to pick out virus storage should have been simple enough. Aya could not speak for Samantha's training in pathogenics - the two hadn't exactly had the chance to chat since they met - so she spoke out loud, "In my time doing research it was necessary to keep a virus in cold storage. The amount we tested on meant we only needed a small refrigeration unit. If these dude's are hauling big vats of virus then it should be fairly obvious,"
One finger was extended for her first point, "They'll need a large refrigeration unit. It's going to be noisy; granted the local ambience isn't too harsh it might be possible to pick up on anything out of the ordinary," point number 2 uncurled from her hand, "It's going to be a modern unit, clean looking besides a fine layer of desert dust. No doubt made with chrome housing which will look out of place compared to everything else, although to that defense it's going to have tarp or military canopy pulled over it," One final point extended on her left hand, "It's also going to be cold when you're near it. After that follow any tubing or wires which should lead to the virus housing proper," Aya shook her hand as if to discard the facts.
"It could be tough to know who's a threat. Everyone will be armed so we can't run around accusing anyone," Aya's analyst personality exposed itself for a moment harking back to her days as commander, bringing up blatant facts to keep a fireteam constantly in the loop, "We should avoid harming civilians, as difficult as that may become. Worst action we'll have to take, granted we can't find what we're looking for, is find the most leader-looking person and see if they can't spill any information for us,"
She wiped sweat from her brow, wishing she had brought a cap if only to block the blinding light, "If we do wind up in a fire fight, shout 'irmy selahak'," Aya looked at Sam, "It means lay down your weapons. I hadn't thought to ask if you knew any Arabic up until now. If not, it would help to start learning."
Aya looked back toward the horizon, the sea to their right and a series of run on cliffs to their left, "What's your opinion on this new virus?" she had been long out of the loop with the scientifics for this sort of nonsense for a while. It had nearly crossed her mind that the worst was over, no one was innovating on the legacy left behind from 14 years ago, "I haven't heard of it myself. Some face time'd be good to see what it can really do," even though it would help her better understand the compound, she did not honestly want to see another strain any time soon.
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Post by KR0R1C on Nov 6, 2012 17:07:27 GMT -5
As they walked across the sun scorched landscape Sam nodded her head, in cadence with Aya's description of things to keep their eyes open for. In her mind she made a mental checklist. - Refrigeration Units - Mechanical Noises - Anything shiny and newish - Obvious hiding on equipment - Out of place plumbing or wiring - Change in temperature - W.C.S. look for a 'leader' Everything her partner clued to made complete and total sense. She hadn't thought too much about the storing of the virus but memories from medical research confirmed the facts for her. Sam committed the list to memory and listened as her friend switched from directive to Q-n-A. "What's your opinion on this new virus? I haven't heard of it myself. Some face time'd be good to see what it can really do." "First Ive heard of it as well. I'll be interested to see the improvements that they have made." Sam laid on the sarcasm. Improvements to the psychotic scientists hidden away in their labs meant more people ended up dead out in the real world. "Im more afraid that the more they play with it, the closer they will get to making more of our kind..."The raven let the last line trail off. Mentioning what she was brought back memories from France. She was still a ashamed about what had happened back then. But more disturbing to her was the prolonged silence within her head, and the fact that summoning forth some of her old powers required more concentration than it use to. She hadn't entirely figured it out yet but she was thinking that the key to using her abilities back then was fear and rage. Something changed inside her that day with Aya, maybe she needed to tap into something else in order to realize her potential. She just hadn't found what that something was yet. They were nearing the outskirts of the village now. Sam could feel sweat running down the small of her back at this point. From a distance her eagle-like eyes could pick out armed villagers, they tried to make themselves not obvious. But Samantha's training and experience threw red flags everywhere. It was then she noticed one of the men sending a child running in toward the center of the village, likely delivering a message to someone important.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Nov 7, 2012 6:23:41 GMT -5
The erratic movement had caught both their attention, "See that," Aya said under her breath. All too common was it for the men of militia to have a child be a voice amongst others in their group. Innocence could hide the most sensitive data in the most untouchable location; for either of the American's to chase down an Israeli child would look overtly suspicious. Giving pursuit now likely wouldn't bear fruit; the militia courier no doubt knew their location inside and out.
Being on the ground meant having an understanding with the lay of the land were chaotic at best. Clarity came from above. Aya set her camel pack down at her feet crouching to rummage through its contents; from it she withdrew the MAV she had hastily put on the list of equipment before they left the barracks. Archer and his men proved more than resourceful in providing supplies, a surprising patriotism in their cause besides living for the bounty; Aya could see why Sam shared such admiration with him, enough to make her wonder whether he knew the full story.
Rotors buzzed on the MAV's wings as Aya tested its bearings, unfolding into its aware state. The device was quiet, ensuring be so in the presence of silence, and its camouflage consisted of digital tan and beige. She knew Sam would be unanimous in throwing funds at it once their all-seeing eye went skybound. The cautious girl looked around before setting it free, rising at a startling rate, "That'll help us track anything interesting," Aya said, taking her phone from its pouch and waking it from standby. Clarity was transmitted to the small OLED screen; any normal passer by would think she were online; anyone else would not have the right to accuse the e-addict otherwise.
A curious breeze passed over from the bay rustling the arid plants near around the town. Farmers carted the white sediment down narrow dirt paths and in through the town, wide brim hats blocking the sun and obscuring their face. Their near autonomous nature superfluous with the rest of the town painting a bleak picture of poverty barely rescued by more upbeat culture from the rest of the townsfolk.
Aya made a subtle glance at Sam; they didn't exactly blend in. As one farmer rounded a shack, she proved maybe there would be other ways for the two girl's to seem inconspicuous. The lady was near startled when she saw their shadows, looking up to see who was blocking her path. The look of fear rested on her worn features; scabbed and callous hands gripping the cart while bare, bony feet hardly kept her standing.
Through her shades Aya looked to Sam as if to query what the local's problem was. Common sense would be to move out of her way, yet the decisive girl was inquisitive now. Putting on a dominant expression Aya removed her shades and stepped forwards. She flicked the tarp over covering the collected salt, grabbing a solid clump and inspecting it. It wasn't hard to look interested, although the farmer likely weren't concerned about the salt more than herself. The clump shattered in her hand as Aya crushed it, exuberating force which made the farmer flinch, and released the chips back into the cart before covering the load and stepping aside.
"I think there might be a greater force here than just the militia. The way she looked at me, it was like she had seen death incarnate. Any other worker would have called for help if a stranger began pilfering their goods," Aya observed as the woman pushing the cart moved down the path twice faster than before, "They might be familiar with our appearance. We could easily pass for a private contractor," Aya notioned at their fatigues, "If that's the case, granted after some more investigation, but if - then we might be able to move around more freely than originally thought. At least for a while..."
Closer the two came to the township. It seemed the salt was carted straight through the village; larger buildings could be seen on the other side of the settlement, "What do you think, keep low profile for the moment and start a thorough investigation come nightfall?"
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Post by KR0R1C on Nov 8, 2012 15:20:41 GMT -5
"Low profile would probably be the smarter choice for now," replied Sam. "It wouldn't be good if we go in gun-ho and they end up locking down whatever facilities they have before we can even locate them." Sticking with the idea that there was indeed a greater force than the locals with AK's and pistols will stay off them for a while. Sam continued. "If we can blend. Even a little so that we can travel around the town then we can probably find some clues to what we are looking for.
The duo continued toward the city following the trail the woman with salt had taken. They could feel dozens of sets of eyes on them at all times but no one was stepping up to oppose them yet. They continued through the shanty part of the village, homes made of just about anything partially solid. People buzzed about going about their daily duties. They were coming near a market toward the center of town when something stung at Sam's nostrils.
She stopped and looked first over her shoulders then around, scanning the windows and doorways. The scent only lasted for a moment and then vanished. Something familiar, different enough that she couldnt quite place what it was. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand. But as suddenly as the sensation had come it was gone again. She outwardly shrugged it off as nothing, but the decided it best to keep up her guard.
They entered the market now where the bustle of village life was in full swing, people were trading, bartering, congregating, talking, eating, drinking, and everything else. Attempting to blend in Sam approached a vendor who was sprinkling crushed rock salt over her cooler full of drinks and half melted ice. After a bit of bartering Sam acquired two ice cold bottles of water for herself and Aya. It wasn't until she took the first drink of the water that an idea began forming.
"We haven't seen anything really out of the norm as far as our clues went yet," she began. She wanted to get the idea out in the open because she thought she may have just got a clue on where you would keep something cold in the middle of the desert. She spoke soflty so only Aya's sensitive ears could hear.
"That woman reminded me of something. If you put ice and rock salt together you can maintain below freezing tempuratures for almost four times longer than just ice would. Some sort of reaction between the two causes it to keep cold longer, and even generate more cold. Maybe our targets wont need a lot of flashy equipment, or even anything that looks out of the norm to keep their supplies cold. Maybe they just keep them near large supplies of salt."
As if on queue a few more workers like the lady they had met outside the village passed by rolling carts over loaded with salt. Watching as they passed they headed toward the nicer looking buildings on the other side of the village.
"My guess is there is a storage house for all that salt. And hopefully we will be able to find something on our friends."
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Nov 9, 2012 10:47:40 GMT -5
"An endothermic reaction?" her idea was enough to cause the dicerning girl to pause for thought, "Sam, your mind is as beautiful as your eyes," Aya slapped a hand on her canny companion's shoulder. The revelation was made even more remarkable by what its present tense meant, turning her level-headed state hazingly giddy. If these farmers still carted salt then the organisation she had been chasing weren't fully prepared for storage; at least not full capacity. This marked the first time Aya was properly one step ahead of the assailant.
"A lot of refined salt would be required. We must've caught them mid operation," Aya held her shades up to take a look at some food sizzling on a hot plate, leaning into the shade to smell the foreign cuisine. It had been years since the traveler had tasted Middle Eastern food. She palmed over some coin and purchased a couple of servings, offering one of the skewers plus a serviette to Sam. Her gesture insisted the grub would be good. A passive action would also help distract suspicion.
While tailing one of the cart pushers Aya elaborated on Samantha's perception, "Ice and salt's chilly relationship goes beyond dropping temperature. Salt reduces ice's melting point, liquifying it yet keeping its cold. Anything submerged in it would be preserved as good as in a freezer," she imagined what they might look for; pools of misty silver, blurred silhouettes of the viral canisters beneath their surface. The salt farmers gradually veered more into unpopular areas of the town, taking narrower alleys where few to nil residents occupied.
Aya held her rifle over her stomach, holding the grip. At the two girl's could at least appear as if they were escorting the carters, although Aya presumed it would not work in the eyes of a commander. It was difficult enough to be seen now with the high rooves keeping the sun out of eye; the salt haulers paid no mind to the armed woman patrolling their town, likely from fear of being shot. If anyone of higher authority spotted them the girls would simply split and vanish. Their luck held strong until this point; Aya only waited for Murphey to drop the ball now.
Arriving at a junction brought forth the next point of salt delivery. The cart stopped and two villagers stepped forwards holding large buckets supported over one shoulder with a rod. They scooped up the contents of the barrow and taking off in separate directions. Aya pulled her shades from her face and looked between both paths, "You've got to be kidding me," she fussed. Now their salt was heading to different locations, whether as a red herring or some other purpose; she feared it might split again further down the track.
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Post by KR0R1C on Nov 14, 2012 14:52:38 GMT -5
Sam would have blushed had her face not already been flush from the heat. She didn't quite know how to take complement well so she simply smiled. She ate the food Aya handed her and it was surprisingly delicious. She'd always held a misconception that middle-eastern food was nasty in many forms, but that must have only been the cheap knock-off restaurants back home. They pretended to patrol the streets following more carts of salt until they came to the split.
"You've got to be kidding me."
They must have been splitting up the salt the bad guys taking their cut. While the rest gets cycled to where its suppose to be heading. It was then that Sam was extremely greatful for her more feral, animal-like, senses. Fear. Its smell was hard to describe verbally. It was a discreet odor, like blood, sweat, and oddly enough, honey. But it wasn't only the smell of those things but the tastes as well, as if you could smell the taste. Sam was sure that if she combined those things it wouldnt come close to the scent, and the description was still very vague but it was the only way she could describe it.
Visual clues then confirmed what her nose had already deciphered for her. One of the bucket bearers took off at a quicker pace seeming to want to get away quickly without raising any alarm. He took bigger longer steps and kept his eyes straight ahead. The other carrier however hung his head low, took smaller slower steps. He was the one giving off the smell that told on his destination.
"That one." She hinted to Aya directing her attention to the fearful one. "He's afraid. Probably heading somewhere he really doesn't wanna be."
She let Aya piece the rest together before they started to follow him. Except this time they kept a much further distance than they did with the cart pusher. Sam kept her hand hovering over her side arm ready to draw at any second. She knew the closer they got the more likely they would be to run into trouble.
They turned a corner and at the far end of the alley two armed pseudo-military looking individuals stood at an opening to a larger area; either a court yard, or a storage yard. Sam took the first possible turn off that she could to get out of view of the guards. This was a good sign that they were going in the right direction, but they didn't know how much further it would be from that point now. Could me just on the other side, could be further on. There was no way to know without pressing forward somehow though.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Nov 15, 2012 9:18:58 GMT -5
The sandstone at her shoulder felt cold leaning against the corner for cover. Aya inched her head out far enough to watch the two guards without being seen. They looked to be a part of the Arab nation, almost burlesque of the stereotype. Even with her pale skin the linguist girl would be able to sweet talk her way past them; she still could not speak for Sam.
Aya pushed her shades up her forehead and looked to her compatriot, a slight grimmace forming on her thin lips, "Do you know how to speak Arabic?" she asked. This was something the two should have gone over during there trip to the AO, something Aya now resented.
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Post by KR0R1C on Nov 15, 2012 9:31:28 GMT -5
"Sabah el kheer. Kaifa haloki?" She rambled putting emphasis on all the wrong syllables. It meant 'Good morning. How are you?' "But that's about it Ive never really conversed with anyone who spoke Arabic long enough to really catch on."
Sam could see this may prove to be an issue. But Aya seemed to be working something out in her head so she hoped she would fill her in.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Nov 15, 2012 10:32:17 GMT -5
"We can practice some time," Aya said while feeling woozy from hearing the broken speech, as adorable as she thought it was.
A flick of the wrist quick drew her phone, unlocking it to get the necessary bird's eye view. As open as the next area was, rooves still remained dominant over most of the district and plenty of covered balconies tunneled through the upper floors providing ample cover. Aya handed her phone to Sam, "You'll just have to take the high road. Use this to keep track of me. I'll find out details on ground level and try to get some barings on any points of interest," after the briefing she flicked her shades down again pulled a fine scarf from her camel pack, wrapping the white faux-niqab headdress around her mouth, nose and head.
The mercenary in disguise rounded the corner walking briskly towards the guardsmen of the gate. They tensed up when the stranger approached; out of every negative outcome this endeavor played in Aya's mind, the only positive was it would help them determine just how tight knit the group they looked to infiltrate was.
A raise of the hand maintained a formal greeting and allowed civil comforts to cloud the guardsmens better judgement. Aya would be able to count the number of female mercs in their unit on one hand, no doubt there was missing respect for them yet equality amongst company must remain paramount. One wrong word to a woman in the gaze of their commander would bring penalties they would prefer to avoid, "Hello," Aya began, tongue rolling her words smoothly into their language.
The first gaurd grunted, the other murmurred peaceful greetings of the late morning, "I'm bringing through a report on the salt deposites," this seemed to make sense to them, however piquing their awareness at the same time.
"You're early. Report comes through high noon."
This made one fact; there was somebody who brought reports through every day and they were just over an hour behind her and Sam. Eventually the true report carrier would arrive and note the truth, "I was ordered to carry out a second opinion further along the shore from yesterday."
With her face secluded she seemed to make an easy enough appeal. The unspoken guard turned and opened the gate for passage without hesitation and Aya stepped through. The state of activity increased on the other side; another guard could be seen on the other side of the closed garden. Most of the plants looked unkept, obviously appearances were not as important as the salt that passed through here. Aya continued to follow the laborers in hopes of finding something more colourful.
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Post by KR0R1C on Nov 15, 2012 12:43:04 GMT -5
Sam took the phone and familiarized her self with the overhead map of the area before setting off. As Aya turned the corner to confront the guards Sam climbed up onto a barrel. She launched upward with near 700 pounds of force throwing her body toward the neighboring wall before turning and kicking off once again. She caught the roof ledge of a building on the opposite side of the narrow alley two floors higher than she was moments ago. The raven girl lifted herself into the sun and crab walked across its surface as she scanned other rooftops for snipers. Luckily she saw none and she hoped into a nearby building's patio.
She skirted the rails peeking over just in time to see Aya conversing with the guards, it seemed to be going well so she turned away from the clearing and used the railing to get onto the top of this building as well. Now three stories up she laid down to conceal herself as much as possible and peered over the edge into the courtyard.
More guards patrolled this area in packs. In the center was a large fountain that seemed mostly unkempt, like most of the area did. Ahead a large building dominated the northern quarter. To the east it was hard to make out exactly what was going on, looked mostly like more housing but it was where most of the guards were coming from so she assumed barracks, and armory. To the west a passage led into another yard that was mostly covered by tin roof constructions. Sam tried to get the overhead drone to get a better angle of the second yard but couldn't make out anything beneath the tin cover. This would probably be a good place to inspect next but there were more guards at the entrance to the yard.
Sam activated a two-way headset radio her friends had been kind enough to supply them with. She hoped Aya had already activated hers. The spotter spoke into her mic. "Something to the west. Heavy with guards."
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Nov 21, 2012 11:19:55 GMT -5
Aya pushed her way through the gate into covered yard after receiving Sam's guidance, seemingly without much resistance. The lack of urgency in the gate guard's expressions suggested anything past the first checkpoint were not as thorough; they were only waiting until someone came in shooting. Aya worried saying something like "good day" might blow her cover, making the decision to play it quiet and mysterious behind her shades and scarf-balaclava.
Happenings were noisier in here with loud conversation and the rattle and clang of barrows that wheeled to the centre of the area. The majority of the noice came from the Mack flatbed reversing a giant shipment container into a dock further across from where Aya stood. The shade it was in made it easy to see the details on the container, all of which was blacked out.
One of the guards who walked up to the container put his hands on the lock. Just as he held on a strange exoskeleton growth began crawling up his arm as it turned into something else. His shout caught natural attention as another guard ran up to him and lopped his arm off with a machete. Aya had her M4 up on instinct. Another guard put a stun rod to the dismembered arm and shocked it until it burned. The container itself suddenly sparked off arcs of electricity, current soared through it from wires hanging above from the ceiling. Another shout, an order this time, the one armed guard was dragged into an adjacent building and the truck began pulling out.
Aya stood, awestruck. The rest of the guards went about their business. Had her mask not been on she must have looked suspicious, "I think I just witnessed viral containment," she said in a hush to Sam, wherever the girl was now. It took a little longer for Aya to snap back. There had been no hazmat suits or defensive positions. It was obvious they were about to unload a batch of something c-virus related, that much was a missing dissapointment, yet perhaps a weakness had been discovered of it.
A few meager steps brought her to the edge of where the salt was dumped. It was dark inside, a cold; enough so that even Aya could not see much. Unless the proper entrance was camouflaged there was not much else she could she in the yard in terms accessing storage; something else the incoming freight was about to reveal. So far the salt dump was the only promising lead of getting inside.
She did not plan on jumping in; Aya still played incognito and wanted to keep it that way until the very last moment. The girls were close to their first piece of evidence, they just had to push a pin into it.
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