Calgary, Alberta - Canada

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Przemek frowned as he thought of the possibilities. There was one more option possible in this situation - that they brought Ashley inside just to make sure she wouldn't escape before the evacuation was done with. That they were planning to take her with them. This was a very unpleasant thought - he barely managed to stay in place, held back only by his intellect and ironically, another instinct. A good hunter never let the prey know where he was until it was too late for it to react. He settled on observing a little longer, seeing as his backup hadn't arrived yet. The ghoul focused on finding possible entry points as well as keeping an eye on the activity. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to act too soon... He kept a particularly keen eye on the crates - they could try to take Ashley in one of them, and he couldn't let them leave if there was even a remote possibility that she might be in one of those. Anything big enough to hide a human was suspicious.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Mikki nodded and stood slowly. "Okay, 'ere is thhiss tunnel?" She asked, nodding and moving off right afterwards. She hoped someone else was going too, half a block was a long way for her, if she didn't know where Przemek was...

 

[Bartnum]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Alec follows Henry, looking around at the various computers and tech but mostly keeping quiet.

"So, was that... Sasquatch?"


Abby's eyes immediately move to the mermaid and the tree dragon before settling on Will.

"Yeah, that's right."

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Henry chuckled before replying.

"Yeah, he gets that a lot. In a way he is, in a way he isn't. There's a lot of his kind around all over the world but ... well no one really knows why he won't communicate with them, he just doesn't want to I guess."



Will smiled politely at her.

"Good, I did get the name right. Running around busy sometimes doesn't leave you much time to get to know anyone new to the area. Wait a minute ... you came in with Ashley?"


He quickly proceeded to fill in both Miranda and Abby of the situation with Ashley's disappearance and likely capture by the Cabal before adding in "I don't suppose either of you wants to accompany Mikki to the surface to help do you?"




Przemek saw nothing exit the building that was large enough to house a human at first, but then a massive crane moved a 'cage' that was more than large enough. However as it turned he could see that inside of it was not a human, but a hulking abnormal the size of an Ogre. It wasn't the same creature he'd seen earlier, but it looked like it could be one of his species. Beyond that there was nothing else, however as his eyes turned away from the unfortunate abnormal, he saw a single person carrying in something that looked a whole lot like the containment for a liquid bomb. Nitroglyceryn likely, which meant that they were indeed planning to blow the place up sky high.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Mikki grinned down at the pair of newcomers, waving slightly. She always loved to meet new people, it didn't get to happen very often. Then she held out her hand like she wanted to shake, but only put two fingers out, leaving the rest balled up to keep the dangerous-looking claws out of the way. Those two fingers were about large enough to wrap their hand around on their own...

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed it again, since Will had already told them her name, she didn't have to try and do the same, her own speech much harder to understand...

((Figured I'd try and give some impression of size.))

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

"Tch." This was bad - the situation got a lot more complicated. Przemek muted his cellphone (seriously, getting caught because someone called you was stupid) as he began to move closer. His primary concern was still Ashley, but finding a way to stop Cabal from taking that abnormal away was also important... Where was his bloody backup? The way things were going, he'd be forced to move in before anyone came. The bomb alone could require an immediate intervention on his part if he wanted to get Ashley out of the building alive and well... Though gods knew what they've already done to her. The ghoul bared his fangs as he approached the building, trying to move quickly, quietly and out of enemy's sight. Killing was not his objective and he had little doubt that Magnus wouldn't be happy about it. But he was determined to take any chances he could afford to slaughter Cabal soldiers, preferably with... Style, as he put it. Others tended to call it differently. And those weren't exactly nice words they were using.

 

[Bartnum]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Alec says nothing else, just waiting for Henry to finish whatever he was doing.


"I guess I could go. I'm kinda new to this though. Really new."

Abby hesitantly reaches out to accept Mikki's handshake.

"So... you're Mikki? Hi, I'm Abby."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Mikki shook Abby's hand gingerly, obviously taking great care notto harm her. "'Ello. Nisse to hmeet you, Ahm... Ahk..." She started, then hrm'ed a bit. "Ssory, it'ss jusst thhat ssome ssoundss are 'ery 'ard for 'e to 'ake. Do yoo 'ave a nicknaym?" She askes apologetically.

"'E shhould get going, 'erzahmek iss already thhere..."

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Will smiled politely at Abby.

"That's alright, you'll be fine. It takes some getting used to, but you adapt quickly. I'm pretty much the only one here who hasn't been doing this more than a year, and the only one without any real special ability."



Miranda nodded, knowing the way to where the ghoul was located, and gestured.

"Let's get going shall we? Shouldn't take long to catch up to him."




After a few moments, Henry walked back out and nodded.

"OK so that's done. So uh ... don't suppose you've ever met a mermaid have you?"



As the ghoul moved, he heard a loud commotion. At first he thought he might have been spotted, but as he craned about to see, he could see that it had been caused by a large container shifting wrong, and it had nearly flattened several of the guards, who were now jawing off at two other guys. They seemed very tense, ready to snap at each other, and the four had to be separated by the other guards. It was then, very faintly in his mind he could hear a familiar voice, though he had to strain to hear it.

Miranda and two others are on their way ... I hope this reaches you ... It's hard ... reaching out to one ... not of my kind.


It would take the ghoul a moment to realize he'd received a message from Sally, though from the sounds of it, getting it to him had taken a lot of concentration, and might have hurt just a little.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Przemek frowned as he watched the incident. For some reason, they were awfully tense... More than they should be. Something was not right. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage if he managed to somehow upset them without revealing himself. A little friendly fire on their side would make his job much easier. He was curious about that container as well. Could it be that it's contents were somehow related? His musings were interrupted by Sally's message. After a brief moment to process it, the ghoul replied, hoping that the mermaid would be able to pick up his thoughts. 'Alright. I'm observing the Cabal facility, they seem to be preparing to leave the building with all their equipment. They're going to blow up the place, most likely with Ashley in it... They've also managed to catch an abnormal, a huge humanoid. They're really tense for some reason, likely to snap at any provocation. Can you tell Miranda and rest to be cautious?' Going in at this rate would be very difficult - he couldn't afford to make a mistake around an agitated prey.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Mikki nodded and followed Miranda, letting Abby go in front of her, so she could be more careful. Being able to watch the two women meant that neither would be hurt by a careless swish of her tail or something similar.

 

[Bartnum]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

"Not to my knowledge, no."


"Actually, Abby is my nickname. It's short for Abigail. You can call me whatever works for you, I guess."

Abby sets off after Miranda, content to follow someone who actually knew where they were going.

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Miranda led the other two women through a series of interconnecting and winding tunnels after a quick stop to gather some kind of energy weapons, and soon enough they were nearing the location Will had told them to meet Przemek at. The ghoul was further away from them, in a position that would be hard for all three to reach without being seen. Taking a moment, Miranda whispered to the others "wait here, I'll get him to come to us."

Then carefully, the medusa made her way down the slope, staying low to the ground, then went out of sight as she went down the slope.



As the ghoul watched his prey, he noticed them carrying out more materials, some of which looked like simple paperwork. Things got really interesting though when a tall woman walked out of the building, and all of them froze to see what she wanted. Przemek would have no doubt in his mind that whoever she was, she was clearly in charge. And that was when he saw the faintest hint of movement out of the corner of his eye. As he turned to check, he briefly would see what looked like a snake poking up from behind a large rock. Said snake was flickering it's tongue out at his general direction, and then after a long moment, it vanished behind the rock. A second later, a low voice came to him, barely audible even to his hearing.

"Przemek ... over here. It's Miranda."





Henry chuckled.

"Oh man, I've got to take you to meet Sally then. Just uh ... don't be shocked if she abruptly asks you to go swimming and all. You up for meeting her?"

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Przemek tensed slightly as he noticed the snake. However, before he made any sudden moves, he managed to get a whiff of it's scent and calmed down enough to avoid jumping after it in bloody rage. Being able to recognize people by nose alone was quite a useful ability. He moved closer to Miranda's hiding spot, knowing she didn't have ears as sensitive as he did. "Ashley's most likely inside." He started, skipping greetings in favor of going straight to the point. "They're abandoning the facility and most likely will try to blow it up. They've also captured a large humanoid abnormal, probably same kind as the one I've encountered earlier today. There's a woman in charge of them. Getting in might be tricky..." He bared his fangs. "They will be on guard since big activities like this are known for attracting attention, and they seem awfully tense for some reason as well. Who's with you?" He took a breath in, trying to see if there were other familiar scents nearby.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Mikki waited patiently as Miranda went off to get Przemek's attention. She wanted to peek over the small wall they were currently hiding behind, but didn't. If the other people saw her back, it would probably cause a lot of trouble. Instead, she just hunkered down to wait, smiling a bit at Abby before trying to pick a piece of bark from between her teeth.

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Miranda listened carefully, absorbing in all the information before she replied.

"I have Mikki and a new resident named Abby with me. She's ... well she's sort of like Henry, but perhaps more evolved from what I was able to read off the brief mission report Ashley and Clara filed. Wait a second, you said a woman was in charge?"


She seemed to focus for a moment, one snake cautiously curling around their hiding spot to observe the ground and then she found the woman. Retracting her snake carefully and turning to the ghoul, he could see alarm on her features.

"Prez ... That's Meridith Stallers ... The HEAD of the Cabal's network. If she's here ... there's something bigger going on than that abnormal they have. I fear it has something to do with Ashley if that bitch is here."


The ghoul could tell she was rattled now, two key indicators gave it away. One, she had NEVER abbreviated his name before, it wasn't her style to do that without having asked first. Second, he'd never once heard her curse, or pause the way she just had.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

"So she is their boss..." Przemek muttered to himself as he commited the woman's face to his memory. "Tch. What I'd give for a sniper rifle and some training." Still... The woman's presence explained the nervousness of Cabal soldiers. And complicated things. She would not appear here, so close to the Sanctuary, unless she was confident that she'd be safe. So either she was 100% sure that her presence wouldn't be detected, or she had something to ensure her safety. Considering that a complete moron would be unable to lead something as big as Cabal, it was likely the latter.

The ghoul let out a quiet growl, claws snapping into position. If Stallers was here because of Ashley, extracting the girl from the facility could be much harder than he predicted. And to think that this was happening on their own turf! This situation was incredibly insulting, not to mention it spoke volumes about the weakness of Sanctuary intelligence. Magnus had to do something about it, FAST. "Miranda, focus." Przemek snapped, not liking the tone of hesitation in the medusa's voice. "You should be in charge, you know as well as I do that I can't be in command, not with my temper." Sadly, he couldn't control his rage well enough for that. "What are our priorities? Rescue first, or perhaps... Assassination?" To be honest, the ghoul was just looking for an excuse to kill at this point. Anyone would do, but with such an attractive target in sight...

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

For a long moment, the ghoul might think the Medusa hadn't heard him at all as she simply stared off into space. When she finally spoke, it was still with a wobbly tone, but much more confident than it had been a minute ago.


"We just don't know enough about why she is here or how she even got into the city without us knowing to risk openly attacking her. For all we know, that could be exactly what she wants. Somehow we need to get Ashley out of there, but I just don't see how we can ... wait, something is happening."


Below them, a small convoy of trucks began to leave the compound in a hurry, a large number of the soldiers boarding and vacating the area. The woman, Stallers, disappeared into the building, escorted by only two guards. The remaining forces who stayed behind only numbered about a half dozen, although who knew how many more might be inside?

"OK something is definitely up. Are you SURE they don't know that we are here?"

 

[cross_grave]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

"I've noticed no signs of anyone detecting my presence, not sure about yours." The ghoul replied, taking a careful look himself. He was close to snapping at the medusa during her silence, but at least she seemed to be getting back on track. He briefly wondered whether there was some history between Miranda and Stallers, seeing as the abnormal managed to recognize her on sight. "Does this mean I'm absolutely certain? No. Besides, they've found Ashley not far away from here, certainly not in a location that'd explain her presence - an abandoned place where she was supposed to wait for me. I'm pretty damn sure that's enough of a sign we know something's up, and I imagine they don't like it." Przemek turned back to Miranda. "Can you bring the other two here? We need to make a plan, and there's not much time to bring them up to speed. And we can't afford to stop watching this place, either."

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Calgary, Alberta - Canada

Miranda nodded swiftly.

"I'll get them to come down here as quickly as possible while maintaining stealth. Before I go though, I have to say, if you want my initial opinion, and I'm sure you've guessed it by now ... this is a trap. I'm just not sure that what kind of trap yet. Just ... call it instinct, but something tells me this whole thing is a setup for something, but I'll be damned if I can figure out what."


With that she took off, and the ghoul was left to his own mind again. He did however notice that she had gotten much more adept at concealing her approach and presence. If not for him being able to smell her retreating scent, he'd have had a hard time knowing she had actually moved since she made very little noise.



Soon enough Miranda returned to the others.

"Alright, Mikki and Abby, Przemek wants us to join him, so stay as low as possible and follow me please."