Thriller OPEN The Seeking

The Flat of Sebastian, Berlin, Kreuzberg

As Sebastian quickly lost his consciousness it was Maria who was left alone with the address, the name and the gun.

Lara Johansen it said. She lived in Kreuzberg, Berlin.

Tag: @TheSithGirly





Rome, The Alley ... again

Tina smiled and opened her mouth to answer, but instead only a scream escaped as her boyfriend who had just proposed to her was ripped out of life. It took him a second to die, which meant one of the bullets fired at Tina still hit her chest, but the second never was fired ...


They were back in the alley again, Kawin's hand on the ring.

"God, I love how old everything is around here." Tina laughed. The alley was empty. Except the American woman who had shot them a moment ago who stood now behind them, gun ready to be drawn and with one hell of a feeling of deja vu!


Tag: @Mitth_Fisto, @galactic-vagabond422







Jenny's Bar, New York

Akin smiled as he was called a Gifted.

It was the first time he smiled and did not look like he did that very often.

"Neither did I assist you, nor am I one of the Gifted. Certainly I am not a fan of them." He shrugged. "Sorry, but that was someone else sent who saved your butt. Anyway, we won't kill all Gifted here or we need a lot more of your kind. We are gonna take out those who are a danger to us normal people." He shrugged. "They are really not a kind at all. Other than my people they feel not loyalty to one another. We have a Gifted or two working the same job you do. I can imagine they end up on your list, but none of them has not taken the deal so far."

He shrugged. "You will have to work a little harder to get into Paris, though. True. We find you someone to smuggle you in. Someone to find your target for you." Akin smiled. "We triple the price for that one even. If you take him out, we pay. The money for this kill was transferred already." Akin leaned back and checked his mobile.

"You are gonna take a plane from Tetterborrow in an hour. Called you an Uber. Now just get out and get some space between you and the crime scene. You will be contacted with the details soon." Akin nodded and began typing into his mobile.



The airfield was mostly empty and a pretty luxurious private jet awaited Hugo at the outer airfield. No control or paperwork. Whoever had hired him had good contacts. There was a man sitting inside, who was reading a newspaper. „Ah, Hugo.“ He just said, smiled and turned back to his newspapers. He had a French accent.



Tag: @Jerjerrod-Lennox



Above Europe and Berlin - Tegel

Elena gave him a smile appreciating his attempt to calm her.

"I can see the future of other Gifted." She answered his question. "I have to meet them most of the time beforehand, but I can see this girl and there is a man who speaks with an accent. He is dangerous." She said and closed the file on Lara Johansson.


An hour later they touched down in Berlin and a car was awaiting them. Without even a passport check they left the surprisingly small airport and made their way downtown. Alfi did not take long to identify the black Mercedes following them. The second one was a little better, he kept up his cover for ten minutes.

Tag: @RIP.CommanderPonds



The Aura, Zürich

Saori was escorted to the door and pretty much dumped there. The moment the man he had called Rutherford closed the door her telephone rang.

It was the voice of the Source on the other side. "So now that you know the rules of the game, what do you want?" He asked with his German accent. "Because I know what I want from you."


Upstairs Justin was handed his Business Class ticket and false passport. "All been arranged, Sir. Are you sure you do not want any escort on this one?" Rutherford asked. Then he added. "Harms found her. Lara Johansson. Harms was killed tonight."

There was one more meeting Justin had to take before leaving of course. A very familiar name asked for a tete-a-tete and this one was going to happen in the Davidoff Lounge. Why did it always have to be cigar lounges?

Tag: @Kurisan, @Sir_Draco (see PM)



Staatsballett Backstage

"Natalia." The voice was familiar and it was no surprise she had not heard anything when she had entered her Garderobe. Fjodor - it was certainly not his real name - sat on a chair from where he could only seen when one was already in the room.

The other dancers looked at him and he smiled at them. "Ladies, would you leave an admirer a little privacy with the object of his affection?" He smiled and they giggled as they got out. Fjodor was a wealthy Russian business man to most people. One with shady connections to the brtva, the Russian mob. He certainly had those, but his true Masters sat elsewhere.

Once the door closed he locked it, which nobody would be surprised about. His charming self vanished right away. He turned serious as he stepped to Marina.


"This one is urgent, my dear. Paris changed everything. Karina and Anna were pursuing a target there." Paris. The city in which every human being had vanished. The two Russian agents she had coordinated the last few weeks had been among them. Years of training were lost to the mindless act of one Gifted.

"You will have to do this one personally." He said with a sigh. He handed her a trendy Gucci bag, one everyone would consider a Gift from a wealthy admirer. "Someone is killing those who are Gifted. We know this person who is codenamed The Seeker is working with a group in Zürich. You need to find him for us. Moscow sends Evgeny Spasski to deal with him. You remember him, do you?" Of course she would remember him. Russia's most powerful Gifted had once killed a safe-house full of Israeli Mossad agents when one of her assets had been caught. Sending him was the equivalent to sending an army.

"We need to find this Seeker. Our only lead is a young, very rich man called Justin Pfeiffer, who will arrive in Berlin tomorrow. He will be greeted by a woman called Olena, who he has never met. She is meant to be his security." Fjodor opened the Gucci back and gave Marina a key-card inside. "She stays in the Marriott Hotel at Potsdamer Platz." He gave her a smile. The order was obviously to replace that woman. A dangerous task considering how little time they had to prepare. The cover would be volatile.

"Stay with Pfeiffer and he will lead us to the Seeker." Fjodor nodded.

Tag: @TheAdmiral


Kreuzberg, the Flat of Lara Johansson

It did not take that long for the others to gather, but time was relative anyway.

"Would be easy to kill." Raymond said.

"Everybody is easy to kill if he has no idea someone is after him." The Capitano said. "Do you have a plan or do you improvise through this, hm?" The question was a challenge to Juan.

Raymond looked at Juan, then back to Capitano Strauss and finally to the street. He said nothing to defend Juan. Even his right hand had doubts now.

"If she has the power to take our Gifts, killing her sounds like a good idea." Strauss said. Valeria who had been silent shook her head.

"Oh irony. You know who is gonna die if you try?" She asked and looked out of the window.

"I don't believe you. Your insights are so conviniently supporting your lovers point, honey." Strauss hissed.

"Careful now." Raymund said, chewing his gun and looking into the rear view mirror.

Tag: @Lawbreaker

 

Saori Nishimura, The Aura, Zürich

The man propelled Saori along a back corridor. In one hand he gripped her wrist with her arm twisted behind her back and pinioned behind the other; the other firmly clamped on her shoulder. She sensed he was a professional; it was an effective restraint and he had her fully under his control.

She wriggled and fought.

“Relax, Miss. Mr. Pfeiffer says not to hurt you.”

He almost sounded disappointed.

“I have to talk to him…” she started, but soon realised she was appealing to a brick wall. Justin hired the best.

He shoved her through an emergency exit and they were looking out over the Schanzengraben. The river sparkled in the late afternoon sun. A steep grassy flood-bank led to a riverside area below.

She tried one last attempt to break the fearsome grip and he suddenly let go. Surprised, she toppled down the bankside into the grass by the promenade. He laughed and said, “Have a nice day.”

Saori scowled as he slammed the door behind him. At least she was in one piece. Her imagination had been getting the better of her.



Desperation set in. The lead had gone cold. She had no next step. Justin’s revelations still seemed surreal. The end of the world? Someone was killing everyone? What had she got herself into? And what should she do next?

Her iphone vibrated in her bag and she grabbed it. Unidentified caller. She hit answer and put it to her ear.

"So now that you know the rules of the game, what do you want?" the voice had a German accent. It was the Source. "Because I know what I want from you."

She took a deep breath to quell the rush of adrenalin.

She said, “I want to stop the game. I want to change the ending.”

TAG: @SirakRomar

 

IC: Marina Astakhova
Location: Backstage of Staatsballet Berlin, Berlin, Germany

That was her last performance for the season. Of course they were doing Swan Lake and she played a breathtaking Odette. The audience gave them a thunderous applause as the curtain fell at the end. Marina, or Natalia as she was known to her colleagues, was breathless, it was a demanding job even to a trained individual as her. She gave a warm smile to her friend Helena, a German dancer, and to Kristopher, another German, who played Siegfried. Of course it was not Bolshoy, but still Berlin Staatsballet was prestigious enough.

But that was beside the point. This was her cover, the fact that she enjoyed it immensely was an added bonus, but she had to keep in mind her true purpose. The Center, as they called the SVR HQ, was to send her new instructions. What happened in Berlin took them by surprise and that was something no Intelligence Agency enjoyed. The fact that they lost two competent agents added salt to the wound.

It was ironic how life kept going as if that tragedy had not happened and as if it would never happen again. That made her assignment a bit more dangerous as at any given moment some Gifted will just snap their fingers and everyone in Berlin will vanish or simply die. They have to be stopped or at least studied. The latter was problematic, in an ideal world the governments will join forces to study and stop the threat, but given how the East and West viewed each other that was highly unlikely. Especially now that they thought they could weaponize them. A superpowered arms race had begun…

She walked towards her Garderobe and as soon as she entered she heard a familiar voice calling her name… her fake one. Marina almost jumped and gave a fake chuckle of surprise. It was Fjodor, she did not know his real name, not that she needed to. She noticed how some of the other girls were looking at her and at him. Marina restrained the urge to roll her eyes as this was part of the job cover.

Good thing such visits were not something unheard of, so they took his explanation at face value. It was rather annoying how the Germans just assumed that a Russian dancer should have an admirer from the bratva, such a cliche. But she had to keep the image of a gold digger to maintain the cover.

Marina sat opposite him and listened to the short briefing. A new mission. Her face impassive, but her eyes slightly widened at the mention of Spasski and what was expected of her to do to that Olena character. Judging from her name, she sounded Ukrainian, so a hohlyatchka, a derogatory term used for the Ukrainians. She would need to adopt their manner of speaking, not that the Westerner would notice such details, but it would not hurt. After all sometimes these small details could ruin a mission.

She did not enjoy killing. Not because of moral reasons. It just brought too much attention to an operation. Even if you cover your tracks so well, the police or the opposing Intelligence Agency will discover your identity and blow your cover. She blamed Hollywood and those James Bond movies for creating that false image that spies liked to run around killing people left and right. Murder was a last resort and used only when needed. Especially government sanctioned ones. Spasski was another matter, he was like a T-14 Armata but in human form, a blunt weapon to be used against the enemies of the Motherland.

She waited for him to finish “Sluzhu Rossiyskoy Federacii (I serve the Russian Federation).” it was a military response, usually said loudly but in this case she just whispered it with a smile. “I have some questions though. I realize that there is not much time, but I just wanted to clear some things out first.” she said matter-of-factly “Will there be a cleaner to take care of Olena’s body. Also, do we have someone in the hotel?” she asked “Also, should I assume her identity or I can present myself as Natalia? Who will be my handler and to whom should I report to? Communication lines? Exfiltration strategy?”

TAG: @SirakRomar

 

Sebastian Stein
His Flat, Berlin

He woke up with a headache and the numb feeling of betrayal. Maria had drugged him? A quick look at his table confirmed his worst fear. She had taken the gun and the paper. Immediately he stopped time. It was an instinctive reaction. The world froze and he sighed deeply.

Maria was gonna kill this girl so he did not have to. Yet, he had no idea who she was an where to find her. He had not looked at the piece of paper. Berlin was a big city. He would need years to search it with the time frozen and probably would still overlook her. His head fell down, as he realized Maria had known this probably. She had known he would stop time and she had known it would not help him.

„Maria, please.“ He sighed and pressed his eyes together.

Standing up he walked to the window and looked over the capital of Germany. It was completely silent now. Nothing moved and nothing ever would if he did not allow it too. It would not help. Probably the girl was dead already. Maybe Maria was on her way back. He checked his clock and it said that he had been out two hours. A lot fo time, but this was a big city. It took you sometimes ninety minutes to get somewhere. Maybe he was lucky.

He allowed time to resume, took out his mobile and called the number of Maria.

Tag: @TheSithGirly, @SirakRomar

 

Juan the Spaniard,
Car in Kreuzberg

„Gentlemen, please.“ He said and smiled. Then he turned half around to face the Capitano. The old German solider had always felt he was better suited to lead the pack, with his military training and everything. He had never understood he was a crappy criminal and that was why they would not follow him.

He turned back to the task at hand. There was already someone on the trail of the girl. They had to make their move.

„Strauss, you and Anton guard the door. Raymond, you take the corridor upstairs. Everybody else shall wait with engines running.“ He checked his gun and opened the door and smiled at them. „I get the girl. As always.“ He said and left the car. He knew he needed not check that they got into position, he could rely on them.

Getting over the street he waited for Raymond to catch up with him. „You make sure we got a clear escape route, you hear me? I am afraid we cannot trust our good friend anymore.“ Juan said. „We shall deal with this specific problem later on.“

He got into the elevator, pressed the button to the third floor and waited for Raymond to come inside. On the way upstairs he whistled Guantanamera. A tune he found most fitting when dealing with traitors and impending death.


Tag: @SirakRomar (who approved this post)

 

Jane
Rome

There was a moment, that moment between the recoil rushing through her body and the bullets finding their mark. It was a time between heartbeats when she held breath, a moment of bliss. As the assassin exhaled her heart thumped in her chest as the force of two more bullets left her pistol. Out of the corner of her eye she watched her target drop to the ground, her task complete. She felt the recoil of the second shot aimed at Tina's chest and then she didn't.

"...And on your left…" The tour leader spoke, a wave rushed over Jane. She was back at the entrance of the alley, her hand on the grip of her pistol ready to draw. As her fingers wrapped around it tighter just for a second she thought of drawing again and taking her shot. However the contract said not to make another attempt. If there was one rule, you never broke your contract, unless you had a damn good reason. Hopefully before Kawin could turn his head she kept walking down the street.

He was going to be hard to kill, though she would find a way. As she moved through yet another crowd she sent a short message to the email provided.

'Task Failed Successfully, advise.' was all she sent. She'd done her job, she had taken her shot, yet the man remained alive. No doubt something to do with his Giftedness. There was a snarl on her face and anger in her heart. She never failed, not like this. He wouldn't be allowed to taunt her like this.

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto @SirakRomar

 

OOC: A combo with @SirakRomar , many thanks

IC: Hugo Klaasen, Laurent
Location: Jenny's Bar, New York City, then leaving on a (private) jet plane

OK so maybe he had cocked up by calling the hooded man a Gifted when he wasn't. And maybe the job could have been executed better. But the hooded man had simply outlined what maybe his boss was thinking about the whole situation. Politics meant nothing to Hugo.

But Hugo had been paid, and it was off to the next target in Paris. And judging by the private jet that was sitting on the tarmac it looked like the boss or whomever owned this plane had decided to send him there in style. And Hugo was mostly used to travelling economy.

Might as well enjoy some perks…

Nobody tried to grab him nor were there any sounds of screeching tyres or vehicles approaching. Good news there. He stepped aboard and spotted a man reading newspapers. He smiled, greeted him and went back to reading.

Hugo sat across from him keeping his blue eyes on the man's face. "Judging by your accent you must be the man who will help me get into the wild jungle of Paris" he said with a smirk "Is this your plane as well?. Very nice".

The Frenchman put his newspaper down. "Non." He said and smiled. "Do I look like I make my hands dirty? I am the guy making sure you get what you need. Among other things. What I really do is make time go by." He grinned broadly. "You know who you are going to hunt?"

He has a point there Hugo thought. The Frenchman was dressed smartly and probably spent his time jetting around on this plane, driving fast cars and probably had a bevy of women nearby.

Passing the time was probably a good idea too since it would be a few hours until they reached Paris. Plus Hugo could get up to speed on his next target.

He nodded "I got a little bit of detail from our contact here. He said that this particular target is the most dangerous Gifted to be found. And apparently compared to my last two targets this will be complicated"

Hugo folded his arms and leaned back in the chair "So first things first who is he and do we have any idea of what he can do that makes him so dangerous?"

„The Source.“ The Frenchman said with his accent. It sounded elegant when he said it. „A man surrounded by many rumors and legends. He seems to have a more complete control of time than any other Gifted. Some say he can even travel through time. Some say he can stop time entirely. We are pretty sure he has the ability to teleport by bending space/time itself.“ The Frenchman smiled. „He can be killed though.“ The man said. „Apparently he has been killed before, but this was . . . How do you say it? Undone!“

„I am Laurent, by the way. A pleasure to meet you, slayer of Gifted!“ He toasted to him with his glass and drank.

The Stewardess appeared, a tall blonde model-type and got a measuring look by Laurent as she asked Hugo if he wanted anything.

Complicated indeed thought Hugo. This was not going to be an easy target to kill, especially if it was rumoured that he could stop time and even teleport. He could take a shot and this Source could jump and surprise him.

"Just some water please" he said to the stewardess with a smile. He tended not to drink as much alcohol these days and wanted to keep his mind sharp, Laurent was giving her the once over, she was pretty Hugo had to admit.

"It seems my reputation does precede me" he said with a smirk before turning serious "Good to meet you Laurent. And this time i'm going to make sure he stays dead and that he nor anyone else can undo it this time"

He nodded "No wonder the boss is interested though, taking him out would send shockwaves throughout the world. And it would be a big kill to add to my list" he tipped his head slightly to the side "I assume we have details on what he looks like, where he hangs out the works. It was useful in finding the girl and eliminating her".

The Frenchman smiled as if this question was naive. „We know where he was seen last, but nobody knows his face. Nobody who lived to tell it at least.“ He took another sip from his Whisky. „Actually I think it will be more than a shockwave. It will be a killing stroke to his faction or whatever you call it. The man has followers.“ The Frenchman gestured. „So would the girl have had, I was told.“

He yawned and looked out of the window.

„Ah, we are there.“ He said with a calm voice, as if this was possible. They had just taken off.

Hugo blinked, what the hell had happened? One minute they were taking off, the next minute Laurent pointed out they were there as if he was casually remarking about the weather. Did they just teleport or something?.

Back to the matter at hand "So how do I find this "Source" bloke. If no-one has lived to see him then how do I know I've got the right person?. I'm getting triple for this so I've got to do this right or no doubt the boss will be very displeased if I fail".

And if this Source had followers no doubt they would be after him once he performed the killing shot.

"Plus the police and army are no doubt crawling all over the city after what happened. I'll need to be in and out fast before the authorities know what's happened".

"Certainly not an easy environment. The Source is known in Paris as Le Phantom and police had failed several times to get a hold of him. I would not worry too much about recognizing him and I would not worry too much about the Boss if you fail. If you fail, you will probably be dead." The Frenchman smiled. The seatbelt sign went on. They were landing.

So it has come to this….kill or be killed.

So he would have to find “Le Phantom” by himself, whether he could utilize anybody here was anybody’s guess but he would have to work this one out on his own. And the Gifted cavalry probably wouldn't be coming over the hill to save him, this was the boss’s way or saying “you’re own your own here”. Hugo would probably have to get out on his own too. Either head for the borders or get out by air again, and this time not on a comfy private jet.

Le Phantom, you may be able to teleport but this time you’re not going to disappear unless I put a bullet in your head.And you Gifted followers will tear themselves apart.

He frowned at Laurent “Just make sure I have what I need to do the job, simple as that” he made sure he finished his water before they landed.

“Because I'm going to make sure it is three for three….”

TAG: @SirakRomar

 

IC: Kawin Muthurangu
Rome, Leaving the Piazza Nuvona into an Alleyway

It wasn't like the movies. Not proposing, kneeling there like a fool with a grin of sheer fear and hope plastered on his face. Then he felt it, like something was ripping into his head for a second, an indescribable force pushing into him and seeing that smile on her face change and distort as his eyes lost focus just before . . .

They were back in the alley again, Kawin's hand on the ring.

"God, I love how old everything is around here." Tina laughed. The alley was empty. It was so odd that he would have a feeling of deja vu! Only from the girl in the market did he suspect it wasn't just that as he spun around, breaking out in a cold sweat as his eyes looked around the alley. Something had happened, but he wasn't sure exactly what. So far deja vu meant he was having a death defying experience, and he had felt pressure from the side, not from above. What had just happened?!?

"Yeah." he said in a wary reply as he adjusted his glasses. "Let's, uh, let's keep going eh?" Letting go of the ring he kept looking around as he felt the curious need to know what had just happened.

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422 , @SirakRomar

 

Rome, The Alley ... again

Tina saw something was not alright, but simply nodded. She took his hand and they left the alley. They only made it to the end before a man blocked their way.



"Kawin, we need to talk." He simply said. "For your sake and for hers." He said and nodded to Tina.

"Sorry, but do you know each other?" Tina said. The man smiled at her.

"We used to. In another life." He just said and held up his arm, pulling down his shirt and revealing the implant identifying him as a Gifted.

Tag: @Mitth_Fisto


Rome, Sidestreet

The message was answered right away.

HE HAD HIS CROSSING. HE CANNOT BE KILLED. GO BACK TO YOUR HOTEL. NEW TARGET WILL BE ASSIGNED SOON.

„It will be me.“ The voice said and few people in the world could sneak up on Jane, but the black man seemed to have appeared from nowhere.


„The next target will be Edward Lambs in Portland. You killed me many times.“ He gave her a sad smile. „It will be your last job. They are gonna kill you afterwards.“ He looked around. „We need to talk. We are both running out of time.“

Tag: @galactic-vagabond422





Private Airfield near Paris

The plane landed and every clock said it had been in the air for about twenty minutes. The Frenchman sighed, stood up and lead the way. "I get you to your guide. Time to hunt, Mr. Klaasen." He said and lead the way. As he walked past Hugo he saw the black armwrist. The man was a registered Gifted.

Tag: @Jerjerrod-Lennox




The Aura, Zürich

Saori heard his heavy breathing. Was he injured?

„The end is always the same. I will try my best, but I need you to play your part.“ The Source hissed out air. Maybe he was treating a wound as they spoke. „We have played this game many times, Saori. Go to Berlin and go by train, because you will need to write something for me. You will see. Soon you will understand why you had to meet Justin. He has a role to play, too.“

He hung up and when she tried to call him back the number was said to not even exist.

Tag: @Kurisan (feel free to move to the train)



Staatsballett Backstage


Fjodor smiled. „Certainly, my dear. Natalia will be fine. That smug idiot has no idea who he is expecting. Only knows it is security. A cleaner will be arranged. A private contractor this time, but reliable,“ Fjodor smiled. „You report to me, as always, my dear. It is only us now.“ He pointed to the bag. „You find an encrypted phone in there.“ He smiled and kissed her head, before turning to get out. He had left out the part about the exit plan. They were probably still working on it.

Tag: @TheAdmiral (feel free to move her to the door of the room)



Kreuzberg, the Flat of Lara Johansson

Juan rang the bell and Lara opened the door, completely slacking any sense of security noir even with a chain. „Hey.“ She said and sighed. „I know you.“ She gave him a sad smile and opened the door for him to enter.

She walked into the little one room flat. she was wearing her house dress, a grey sweat pant and a tank top. No shoes. Sitting down on her old used up couch she took the remote control and turned off the TV which showed some reality show. Dirty dishes were piling up in the kitchen. Dirty laundry lay around everywhere. But the most striking feature was a number of coins. They were floating mid-air. Not moving, not doing anything but hanging in the air. Unmovable for all times.

„Amazing, hm? I can do that to people, too.“ She said and looked at Juan.

Tag: @Lawbreaker

 

IC: Saori Nishimura, the banks of the Schanzengraben, Zürich

“The end is always the same. I will try my best, but I need you to play your part. We have played this game many times, Saori. Go to Berlin and go by train, because you will need to write something for me,” said the strained voice.

“But… why can’t you tell me…” started Saori. He cut across her.

“You will see. Soon you will understand why you had to meet Justin. He has a role to play, too.”

Then he hung up. Saori stared at the phone. She got to her feet and glared at the locked door of the Aura one last time, then marched back to her hotel.

No, she decided as she walked. I will end this game. I am not a pawn to be used at the whim of others. Time to send it all to hell.

She had one wild card, an ace to play that no-one knew about. Back in her hotel room, in the safe, was a stolen CIA identity card – she believed the previous owner to be dead. On the back of that card was a telephone number. It was twenty digits long; no-one could ever misdial it accidentally. She had never dared try it, but knew it must be a twenty-hour hotline for agents to reach the US government security services for emergency help. She had been tempted before; that time when Assad’s men had tied her up and dumped her in the desert. But she knew the one time she ever played this card, that would be it – she would lose the asset forever, and probably get into trouble.

I’ll demand to talk to the President himself; it’s a matter of national – no, international security.

She reached the Widder and went to her room. She opened the safe and started dialing.

She stopped at the tenth digit.

What would she tell them? After Paris, the lines would be overloaded with conspiracy nuts and all the usual crazies. She knew what it was like from working at a newspaper. Even if she did get through to someone in authority, what would she actually say? She had the rantings of a madman no-one could find, and vague insinuations of a drunk billionaire, which he could easily deny. They would only believe her if they already knew more than she did. She realised it would only achieve one thing.

It would burn her access to the Source, and the US government would shove her aside and take over.

Saori moaned with angry desperation, but logic overcame emotion. She had to keep playing the game, to find out more, to get closer to the Source.

He wanted her to go to Berlin. Why? There was only one way to find out. Why by train? Someone was going to meet her at the station?

“Okay, Le Phantom,” she said to the empty room. “Have it your way.”

She began packing. It would not take long. She had only half-unpacked on arrival. She would leave the Mercedes at the station – the hire agreement meant she could drop it at any office in Europe, and there was one right by the Zürich Hauptbahnhof exactly for the purpose.

She calmed down as she focused on the details, now that her decision had been made. He did say he was trying his best. Even Justin said he thought the Source was on the side of the Angels.

He wanted her to write something for him. She did still have a part to play, a difference to make.

* * *​

On board the ICE Intercity Express, Saori ordered a strong coffee and French croissants from the waiter serving the first class carriage. She stared out at the gradually changing scenery as she left Switzerland behind. Berlin ahead. Cool, brooding Berlin, the Grunge-art Capital.

She wondered what would be waiting for her next…

TAG: @SirakRomar

 

Combined with @SirakRomar and @LordTroepfchen (thanks for input)


Justin Pfeiffer
The Aura, Zürich

"Dammit." Justin spit out and took another Whisky. "Do we know who it was?" He took the ticket and sighed.

"No, Sir. But apparently a Gifted who he met might have been involved." Rutherford said. "Shall we investigate?"

Justin took his head. "I will look into it if the chance presents itself. My security on site has been arranged I hope?"

"I got you the best there is, Sir." Rutherford said and sighed.

"Alright. I got another meeting. One which I will do alone." Justin turned to his head of security. "Keep an eye on this Asian reporter."



Justin Pfeiffer and Professor and CEO John Cale

The set-up was quite similar to his meeting with Saori, just security was not descrete. Yet, he entered the empty cigar lounge and only one man sat there in a fine armchair. He had lighted himself a Cohiba Siglo VI, a fine yet uninventive cigar.


"Justin Pfeiffer, I have to say I was looking forward to meet you." The former Havard Professor for physics smiled a thin smile and offered a seat. Justin nodded and took it. It was strange sitting opposite of the man, knowing is many truths about him which were all no longer true.

"Professor Cale, I must say I was surprised the CEO of Minotaur wanted to see a intellectual light-weight like me." Justin replied and sat down. "The again Ms. Liang did not exactly get what she wanted I assume."

Cale waved his hand. "I had little to do with this. Those spooks believe everything must be an operation. I really need to keep them at a shorter leash. Please call me John." He said and took his cigar. "Want one? The humidor is quite nicely filled."

Justin grabbed into his white jacket and took out his own Romeo&Juliets Limitada 2015. "I got my own. I like the 56 ring. And Justin it is then, John." He took out his cutter and began preparing the cigar.

"Nice one." Cale smiled. "Justin."

"So what did I do to deserve such honor?" Justin asked and was aware he was talking to one of those few people who were richer, more influential and more powerful then himself. All three thing the Professor had achieved in an equal short periodontal time as he had. A former Professor for temporary physics and one of the worlds foremost expert on the Gifted the man had left his academic career behind rather suddenly and build up his own company.

"I wanted to meet you ever since I saw that Professor Hale in your game. He reminded me quite a bit of someone." Cale said. "Not a favorable portray of my character I have to say."

"Only a game. I admit I was a bit inspired by your body of work especially the late papers on Gifted." Justin lighted his cigar.

"I believe it to be much more than a game." Cake said. "The first depiction of Gifted in media, except this completely ridiculous Michael Bay movie." Cale gestured with one hand. "A milestone. A cultural achievement. Millions of people having the chance to experience the story through the eyes of the Gifted. It made them more ... human."

"Thank you." Justin said and smiled. The man was dancing around the fire. "Bit we are not here to discuss my game design choices I assume.“

Cale nodded. „Of course not. I am here to discuss the Mansfield Institute.“ He said and Justin tried to keep up his mild smile and not show the impact of these words.

„I see.“ He said cool and collected, which was a cascade.

„Remarkable structure you set up there to hide your investment. A Cyprus trust owning a Cayman Island fund that invested through a Singapore entity. Impressive work by your lawyers. A billion for 39% was quite a good deal, considering their value must be . . . Unimaginable. You know how I know?“ Cale took a deep breath from his cigar. „The Austrians cracked it. The Government.“ Cale looked at him.

„I see. So what is it you want to discuss? It is an investment, nothing else.“ Justin said. „You want in? I can make a warm intro.“

„That would be wonderful. Because Mansfield is doomed. You have to have realized by now what Paris meant. They will be coming after Mansfield and the Professor. They will not allow their work to continue.“ Cale sighed. „Quite a step back for humanity I am afraid. One neither of us is interested in I assume.“

Justin had to smile. Of course. The Rapid Chain was based on Gifted and technology fused into one. Minotaur would be done if Mansfield would be shut down. „Which makes us allies, you mean?“

Cale nodded. „Natural allies, I‘d say.“

Justin nodded. „What can we do then?“ He asked. He already knew true answer, but he wanted to hear Cale‘s take on it.

„We can protect Mansfield. We just need access. Acces to their reactor in Mali.“ He smiled. Access to the holy grail of modern science for protection against all Governments of the world.

„How will you protect it?“ Justin asked.

„The less you know the better you will sleep. But I‘d say that we got access to the only Gifted who can stop Mansfield. Which brings my company in a rather privileged position.“ The Professor smiled. Justin nodded and leaned back.

„I forward the message.“ He said and took a breath from his own cigar. So the enemy had shown itself. Finally. He needed no Source now anymore. He knew what he had to do to save the world or end it. He needed to be faster than Minotaur AG and get the girl.

Tag: @SirakRomar

 

Jane
Rome

The reply came in almost immediately clear concise instructions and the promise of another job. If she got paid like she did for this one, though she was still bothered by the fact she couldn't kill him, she would be a very happy woman.

Then a voice spoke to her, someone had gotten the drop on her. She wheeled around holding her phone in one hand and her knife in the other. Time slowed around the pair and it seemed the man was unaffected, makes sense, only a gifted could get the drop on her but she wasn't just going to let that slide. Within a breath her blade was against his throat her forearm bearing down on his chest and slamming him into the wall.

"Who is going to try and kill me?" She growled a snarl on her lips. "Talk fast, or you'll have less time than me."

TAG: @SirakRomar

 

Maria Liang
Kreuzberg, Berlin

She went up the stairs and smiled at an older man who she had to make room for to let him get past her. She wondered why and old man who had obviously a hard time walking had to take the stairs. She considered to offer her help, but the made her only more recognizable. The best thing about being Chinese was they all looked the same to Westerners. Also she was American, she made good use of this advantage.

Second floor she arrived and looked around. She quickly withdrew into the room for the stairs and took out the Sig Saur and put the silencer on. Then she checked she had a fully loaded magazine and made her way out of the stairs. The corridor was not empty, she realized. Was the woman watched already? Lara Johanssen was probably already identified. She had to act fast and realized this would be so much easier for Sebastian with his abilities.

Putting the gun under her jacket she walked down the floor, stopp at the door to the flat of the young woman and knocked. When she heard steps, she took out the gun, ready to shoot an kill her immediately once the door opened.


Maria Liang
Grand Hyatt, Zürich, Swiss

Jane signed in an send the message the Canadian had survived. With a sigh Maria leaned back, as she had changed from the lavish bed to the couch by now. So she needed to think about how to deal with him. Maybe the Seeker had to take care of him personally. Otherwise she needed someone who could stop the flow of time. She opened up a list and found two red names. Günther Strauss and Raymond Holz might both have the right abilities. They both worked for Juan Angelo Duran, the Spaniard. Why had they been marked?

She went into her database and found Juan the Spaniard pretty quickly. A side-character of the Crossing‘s DLC Iteration X he was a dangerous psychopath on a powertrip. He seemed to operate out of Berlin nowadays. Berlin, of all places. Klassen was on his way to Paris and she answered Jane shortly, before turning her attention back to the list.

There was another option. An American who could void powers of gifted. Maria smiled. Maybe it was time the CIA got a useful hint about the potential next Paris-like psychopath in the the making?

Tag: @SirakRomar, @galactic-vagabond422, @Lawbreaker

 

Juan the Spaniard,
Flat in Kreuzberg

„You are rather cute when you try to threaten people.“ Juan smiled. „But not me, honey. Gifted are immune to other Gifted, did you not know?“ He gave her a gentle smile and looked at the coins. „How very, very impressive this is. You cannot unfreeze them? The coins will remain like this forever? Really, forever?“ Juan laughed. „You will revolutionize the whole sand castle industry. Flood comes, flood goes, sand castle still there. Right? Crazy.“

Laughing he turned to her and she laughed at his joke actually. „Seriously, I am here because I know a lot of people will soon come to talk to you. So I thought I should be the first and probably offer an alternative to syringes, labs and lifelong imprisonment. Which is pretty much your next station in your career. Not that bad for someone selling shoes usually, right? Or was it tops?“ Juan folded his hands. „I offer millions of Euro, Caribbean islands, hot young guys, cool trips all around the world and the promise of no longer being the nerdy outside, because to a woman like this, that is just not the right role.“ He took the TV and turned it on.

„See? Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?“ Juan asked and the pictures of the poor French girl who had wiped out Paris were everywhere.
„That could have been you. Imagine what your ability could do to people?“ Juan turned around again. „To countries? Imagine you use it on police stations or . . . The Chancellor? The US President? Tell me Lara, what do you think the world look like? Because while you are hiding here in this ****hole, you really are missing the opportunity to make it whatever you see fit.“ Juan laughed. „All hail to the queen, baby.“

Tag: @SirakRomar

 

IC: Marina Astakhova
Location: Backstage of Staatsballet Berlin, various other locations in Berlin, Germany

Marina gave a small smile at the kiss. Her mind was processing the information, for some reason Fjodor left out some crucial bits of information. She did not grill him for it as it would be counterproductive. But that did not assuage her doubts about the mission. She sat behind the vanity for the slow and meticulous process of make-up removal, then the costume and so on.

It did not take her long to change in her “civvies”, most of the others from the group were congregating around the director. Helena waved to her and asked whether she would join them as they were going to celebrate the end of the season. Natalia cringed mentally, she had forgotten about this tradition. She came up with some enigmatic reason for not being able to attend it.

Good thing they were not paying that much attention as the reason she provided would not stand too much scrutiny. Of course Helena tried to convince her to come, but Natalia promised her that they would go shopping around Zoo Garten where most shopping centers were situated. That seemed to satisfy her friend so she let her go.

Once outside she hailed a taxi to Alexanderplatz. Her apartment was close by, of course as a Russian expat she lived in the former East Berlin. She had a small apartment there, it was more of a studio, but was enough for her. Once inside she looked around for some nice piece of clothing. She had an idea as how to proceed.

Marina pack lightly and called for another cab. This time she travelled to the Marriot Hotel. The driver was a chatty Turkish immigrant, she tried to be polite, after all the point was that he should not remember her. If she were overly friendly or rude he would surely notice that. The fewer people remember her, the better.

They arrived at the hotel. Waved off a bellboy who tried to help her. She did not want for him to feel how lightly she had packed. Marina was greeted by an administrator at the front desk. She checked herself in as a guest using one of her numerous fake identities. A shame, she was fond of that one. The problem was that there were far too many cameras. She had tried to conceal her features with a wide brimmed hat, glasses and so on, but still.

If she had more time to prepare she would have done a better job, but it was a pretty improvised mission. The exchange was quick and uneventful. She headed towards the elevator. It did not take her long to reach her floor, then her room. Another quick change of clothes, she had to wear something more practical if things lead to a physical altercation.

It was so annoying having to change so often, but that was part of the game. Marina put some of her clothes around as if she were going to stay there long. She opened a small case where her pistol was, along with a silencer. Marina hoped she would not need it, that she will be able to dispose of Olena silently, but things rarely went according to one's wishes.

She rested for some time, waiting to get a bit later, but not too late as to attract too much attention, but still. Marina needed her target to be tired or already asleep. She stood up, put the pistol in the holster concealed under the jacket and the silencer in the pocket. She also took the Gucci bag that was handed to her.

The corridors seemed deserted. There were some noise coming from several of the rooms. She ignored that. Moving quickly towards the target’s room. Just in front she put on a balaclava and gloves. Marina then took the pistol and silencer out, getting it ready. She took a deep breath and put the key card in and using one hand she opened the door silently. The gun ready to be fired if needed. Well, Olenochka, time to say goodnight…

TAG: @SirakRomar

 

Sebastian LEGO Stein
His flat

She did not pick up. He hissed out in frustration and slipped into his Porsche Design sneakers, the only luxury he had allowed himself to have, then grabbed his Keyes and quickly went outside the flat. Stairs. He had said the killer was in the stair-house. He walked over there and pushed open the door. A blonde man was lying there, two shots into his head and one into his chest. The Source had seemingly used the mans gun, which lay next to him. A large silencer was on it. He grabbed it, detached the silencer and put the gun into his belt and the silencer into his pocket. It had been ages since he had used a gun, back when he had trained to be police. He hoped he was still any good at it. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated.

His mobile hummed and he picked it out of his pocket. The address was on it. Kreuzberg, not that far away,

He smiled and began to run. As he made his way downwards he called a cab with his app and thought what he wanted to do. Kill the girl before Maria did? Maybe it was the best if she had killed her already when he arrived.

The taxi was coming within five minutes. He cursed how long this took and rammed open the door of the house. He saw ten MP-5 submachine guns pointed at him. Outside there stood an SEK, a German SWAT, completely armed and ready.

He stopped time instinctively. Then he breathed out. What was going on? Had Paris lead to this?

He simply passed them and walked down the street. He had just decided the world was not a place where he could get a taxi. he would walk and would be there much faster anyway, because while he walked the world would stand still.

Tag: @SirakRomar

 

IC: Kawin Muthurangu
Rome, The Alley ... again

Tina saw something was not alright, but simply nodded. She took his hand and they left the alley. They only made it to the end before a man blocked their way.

"Kawin, we need to talk." He simply said. "For your sake and for hers." He said and nodded to Tina.

"Sorry, but do you know each other?" Tina said. The man smiled at her. Kawin merely had a creased brow as he knew he didn't know this man. That meant. . .was he spotted at the cafe? Was this the government finding him and giving him the ultimatum for the sake of society?

"We used to. In another life." He just said and held up his arm, pulling down his shirt and revealing the implant identifying him as a Gifted.

And then the odd man had to do that, say that. "Or in other words, we don't yet in this one?" he stated with a eyebrow rise as he pulled on Tina's hand to pull her behind him, following instincts to protect her even if he had not a clue how. Looking at that arm and back at Tina he had to admit he didn't know what to say, only he knew he had to say something. "Tina, I realized something at the Cafe. There was a gifted pickpocket across the way, only I wasn't affected like you were." He had to say it, get it out there before this weird man talking of other lives said something else. He didn't know anymore than that really, just his deja vu but he wasn't about to tell this person he had an idea what his gift was - short term pre-cog with a focus on bad endings.

Tag: @SirakRomar

 

Combined with and at the request of @SirakRomar

Justin Pfeiffer
Zürich and Airport Zürich

The rest of his evening went by rather unspectacularly. The chatted a bit, but they both had made their moves.

Once he was out Justin thought about sending a panic call to Professor Mulligan, but decided against it. Instead he went home and thought about it for a few hours. Truth was he felt like a pawn on a chessboard who suddenly realized he did not needed to be move, no he could move himself and the final line that would make him the Queen was actually already in sight. He needed no King anymore. He needed no Phantom or Source or whatever he was called. Of course, he knew that he would be nothing without him. But he had risen above this, he had found out who was his enemy all by himself. The Seeker it was. He had amassed considerable resources. Also he had the options to make his move now. All he needed was a little more chaos.

Slowly he picked up his phone and looked up the number of the Japanese woman‘s phone. Two Asians trying to lure him into traps in a week. His preference for Asian women had become just too much of common knowledge by now he guessed.

Dialing it, the mailbox went ahead. Of course, his guys had told him she had entered a train. He sighed and then stretched waiting for her voice to bring forth some charming intro to say what he wanted after the sign. He took a last sip off his whisky, emptying the glass and tried to remind himself how many these had been now, five?

„Hey Saori, this is a pretty drunken Justin who has hell of a bad conscience about treating you like this. I only treat girls like crap if they like it usually.“ He sighed. „I got no idea why I am saying stuff like this. Maybe I am a bit intimidated by the whole idea of history repeating. But you know what, I owe you a real apology. I gotta make this one up to you, I‘d say. So here is the deal. You are not gonna hate me and I will tell you a Government secret, okay? A big one. You are a writer, a journalist, right? I give you something big to write! The EU knows how the Gifted got their abilities and they are gonna try and take their abilities from them again. They are trying to make those people ordinary once again.“ Justin yawned. „Maybe they succeed. Would exp,Ian why we do not get any more Gifted visiting from the future, would it?“

He gave his empty glass a tired smile. „Do not trust the Source. He does not know as much as he thinks.“ He said this and killed the line. He had his doubts he would sleep until the flight the next morning. So he could at least drink then, right?

Tag: @SirakRomar, @Kurisan

 

OOC:A combo with @SirakRomar

IC: Hugo Klaasen, Laurent and Adrian
Location: Private airfield outside Paris

The clocks on the plane showed that it had taken them only twenty minutes to get there, which meant somebody aboard had sped them here, and it was confirmed when Laurent moved past him, he carried the wristband that confirmed he was a registered Gifted.

So he had the Gifted Slayer in front of him and he didn't bat an eyelid. He's got balls this one….

Hugo's first instinct was to grab his gun and blow Laurent's head off. Such a pretty head too and it would be a shame to decorate the interior of his jet with a new shade….

But as Laurent mentioned he was going to get Hugo to his guide. So perhaps he could be useful, plus as Hugo's French was rusty he could be used as a translator. But if he tried to use his powers on him or hindered him in any way, even if he worked for the boss he would end up dead.

Another Gifted kill on the list.

Hugo picked up his bag and followed Laurent out, he would check his weapons on the way to his destination.

Laurent smiled at him outside and gestured to the waiting Mercedes Limousine.

"Good hunting." He just said and obviously his job was done.

Inside the car a young man was sitting and he was clearly uncomfortable. From his cheap clothes one could read he was not used to sitting in cars like these.

"Bonjour, I am Adrian." He said."I am getting you into the hot zone." He said and nodded. "I was told you are looking for Le Phantom, right? I can show you where he hangs out."

The car started moving and it was an empty city it was passing now. Only when they approached the entry point of the inner city they were controlled by a military patrol of five French soldiers who blocked the way with a tank. The driver had the right papers and the tank rolled aside.

"The Quartiers were the only place where people did not vanish. They are now locked down by the military after riots last night." Adrian explained and a group of Helicopters passed over their heads.

Well if the private plane wasn't enough it looks like i'll be arriving in Paris with style too.

Hugo listened as Adrian laid it out for him on their journey in. If this Phantom or Source or whatever other names he liked to call himself hung around where Adrian said he did then Hugo would have to get the lay of the land. Any potential sniping spots or any place he could get off a close shot without the Source, the police or the military noticing.

This was going to be his toughest mission yet. Even when he was doing assassinations in the roughest parts of the world they were a little bit easier than this. And probably no backup or extraction if he failed.

I may be the lion hunting the zebra, but I may become the zebra if I don't pull this off….

They managed to get through the military checkpoint without fuss (the boss showing his clout again) and Hugo turned to Adrian "I'll assume you'll have papers to get us past any military there but I will also assume I will be on my own once we get in there. Unless you do have any papers for me to get out again if I am successful" hopefully once he texted his success to the boss he could get him out again if he did get stuck.

Hugo doubted it though.

Getting out is not the problem. It is getting in that is a problem." Adrian sighed. That made little sense of course. It was as if they were clearing the area not as if they were containing a threat. "If you hunt the Phantom I doubt you are gonna have to worry about that too much. People tend to show up in strange places when it concerns him." Adrian clearly shivered when The Phantom was mentioned.

So even Adrian seemed nervous about this Phantom, not surprising when you had someone who could literally teleport around and make people disappear. Who was a person who had followers and probably worshiped him like he was a pop star or religious fanatic.

He quickly pulled out his gun and checked it. One bullet used so far and he would only use it if he had to. After disassembling and reassembling his gun he did the same with his sniper rifle, still a full magazine there. One thing you were taught as a soldier was to regularly check your weapons and to disassemble and reassemble them quickly.

After his sniper rifle went back into the bag he turned to Adrian "This Phantom won't be around much longer, he'll be down before tonight. You said you're taking me into the hot zone, so you get me in there, no if's, no buts. I don't have much to go on but if you show me where he hangs out that'll be a start. Boss wants this job done, no exceptions."

He folded his arms "And I don't care if this Phantom bloke is considered royalty or the boogeyman, this man is considered dangerous. And I'm sure people don't want this city becoming a hot spot for Gifted like him to parade around and kill people".

Adrian looked at him and nodded. "Sure, you gotta do what you gotta do." The young man replied and the car stopped.

"The quatrieme is right down this street, we take the Metro tunnel in." Adrian explained and grabbed down into a backpack between his legs. He took out night vision goggles for Hugo and then put one on himself. "They are not driving anymore and the army has normtet realized they are good entrances into their secured zones." Adrian got out and led the way to the nearby Metro entrance. It was sealed and the door was chained, but he took out a key and opened it.

"After you, Sir." He just said and looked around. Of course nobody saw them. There was nobody there. That was the problem of Paris. It was empty now. It's two million inhabitants were all dead.

The streets were eerily quiet, and Hugo was getting a feeling that not everybody had survived the attack. When watching the news before his mission to New York they had estimated the casualties to be over the million mark. But seeing it for himself a realisation had hit him.

The Gifted freak had killed them all. And the Phantom was here for some unknown reason. Hugo's anger rose. He would eliminate this Phantom as he sounded as dangerous if not more than that woman who had caused all this. And for the sake of the world he could not let another freak unleash another Paris.

The normal people will strike back.

He popped on the night vision goggles Adrian had provided as they were about to take a trip underground. Hopefully they would encounter no problems as they went along, once they were back upstairs Hugo would be able to assess the situation and go from there.

He nodded his thanks to Adrian and led the way down into the Paris Metro, which would usually be bustling with life, now eliminated because some Gifted woman couldn't keep her powers in check.

Say your last prayers Phantom. I'm coming for you...

TAG: @SirakRomar

 

IC: Saori Nishimura, ICE Intercity Express, en route to Berlin




Saori jerked awake. She found herself in unfamiliar surroundings and had that temporary panic attack before reorientation and memories returned. She was on a train, first class carriage, heading to Berlin. She stretched.

It had been a weird dream, of a future without people, the world wiped out, only the trees were now lords of the planet. She had been there, only a younger version of herself, elfin and naïve, searching for... something that could not be found.

She saw her iphone and cursed under her breath. A missed call. A message.

She listened and smiled. A drunken Justin Pfeiffer, of all people, seeking forgiveness. She would have to think about that. His security man had twisted her arm and got her Chanel dress dirty.

Then he said something unexpected.

“… The EU knows how the Gifted got their abilities and they are gonna try and take their abilities from them again. They are trying to make those people ordinary once again…”

Saori reran that line in her mind. How they got their abilities. It was something she had meant to ask him, perhaps even ask the Source. Were they born like that? Justin’s words indicated otherwise. The proposed plan of the EU was as terrifying as it was vague.

…try and take their abilities from them again…

She had no idea what that meant, but a collage of suggested images cascaded behind the words – operating tables, restraints, scientists in masks, pain, suffering. It was horrific, but was it needed? She was beginning to wonder. Her meeting with Justin had left her with one overriding impression; something had to be done about the Gifted. He talked about the end of the world as being inevitable – as if it had already happened, many times. But what was the right thing to do? Her mind span.

There was one thing that Saori did know, however. This was news.

This. Was. News.

She knew the Phantom wanted her to write something, to get it out to the world media. Had he put Justin up to this? Unlikely. Why would he then put her on a train to Berlin? And Justin had said not to trust the Phantom. That was interesting. What was Justin’s angle then? Was he really just regretful and wanted to make friends?

She tried to clear her mind of doubts and puzzles, and focused on the purity of purpose. She was a journalist. Forget what she or they wanted, she had to bring the truth to the world. That is what she had promised herself to do at the start of this whole adventure, no matter to what truth it led her.

Okay, where do I take this?

She scrolled through her contacts on the iphone. The BBC came up quickly. She thought about it. The British broadcaster was unafraid to publish the truth and staunchly apolitical – almost untouchable by outside interference. But they were also cautious about rushing out stories without verified sources. Would Justin confirm? She doubted it.

CNN, Fox, all the American networks had no qualms as long as it was a scoop and sensational, but it had to fit the agenda of their respective paymasters. She was not even sure what their position would be on this issue – it seemed to transcend their petty and continuous re-enactment of the battle between left and right. If she got the wrong one, they would quash it and she would be seeing US agents with handcuffs almost immediately.

It should be a publisher in Europe, she decided. This is where the news originated from, and this all revolved around Paris. She doubted any French outlet could give a coherent take right now. In fact any European TV news network would be difficult to trust, and had limited reach anyway. The papers, then?

The print media were unfortunately fast becoming an extinct species. The good side to this was that they would be desperate for a scoop and would gladly print unnamed sources. The bad side was that this desperation and almost comical lurch toward the sensational had stripped them of any credibility.

She needed a paper that was still widely respected, in Europe, that would not be afraid to blow the lid off an EU scheme, and had the reach for it to go global. The train passed a sign in German and Saori remembered where she was heading. Her decision was made.

Der Spiegel.

She looked up her contact and dialled. Her pupils dilated as she tried to figure out what to say. Luckily Steffen spoke good English and had worked with her before, and had wanted to take her out to dinner.

She sighed as it went to answerphone.

“Steffen, it’s me Saori Nishimura, remember Crimea? I’ve got something to do with the aftermath of Paris – something big. I need you to run with me on it. It’ll be worth it. Call me back.”

She considered the options. The website put up videos. She could go to Brussels and confront one of them with it. A furious denial by some surprised politico was as a good as an admission. On the other hand, a calm “no comment” was like kryptonite to a journalist. She would have to dig deeper; she still had her CIA card and magic beeper. She wondered if they could get her into The Hague.

She headed to the restroom to freshen up. Thirty minutes until Berlin.

TAG: @SirakRomar @Sir_Draco

 

The Flat of Lara Johanssen, Berlin, Kreuzberg


Maria saw the girl open the door and the finger pulled the trigger, hitting the young girl twice in her chest and once in the head as Adrian Simmons had taught her many years ago. She was dead before she ever realized what happened and therefore before she even had a conscious thought of freezing her. At least it seemed like that until Maria reached the exit and found it locked. No. Not locked. Frozen and unmovable.



The city was absolutely silent as Sebastian made his way through it. Nobody moved, nothing moved, time frozen completely. Then there was someone moving. He stood on the other side of the body Warschauer Straße with all the cars now frozen. This part of town had many refugees and people of color were no extraordinary sight, but this man was actually looking more like an American.




He was careful as he approached Sebastian. „Hello Sebastian, I guess this all here means the Source talked to you. I know you can be a little agitated after those soliloquies, but I need to talk to you before it is too late.“ He gave him a weak smile. „And it will be too late pretty soon.“ He raised his hands. „I am Lambs. We met once in New York and ... well, let‘s say we almost became friends.“

Tag: @DarkLordoftheFins, @TheSithGirly






Rome, The Alley ... again

Lambs gave Kawin a sad smile. „I hate it, when we do this. Please do not tell her next time.“ He raised a gun and fired Kawin right into the head.

And there he was again, just approached by Lambs who smiled at him. „Kawin, old body! You in Rome!“ He said in a happy voice which was badly acted if someone knew the intensity of his voice before. Tina did not remember it and looked surprised.

„Oh, this must be the beautiful Christina. She is as fantastic as you said. Gorgeous, right for the Holy City, if I may say.“ He turned to Kawin and hugged him. „I try to save her here, man. Play along.“ Then he parted again. „Man, small small world! Wow. We need to catch up.“

„You know each other?“ Christina asked and looked at Kawin in surprise.

„Know each other? You making jokes? Kawin and me go way, way back.“

Tag: @Mitth_Fisto (Combined?)



Rome, Sidestreet

Lambs smiled at Jane. „You know the first few times you really got me with that. Then I pulled this one into you.“ He took his hand from a pocket and produced a syringe. „But really, it went wrong a couple of times and if I succeeded I had to drag you through half the city. Horrible. Got arrested, got exhausted and even if I did it, you were only more pissed once you woke up. So I had to chain you and when I did that, I had a hard time to talk sense into you.“ Lambs sighed. „So what are you doing there, Jane? I try to warn you. Cut my throat and whoever will kill you is irrelevant, it would be your own stupidity killing you. So why don‘t we go somewhere where we all can speak? I mean, that way I would not have to tell the same story like five times.“ Lambs raised his brows. „But the short answer is, whoever hired you. They kill Gifted if you haven‘t realized this already. So what do you think they are gonna do with you? Or do you think the Seeker does not know you are one of them?“

Lambs looked at her and then sighed. „So what is it?“

Tag: @galactic-vagabond422


Inside the Security Zone, Paris

Adrian climbed down one the rails and then walked into the tunnels, waiting for Hugo to follow. Through the empty and deserted tunnels they began their long march into the security zone.



If no train drives and nobody is around the tunnels were actually strangely silent. Adrian and Hugo‘s steps echoed through the metal underground tubes. Left and right smaller tunnels lead into the underworld of Paris, but Adrian ignored them. There was a world of catacombs below the ancient city. Some rats passed them, some others vanished into the ventilation shafts. Finally they made it to the train station. It smelled like fire and violence. Black smoke was spreading and Adrian grabbed his back and handed Hugo over a FSP2 breathing mask.





Quickly Adrian passed the now deactivated escalators to the surface. What presented itself was a warzone. The riots had clearly escalated. At the end of the street the people of Villeneuve-la-Garenne were attacking police troops with Molotov cocktails. „They are gonna bring in Belgium troops, I heard. The Army is also setting up a base. By tomorrow France might be in a civil war of sorts.“ Adrian pointed to a ruin of a house in the dark part of the town, which was only illuminated by the fires of the riots. It seemed like an abandoned industrial part of the quartier, but it also looked as if abandoned years ago, which was impossible, was it?

„There I saw him. I think he is working on something in there.“

Tag: @Jerjerrod-Lennox



The Train to Berlin, Germany

Steffen sighed. „Well, you know we got our standards, I need to check the story before we run it. So if you got something you need out there urgently, I could probably offer you the blog.“ He said and was clearly not enthusiastic about any of this. „What is it? Maybe we can help you? We got ten guys on all political avenues about the Paris thing. Huge developments here in Berlin and Vienna tonight.“ Of course The Spiegel would know already that something was going on. They just could not know what. „We can at least ask for a good denial, of you tell me what this is.“

Tag: @Kurisan


Le Chatain, President‘s Suite, quite literally

Knapp raised his brows. „Well, then you are obviously unaware of it, but actually we possess the means to do it. Well, almost all of them. Our German colleagues are working on the key-component of this, but once we have secured her, I assure you we can take the powers of the Gifted away, without even touching one of them.“ Knapp snapped his fingers. „What we will ask you tomorrow is to support this initiative and grant us access to American soil for an operation. We won‘t spill blood, we won‘t do any damage to any US citizens.“ Knapp sighed. „This is probably a historical chance to revert this world to normal, Mr. President. I understand the Gifted have been put to good use. But it is only a matter of time until something like Paris happens in Asia, Russia or the US again. We can save those innocents who would fall victim to the next attack.“ He looked at Matt. He knew Andrews career was bound to the gifted and truly wondered how ambitious Roland‘s former closest confidant was. Would he speak out against it, for his own gain?

Tag: @HanSolo29, @LordTroepfchen


The Hyatt, The Room out of time


The door slided open slowly and she saw something really strange. There were objects floating in it as if it was a aero-G environment. It was not she found out when she stepped in, but a passport and a hair dryer passed her. The distraction had been a mistake.

„This is as confusing for you as it is for me, I assure you.“ The voice came from the left and when Marina turned around she saw the victim lying dead on the floor and there was a woman sitting, wearing her clothes, holding her gun and her face. It was her, with the one difference she was bleeding from the side. „Please don‘t shot me, or us or whoever you and me are. I don‘t want you to get crazy over a remote suicide and I am not sure what would happen.“

Tag: @TheAdmiral


Kreuzberg, the Flat of Lara Johansson

Lara stared at Juan and then shook her head. „I did not ask for this. I do not want this. I mean, I . . . did some terrible things.“ She leaned forward. „How? How could I change the world? Paris happened and I am not the smartest girl in the world, but I guess they are not gonna let it pass. And I am registered.“ She held up the hand with the black armwrist.

In Juan‘s ear he heard the voice of the Capitano. „We got company. SEK is incoming.“ The German SWAT. „Lots of them.“ If Juan looked out the front door he would see two vans stopping and the black armored men with ski masks climb out, readying their weapons. It were about 25. Probably the equal amount at any Backenstreiches they might find.

Tag: @Lawbreaker



@Sir_Draco, @TheSithGirly, let us conclude the combined posts.

 

IC: Saori Nishimura, ICE Intercity Express, en route to Berlin

Saori jumped when Steffen called her right back. She fumbled with the phone and answered and he began to talk. A blog? She sighed. She should have known they would be cautious. However, she had chosen Der Spiegel for its reputation - that came from doing things properly.

"I'll tell you when I see you," she said. "I'm coming into Berlin now, perhaps we can meet sometime soon? I'll get the evidence. You won't regret this."

She looked in the bathroom mirror and her eyes sparkled. The game was on.

TAG: @SirakRomar

 

IC: Hugo Klaasen
Location: Le Warzone, Paris

Hugo followed Adrian into the dark underground tunnel making sure he kept the man in sight with his night vision goggles. Even in the darkness someone could still pop out and surprise them especially if someone had chosen to hide down here.

Like he was trained to do in the Amy he kept his gaze roving around the tunnel but kept his gun in his jacket. The only things that were probably dangerous down here were the rats but Hugo had been in worse hell holes. In crumbling buildings ravaged by bombs, deep in the desert with the sun beating on his back constantly, deep in the jungle, sweating and stretched out in a tree. This would probably be another one to add to his list.

They made it to a station and Hugo could smell the smoke before they reached there, it stung his nostrils and nearly made him cough. The taste of it was also invading his mouth too and it smelt like quite a few fires were burning. Sounds of violence were also echoing down to their position and it seemed that this was where the remaining citizens of Paris or any tourist that had survived were literally letting rip.

Not surprising really, what do you get when law and order break down? Chaos. The Source was probably loving this or hating it. He wouldn't be living long enough to find out if Hugo had his way.

Adrian meanwhile tossed his a breathing mask to get them through the smoke no doubt. Replacing the goggles with the mask Hugo dropped his bag to the floor and popped the goggles inside as they may come in useful later, but he did remove a couple of spare magazines for his gun and popped them in his trouser pocket. Just in case.

Up they went and immediately they headed straight into the riots. Citizens were battling the law, the citizens hurling Molotov’s at the police, fire and smoke everywhere, buildings either on fire or crumbling. There was no way Hugo would be able to find a good sniping position here, plus there were too many people and police about. Even with his silencer on someone would see the shot and raise the alarm. Plus who knew if this Source would come out and then teleport away whilst he shot meaning some unlucky policeman or civilian would get in the way. Panic would ensue and he would be caught in ten seconds flat. Plus with military helicopters around he would be spotted on a rooftop.

He sighed, he would have loved to have used his sniper rifle on a job like this but it seemed this one needed a more up close and personal touch.

„They are gonna bring in Belgium troops, I heard. The Army is also setting up a base. By tomorrow France might be in a civil war of sorts.“ Adrian said and pointed to a house that looked like it was in ruins. It looked like it had been abandoned for a while which was weird as the incident that sparked this whole mess off wasn't that long ago. Unless it was properly abandoned years ago and no-one ever fancied doing it back up again.

Hugo had the strange feeling he may be walking into a trap. But he was here to do a job, triple pay was incoming if he pulled it off. It was always a danger of the job that you could get killed, but this was one kill he wanted to walk away from and succeed at.

„There I saw him. I think he is working on something in there.“

Hugo took a deep breath and blew it out through the mask. This was it, he was about to come face to face with the Source, the Phantom. One of the most dangerous Gifted in the world. And Hugo was about to do something that would shake the very foundations of the world, send shockwaves through the Gifted. He knew his father was probably watching him from above watching him exact his revenge and hopefully maybe could provide him some luck.
He pulled out his gun, checked the silencer was screwed on tight and then disarmed the safety, he turned to Adrian tossing him the mask “Wait somewhere safe i’ll probably need you to get me back out again. If I do not come out in the next half hour assume I am dead and report to the boss. Do not come inside, no unless you like it messy”

Hugo moved over towards where the ruined house was, he was luckily dressed in black so hopefully he would not be seen too much. But this Source had powers he could never understand and could easily surprise him. Plus with the state of the building there still could be dangers in there, crumbling walls, holes in the floor and ceiling, the building itself could decide to fall down.

This is the big one, well worth the risk…..

He pulled the bag containing his sniper rifle from his shoulder and pulled it over his head so it was now sitting across his chest, he didn't want to lose his prized possession. Raising his gun in a two handed grip focused his eyes on the entrance and headed in.

Straight into the gate of Hell itself.

TAG: @SirakRomar

 

Jane
Rome

Jane snarled pressing her blade just a little more into Lambs, drawing blood from the thin skin of his neck. He snuck up on her, threatened to sedate her, apparently he'd succeeded at least a couple of times. After finding out about her powers and the powers of other, weird time BS hardly fazed her anymore. Though it was annoying to try and kill someone when they turned by time or could control objects with their mind. What she couldn't stand was the things he was saying. Her own client was trying to kill her? She's dealt with a few that tried to stiff her on her fee, or kill her to save a few thousand dollars, they had all failed.

The cold professional in her told her to just kill the man and get on with her life, but she'd been around liars, too many of them. This guy didn't seem like he was lying, too many details, too much knowledge to just be telling her what she wanted to hear. She narrowed her eyes a little, staring daggers into him. She held there for a long moment thinking over her choices. She could always kill him later should the mood strike her.

And she would be an idiot for turning down information on someone trying to kill her. She had remained independent in a world full of companies and governments constantly backstabbing each other. She didn't do it by being stupid.

"Alright." She pulled her knife away and put it back in its place before returning time to its normal pace. "Walk, and keep your hands where I can see them." She ordered not taking her eyes off Lambs.

TAG: @SirakRomar