I've finally written the next part so here it is! Enjoy!
So I'm just sitting there felling pretty numb. Cloak Division has my name on a BPN that I have to take. There's no choice now. Farthing has told me to keep still and he's gonna meet me in thirty minutes or so. Just as soon as he can get through the traffic. I don't bother ringing Wuppass as I have nothing to say to him that would be taken constructivley and I don't want to upset him.
About forty minutes later Farthing walks into the bar. He shakes his coat at the door to get the rain out which amuses me as he always shakes the rain out and the next time he's back out there it just gets soaked again. Maybee it's a lesson we all can learn you know...'never give up'. He walks to the bar and nods in my direction. He notices I've got an empty glass and buys two beers, this time he ignores the barmaid who looks deeply offended though the closest she ever come to 'getting physical' with him is when she slapped him a few weeks back.
"Hey Champ." he looks worried but he's hiding it well.
"So you made it then?" I reply smiling.
We talk about crap for a few minutes and both of us don't know how to approach the subject. We carry on for a fwhile longer and finally I bring it up.
"So what do you think he wants?"
Farthing looks over his shoulder and I feel like I'm in a detective film.
He leans in a little closer and I lean back to compensate "Hell knows but whatever it is we do it as a squad you hear me?"
I appreciate his gesture but it's not gonna work like that "No way. If Dayton wants it single Op then he's calling the shots. He's got me where he wants me and I've t back out. Not now."
"If Dayton.....isn't that a normal name?? In thought they were all called wierd names like Knife or Blizzard. Doesn't matter. If Dayton want's to screw you then he's probably got all the tools needed and wouldn't need some crappy BPN to do it. My guess is that he's got a job that needs doing and you just happen to walk iinto it following your trouble with the Shaktar. He wouldn't fart about setting you up when he could just reel you in and cap you would he?"
"I guess not..." I'm not quite beleiving him but I like where he's going.
"Exactly, so if he wants to get this job done right then he'll appreciate our help and..."
"You've not already asked Bill & Ben have you?" that's our comedy name for Doker & Wuppass, to this day they think we're talking about someone else.
"They both want to help you. Especially Wuppass. He got really mad with me when I told him you might be in trouble but then after I calmed him down he was eager to help"
I decided that any help from Squad 'Brains' would only end up with more trouble, besides they'd have to meet Dayton and Wuppass has never liked Brainwasters since one blew up his car.
"Look, I appreciate the help but can you tell them that it's no Biogenetics. Humans only."
"Whatever you say but I'll ask them to speak to you when they decide to come along anyway"
So the next day rolls around and after having virtually no sleep I feel like crap. I popped a few night-outs and managed an uncomfortable four hours but I wish I hadn't bothered. Before leaving to go to the meeting I take a hit of Bass to pep me up. It does the job and I head down to street level.
Waiting for me outside the apartment block is Doker. He's talking to someone inside the car so I quickly turn about and make my way indoors and bump straight into Wuppass.
"Errrrr, what're you doing here?" I'm wondering how they've ambushed me like this.
"Taking you to your meeting Champ." I can't tell if he's annoyed or not. He always looks annoyed and usually is but I'm hoping he's taken it well.
"Did you speak to Farthing last night?"
"Yes. He said that you have a problem with us because we aren't Human. The way me and Doker see it is that to be human, you have to be made by humans and we were so we are human too. We just look different"
How the hell did he come by that train of thought.
"Your technically right but....." He cuts me off by nearly wrentching my arm out of it's socket.
"We're a squad Champ. You're in trouble, I'm helping you. Simple"
I'm actually a good foot off the ground and I'm more or less certain that he's angry by now. I look over my shoulder for any kind of help from Doker but he's coming up the stairs with a look like thunder on his face.
Rather than face the pair of them persuading me i relent "Ok then you can come along"
And with that he puts me down. The journey to the office is reminicent of a prison escort. I'm jammed in the back with Doker while Wuppass & Farthing are in the front. Farthing is fighting back a smile on his face and Wuppass is checking the ammo in his KK20. We finally arive at the office and we're a good ten minutes early so we make our way to reception and try to appear keen.
The receptionist is a beautiful woman of her mid twenties. Sharp suit and a glorious body. I give her my killer smile and she returns a 'no-chance' stare that forces me to get right down to business.
"I'm here to see Operative Dayton"
She has it up on the screen already. I know she does, but she makes out like she's typing away and it's a slow connection or something. I try a bit of banter, 'how's the day going?' and what have you but she doesn't even blink in my direction. So much for interdepartmental relations. After a couple of minutes she turns and tells me to take a seat and Operative Dayton will see me shortly.
I'm waiting with the rest of the squad and Wuppass decides to ask for a coffee from the receptionist. I've no idea what she says to him but he straightens up and looks like he's going to drag her out of the seat. Farthing rushes over and puts himself between the two of them, which is treading too close to that bravery/stupidity line for my liking. Farthing always has had a way with Wuppass though. Even when Mr.Slayer himself couldn't have stopped Wuppass from smashing some poor suckers face in, Farthing has always managed to calm him back down. He's not had much luck with Doker though.
Anyway, he brings Wuppass back over and sits him back down. Wuppass is smiling again so quick it's like he's forgotten all about it. Which I wouldn't put past him.
We're in the waiting room for at least half an hour and the air conditioning has broken down or they've turned it off and I've got sweat patches to rival anyones, even through my suit. I'm not nervous though. Never nervous. Gotta keep it cool in places like this or they eat you alive. Whilst I'm sat there, one of those Necanthropes walks past and something on its arm looks at me like it wants to eat me alive. I've never got used to them. I don't care if they're supposed to be loyal. They're just wrong......know what I mean?
They must all work together as while I'm distracted looking at that thing, Dayton has creapt up alongside me and it's all I can do not to jump like a jack-in-the-box when he speaks.
"The brief implies only yourself Operative"
Not even 'Hello'.
"What? oh. errr yes. Yes it did. But I've pulled a few strings and got my squad to help me. Many hands and all that."
I'm expecting him to order them out or issue some departmental regulation that prevents me doing what I've just done. Instead he just flips over a sheet and reals their names off in quick succession.
He looks me dead in the eye and with a smile adds, "I see no problem with including them. Now if you will follow me we can get right down to business."
"See champ. He's a bozz-eye but he can see sense" Wuppass adds 'whispering' load enough so that even the receptionist looks up with a curt glance.
"Thanks Wuppass"
He smiles slyly and looks pleased with himself.
We walk up a few corridors and take a flight of stairs to a room marked 'Room - 62a Operative Dayton'. There's a card swipe on the outside and after passing his SCL card through it he lets us in. There's two human sized chairs and just enough room for our Stormers to stand up at the back. He might be above me in the company but this proves that he's only a minnow in the chain of command. I smile inwardly at the small victory.
We take a seat and go through some pleasantries. He asks if we'd like a coffee or something else. Doker asks if he could get him some water. He buzzes out to a receptionist and we commence the meeting.
He starts the talking "You all do know why you're here don't you"
"Helping Champ" Wuppass replies forcefully. He places a supporting hand on my shoulder and pushes me down into the chair.
"Indeed. I have a BPN that you are to take. It's a grey, and is to commence as soon as you leave the building so I hope you've not made any plans."
I haven't so I nod "Go on..."
"We have reason to beleive that the recent widow of a Contract Circuit Employee is in danger following a series of threats received by our staff. We beleive that either Dark Night are involved or another similar Soft Company. We'd like for you to provide interim protection for her untill the end of the week when we can move her to a better location."
"Any questions so far?"
Farthing leans in "Yes, why is she so important that she warrants a Grey BPN? Has she got an SCL rating?"
"Do you remember the Operative that went by the name of Wild Flower?" Dayton offer the question to us all.
Doker and Wuppass both nod at the same time with Doker adding "Yeah, he's dead now. Got killed fighting Pro-Pain three weeks ago. He was an expert in Martial Arts and melee weapons though not so good at ranged combat. Good armour and reaction times."
How do they know shit like that. I've never even heard of him.
"Yes, correct. He had sponsorship from a company called 'Ghost Guard' who are offering financial support & assistance to spouses of Operatives in the unlikely event of a death. He has himself paid over 5000 Credits, all upfront, to ensure she comes to no harm. It is not in the companies interests to see that she falls prey to an assassins blade as Wild Flower is the first high profile death." Dayton is spelling this out for all of us and every syllable is pronounced.
I'm not convinced he's telling us exactly who she is so I ask "What does this have to do with Cloak Division?"
"We are investigating the manner of Wild Flowers death, and have reason to beleive that he may have been killed whils under duress of somekind as it was widely acknowledged that he was the better of the two competitors and there has been a substantial amount of money won by lucky punters that have chose to place their bets wisely. We believe that she may have some knowledge of what happened and you are to ensure that she is able to move to uptown where we can better observe her movements. As we don't want to spook her into hiding. The cut and dry of it is that you are to pose as being employed by Ghost Guard. She is to beleive that you are on a Silver BPN as part of the companies protection scheme."
Farthing and I clear up a few details such as her location, background and the CBS. It is a little dodgy as she's a downtowner near the Delores Wall which has a nasty reputation for violence and Operative deaths. We leave the office about an hour later and Wuppass & Doker are both looking positive. We make our way back to mine for a team meating and to hell with the 'start right away' mentality.
"There's a hidden agenda here somewhere. It just doesn't add up to a grey BPN. OK so it's tampering with the Contract Circuit but why Cloak Division?" Farthing isn't happy about it but he's already signed just like the rest of us.
I'm trying to put a positive attitude forward "What's to wory about? We just have to make sure she's still alive in four days time and we get out of this mess. All we have to do is move her into here and babysit. I don't care who comes to get her. We've got enough protection to stop pretty much any interceptor squad one on one if we're holed up in Uptown."
Doker takes a massive draught of water from an empty jar and adds "Yeah. We grab her and bring her here. What could go wrong"
I roll the BPN card over in my fingers. I'm about to find out.