Night Raid (Cassius/Sam)

[jarahamee]

The winter air was still and cold as Cassius shoved himself into the side of the building. He had been here about ten minutes, and was starting to get chilled. He wondered, vaguely, why he hadn’t decided to use Beast for this mission, and then remembered everyone inside was suspected to be heavily armed. He focused his mind, ignoring the discomfort of his body.

The pager vibrated.

The signal.

Good. He had already planned his next move, and he imagined that Agent Lonan was already inside reading the building and assessing threats. His radio stayed silent, but that wasn’t uncommon for situations where he couldn’t speak. He imagined that Tsu was in position, disarming magical traps, maybe drawing their attention. He could handle it with the way his body was built.

Well, it was time to move in.

Cassius threw back his potion vial, and skirted along the shadows of the wall, before approaching the fire escape ladder. It seemed abandoned, and probably entered one of the large central areas on the second floor. Exactly what he was looking for.

He started climbing, moving slowly to avoid causing any rattling.

[NightshadeVII]

Night had fallen a few hours ago, leaving a perfectly deep darkness which the dullahan could move through quietly. Finding the building hadn’t been much of an issue, and he had spent a few days scouting it out, learning the patterns of the guards, studying what he’d be up against, eventually deciding that it would not be much of a challenge. He had planned his route in advance, so that he might do what he came to do as cleanly and efficiently as possible.

The people inside were smugglers, criminals, however, Samael had no interest in their activities, what they were smuggling or why. In fact, he couldn’t care less about such things. Instead, he had quite a different goal. It was something akin to revenge, but it was not for himself. Perhaps some would call it justice, or vigilantism. The dullahan himself did not really know what to call it, having little opinion on what he did whether it was right or wrong. All that mattered to him was that it needed to be done.

A spirit he had had regular contact with, a young boy named Nathaniel, had lost his life to these people. Putting his spirit to rest by bringing some form justice to these smugglers was the least the dullahan could do, considering… everything he had done.

Samael shook his head, he needed to focus now, there was little room to think of anything but the task at hand.
The building was poorly guarded outside, meaning that entrance would be simple enough. He would have to take out one person posted outside, which would leave him with free access to one side of the building for a few hours, or at least until he was discovered, should that be relevant.

Without alerting the guard, Samael approached from behind. There was little warning before he struck, one hand clasping over their mouth, the other locking around the top of their head. The guard uttered a muffled sound of surprise, feet scuffling softly against the concrete, trying to kick backwards and loosing balance as the dullahan dragged them away, out of the lamplight. In a swift, horribly practiced movement, he twisted the guard’s neck, hearing that characteristic crack and feeling the body go limp. There was neither satisfaction nor disgust to find in this work, it was simply what needed to be done and the most efficient way to do it. He dumped the body unceremoniously behind a nearby dumpster to keep it hidden, muttering a quiet word of ritual before moving on.

The spine-whip was ready at the dullahan’s side as he made his way into the building from a back door. For now, he was unarmoured, dressed in plain, unassuming clothes to help him blend in better, prioritizing stealth over defense. Hopefully, he would be able to do what he came to do without problems.
Once inside, he began quietly making his way to the second floor, remembering what Nathaniel had told him about the place; if the people he were looking for were present, he was more likely to find them up there.

[jarahamee]

(Cassius is now in the same hallway that Samael is entering. There is one armed guard who will exit the room between them shortly)

Cassius reached the window on the second floor. The doors were closed, but the second floor’s deteriorating warehouse’s window was open a crack. He forced his hand under the bottom of the window, and quickly realized why it hadn’t been shut all the way.

The window was stuck.

He wedged his other hand on the other side of the sill and pushed with incredible force. There was a soft screech of metal on metal, and the window gave way, raining down small pieces of leaded paint from the frame.

Too noisy.

He paused, listening for the sound of any movement, and when he heard none, he pushed himself through the window, and slithered out onto the floor. He took a moment to listen again, and then brought himself flush with the wall to provide some cover.

There was shuffling in a room nearby. Never good. Some murmured speech. There were going to be multiple targets here.

He considered his pistol, but decided on his stun batons. Efficient, and likely the people here would be no match for a loaded weapon. He huffed. He might as well do this all barehanded. The limitations that Agent Lonan recommended were a strange handicap, but sometimes a welcome one. Increased the challenge of each combat mission.

[NightshadeVII]

(Samael is now in one of the hallway’s side rooms)

Once inside, Samael made good process. At this time, smugglers at the warehouse were at a low, perhaps a shift change or shipment in process somewhere else, but even so, things would get messy if he was detected early, before he could reach his goal and that was undesirable. Unacceptable even.

A faint screech of metal on metal reached the dullahan, so quiet that it was impossible to tell precisely where it was coming from or if it was a sign of activity, as opposed to a dying sigh from the old building. Either way, Samael froze for a moment, listening intently. No approaching footsteps, luckily. However, another problem did make itself known fairly quickly. Voices, multiple, muffled by walls but clearly close by and getting closer. Maybe a side room of the hallway he had almost gone down just now? Great.

He would not be able to quietly subdue multiple opponents at the same time, which would lead to unwanted commotion and delays. So it would seem he would have to find another way around. Preferably fast.
A quick scan of his surroundings made him aware of a door to his right, based on position, it couldn’t be too large, but it seemed quiet. Making it a better option than being found standing here like a fool.

The dullahan slipped into the smaller side room that appeared to be a kind of storage area with multiple doors connecting to it. It wasn’t ideal for cover, with the layout providing barely any blind spots to slip into, however, it was better than being caught in a hallway. Eventually, he crouched behind some storage boxes by the wall leading out to the hallway. It cut off some of his field of view, but covered him best, should he need to subdue another guard in order to remain largely undetected. Silence was deafening in the small room, the Dullahan’s lack of breath becoming horribly apparent. It did however, allow him to listen in on the hallway, hearing the shuffling movements outside.
Carefully, Samael pulled the spine whip from his belt, readying the weapon, just in case. The action was so very familiar, automatic, that he didn’t even need to look at what he was doing. Leather and bone folded perfectly to fit in his hands in a morbid display. He preferred not to fight this dirty, however, in matters such as these, when the cause was not his, Samael often found his pride easier to forget.

[jarahamee]

As Cassius and Sam moved into their respective positions, the discussion behind the door became louder for a moment, before hushing entirely. The two men then heard the decisive shuffle of boots within the room, making their way to the hallway door. Two or three of them, perhaps? It was hard to tell with the way they were clustered close together.

There was a pause, as if the figures were listening, and then, the soft sound of mechanisms and scratching of the door opening. A creak, and the sound of breath being held a moment as the smugglers scanned the hallway. The silence was then punctuated by ragged breaths. A whispered command to ‘shush.’

The click of a weapon. They were armed with guns then.

A man stepped out into the hallway, and paused to look around. Finding nothing of interest, he examined the window sill, noting that it was disturbed, and paint was littered on the worn out carpet of the hall.

He was tall, perhaps as tall as Samael himself, wearing armor on his torso, and a half-helmet. The man appeared to be carrying a pistol.

His companions shuffled behind him, guns raised cautiously.

Cassius, somewhere up the hallway, soundlessly stepped back into a nook, and squatted down, away from their eye-line. He would be more difficult to see, and more difficult to shoot when positioned this way. His scarred fingers traveled up his stun batons, and he fiddled with them, considering if he wanted to turn them on just yet.

No, wait.

He wondered if Agent Lonan would scold him if he got shot trying to take them out without killing them. Probably.

[NightshadeVII]

The guards blocking the hallway were an… unfortunate development. Considering his options, Samael noted he could probably take the three of them down, however, announcing his presence so soon was bound to ruin the entire undertaking. Instead, he needed them distracted somehow, preferably in a way that would keep them occupied for a while and delay their response time. The dullahan sighed as an idea came to mind, it was the best he had, but that did not mean that he liked it.

“Nathaniel, are you there?”, Samael spoke quietly, neither wishing to reveal his position nor startle the young spirit.
After only a little moment, the dullahan felt the warmth of two smaller hands on his back, and a slight push as the boy manouvered himself over and around the dullahan. Nathaniel stood there, obviously uncomfortable with being back at the place of his death, looking at Samael with eyes filled with both confusion and a measure of trust. How the dullahan hoped he could make himself deserving of that trust.

“What’s wrong?”, asked the spirit, tilting his head.

“I need your help” Samael began, putting the morbid whip down and scooting closer to the young ghost, “there are people out there that shouldn’t see that I’m here. Can you distract them? It doesn’t have to be much, just throw some things around.”

At the suggestion, the young spirit looked uncomfortable, and understandably so, these were the people that had killed him years ago, it was painful, physically and mentally, for him to be back here. The people here, the place itself, meant nothing but fear and death to him. The sooner they could get out of here, the better.
“They won’t be able to hurt you”, Samael assured the child, “and I’ll come find you when I’m done. Then we’ll leave together, alright?”

After a while, Nathaniel nodded, trying to put on a brave face, and the dullahan reached out, giving him a light pat on the shoulder, knowing that he couldn’t exactly do more to comfort the child. Once the spirit disappeared from sight, Samael waited a moment, listening for the tell tale signs of items being moved or flung about, followed by the sound of the guards’ hurried steps down the hall, moving to investigate the noise.

Once satisfied, the dullahan nudged open the door, whip coiled around one hand. The hallway looked empty, at first glance, or at least devoid of any meaningful resistance, so Samael soon continued on his path.

[jarahamee]

Cassius heard something distant crash, and then, suddenly, the stationed soldier’s footsteps changed direction, thumping off into the other room and away from where they were positioned. Good. He didn’t need to be outmanned in combat, especially by men who he imagined were most likely heavily armed too. The scarred man wondered, vaguely, what had distracted them, but now wasn’t the time to ask questions. He crouched and peeked out from down low. Nothing. An empty hallway. He listened again, and then crept forward, down the hallway, head low, carrying his stun batons at the ready.

The weapons were admittedly not a good match for guns, but that was the kind of challenge he enjoyed. He twirled them about in his hand and grinned, enjoying their weight, straining his ears for any more sound. The computer he was looking for was likely where the men were stationed. His job here was to steal it and disable the men up here so they couldn’t ambush his companions’ position. The easiest job. ‘Easiest.’

Cassius crept into position, preparing to open the door to the soldier’s room, and then he heard something. The sound of a door opening down the hallway, followed by hesitant, heavy footsteps. Someone else on alert, and someone who wasn’t Lonan, Alessio, or Hemming. Another armored soldier, but this one was alone. He leaned against the doorframe to give him some cover, holding his baton steady, waiting. If he was precise enough, he wouldn’t have to worry about the gun.

[NightshadeVII]

Alert and focused, Samael continued on his path, quite content to be able to move unhindered. The sounds of Nathaniel’s distraction continued down below and showed little signs of stopping soon, a rampaging ghost did tend to disrupt most plans.

The dullahan himself intended to make up for the time lost, following the directions the young ghost had given him. However, soon another problem presented itself. Not all had been distracted by the sudden rampage. A man in uniform, crouching by the door that the guards had exited. Samael felt a silent groan in his bones. He was not one to shy away from conflict, and obstacle was an obstacle, and by that nature had to be removed, one way or another, but the more of a scene he caused, the greater the chance that the leader of this group, the one Samael was after, would have time to leave.

“I’ll only say this once”, the dullahan’s double voice rose from nothingness, sudden and insidious, borrowed from someone else, as he adressed the uniformed stranger, “Stand down and step aside. My quarrel is not with you.”
The tone left little room for objection, even though he spoke quietly, calmly even, the threat was clear. Samael’s grip on the morbid bone whip shifted slightly, giving an idea of what was to come if his commands were not met. Still he was not openly hostile. For now.

[jarahamee]

Cassius studied the newcomer, and took a tactical step out of the doorframe, to give himself more room for combat, and to avoid being caught within. His face, and what little of his body that could be seen were deeply scarred. Scars passed into his hairline, through his mouth, over his throat and down his chest. The rest of his body appeared to be covered in tactical gear. For a human, he seemed older, but still strong, and probably, still dangerous. Two batons crackled with electricity in his hands, and he appeared to have at least two sets of firearms, a set of knives, and a sword, among other weapons visible on his person.

“This is an official WDSA operation. I request you stand down. Our agents are in the process of apprehending suspects and securing hostages.”

The soldier's voice was a harsh whisper, though his stance told the Dullahan that he was ready for an attack, should it come. The man's dark eyes had a steadiness, and a fearlessness that told him this person was a seasoned warrior. Or perhaps just someone with a very tempered fear response. His stance had a measure of stability and poise that indicated he had some combat experience.

Cassius himself wondered what this individual was doing. Was he a family member of any of the beings who had been captured here? Was he a vigilante? Was this another criminal element? He cocked his head to the side, waiting for a response.

There was another element as well; if they were too noisy, the soldiers would be back here, so they had to make every moment count here. And he had promised not to kill them, if possible. It might be difficult if they ended up being fired upon by an entire squadron. He reflected on the possibility with uncharacteristic joy. Oh, what a shame, poor souls. He had enough weapons on him to arm three people.

[NightshadeVII]

There was a moment of choking silence as the dullahan took in this potential opponent. An obstacle more than anything else. Being both armed and geared up, the man would likely not be intimidated, but still, he seemed human, for now at least, a thing of fragile flesh and bone. He could be dealt with, should need be.
The man spoke, making requests, obviously used to authority and issuing commands.

Wdsa… Samael knew the name, but it was not one that inspired respect.

“Stand down?”, Samael echoed, his hollow tone nothing short of unimpressed, “even if I could do that, I wouldn’t.”
He had made a promise after all, which, for now, dictated his moral and course of action with single-minded intensity. Direction when there was none. Nathaniel relied on him, and the last thing the young spirit deserved was to be restrained by agents who did not understand his situation. The tumult of thrown things and metaphysical activity continued below, so the boy was holding out still, however, Samael would prefer not to have his time wasted by this so-called agent.

Something shifted about the dullahan, his form changing, twisting ever so slightly. Beneath the clothes he wore, metal plating began to emerge from flesh, growing like wicked scales from his bones as he readied himself for combat. His trusted sword grew at his spine, ready to emerge from under skin, but hopefully he would not have to wield it.

“Last chance. Stand aside. You can go about your operation, but get out of my way.”
The words were not a plea or a request, that much was certain. It was a clear cut demand, accentuated by the fall of boots as the dullahan took a step closer. Had he grown taller?

[jarahamee]

Cassius felt his heart race, and for a moment, he was thrilled. He could tap the charm on his chest to increase his shielding, and take one of his strength potions to increase his efficiency. The agent was already deadly accurate, and incredibly fast, and with those little changes, became a nearly unstoppable fighting machine. And what a challenge! An unknown super was always a surprise, but those were all part of the game, and if he ended up in trouble, he supposed that Lonan would find him soon enough. Or he’d be dead and he wouldn’t have to worry about it.

And then, immediately, his enthusiasm dampened. The sleeping logical part of his brain had awoken and brought up three very important points;

1) He had made a promise to Agent Lonan to rebuild the broken trust of Supers and avoid confrontation when possible.
2) If they started fighting, it would make a lot of noise, and then he’d have to kill all the responding men.

3) If his new friend killed any of his agents, he would be immediately responsible.

No, it was time for plan B. Oddly, the less-legal plan;

“What is your goal here? What are you trying to achieve?”

As he spoke, he had a realization. He was going to have to work with this person if they were going to end up getting what they wanted. This was not in the handbook, but if they started sparring here, even too much stomping would draw the rest of the floor below and around back here. The old werewolf grit his teeth so hard he felt them squeak together as he spoke;

“Perhaps I can help you, and we can avoid alerting the entire complex. They have contingency plans that will make things difficult if they think they are being attacked.”

Cassius took a deep breath, as if to calm himself, and lowered his stun batons a little. He had no doubt that something like this would hardly be effective against an armored being anyways, but the gesture was a symbolic one. If things went south, he supposed he could switch them out for the sword, but that would be a lot more noise, and lead them back to square one.

[NightshadeVII]

The human puzzled Samael. For a moment, he looked almost excited, a wildfire sparking in his eyes at the Dullahan’s undercut threats, and the next, he lowered his weapons and abandoned his principles. Ridiculous. He was an agent offering his aid to a creature out for blood. How could Samael accept anything he had to offer?
Still, it was clear that he would not be getting past the agent without a fight, a waste of time. However short-lived it might be, delays could not be afforded.
And the human did have one point, if they alerted the entire complex, Samael would not be able to do what he came to do, and that was simply unacceptable.

“I am here for someone else’s revenge”, he spoke almost without inflection, “I will kill the person who run this operation and their second in command. And anyone else that might prove complicit.”
Strangely enough, Samael did not sound bloodthirsty, or even angry, as he spoke. It was clear that he had nothing personal against the people running this place, that he did not care for them. His tone was calm and level, speaking of the crusade like it was a job or duty. As calm as an executioner with axe in hand would be.
“Should you try to stop me, you will suffer the same fate. Understood?”
The dullahan did not care for the human’s help, nor did he need it, but if it was what he had to do to be able to complete his task, it could be endured. He just hoped the fragile flesh creature would refrain from getting in his way.

The bone whip was rolled up and lowered, but not fully put away. Accepting the other’s terms, for now, but clearly not trusting the human before him.
Once an agreement was reached, even if it was tenuous at best, Samael began to move. Still careful not to make a sound, but not bothering to check if the human decided to follow. He had nothing against the agents here, but had no intention of getting cozy with them either.

[jarahamee]

Well, they hadn’t started fighting and set off everyone in the entire building, so there is that. And, he had lowered his whip when Cassius offered peace. That was really all Cassius was hoping for given the circumstances. Whose revenge the armored man was here for was beyond the scope of questions he was going to ask right now. There were more kids in danger down there, and the moment the organization thought they were going to come after them, the sooner that they’d try to get rid of their captives.

He ducked in after Samuels’ lead, not answering him just yet. An agreement was Cassius’ word, and he’d rather keep the leadership alive if he could to help uncover the other links in this trade ring. His favorite part of these operations were most people’s least favorite; uncovering the trail that would lead to even MORE work for him. Oh the work was so fulfilling, he loved it.

Samuel was presented with a set of doors. Cassius moved smoothly to his side, and shook his head at the right door, before placing a piece of paper from somewhere inside his coat on the other(left door). The ward glowed faintly where it was placed, then dissolved into dust, leaving a burned mark on the door itself where it had been placed.

Cassius paused, then nodded as if suggesting Samuel open it, switching out his ward set for his baton again. If he opened it, he imagined that the Dullahan might consider it some kind of threat, or might not be prepared. And if he shared his floor plan, well, the Dullahan might decide to rush ahead and set everything off ahead of them.

“I have a trap detector and what is needed to disarm…most of them.”

[NightshadeVII]

At least the human wasn’t foolish enough to attack Samael as soon as he turned his back. Silver linings, as humans said. Hopefully, the agent knew to keep to himself, so as not to make his own life difficult, but judging by how excited he had seemed at the prospect of a fight just moments before, the dullahan had a suspicion that this would become much more tedious before it was over.

Below, the young spirit Nathaniel was still well at work, keeping the majority of the compound occupied, and judging by the sound of some muffled exclamations of pain, proving to be quite skilled at it. Perhaps it was pride that stirred in the Dullahan’s chest for just a moment. Regardless of what it was, it was an effective motivator.

Then, as they reached a set of doors, the agent stopped him, much to Samael’s displeasure. Did the man think he had gone into this blind? Or did he consider him entirely helpless?
Either way, the dullahan observed the agent’s work quietly, arms crossed over his chest. Traps, huh? That was to be expected of a place like this, though It shouldn’t be too much of an obstacle. As Samael had discovered over the years; a dead body tended to be less hindered by damage than a living one.
Still, something didn’t sit quite right with him.

“And what’s with the door on the left?”, the dullahan questioned, “you’re not going to check that one?”
Samael didn’t much care for whatever agenda the WDSA agent had here, however, if the man was trying to trick him or in some way mislead him, this “alliance” would be over faster than it had begun. Still, he had no reason to be hostile. Yet.
“Wouldn’t you agree it’s best we’re on the same page?”, the question sounded almost sarcastic, had the dullahan’s tone possessed such a quality. Undeniable however, was the undertone of mistrust, but then again, Samael made no attempt to hide that.

[jarahamee]

Cassius looked over his shoulder at Samuel, and then shrugged. He could try to open the sealed door if he wanted, but Isaac had already swept through, and assured him there was nothing of interest that way besides a waste of his seals. He could feel whatever he wished though. He moved the magic detector around in his hand before putting it back in a pocket in his armored vest.

“My partner has the power to feel out physical locations in a sweep. He assured me there was nothing but a trap behind that door, and we should press forward quickly if we are to save the captives.”

He supposed he could go into specs, but it probably would not inspire confidence. Or maybe it would. It was hard to read the mood of a man without a head. Maybe he should be more wary. There were men somewhere behind this door, and they had likely changed position since the area was scanned.

The scarred man paused to shuffle a tactical mirror out of his vest, and then swiped it under the door he unsealed to check it, tilting it slightly. Then, with some satisfaction, he leaned against the opposite door-frame, and opened the door outwards. Nothing, but in the adjacent room there was the potential for three men to come in.

Not ideal.

The werewolf paused. He was not sure how to tell if Sam was able to “see” in his direction or not, but he signed “3 gunmen” and pointed at the room ahead of them.

The room within was very large, without a true ceiling, only horizontal pillars of concrete passing from one side of the structure to another. Some kind of factory floor, now dilapidated, pieces of discarded wood and metal on the ground. There were three smaller rooms attached to it, adjacent, and across, a hole in the floor that was likely the stairway down.

Cassius moved towards the edge of the room, towards the first door, both seeking cover and looking to investigate the door. His hand was on his tranquilizer pistol, though he knew he might have to move to his silencer if things went badly here.