The pew that Fiona hid behind was now on fire, but this was of secondary important to the earth-shattering detonation somewhere in the building as ten grenades cooked off near-simultaneously. Pews were shredded left and right and Fiona went abruptly deaf.
Everything took on an odd, dreamlike state as she attempted to gain her bearings again, scrambling for a piece of cover that looked relatively intact. She found herself behind the marble altar as the faintest slivers of hearing returned and a piercing ringing made itself apparent. She glanced around the corner of the altar and took aim at the flamethrower's fuel tank, loosing three shots at it.
edited 12th Dec '15 10:46:41 PM by Wysp
"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —FaramirThe armed GPD / WSP officers took cover behind their cruisers to avoid getting hit.
They were informed on the radio that TIG was coming with an element only four minutes away.
"てめええええええ!!!!"
Mark spent the next few minutes ducking down behind the benches.
"Hey!" He called for Billy's attention. "You're not doing us a favor if you burn his corpse! Nothing!"
The Inspector got prone behind a WSP cruiser, who got nearly hit in the shoulder.
I need a fucking vacation after this.
Carter recognized enemy reinforcements and then a truly deafening explosion was imminent, so he - an experienced combatant, went behind cover and held his ears, and even then it left him dazed, stumbling for a moment, his ears bleeding. This was the sound of war, and he stumbled to his feet at first but then became assured of his stance.
I'm back at war then.
He realized there were now flames everywhere and more antagonistic presences. Slinking around behind the cover, Carter held the rifle in one hand and picked up a jagged, shattered piece of wood in his free hand. It'd make a good combat knife in a pinch. He put it in a pocket on his bullet proof vest.
He rushed the first Armed Revenant he saw, grabbing the AK-47, using his superior muscle strength for a shoulder rush to pin the foe to the ground, seized his weapon, and then pulled up the Kevlar on the guy's face and promptly double-tapped him with his own weapon.
He executed this deadly maneuver in a surprisingly low amount of time. It occurred to him he just murdered someone quickly and efficiently, but he was too into the flow of combat to let it hit him. He put his first rifle across his back, thus inadvertently giving quite an impression, with weapons held all over him and blood from his brutal doubletap maneuver across his frame.
He proceeded to take any grenades left on his fallen foe, deciding they could be useful in taking out Billy. He had about six Kill Strats in his head for dealing with that one. His favorite involved a grenade blasting off Billy's legs.
Carter is officially in Special Forces Mode.
edited 13th Dec '15 5:28:39 PM by NickTheSwing
(Hmm, EDIT: NOT COMPLETE YET. Depowering the Armed Revenants.)
Contrary to popular belief, flamethrowers do not explode when it's shot at since there is no oxygen present inside the utility. However, the holes made would cause the gas inside to lack and if it ignited it would almost certainly ruin Billy's day. So he heaved the heavy flamethrower into the center of the room, threw a grenade at it and started to pray to gather up his strength. The next move would decide everything, he was up against a woman of great intellect and two men of superior skill. They still never had one thing that Billy had, it was faith.
Oh Lord, you who have shielded your people for thousands of years. Grant me the endurance to face the odds, for they are against me. I will show these devils the true worth your name; they who have forsaken you in pursuit of pleasure.
He kept it short and concise, he had no time for pleasantries, and when the grenade detonated in the middle of the room with the flamethrower he made his move... by sprinting out of cover as fast as he could, hurling grenades out like he was generously giving children some of his sweet choco bars. These were his last grenades, and he needed to get one of their weapons fast before he would be cornered and subdued.
His religious zealousness seemed to inspire a category of divine inspiration in his movements. Losing all semblance of reality and control, he pulled the pin of one grenade and threw it inside Branson's coffin then he zigzagged his way across the room to bump into Mark. Reacting first with 5 times the usual adrenaline, he attempted to pummel Mark with his fists and then he stepped back to throw a grenade at him.
(Billy is officially in Fanatic Mode, and... he's dead.)
If the inside of the church was where one of the most epic firefights in history was fought then outside of the church was a horrifying war zone. More police cars arrived to the scene to duke out with the Armed Revenants that arrived in their armored car. The TIG operatives were going to close in soon as well.
The Armed Revenants desperately stuffed a man full of bombs and kevlar vests and made him run to the police as a suicide bomber.
(Ahem, sorry 'bout that. I got too carried away with it. Perhaps the other character would do infinitely better.)
edited 14th Dec '15 1:05:08 AM by Victor_Skye
"In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war."Carter - not really hearing very much of what was going on due to the lingering effect of that explosion and his current mental state, saw his Commanding Officer being attacked by Enemy Combatant 1.
He hadn't even heard any of what Enemy Combatant 2 had said during their "fight", and it hadn't bothered him much.
Rushing at Billy while he was trying to pummel Commanding Officer, Carter put his plundered AK right up at the side of the man's head and fired a burst of full auto right at the head, making sure he didn't aim his deadly attack downward, since Commanding Officer was on the ground.
Making people's heads explode...it reminds me of pumpkins getting smashed open.
"What the fuck?!"
Mark was stunned to see Billy fight him all of a sudden. His defensive instincts kicked it, blocking most of them before he found himself holding the grenade.
"GET DOWN!" He hurled it out when the area was cleared of civilians and fellow officers. When he threw it outside the church, the grenade detonated with shrapnel getting damage done on the doors and the cement and brick walls.
Two AgustaWestland AW139s had arrived to reinforce the GPD and WSP officers on the ground. One of them had a TIG sniper, who took out the suicide bomber with a body shot from a Remington M24A3. Unfortunately, this resulted in the dead man's destruction when the bullet triggered the explosives.
The other chopper had a TIG sniper with a Barrett M82A1. It was fired to take out the armored car's tires and then the driver.
A Lenco BearCat carrying armed TIG operators arrived to reinforce officers on the ground after the snipers took care of the more troublesome cultists.
All in all, it was a pretty bad day.
"It has been four days since a shootout occurred at the Greenpoint Memorial Park. According to eyewitnesses, it was due to an altercation between two serving GPD officers that caused the events to take place. So far, the GPD has not commented on this. But sources say that the GPD's Police Integrity Division are investigating all possible leads. The Commissioner has said that he'll follow any advice PID has from their investigation."
"Due to the shootout that led to the desecration of the corpse that had been identified as missing college student Carl Brason, the Commissioner has announced that Inspector Robert Collins has officially resigned from the department to accept responsibility."
"As of now, the Bransons have announced that a lawsuit has been filed for an undisclosed amount. Lawyers for the Bransons have mentioned that they and the GPD are in negotiations, but has said that he has confidence that the Commissioner will honor an agreement he made with the family as a form of apology."
With Billy deceased, the PID was now checking his items and his apartment to see if there was anything that can help with the investigation.
But things have come to worse since PID received complaints in the forms of social media with videos showing the altercation between Carter and Billy. PID detectives were now investigating Carter to see if he intentionally made Billy insane to do the shootings.
"Dammit... I don't like this week."
Mark was dropped off by the taxi after he had breakfast with college friends in the local Hilton hotel who came to the city for a family reunion.
All SCS officers were informed by SMS that HQ that a new Inspector will be assigned soon. They were told to assemble at the HQ entrance after they got in the premises and reported for duty.
Their lone unmarked BMW X5 Security SUV was seen parked in front of the station. They were also told to expect a new recruit or two to join up and to not do anything that can risk the existence of the SCS.
edited 16th Dec '15 4:08:36 PM by Ominae
Carter left the conference room the PID had just gotten done questioning him in, having basically told them the whole thing had Gone Horribly Wrong and he had no intention of provoking Billy into that kind of episode. At best he'd wanted the guy to run home or leave in a fit of conscience.
If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't have done that. I killed him. I slipped back into that frame of mind.
He remembered seeing the religious lunatic's head turn into shreds, individual little pieces, an eye flying out to the right. He still had nightmares about that. Of the grey ooze and the blood and the pieces of the skull.
He seemed to make a good impression at least and the whole thing was definitely not intentional.
He drove to the HQ Entrance, he knew that there was to be a new Inspector and he hoped it would be someone less willing to employ...lunatics...like Billy. Getting out, Carter stretched a little, from now on he had his side arm with him at all times, almost as a nervous measure.
"In conclusion, complainant was found to be under the influence of illegal narcotics during the episodes of 'alien abduction'. He was arrested on charges of possession and intent to distribute."
Fiona groaned and massaged her forehead as she signed the official report. The caseload had only gotten worse since the shootout, and the doctors had told her she was lucky to get away with minor burns and repairable damage to her eardrums. She still heard ringing when everything was silent and sometimes people had to repeat things, but it could have been a lot worse, and the doctors said it'd fix itself with time.
Of course, that was just the physical harm. As required by department regulation, she (and everyone else involved) had been required to see a shrink. The woman (whose name was Elizabeth) had basically interrogated her for an hour, asking questions about the situation in a hundred different ways and then setting an appointment for another day. Fiona had insisted she was fine, but regulation said that she had to be cleared for duty before being allowed to carry a sidearm again.
And then, of course, there was the PID. Always digging into dirt they had no business in, trying to prove that she'd murdered Macklin just like she'd killed her mentor—had they even read that casefile? All she'd been trying to do was subdue a dangerous, mentally unstable maniac, and now that an officer was dead, they wanted to put her career on the chopping block, again? It was enough to make one believe in curses.
Fiona let out another groan as her watch alarm went off, sending a piercing spike of noise into her head via migraine. She locked up her papers, cleaned off her desk, and went upstairs to the entrance to see what they'd wanted.
"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —FaramirMark waited until a jet black Mazda6 arrived and parked next to the BMW X5. A female in her late 30s with short brown hair and slight Caucasian features with some East Asian features emerged out of the vehicle. She appears to be wearing a black leather jacket with jeans and brown loafers.
"You must be from the SCS." The female said to the ex-TIG operator.
"Yes." Mark raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"
"Ah yes. I forgot to introduce myself." The short-haired woman showed her GPD ID card with badge. "I'm Inspector Megan Thompson. Starting today, I'm in charge of the SCS with Inspector Collins resigning from the force."
"I'm Staff Sergeant Mark Yau. Ex-TIG before I got transferred to the SCS. I'm just waiting for the others..."
"Good. I know you guys are still being investigated by the PID. But we have a case."
"A case? Does the PID know?"
"They know and for now, they're allowing you to go. From what I've been told, they're almost done making the inquiries."
And with that, Carter arrived, stepping out of his car, and immediately wincing seeing that the others were here before him. He shuffled right up, not immediately looking at Fiona.
She saw me...like that.
She was right there when it happened...
"Oh...uh, Senior Sergeant Carter Stafford, reporting in." He looked over at Mark and the others once and then just looked away. What happened was still fresh in his mind.
Carter looked down, making it obvious he regretted what happened. Despite how he'd done it, he hadn't been jonesing to kill Billy. He didn't miss the lunatic, but he hadn't wanted him dead.
"...honestly, if I knew everything I know now - then, I wouldn't have done it. I underestimated him, and for that, I'm truly, deeply sorry."
edited 20th Dec '15 3:02:03 AM by NickTheSwing
"That's going to be up in the air when PID makes an announcement later on." Inspector Thompson said when she heard Carter admitting his mistake.
"What's the case, ma'am?" Mark asked her.
"Straight to the point I see." The Inspector nodded before she said. "I got a murder case of two animal control specialists being killed in the sewers during a routine investigation to check on a report of a..." She checked her mobile for a message. "White alligator if I recall."
"The Commissioner and the mayor insist that the SCS needs to investigate the case, given the nature of its origin."
Mark asked the Inspector. "Does this mean...?"
"The PID is going to release a statement soon. But unofficially, the department is providing compensation to the Bransons to help them provide burial costs."
"Do we head out now?"
The Inspector nodded. "Uniformed officers have secured the area just for us. I'll see you guys at the scene."
She went in the Mazda6 and drove off towards the crime scene.
"Guess we need to move." Mark unlocked the unmarked BMW X5.
Constable Thomas Franklin had applied for the Special Crimes Section, and already he was starting to regret his decision. At first, he thought it was just unpopular, but then some lunatic walked in and painted it with controversy. His former co-workers in the Homicide Division were horrified once they had learned that he was transferring to the SCS. Thomas briefly considered pulling out but curiosity got the better of him. He had to judge for himself.
He just arrived near the premises, and is currently walking towards the team.
"In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war."Mark looked around to see if they missed anyone. He saw someone approach the X5, so he whipped out his smartphone to checked Thomas' photo and compared it to the latest SMS message sent to the SCS that he would join them shortly.
"I take it that you're Thomas Franklin?" He asked him once he got the driver's window rolled down.
"Get inside. We're heading for the crime scene."
Mark motioned to Thomas to get inside the X5. He later drove off with everyone inside and drove towards the northern part of the city.
As the unmarked vehicle drove off with the sirens working, the radio reported about the progress of the PID towards the investigation, indirectly, towards the SCS with a report expected to be released before the end of the day.
Gonna Hand Wave everyone to the crime scene.
The unmarked X5 SUV arrived at the western part of the city, part of it under Japantown territory. GPD Toyota Avalons and a few Mercedes-Benz Sprinters were parked on both sides of the streets in the area. Uniformed officers were present to keep the area cordoned and to keep the area clear of bystander and the occasional urban legend groupie.
The officers lifted the police tape to allow the SUV to go through. Mark was directed to park it next to an ambulance.
CSD officers were present examining the blood near an open manhole that led to the sewers. Nearby was a Greenpoint City Animal Control van that was being secured by a couple of uniformed officers.
"What happened here?" Mark asked a uniformed officer when he stepped out.
"That's your crime scene over there." The officer pointed to the blood on the street. "Paramedics are carting one of the dead animal control officers to the hospital right now."

Billy had a sudden flash of ingenuity, he threw a bag containing 10 grenades into the air and set it on fire. He saw that Carter was aiming for him, most likely trying to blow him up, so he ducked and rolled to avoid being hit while ejecting flames from his pack. By now, the flames would have spread around the church, and it would be difficult to move around.
The Armed Revenants
An armored car arrived onto the scene and spotted the first police cars that gathered here. The Armed Revenants in the armored car rewarded the first responders with a barrage of machine gun fire and an immaculate bombardment of grenade launchers.
One Armed Revenant managed to make it into the church, he was armed with a AK-74 and he was covered with kevlar from head to toe.
"Billy," The Revenant said, "We're here for ya!"
"In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war."