Prisoner.
God I love that game…
“Answer my questions, and I’ll turn you over as a prisoner rather than a corpse,” said JC.
“Ask away,” said the leader, “we’ve already won this round.”
“Where are you taking it?”
“We’re just giving some ordinary people as much of a chance to survive as the beurocrats in Washington.”
“You’ll have to unload in New York because the choppers could spot you at sea.”
“I think the government made the plague on purpose to control the population growth.”
Now JC had enough of this guy. What was it with these terrorists and crazed conspiracy theories? “Just answer the question,” he said.
“Don’t believe me?” asked the leader. “It’s all in the numbers. For a hundred years, there’s been a conspiracy of plurocrats against ordinary people.”
“Can you give one fact to back that up?”
“One: In 1945 corporations paid 50 percent of federal taxes. Now they pay only 5 percent. Two: In 1900 90 percent of Americans owned businesses. Now it’s about 2 percent.”
“So?”
“It’s called consolidation. Strengthen governments and corporations, weaken individuals. With taxes, this can be done imperceptibly over time.”
“I guarantee you that the interrogation staff at UNATCO will not be as forebearing as I am.”
“Yeah, the secret police. You’re just bullies for a completely illegitimate government in Washington.”
“We WILL locate that shipment one way or another.”
“The entire executive branch is hand-picked. Nineteen of the last twenty-three presidents have been members of the Triateral Commission. The Triteral Commission is financed by the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds. Don’t tell me-”
“That’s a think-tank. Anyone can be a member.”
“But not everyone is. That’s why they call it the secret government.”
Finally, the UNATCO troopers arrived. JC calmly turned him over and left the statue, but not before grabbing a strange blue canister that was sitting next to the leader. Somehow, he thought he’d need it.
(to be continued)
And the conspiracy is given more water to grow into a big, blooming tentacle monster.
Wow the first chapter I actually read everything in. Cool. Always got the loonies with their conspiracies.
I altered the chapter slightly. I forgot to include the important blue canister. Anyone who’s played the game knows how important those babies are.
JC made his way down to the base of the statue. After calmly walking out the front door, he was greeted with the smell of gun smoke and blood. He saw nearly a dozen NSF members lying in pools of blood, their bodies punctured with hundreds of bullet holes. He also saw UNATCO troopers looting the bodies. He felt sorry for them briefly, then remembered that they had brought this upon themselves.
Shrugging it off, he made his way down the brick path, to a large sign that read “UNATCO Headquarters. UNATCO Personnel Only.” At last, he was going to be entering the fabled UNATCO HQ. Ever since he began his studies, throughout his childhood, even when his nano-augs were being installed, it was his only dream. At last, he would become a full UNATCO agent.
The front of the HQ was bustling with activity. Troopers were bustling to and fro in the panic following the NSF leader’s capture. The only one not running around was Paul; he simply walked up to JC.
“Looks like Manderly’s happy,” said Paul. “You passed with flying colors.”
“I never expected to see this much action before,” said JC, pleased with his results.
“You showed restrainable force out there,” said Paul. “That’s always the best way to go. Anyway, Manderly wants to see you in his office for a debriefing.”
JC quickly moved pass Paul and entered the fabled front doors of UNATCO HQ.
“Good to see you,” said Lloyd, the new UNATCO receptionist and a classmate of JC. “It’s my first day, too, you know.”
“Yeah,” said JC. “Good to see you got in. Wouldn’t know it after that accident on the shooting range.” Lloyd laughed, then went back to the paperwork. JC simply walked past him and down a winding, carpeted hallway.
He then reached a large, reinforced steel door with a retinal scanner. “Don’t worry,” said a trooper from behind a bulletproof glass window. “The machine can read straight through your glasses.” JC adjusted his sunglasses, then submitted to the scan. The doors opened with a loud beep.
The inside of the HQ was far different from what JC had imagined. It bore more of a resemblance to a carpeted, furnished bunker than the headquarters of all anti-terrorist activity. After walking down a flight of stairs, he found a nameplate that read “Joseph Manderly.” Walking through, he saw a lovely secretary.
“Hello,” she said. “You must be Paul’s brother, JC. My name’s Janice Reed. Our little family just keeps getting bigger.”
“I was told to see Manderly,” said JC. “Is he available?”
“Yes, Mr. Manderly will see you know. By the way, your network account is ready. Login JCD, password bionicman.”
“Thanks, I’ll remember that.” With that, he walked into Manderly’s office.
(to be continued)
Gallo-note: Yes, I know it’s been a while since we made a decision, but I have to further the plot and introduce more characters. You don’t make any major decisions for a little longer in the game, anyway.
Manderley himself was a short, fat man with snow-white, neatly-trimmed hair. He wore a grey suit and tie, making him look more like a politician than the leader of UNATCO. He looked at JC with a sense of eagerness. “Ah, the man himself,” he said. “Welcome aboard, JC.”
“It’s an honor to be working here,” said JC.
“Yes, yes,” said Manderley, as he pulled out a credit chit. “That’s 1000 for the capture of the terrorist leader, and an extra 250 for rescuing Agent Hermann. We reward our people here.” JC took the credit chit and pocketed it.
“Now,” continued Manderley, “we have learned that the NSF is hiding the shipment in the warehouse district in Hell’s Kitchen.”
“Give me a gun and some ammo and I’ll clear the place out,” said JC.
“I’m sure you could,” said Manderley, chuckling a little, “but your brother is leading up the recovery team. You’ll be working with Agent Navarra. Return here after you’ve been checked up by Jaime and recieved your equipment from Carter.”
JC left Manderley’s office, then made his way to the break room for a quick soda. Inside, he saw Gunther talking to a female mech. She had black hair, pale skin, and more mechanical parts than Gunther.
“Are you sure you pressed the right button?” she said.
“I wanted orange,” said Gunther. “It gave me lemon-lime.”
“The machine would not make a mistake.”
“It’s the janitor. He knows I like orange!”
“So the staff has a conspiracy against you?”
“Yes! They just want to annoy me!”
The woman mech turned to JC. “Ah, my new partner, JC Denton. Please don’t tell me you’re wearing dark glasses on a night mission.”
“My vision is augmented,” said JC.
“Better to look good than to have distractions like another agent that needs backup,” said Gunther, still eyeing JC with great dislike.
“I’m prepared to fulfill my duties,” said JC, completely unfazed by Gunther.
“I do not expect you to perform as well as Agent Hermann,” said Navarra, “but it takes more to defeat the NSF than wearing coats that make us look bigger than we really are.”
“No problem,” said JC. He then left the break room, sans a soda, and went to the third level medical lab. Sitting on a stool, just by the entrance, was a hispanic man, with a small mustache and wrinkled face.
“Hey, JC,” he said. It was Jaime Reyes, all right, JC’s old doctor from the academy days.
“They actually let you operate on people?” asked JC.
“Just fixed Gunther’s knee, in fact,” said Jaime. “A stick actuator. So far I feel more like a mechanic than a doctor. They actually let you point a gun at people?”
“We can catch up later,” said JC. “Can you send Manderley what he wants?”
“Right away,” said Jaime. “Now, about your augmentations. You do know they’re going to roll out the program worldwide, right?”
“As long as I don’t turn green and grow a pair of attenas, as I understand it,” said JC.
“Yeah, well, the design’s pretty modular, which means you’ll soon be able to install upgrades from ‘augmentation canisters’, like that one you have sticking out of your pocket,” he said. “You can use the medical bot to install it. Some canisters upgrade specific systems, while others require you to make important and permanant decisions.”
“Thank you,” said JC. He then entered another room of the medical lab, where a small medical bot was moving around. He approached it and inserted the augmentation canister. On a small screen, he saw two choices: Microfibrial Muscles and Combat Strength.
(Decision time)
-Microfibrial Muscles
-Combat Strength
Here’s how the augs work. JC is allowed one aug from these choices. He cannot make the decision again after he’s done so. Each aug does the following:
*Microfibrial Muscles increases JC’s muscle strength, allowing him to lift heavier objects, carry them quicker, and throw then farther.
*Combat Strength increases JC’s close-combat ability, allowing him to take targets out much more quickly, and thus saving vital ammo.
Now CHOOSE!
Micro muscles all the way. And um is there a relation between JC Denton and PC Glenton?
I only based my name on JC Denton… there is no other relation.
I’ll go with Microfibrial Muscles.
Combat Strength, methinks.
JC pushed the button under Microfibrial Muscles. The medical bot’s needle went straight into his arm. JC felt his muscles tighten, while his whole body began to ache. His stomach felt quesy, his vision became blurry, and he nearly threw up his last soy meal. Finally, the needle removed itself, while a computer voice in JC’s voice said, “Microfibrial Muscles installed.”
JC stood back up and exited the medical lab. However, his Infolink went off almost immediately.
INFOLINK:
Alex Jacobson: You’re getting warmer.
JC stepped through another door, this one leading to the network control room. Sitting at a large computer was a small, thin man with thick glasses and suspenders. He looked more like an amatuer hacker than a member of UNATCO.
“I see you found me,” said the nerd in an all-too familiar voice. It was Alex Jacobson, the man talking to JC through the Infolink. “You’re quicker on the uptake than your brother was.”
“So, we meet each other in the flesh,” said JC. “By the way, is there any way to turn the Infolink off?”
“Don’t worry,” said Alex. “We turn it off when you go off-duty. You’ll get used to it eventually.”
“Okay, thanks,” said JC. “Keep in touch.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” laughed Alex as JC was already stepping out of the room.
He then walked to the armory. On the other side of the desk was a tall, aged man. One eye was missing, and his face was covered with various scars. JC recognized him immediately.
“General Carter, sir,” said JC, just short of bowing.
“Just Carter, sir,” said Carter. “You’re a part of UNATCO now.”
“I was told to pick up some munitions by Manderley,” said JC.
“I figured that,” said Carter. “I’ll get what I can, but just as a word of warning, items have been dissapearing from the armory. Alex has been complaining that items have been dissapearing from his office, as well.”
“Someone at UNATCO’s a thief?” asked JC.
“Don’t worry about that right now,” said Carter. “I’ll give you a Stealth Pistol and another piece of hardware.”
(Decision time)
-Take a Lockpick
-Take a Multitool
-Take some handgun ammo
Here’s what each item does:
Lockpick: Picks locks on doors, boxes, safes, etc. Not all doors can be lockpicked; some must either be blown apart or unlocked with a nanokey.
Multitool: Hacks into security cameras, security bots, and keypads. Not all things can be hacked, and it does nothing for hacking more advanced computers.
Handgun ammo: The weakest kind of ammo, but still very useful. The Stealth Pistol is the second most useful weapon, next to the Sniper Rifle, due to its silence. However, ammo is plentiful anyway.
Hmm. What there is the most usefull. The ammo is crossed off but the other two look goo. Maybe the lockpick.
Lockpick.
LockPick
Multi-tool.
“I guess a ‘smart’ lockpick will do the trick,” said JC.
“A man of tactics,” said Carter. “I like that.” He then handed JC a nanotech lockpick and a strange pistol that looked vaguely like a 20th-century staple gun.
“By the way, I heard about your service record in the academy,” said JC. “I’m sorry about your wife and daughter. It takes a lot of bravery to live after that.”
Carter just looked at JC, his face showing little emotion. “You had to grow up without your parents. That takes even more bravery.”
“My parents died in a car crash,” said JC. “Your family was killed by the NSF.”
“Enough small talk, soldier,” said Carter. “Report back to Manderley for a briefing.” JC then returned to Manderley’s office, where Paul was waiting for him.
“That will be your brother’s job,” said Manderley, just as JC was entering the office.
“Excuse me,” said JC, “but what’s my job?”
“The NSF moved the shipment through the subways in Battery Park,” said Manderley. “You and Agent Navarra will take out the terrorists that have boarded themselves up in Castle Clinton, right next to the park. We believe that some of the shipment might still be in the castle. After that, you are to join your brother in Hell’s Kitchen.”
“The NSF have boarded the shipment up in a warehouse protected by an EMP field,” said Paul. “They must have an EMP generator somewhere.”
“Your mission is to take out the generator in Hell’s kitchen,” said Manderley. “Once that is done, Paul, you go in and go in hard.”
“I’ll use my discretion,” said Paul.
Manderley’s face conveyed a general sense of being pissed off. “If you screw up,” he said, “I’ll be sending your ass to the mayor to explain why his daughters won’t get their pills this month!”
“I’ll complete the mission,” said Paul.
“All right, you’re dismissed,” said Manderley. “JC, Agent Navarra will meet you on the ship in the docks.”
JC returned to the dock and boarded a waiting UNATCO speedboat. Navarra was waiting impatiently onboard. “I hope you are quicker during our mission, agent.”
“I’m prepared to fulfill my duties,” said JC. He was glad he could no longer show emotion; Navarra would kill him on the spot if she saw how much he hated that bitch. The boat quickly speeded off towards New York City.
(to be continued)
Time to start chasing for an update.
The boat docked at a small harbor by Battery Park. “Our target is Castle Clinton,” said Navarra. “The NSF has holed themselves up inside, along with the Ambrosia. My orders are to send you in alone. You are to find the Ambrosia, then report back to me so I can send a recovery team inside.”
“The NSF probably has the front entrance pinned down,” said JC. “Is there a back entrance?”
“That would be useful,” sighed Navarra, “but I do not know about any such thing. The rest of the team will be waiting inside Battery Park.” She then ran off, along with a few UNATCO troopers.
JC began to follow her when he felt something tug at his coat. He looked down, and saw a small child, his face and body thin as cloth. “Hey, man,” he said, “do you have anything to eat? I’m starving.”
JC pulled out a candy bar from his coat pocket and handed it to the child. “Thanks, mister!” he cried. “Just for that, I’ll tell you something about the NSF.”
“I don’t think a kid would know that much,” said JC, “but go ahead.”
“They were moving some boxes through here a while ago,” said the kid. “They were using the secret passage, behind the soda machine.” The kid then leaned up and whispered the combination into JC’s ear and ran off.
JC thought about what to do. If he went in through the front, he could probably find the shipment much more quickly, but the NSF would be able to catch him easily. If he snuck in through the back, like the kid said, he could avoid a lot of attention, but would also have to probably look around more to find the shipment.
(Decision time)
Go in through the front (guns a-blazin’)
Go in through the back (sneak, sneak, sneak)
<img src=“http://www.rpgclassics.com/staff/tenchimaru/td.gif”> Err, shit, the secret entrance WASN’T some hole in the back of the castle? Man, so much for patting myself on the back for finding it ^^;
Go in guns-a-blazin’