11987/Suffer The Children

Suffer The Children
Date of Scene:	12 July 2022
Location:	Metropolis Slums
Synopsis:	When Bobbi and a small team are MIA following an investigation, Achilles is sent to investigate.
Cast of Characters:	Bobbi Morse, Achilles

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Bobbi Morse has posed:
SHIELD is an amazing organization to be a part of. There's all kind of perks and benefits from experimental Kree healthcare to combat training with Melinda May and other dignitaries. But at the end of the day, it is one hell of a hard job and the effects of it can spread like caner throughout all aspects of your life and cause bad decision making.

Bobbi Morse, codename Mockingbird, wasn't technically cleared for field work when she disappeared a few days ago, and if the rumors were to be believed in no fit state to be working, period. The divorce papers ending her marriage with Lancelot Hunter had finalized and been delivered. But the needs of world wide counter-terrorism come before the needs of the body or mind. And so she suited up and lead a small team of hand-picked agents that specialized in deep cover and disappeared to investigate rumors of human trafficking.

Almost a week later, Bobbi is missing and of the three agents that went with her, two are dead and one is MIA. The subtle approach apparently failed and now it's time to send in a combat specialist to find out what happened to Bobbi and complete the mission. The chosen agent? Why, the unkillable warrior Achilles, of course!

Achilles has posed:
    The irony is that Achilles, aka Angelo actually -owns- a company based in Metropolis. He just doesn't take an active role in the running of that company ever since he signed up with SHIELD. He is still the owner and CEO. He just lets the company President deal with the day to day operations for Myrmidon Personal Security... one of the most elite agencies of bodyguards in the nation. They hire out for diplomats, politicians, CEO's and lots of other folks. But it does make for a good cover if he is ever sent to Metropolis. He just does a visit to the company, greets some of the new hires, gives a speech. It's a good and valid reason for him to be in the city.

    And so once that was finished, he went to pursue his orders. The last location known of the fallen operatives was given to him, and so he parks his car near the docks. Getting out, he pops the trunk and gears up. A ballistic vest, a suppressed Kriss Vector Submachine-gun, his ICER sidearm, and of course he has his trusty bracers filled with ancient bronze toys.

    The MIA agent's transponder was located, and agent Tampambulos silently enters the warehouse from the rooftop via a skylight.... if it was Gotham, one might expect the Wayne Foundation to give out free skylights to any and all businesses in the city, if only to give Batman easy ways in. But this is Metropolis.

    Dropping onto the catwalk, he creeps up behind a guard and with a quick move, has the man unconscious with a choke hold. Then he peers over the railing, his nightvision ACOG scope giving him a view down below.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
It is indeed Metropolis, which is not exactly known for human trafficking or the worst of the worst crimes. The Kryptonian's shadow is omnipresent, and looms over so many different aspects of the city. But there are always places where vice and stupidity meet. The warehouse that Angelo finds himself in is no different than any other AIM base that has been converted into a secret lair; It's as picture perfect as a Roman legionnaire camp and probably as precisely laid out. Good for the high turnover rate of AIM agents, but not so good for keeping enemies in the know from being able to walk with impunity throughout the building.

For example, the floor below is split equally between barracks, armory, and training yard with the upper level given over to office spaces. Down below, there is a group surrounding a partition marked 'Torture Chamber'. Another is guarding a massive storage pod splashed with kiddie cartoons all over it.

Which way shall he choose? Either way he's going to have to face off against a dozen or so of AIM's security forces.

Achilles has posed:
    Snap decisions are required at times. But it would be unwise to leave something like the container unexplored and to go down below it... when leaving it could house a surprise that could prevent the departure. So Angelo studies the container for a long moment before he looks down at the beekeeper he knocked out. Then he smirks and turns to drag the guy off into the shadows.

    A minute or two later, he comes out of the shadows in the beekeeper outfit. But he -is- carrying his weapons. And so he descends the stairs that lead down from the catwalk. He moves with a casual grace, acting like he belongs. So he moseys on over to the container. Time to hide in plain sight.

    Two more stealthy takedowns of the guards down there, and he hides the unconscious forms in the darkness off to one side before approaching the container with the intent of opening it and slipping inside.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
His decision to focus on deception pays off; Angelo is able to slip through what passes for security points quick and effortlessly between looking like he belongs in his beekeeper uniform and the stealth takedown of guards on duty.

The closer he gets to the container, the more he can smell the stale rancid stench of too many frightened people in one area. Actually opening the door?

Children. Young children that scurry away from the light with fearful sobs when they can, while those too weak to move just close their eyes and whimper, or turn their heads to the wall. It's enough to break someone's heart.

"Hey! You!" An angry voice, from behind Angelo and the opened door. "You ain't supposed t' open them doors without permission!" It's a guard with an electrified cattle prod, and one that the children are all staring at with fear and loathing. "M'Permission! I'm in charge of the little bastards!"

Achilles has posed:
    And so, it's time for the stealth to end. Every deception ends at some point, and this time it is as Angelo turns at a casual pace. His left hand visible first as he is turning counter-clockwise. But it's as his right arm comes about that the suppressed muzzle of that .45 caliber SMG flashes four times. Now, suppressed firearms are not at all silent. But the reports of the shots do not carry -nearly- as far. But as the Aim beekeeper suits -are- lightly armored... the bullets may not penetrate, but the odds are that the impacts should at least stagger the guy long enough for Angelo to be -on- him.

    The Vector is dropped on its sling as he surges forward, feinting a punch only to aim a foot at the knee. That is also a feint which is designed to get his knee between the other man's thighs. He is -not- at all ashamed of striking a man in the manberries, the junk, the painful danglies.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
It's a time honored tradition to go south; Bobbi has left more than one foe that tried her with ruptured testicles and bruised shafts. It's an accepted form of warfare, along with her mocking insults and eskrima sticks.

The first guard goes down in the bullets, either knocked out or outright murdered by the spray... Either way, he's bleeding red out on the atrum floor. Behind him comes two more, including a man in an scarlet AIM uniform who takes the lead with a cattle prod of his own pulled from his belt.

Angelo's leap forward is unexpected, as is his reliance on melee rather than firearm. The result is that the cattle prod is lifted, but the AIM guard is easily disarmed with the prod sliding into the darkness of the container full of kids.

Whoever this AIM guy is, he's well trained. He's able to adjust his hip enough to take the blow to his thigh instead of family-makers, and while it does make him let out an involuntary moan, it doesn't send him falling. He responds with a haymaker at Angelo's forehead.

Achilles has posed:
    If you've ever studied boxing, or most other sort of close combat techniques... or seen a Brian Dennehy movie about fistfighting, you might know that the -top- of the head is one of the hardest points on the human body. Angelo ducks his head forward... and though that puts the beekeeper hat in the way, the impact of fist to skull is more likely to hurt the fist than the head.

    But he does not pause there. He ducks the head and then rushes forward. The intent is to begin a combination that starts with a fist aimed at the ribs under the arm that just did the punch.. into the ribs there. Then the other fist aimed for the throat... the third, now the same as the first, going for a solar plexus strike and finally the other hand aimed for an uppercut. If he can keep the enemy on the defensive, eventually the defense will fail.

    But he doesn't want to get bogged down here. After that combo, which he fully expects to be blocked.. he shakes his head and whips a hand up to remove that headgear, tossing it aside. Now he can see better.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Good news and Bad news, Angelo.

The good news is that his combo attack goes off flawlessly. The bulky beekeeper suits aren't made for hand to hand fighting, even though AIM policy dictates that security forces must remained in uniform at all time. The bad news? The time it took to get the security guard down, he's found himself surrounded by a group of five, each armed with cattle prods. And then swarm in, preparing to zap him at arm's length...

Cue a Wilhelm scream, the scent of ozone, and the smell of charred flesh.

To his right, he might barely see out of the corner of his eyes an emaciated kid of about ten, tears streaking down his face, but expression cruel and hateful as he jabs the cattle prod that had disappeared into the container against one of the security men's stomach. Behind him, a girl with a tattered dress and hair in pig-tails picks up the dropped cattle prod and jams it against the back of the downed guy's neck. His head vibrates and his eyes begin to bleed...

Achilles has posed:
    Five guys. Now four. Now three... Angelo doesn't hesitate longer than the moment it takes to size up the situation. "Kids. Move!" he calls out as a seven foot long spear appears in his hand. The blade nice and broad, and the butt -also- sharpened. When fighting groups of people, best to wield a weapon known as the king of the battlefield.

    A weapon designed to keep enemies at a distance. An amateur user can keep one or two enemies at bay. But to Angelo... it was the first weapon he ever mastered. He surges forward now, not worrying about keeping the AIM agents alive. Only worried about keeping attention on himself rather than on the kids. "MOVE!" he adds in emphasis as he stabs the spear into the chest of one of the enemies before twisting and sweeping the spear across two of the others, attempting to give them a choice... back off or get sliced -badly- across the body.

    But he doesn't stop moving. He fully expects to get shot, shocked, or whatnot here. Time to go to -war-. One thing that he does better than anything else he as ever done... fight to the death and come out on top. He stabs right into the neck of another one of them even as he takes a cattle-prod to the chest. The shock makes his muscles tighten up, but he twists away from it after a heartbeat and lets it slide off of his suit and his chest before striking the user with an elbow even as he pulls the spear back for yet another thrust.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
The cynical types might point out that Achilles's unkillable nature might be why he was sent on such a sensitive mission solo. Why bother distracting him with a partner or even team that he'll have to babysit? Best do like the Greeks did and just unleash him on their enemies.

The cattle prodding doesn't do too much; the rubberized suits insulate surprisingly well. And he makes a valiant target, keeping attention off the children that have surged out of the container to assist. So far, no bullets... Just weaponry designed to disable. The little army has grown, the three with cattle prods staying close to Angelo but behind him and occasionally darting out from their low position to sting a foot or leg. The rest? One little girl has a dolly that she's using to hamstring someone, while a rather clever fellow has begin launching toy cars along the floor to screw up footing.

It doesn't take long for Angelo to finish off his foes, leaving the sound of rasping, sobbing breathes coming from the area marked 'Torture Chamber' and the groans of the fallen AIM operatives.

Achilles has posed:
    Dismissing his spear, Angelo looks to the children. He picks out the girl who appears to be the leader of them.. and he summons his shield before holding it out, "Here. For now, use this to defend yourself and the others. Go up the stairs onto the catwalk. I will meet you there." he instructs, using the tone that he has always used on the battlefield to give the proper orders.

    Once he is sure that his orders will be followed, he turns and hefts his firearm once more and turns to head towards the torture chamber. He was not -trying- to leave anyone alive.. at least of his enemies at this point. He trots forward and reaches the door to the torture chamber.... knowing that he has no more enemies (active at least) at his back. He still has over twenty rounds in that first magazine, and he is prepared to spend bullets like water to get through all of this now.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Given their marching orders, the children make their way over to the stairs and climb up it with cattle prods and that big, heavy shield. The girl stands behind it, wedging it on the stairs almost like a miniature door. She then begins to spread the other children out so they can watch the various approaches. SHIELD is going to be keeping an eye on this one, that's for sure.

Meanwhile, as Angelo makes his way towards the torture chamber, his path is surprisingly clear. However, when he gets to the door there's the sound of a woman gasping in pain, and the sound of a male voice speaking to her in bored tones.

Achilles has posed:
    Okay. No time to hesitate. While the man speaks, he just opens the door and walks in. Likely he is going to see a scene that he does not like, and the submachine-gun will be firing in quick semi-auto shots. Ammo conservation is an important battlefield discipline.

    Walking forward, he puts two rounds into each and every hostile he sees.

    His stride might -look- awkward to outside observers, but it is something that soldiers in the modern era train... an awkward -looking- gait that keeps the shoulders and arms stable and still eats up distance. Keeping that weapon able of making quick accurate shots.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Angelo's entrance takes out all but one of the AIM operatives. The last is not wearing the beekeeper uniform, but SHIELD standard issue uniform. He was the MIA member of Bobbi's team. And given what he's standing over, it's clear that he was a rogue agent...

Because strapped to a table below him is the wreckage of a human woman. Naked, but nothing the least bit sexual or sensual about it given the incision down the center of her chest where the flesh has been flayed. And most disturbing of all, this ruined barely-living corpse of a woman has the face of Commander Bobbi Morse, who is very much awake and glaring up at the SHIELD agent as she struggles to stay conscious.

Agent Ralkins, having dodged Angelo's fire, dives for cover and pulls his SHIELD sidearm to send a few bullets down the length of the room towards Angelo.

Achilles has posed:
    "You're going to have to do better than that." says Angelo as he stalks forward. His eyes take in the ruin of Morse, and he does not blink, figuratively. Gonna have to do a lot more than that to outdo some of the things he's seen over the centuries. The crusades? Black death? Napoleonic Wars?

    He just walks towards Ralkins, not trying to evade or do anything defensive. In fact, when his magazine clicks empty, he just drops the weapon onto its sling and keeps stalking forward... it's like he thinks he is Jason Vorhees, or Michael Meyers or something. But he is not planning to kill Ralkins. Disable? Yes. Hurt? HELL YES. But he understands the need for the catharsis of the woman who was tortured getting the final say in whether the man lives or dies. "You are all alone here. I have disabled all of your other men. The children have been freed. Your only choices are... fight, and get -badly- hurt before you are taken in. Or surrender... and it will hurt a bit less."

    His face breaks into a sneer as he adds, "Me? I hope you fight. I need a good workout." That is said as two shots strike him. Sure, he leans back from the impact, and they penetrate the suit... and little bits of blood ooze out of the holes even as he keeps walking as if not hurt in the slightest.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
The Mockingbird continues to cling to consciousness through sheer stubbornness, voice harsh and almost sobbing as she struggles against her bindings. But while Ralkins may not be the best SHIELD agent, but he was good enough to be picked for this mission and Bobbi is weakened significantly from the torture inflicted on her.

And while he knows about Angelo from rumors and reading between the lines of redacted files, it's another thing entirely to see someone tanking bullets as if there were nothing. He backs up into the table Bobbi is strapped to, and she lets out a yelp of pain as the impact jars her naked, torture frame. She almost looks like she's going to pass out, blue eyes fluttering, before she grits her teeth and manages to spit a glob more blood than phlegm on Ralkins.

"I.. I can't." His voice breaks, "They'll kill me. Kill me!" He lifts his gun, emptying it frantically, before throwing it aside and reaching for a knife at the small of his back.

Unfortunately, said knife is not there. Bobbi has it, and has through the gasps of pain freed her hands and is working on her legs while he's distracted. It's causing blood to well up where they cut across her chest, but she is a tough old bird and powers through.

Achilles has posed:
    More bullets strike, and Angelo ignores them. Sure, they hurt, but as one tough old coot of a drill sergeant once said, "Pain don't hurt..." But as the agent reaches for the knife that is no longer there, a bronze short sword stabs into his right shoulder to disable that arm. And then a quick slash flays open the left arm.

    A quick move, and Ralkin is on his ass on the floor next to the table. "Don't move." says Angelo as he turns and uses that blade of his to help cut Bobbi free. Once that is done, he flips the sword about and holds it to Bobbi, handle first. Not a word is said. Nothing need be said between two real warriors and soldiers. She can use the little knife, or Angelo's sword... her choice.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Ideally a good person would accept surrender and allow Ranklin to live; It's possible he has important intel about AIM and this particular operation that they might not otherwise get. But SHIELD and Good are not always found together, even in the best of agents, and Bobbi has long has a reputation for not being the nicest of agents. Still holding the knife, Bobbi quickly and efficiently leans down to slice the rogue agent's throat open before straightening up. Thanks to the serums flowing in her veins, the cut across her chest is less flayed open and more just a vicious wound that definitely requires stitches or staples. Instead, Bobbi looks around and grabs glue and even before acknowledging Angelo's presence, glues the wound shut.

"Thank you, Agent Tampambulos." She croaks out, voice harsh and hoarse as she glances around, and moves to step towards a stack of hospital gowns... only for her eyes to roll up in the back of the head and for her to faint on the spot.

Achilles has posed:
    So it is that a few moments later, a blanket-wrapped Bobbi is carried out by Angelo... and then he whistles, "Okay kids. Come on down. I need you to be my eyes and ears as we head outside. Tell me if anyone is coming. I am counting on all of you to help me save this nice lady, okay?" he asks.

    With their help, he loads Bobbi into the back seat of his car and calls for a pickup. And while waiting for the retrieval, he strikes up a conversation with the kids. He asks for names, ages, and even refers to the oldest (the girl he gave the shield to) as the commander of the little group. Yeah, the plan is to get them the help they need, and try to find their families. The shield? Yeah, sadly he must take the shield back, but is hoping that her ego is salved by the 'commander' promotion.