FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Augtober 23

Fox sighed deeply, and turned to face the room. He removed his hat, before sitting by the window. "It's been a decade since I first reached out to you." He said to Greg, "If I recall correctly, you were very suspicious as to who I was, and who I worked for." Greg, sort of embarrassed, cleared his throat. "Well, I mean, you called me out of nowhere, and you knew... well, everything. And, there was the whole high-tech thing." Fox nodded, remembering. "Of course back then, I still hadn't... perfected the technology, but it was all I could afford to put together on such short notice." "What do you mean?" Greg asked, curious to finally hear Fox's side of things.

"Believe it or not, Mr. Wetzel, there's a reason I reached out to you specifically." "I had wondered why you chose me. At first I thought it was some sort of punishment. I guess I never thought to ask. Maybe I thought it was better not knowing." Fox took a moment formulating his words before speaking. "I suppose it wasn't supposed to go that far. Originally, I only meant to stop you from doing anything irrational. Of course, when it became clear this situation was... different, I realized it was an opportunity for achieving something greater." Jessica chipped in, "Hold on, what do you mean 'this situation'?" Fox sighed again, "I suppose that's where it gets... complicated."

"I suppose it's no secret by now that I've always tried to help people; to stop bad things from happening. But before I met any of you, it was difficult to do anything to stop innocent people from getting hurt. I still remember... I still remember all the numbers I wasn't able to-, that I failed to save." Alex's ear twitched, "And just how do you come up with the numbers?" Fox looked up, almost confused. "I'm not sure what you mean?" Alex huffed, "There must be some way you decide who needs our help. Or, someone who tells you." "So, you've been following me, have you?" "No. But Jessica has." Jessica slapped Alex's arm, annoyed he had sold her out. "All I saw was you got a call at a payphone, and then Ingrid said you gave her a number. So, it was just natural to assume that you had someone else giving you the numbers."

Fox sat back in the chair, somewhat impressed, although he didn't show it. "Well, you are correct in that someone is giving me the numbers." The three of them looked at each other, surprised that their theory had in fact been correct. "Well, who is it?" Greg asked. "Honestly? I'm not sure." Fox responded.

"Wait, what?" Jessica exclaimed. "So you mean to tell us, that after all this time, you were giving us numbers from behind a curtain, which you yourself have been getting from someone else?" "Well, something else." Fox clarified, although his clarification didn't do much to satisfy the question. "You see, a long time ago, I wasn't always an altruistic vigilante. I was looking into ancient technology, things that had been forgotten for millennia. At that time there were strange, errors in my work. Words that were out of place, numbers that shouldn't be there. At first, it seemed random, but the longer it went on, the more it seemed-" "Like someone was watching you. Trying to communicate." Alex interrupted. "I think I've seen something similar." Fox continued, "In any case, after I realized what was happening, I tried to make sense of the data. After some work, I managed to get something; ten digits." "The first number." Jessica said, "What did you do?" "At first, nothing. After all, I had no way of knowing whether or not it was a coincidence. When I checked through public records, however, it lead me to a recent homicide. I tried to forget the whole thing, cast it off as a weird coincidence, but after that, they just kept coming. Number after number after number. I told myself that it wasn't my responsibility, after all I'd never been in law enforcement, let alone even held a gun." "So what changed your mind?" Jessica asked, a hint of concern in her voice. Fox sighed deeply, as he remembered his distant past. "Someone I knew very well died. It was an unexpected death, there was no way anyone could have seen it coming. And yet, there I was, with information capable of saving other people, and doing nothing with it." "I'm sorry, Fox." Jessica said. Fox perked up slightly, "Don't worry. It was a long time ago. But it did make me realize that whoever was giving out the numbers was irrelevant. The thing that really mattered was saving people."

"So, you have no idea who is giving you the numbers?" Greg asked. "Unfortunately not. As far as I've managed to discern, it's some sort of black ops government agency. I doubt that given the nature of information required, that even the highest levels of government personnel are aware of it's existence, and it may go as far back as the Armistice." "Is that even possible?" Jessica asked. "I'm not sure, but given the lack of details, in combination with the unusual dissemination methods, I don't see how it could be anything else." "And what of the construction you funded?" Alex asked plainly. It took Fox a moment to realize what Alex was referencing. "Ah, so you found that, did you? I suppose it's sort of a little experiment of mine. After all, if it were some sort of agency giving us the numbers, they would have to get the information somehow. So, I decided to see if expanding certain infrastructure would lead to more numbers." "I knew it!" Greg exclaimed. "Well, at least the information part." "Have you ever considered that this... agency of yours might give you bad intel?" Alex asked. "Early on, I was skeptical of the accuracy of the information. However, after all these years, I've yet to see it be wrong."

Greg sat back, taking in all the information. "So, that's the truth huh?" "Indeed. Although while there is more to the details, that does cover the basics." Fox stood up. "Well with the conclusion of this little interview, there are some pressing issues which we must attend to."

"After my meeting with Ms. Ansi, I did some researching into the finances of Nona Industries and their various subsidiaries. Most of the leads lead to dead ends or highly obscured clientele." Fox went over to the computer, and brought up a similar chart to the one mapping out the corporations, however this one focused on finances. "But I managed to trace one trail to this." He turned the screen to the others.

"PRD? What exactly is that supposed to be?" Jessica asked. "Not very informative is it?" Fox replied. "However after some digging, I did manage to find a full name. Prevention and Recovery Division." Greg crossed his arms, "Sounds quite unusual. What are they supposed to do?" Fox turned the laptop back to himself, hit a few keys, before turning it back. "That's where it gets concerning. After looking into a few... directorates, a theme started to emerge." On the screen, there were several formal messages, which were all heavily censored. Among the visible sections were several phrases such as "... return priority item to facility 1962b..." "... substitute for G.M.H. required..." "C.S. E.M.K. needed as an asset..."

Among the messages, one in particular stood out. "TOP PRIORITY: k10-k25. Hooligans to be retrieved or suppressed." Despite the heading signifying high authority, the message was completely uncensored. In addition, the message was very short, only two lines long. "I take these 'directions' aren't as innocent as they sound." Jessica said. Fox turned to her, "Although I can't say for sure, it would certainly seem so. Unfortunately, so far any attempts to get more information have been unsuccessful. It was already hard enough to get this far, and in order to get any further, I'm pretty certain we'll need to find exactly where these orders are coming from." "Sounds like fun." Alex said. "I don't know about that, but surely that's quite a bit more difficult than what we normally do." Greg remarked. Fox looked distant for a second, but quickly came back to. "Indeed. But I'm certain I can handle it, Mr. Wetzel." "Hold on, 'I'?" Jessica stepped forward. "You want to go in alone? To what may be the most unsafe place on earth?" Fox closed the lid of the laptop. "I appreciate your concern, Ms. Ansi, but I assure you I can handle myself. In addition, I think you can agree when I say that it's much easier to send in one person undercover than it is to send in an entire group." "He's right Jess. There's less risk." Alex assured her. "I know, it's just... I don't know. It just seems like a complete change of place than what we usually do."

"What we usually do?" Greg asked, "You mean like faking credentials to get into a police academy to make sure we find the right person for the job?" Jessica wanted to reply, but Alex spoke before she could say anything. "If you're going to go in alone, why the big hurry?" Fox clearly grew uncomfortable. "Ah. Well, I suppose that is what I came here for."

Fox drew his data pad. He tapped a few times, and showed everyone what was on the screen. On the screen there was a news article, but the date put it at quite a few years earlier. "Nona Industries buys out fifty three corporations in record shattering spree" Jessica read out. "That's absurd. I don't remember seeing anything like this, and back then I was... well, you know." "Neither did I. This was the only available record I could find, and even then it wasn't easy."

"As far as I can tell, they did their best to hide the fact. Unfortunately for them, one person managed to get the message out there. One day later, he was found dead in his apartment." He swiped right on the pad, and another article appeared. "Journalist commits suicide in own home." "Suicide? That was a hit." Greg said, appalled by what he was seeing. "Almost certainly. The article was pulled before the body was even cold." Fox said, dismally. "So how'd you find it?" Alex asked. "As I said, I can handle myself. Though needless to say, you'd be surprised what you can recover from old hard drives."

"So what's this have to do with things now?" Greg asked. "I wrote an algorithm to keep track of the companies listed here. Of course, not all fifty three were on there, but the top thirty names were. Of those thirty, five stood out in particular. All five specified in making high grade computer chips. As of Nona's acquisition: none of them are operational. But as of a few days ago, they all became active again, and not just active; monumentally so."

"Active in what way?" "So far, I've only been able to intercept a few packages of data. Mostly it seems they're moving vast quantities of money. I haven't been able to pinpoint the exact location, but based off the addresses, the locations are in Manhattan, and Los Angeles." Jessica perked up. "That... doesn't seem right. While there are a _few_firms in LA, the only real reason anyone would do business there are," She stopped suddenly, realizing that there was no mistake after all. "Are for mercenaries." "That can't be good." Greg remarked. "Indeed. Of course the question now becomes what do they need mercenaries for. Hopefully, if we figure out who's giving out orders we'll also find what they're up to."

Alex took the moment to speak. "I'll go check out the Mercs. See if they know anything about who's paying them, and what for." "And you thought my job was dangerous." Fox muttered to Jessica. "Wait a minute, what? That's beyond stupid." She exclaimed. "We both know I can handle myself." Alex said plainly. "That's not what I'm worried about." She replied. Alex was clearly bothered by the response, and looked downwards, ashamed. "Look, what if I go with you, just to be safe?" "But then _you'd_be in danger." Jessica thought a little, and held his hand. "Come on, we both know you'd never let anything happen to me." "Alright, fine." He said, reluctantly. Suddenly realizing they were being watched, Alex pulled away, and stood up straight. Greg chuckled slightly, "Alright then. I guess I'll stay here and help Fox look into the messages." Fox gathered up his things, and stood at the door. After a few seconds, he looked at Greg. "Well? Mr. Wetzel, we're wasting time." Greg sat still a few seconds, before fully realizing Fox wanted to get started right away. "Oh, right. RIGHT. Umm, I guess, we'll catch up later." He said to Jessica and Alex, grabbing his coat off the rack. Once he and Fox were gone, Jessica turned to Alex. "So, how are we going to do this?"

*******

They had decided to call up Boone to get to their destination as quickly as possible. They had landed in a small but decent sized airport. Unlike in the north, all the aircraft were steam driven, and were made of shining brass, copper, and steel. The occasional zeppelin could be seen in the distance.

"Alright. Where do we start?" Jessica asked Alex. Although she was well versed in many situations, she'd never really dealt with hiring criminals. Of course, technically according to NAC laws, mercenaries weren't illegal, but using them for criminal purposes was. Naturally, most people who hired them didn't have the most legal of intentions.

"We should find a place to hide out. Somewhere inconspicuous." Alex was scanning the surrounding area, looking out for anything suspicious. "Alright. And after that?" "We'll see." Jessica hadn't seen Alex this paranoid in all her time knowing him. Normally he kept an eye out, but in this case he seemed particularly uneasy. "What's going on with you?" "Nothing. We should get moving." She wasn't planning on letting the issue go, but she also couldn't argue against getting on with the mission. She supposed she'd have to bring it up later, and with a sigh, she followed Alex onward.

***

They found an old coal storage shed, now long abandoned. Although small and somewhat cramped, it was very unlikely anyone would have any reason to go there soon. Jessica had agreed to stay put while Alex checked the surrounding area. The coal shed wasn't too visible amongst the surrounding buildings, which were all poorly maintained apartment complexes. Still, it was best to know the surrounding area in case anything were to go wrong.

It had only been about ten minutes when Alex returned. "Find anything interesting?" Jessica joked. Alex didn't seem to catch on, or didn't care. "There are plenty of positions to set up an ambush, and lots of potential escape routes. The people around here don't seem very attentive; that'll work in our favor." "Alright, easy there spec-ops." Alex almost seemed hurt by the remark, but he quickly shook it off. "This location seems mostly secure, we should move on to finding the mercenaries Fox mentioned." "Okay, how do we do that?" Alex pulled out a small paper slip out of his pocket. "I've worked with some different groups over the years, some of them owe me a few favors." Jessica decided to push her luck, "Seems like having mercenaries owe you a favor isn't a small thing." Alex wasn't quite sure what to make of that, "...I did say I would help out Fox." He said, cautiously. Jessica was surprised, but somewhat pleased by his dedication to working together.

"Well in that case," Jessica said, "We should get going. Any idea how we're going to find the right mercenaries?" Alex put on his "helmet" and jacket, as well as a few basic weapons. "Just because they're in the same area doesn't mean they like each other. If we can convince them the information will benefit them, they'll talk for free." "And what's all that about?" She asked, gesturing to his gear. "You may know my face, but they don't. And I'd prefer to keep it that way." "Wait, what about me?" She asked. She hadn't thought of a disguise, and thinking about it, it seemed like a good idea. "I'm sure you'll think of something." He walked out, leaving Jessica to frantically come up with something quickly.

***

They went around a few different locations, each one home to a different mercenary group's chapter. Most seemed to be relatively small organizations, only operating on a local scale. Jessica had dressed in black, and applied as much black makeup as she could before looking ridiculous. She also did her best to make her hair jet black. Fortunately for her, Alex's presence seemed to be enough to keep anyone from asking too many questions. She had never personally seen Alex use his persuasion techniques in person, but she had to admit they were effective. He managed to convince most of the people they talked to that they were trying to interfere with the agreement between the mercenaries and the company, which would allow the other groups to take over their business. They managed to uncover one of the larger groups, The Vanquishers of the Infernal, were the ones running operations for Nona Industries. However no matter who they asked, no one seemed to know exactly what the exact nature of operations were.

It was early afternoon when they returned to the coal shed. Although she was used to walking in the city, Jessica hadn't been expecting the higher temperatures, especially as the day went on. "How do you stand the heat?" She asked Alex, as she fell onto an old metal box. "I thought you'd been to the south before?" He said, blandly. "Yeah, but I've never had to do so much walking in the south before. Surely we can take a cab just once." "Too risky. We're supposed to keep a low profile, remember. Or, at least you are." She couldn't tell if he was telling a joke, it was still hard to tell, but she decided to change the subject anyway. "Well, we know _who_Nona hired. Now we need to figure out what their up to, but considering no one seems to know, I doubt we're gonna be able to be done quick here." She let out a groan as she stretched on the metal box, the cool metal a welcome feeling on her tired body.

"Actually, this might be easier than I thought. Now that we know who, all we need to do is ask." Alex said. "Wait, you're not being serious, are you?" Jessica sat upright. "Are you really saying that we should show up on their doorstep and ask what their doing?" "Like I said, some people owe me favors." "And you think they'll just give up the details of their agreement just like that?" "If we ask the right people, yes." Jessica stood up, crossing her arms. "I don't know. I mean, asking questions was risky enough. Surely this won't be that easy." "Trust me, it'll work." Jessica was unconvinced, but seeing no easier alternative, she relented. "Alright. But I need to know exactly what you're thinking." "Fine. We go to their headquarters, and find the lieutenant. I should be able to convince him to give up some information." "And by convince, you mean...?" "Depending on how cooperative he is, we'll see." She decided not to ask, part of her hoping he was joking.

"So, where are these 'Vanquishers'?" "On the seaside, in the industrial docks. They have a small complex, the administrative building is just beside the road." "Seems a bit fancy compared to what we've seen so far." "These guys are one of the main groups in the area. They have the most resources, especially when it comes to ships." "They have a fleet?" Jessica asked, curious about these mercenaries. "They have the biggest mercenary fleet, but it's not common knowledge. They like to keep it that way." "So... in other words, don't make them angry, got it." "Just follow my lead." They headed out, and Jessica hoped they could get everything settled by the end of the day. Not that she was necessarily scared, but the sooner they got things wrapped up, the sooner they could get back north.

***

The complex was hardly what Jessica would call small, seeing it in person. The entire thing resembled an army base, with several different buildings and vehicles strewn about. On the coast itself was a particularly large building, no doubt where they stored the ships. Groups of soldiers doing various activities could be seen, some doing training exercises, others moving between the different buildings. Armed guards stood ready at various points, mostly at the entrances and exits of buildings.

Jessica followed Alex into an office type building. Mostly, they were ignored, though she noticed a few different people giving odd looks their way. They bypassed the reception, and got into an elevator to the second floor. After going down a small hallway, they reached another reception area, with an assistant waiting outside at a small desk. She was a smartly dressed human woman, wearing the mercenaries' colors. Although she was an assistant, Jessica got the feeling she was just as capable as any other soldier.

"Ah, Alex 'The Shadow' Baud. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Jessica wasn't sure, but she could swear she heard a touch of sarcasm in the assistants voice. "I need to talk to Caesar." He replied, gruffly. The assistant got a slip of paper, scribbled something on it, and shoved it into a canister and then the pneumatic tube in her desk. It went off with a whoosh, and a few moments latter, it returned. She opened it, removing the contents. "Very well, go right ahead." Alex lead the way, opening the heavy oak door.

Inside, the office wasn't too extravagant. It was neatly kept, but a bit bare. The lieutenant clearly spent some time here, but most likely not most of it. Caesar sat at his desk, doing paper work. A human in his late thirties, he wore army style fatigues, green and orange in color. He donned a few badges on his jacket. He glanced up at Alex, seemingly uninterested. "The Shadow Alex, to what do I owe the pleasure?" "I need information." Caesar continued with his papers, still seemingly uninterested. "Everybody needs information." "It's about one of your contracts." Caesar put down his papers, and looked at Alex. "And why the hell should I discuss that with you?" "You owe me. After the Hellfury." The lieutenant leaned back in his chair, and looked to Jessica. "And who are you?" "I'm the Matriarch." "Never heard of you." "You won't have," Alex said, "Now, about your contract with Nona Industries." The lieutenant sighed, reluctantly giving in. "Fine. But this stays strictly between us, understood?"

"They have us run several missions for them, mostly shadow ops, search and destroy type missions." "What are the targets?" Alex asked, dryly. "Usually a high profile personnel. Occasionally, it'll be a briefcase or locker." "What do those lockers contain?" "Honestly, I don't know and I don't care. We get paid to do a job and we do it. Nothing more, nothing less." Alex stayed still for a second, pondering if he could manage to get any additional information out of Caesar. He decided he wasn't going to be able to get much more, and decided to wrap things up. "That'll do for now. We'll take our leave now." They turned to leave, but the lieutenant wasn't quite done. "I hope you know this makes us even. And Alex, ask about one of our contracts again, and I'll make sure your little girlfriend here finds out why we're so feared." He approached Jessica, in an intimidating fashion. Alex snarled, and was prepared to stop Caesar, but much to his surprise, Jessica held him back, and quickly whipped out a brass expandable baton, swiping at Caesar's knee. The lieutenant fell, taken aback by the show of force. "You bitch!" Jessica placed the baton under his chin, lifting his head up. "Threaten me again, and I'll make sure history doesn't remember you."

They left, leaving Caesar cursing from the floor. As they passed the secretary, she gave them quite the annoyed look, and she calmly held a pistol. They didn't need to think long about what do next, briskly making their way out of the compound.

Once safely outside, Alex couldn't help but ask. "'The Matriarch'?" "What? I had to come up with something. And it fit the look." Alex gave out a small hmm, and continued. "What about the whole 'Bad cop' routine? Didn't expect that out of you." "Yeah, well, I'm full of surprises. That, and I knew you weren't going to let him off easy." Alex turned away, slightly embarrassed, but he quickly shook it off. "So, now we have an idea of what they're doing. All that's left is to find the details." "Hopefully, Fox will take care of that. Otherwise, we've just hit a dead end." They continued, occasionally checking behind themselves, just to make sure they hadn't angered Caesar too much.

***

They headed back to the coal shed, but as they approached the alley, they noticed a severe increase in vehicles. In particular, heavily armored steam vans. "Looks like we have trouble." Jessica said. Alex said nothing, pulling Jessica into the nearest apartment building.

"So, how do we deal with this one?" She asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "We need to asses the situation. Figure out if they've found the shed." "And then?" "If they haven't, then we get in, cover our tracks, and get out." "That sounds risky." "Then I'll go in alone." "No offense, but that sounds like a worse idea." Alex stayed focused, knowing they were on a time limit. "Not if you create a distraction. Just don't get caught." Before she could protest, Alex took off. She remained still for a second, as she processed what had just happened. After a few seconds, she realized he wasn't coming back, and quickly headed outside.

She looked around, trying to figure out a way to draw attention, without giving herself away. In the distance, she could see several agents guarding the vans, as well as keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious. She headed back inside, and looked for a supply closet. Fortunately, it was unlocked, and inside she saw several odds and ends, including a steam driven rivet gun, no doubt used to maintain the building. She had never used one before, but figured she could quickly learn.

The rivet gun was much heavier than she expected, but eventually, she'd managed to connect it to the buildings steam supply. Working quickly, she disabled the safety on the gun, with some heavy duty tape. She lugged it outside, taking care to keep behind the building's stairs. Breathing in deeply, she turned the pressure setting to maximum, pointed at the vans, and pulled the trigger.

The kickback surprised her, nearly knocking her off her feet. She fired a few more shots, each hitting around the steam vans. The agents immediately took notice, one of them quickly shouting out orders. She didn't have time to celebrate, quickly going through the building, and out the backside. She made her way through the various alleys and streets, eventually reaching a more active street. She looked around, and spotted a taxi. "Taxi! Taxi!" She cried, frantically. The driver pulled up casually, unaware of the approaching threat. "Where to" Asked the middle aged moose. "Airport! And make it quick." She exclaimed, slightly relieved when they started moving. She hoped the agents wouldn't think of looking for her there, but more importantly, hoped that Alex would.

***

At the airport, Jessica noticed more armored vehicles. Unlike on the street, there were no agents to be seen. She quickly made her way through the side of the airport, straight on to the main runway. Expecting to find trouble, she made her way cautiously, ready to react to any trouble.

On the tarmac, she was shocked to find several bodies of agents lying on the floor. Momentarily frightened, she approached one, and discovered they were simply unconscious. She wasn't sure as to the specific cause, but she could certainly guess as to the main one.

She approached the Rose, noting the ramp was already down. "Boone, we need to get out of here!" She cried, scrambling up the steps. "Understood, ma'am. Your friend's really done a number on 'em, ans't he?" Jessica headed towards the rear of the tiny craft, only to find Alex rummaging in their bags.

"You've been busy." She said, slightly out of breath. He stood up and faced her, holding what resembled a grenade launcher. "Your not going to-" "Relax. Smoke only." He said, loading a shell. He opened one of the Rose's windows, and fired towards the terminal. More agents were turning up, but they seemed to be keeping their distance for the moment. The grenade spewed out heavy black smoke, much darker than Jessica expected. "Hit it." Alex barked, Boone revving the turbines. "Hoo-hooo! Hang on, it's gonna be a bumpy start!"

They quickly found something to grab on to, the sound of the turbines getting louder. By now, they knew what to expect, but this time, it was clear this wasn't going to be like anything they'd experienced so far.

The acceleration was much faster than in the past, and the turbines gave out a frightful noise, which quickly subsided as they got up to speed. Over the sound of the screeching, they could hear a distinct_PLINK PLINK_of bullets hitting the aircraft. None seemed to penetrate, but the force of the takeoff kept them from looking around easily. They pulled up much steeper than normal, almost going a full forty five degrees. They seemed to drop suddenly, giving Jessica a brief scare. Only a brief moment later, they launched forward sharply, quickly ascending away from the airport. They managed to sit down, having reached full speed. Jessica exhaled deeply, them now being relatively safe. She wasn't sure what would be awaiting them when they landed, but at least for now, they were safe.

*****

Surprisingly, upon landing, things seemed to be relatively quiet, or at least, relatively normal. Alex gathered up the bags, while Jessica spoke to Boone. "Sorry about... well everything. We weren't expecting trouble." "Hee-heee. No need to apologize, I haven't had this much fun since my time in the army." Jessica blushed slightly, "It'd probably be a good idea for you to lay low. I hope we haven't caused you too much trouble?" "Not at all, miss, not at all. No need to worry 'bout ol' Boone, I can take care of myself."

They said goodbye, and Jessica caught up with Alex. "Now what do we do?" "We report back to Fox. Find out what he learned." "You make it sound so easy. Hopefully, the agents here haven't received word."

*******

Greg was surprised at how fast Fox moved, as well as slightly perturbed. Luckily, they had gone to a safe house, only a few blocks from his apartment. He wasn't sure if it was the same one that Jessica had described, but he definitely saw what she meant by "educational".

It wasn't as crammed as the bunker they had stayed in, but there was still a great deal of electrical equipment. Fox had clearly been working here before he'd sought out Greg, as several used paper cups sat upon the wooden office desk. Fox had sat down at the desk as soon as he had entered, and hooked up his laptop to the computer.

"I should be able to isolate the rough area where transmissions originate from, but unfortunately, they've made sure to take extra precautions against anyone trying to spy on their operations." "How long will it take?" "A couple of hours. Maybe more. I only started the trace a few hours ago, so should have the location soon. Some good old fashioned deduction should let us figure out exactly where they're located." "I thought you said they made sure no one could find them?" "Only digitally. But once we have the approximate location, all we have to do is see what building or area is perfect to house an enormous organization with virtually unlimited resources." "Well when you put it that way..."

True to his word, the trace took much longer than Greg was used to. In the meantime, Fox seemed to occupy himself reviewing old newspapers and what looked like ancient digital storage devices. Although Greg was incredibly bored waiting for the scan to finish, he didn't want to admit it, and tried to read one of Fox's many books. Despite the innocent enough title, The Re-modernization Era and it's Technological Relics, Greg was soon lost by all the technological language, and after a while was only pretending to read. He had been so bored, he hadn't even noticed he'd fallen asleep.

Gregory was woken up suddenly by the sound of a closing door and the smell of a very aromatic tea. He looked to see Fox entering the room, with two cups in his hands. "I'm sorry Mr. Wetzel, I didn't mean to wake you." He said earnestly, but quickly. "When did I fall asleep?" Greg asked, rubbing his tired eyes. Fox set a cup in front of him, "Honestly I'm not sure. I was busy with other things so I didn't notice-" he stopped suddenly, eyeing something on the monitor, "-When you drifted off. In other news, it seems we have results." He briskly pulled the keyboard to him, and began typing.

"Ah. Here we go." Fox opened up the results of the trace. "They seem to be located in the middle Manhattan area. That can't be right." Greg got behind Fox, and looked at the screen. "What is it?" Fox brought up a new screen, this one full of building plans and blueprints. "According to all the information I have, there's no way any of these buildings have the infrastructure to process this amount of data. There'd have to be special accommodations to even be able to manage the basic data management, much less distribution." "You mean like what you did?" Greg asked, referencing Fox's building in the south. "Your snark aside, Mr. Wetzel, my facilities are meant to help people, not necessarily to spy on them." He scrolled through the plans, trying to see if he'd missed anything. "As for our friends, I can't seem to find just where they would be."

After double checking the results, Fox got up, and started rummaging around various drawers. Not to long after, he pulled out a small device, resembling a large handheld two way radio, with a long cable attached. "What's that for?" Greg asked, "I'll explain on the way. Come on, we'd best be quick about it." Greg sighed, annoyed that they were on the move again. He had a feeling this was going to be a long day.

***

"As you know, we can't pinpoint the exact location where the transmissions are originating from." Fox was breathing heavily, a result of the quick walk. He was faring better than Greg, who really didn't like having to walk so much. "However if we have enough of the transmission data, we should be able to manually track the data stream along the wires." "Sounds... sounds complicated." Greg huffed. "Actually, it's quite simple. We just need to find where the wires are located." They reached the outside of the old train station. Fox headed to a shrouded area, and searched for a manhole. He found one, and looked to Greg. "A little help, Mr. Wetzel?" "Fine." Greg struggled to lift up the heavy metal cover, but eventually he managed to move it. Fox went down the hole without a word, Greg reluctantly followed.

Inside, it was clear this was a maintenance tunnel, with several pipes and cables running along the sides. Greg pulled out a flashlight, looking around. "Are you sure this is going to work?" Fox had already started messing around an access panel, connecting some wires to the tracker. He pressed a few buttons, and then disconnected it. "Alright, if I'm correct, we should be able to track the signal going through these wires." "Can we get out of here now?" Greg asked. "Unfortunately, the signals coming from the wires aren't strong enough to be picked up from too far away. We'll have to stick in here for now."

Fox held up the cable, which had a small antenna like object on the end. He moved it over the cables, and a light on the tracker flashed. He moved the antenna right, then left, along the cables. "This way." He said, moving left. "You sure this is the right way?" Greg asked, as they headed deeper into the tunnel. "When you send a signal along a wire, that wire has resistance. As it continues, the signal gets weaker, until it either disappears, or you use a booster." They reached another junction, and Fox gestured the way they needed to go. "By picking up the fields generated by the wires, and analyzing the strength, you can figure out which direction the signals coming from." "And then you just follow the river to the source." Greg added. "Exactly. Hopefully for us, that source isn't too hard to access."

They continued on, eventually running into a dead end. Much to their dismay, the wires continued through the wall. "Got a plan for that?" Greg asked. Fox looked around, making sure there were no loose bricks or access ways. "It seems we've reached an impasse. If we're lucky, we can go above ground and bypass the wall from there." They headed backwards, eventually finding another manhole. Greg lead the way, surfacing in an alley. Fox followed, making sure to remember which way they needed to go.

"Alright, now we just need to go... in there." He turned to the direction they needed to head, but they were both surprised to see what was there. "The train station?" Greg asked, confused. "You don't think that they actually managed to hide in there?" Fox shrugged, "Like I said, they have a great deal of resources."

The station was very busy, hundreds of people going in and out of the city. Although it was quite packed, it would mean that they would be able to sneak around unnoticed. The real problem right now was finding an access point. "What're we looking for here?" Greg asked. "I'm not sure. It'd have to be an area out of the way, that most people wouldn't be able to get to." Greg looked around, trying to spot places people weren't gathering. He didn't really see much, but as he scanned the station, his gaze was drawn to the elevators. They were gathered close to the wall, the stairs in the middle. As he watched, he noticed one lift labeled "Staff only". Oddly enough, no staff seemed to use it. "Over here." Greg said.

"What is it?" Fox asked. They stood outside the lift, which other than its closed doors, seemed rather ordinary. "I have a hunch." "No offense, Mr. Wetzel, but a hunch isn't going to prove anything." "Just, can you get it working." "Let me have a look."

The lift had a basic keypad, which proved easy to hack. Once inside, the doors closed rather quickly. "I suppose now we go to space?" Fox mocked, but Greg looked at the floors on the keypad. He searched around the frame, and noticed a hatch hidden by the panel work. He pried it open, revealing a separate keypad. Unlike the standard elevator keypad, this one appeared to have a place for a fingerprint scan. "I don't suppose you have a method for getting around that." As he was speaking, Fox was prodding the panel, and managed to get it loose. He fiddled around with the wires, and they heard a small "ding". Without pressing any more buttons, the lift started moving downwards. "Now for the hard part." Fox said glumly.

They both got their weapons ready, expecting trouble. They reached the bottom, and the doors opened. Much to their surprise, there was no one in the proceeding hallway. It was a plain white hall, with the occasional door. They exited cautiously, ready for any trouble that might appear. Greg crept up to a door, and peeked inside. There didn't seem to be anyone there, only a small office, which seemed abandoned. He turned back to Fox, who was searching another door. Fox motioned over to the remaining doors. They checked each, one by one, but they all seemed to be empty. Eventually, they reached the last door, and they prepared to clear the room together. Fox got ready to open the door, and Greg readied his pistol. Greg nodded, and Fox quietly but quickly opened the door.

"Whoa whoa whoa man, what the hell!" Fox joined Greg through the door, and found the speaker. It was a male pig, fairly young, with quite the facial hair, and small round glasses. Like most pigs, his voice was higher pitched than other species.

Greg wasted no time making the power distribution clear. "Don't move. Where the hell is everyone?" The pig seemed confused, "What? It's just me. Please, don't shoot. I'll do anything!" Greg nodded at Fox. "What can you tell me about this place?" Fox asked, looking around the small workstation. There were several monitors, servers, and keyboards. "Look man, I just do what I'm told. Keep everything running. That's it."

Fox took another look around at the various screens, which were mainly displaying diagnostic information. "I need access." He said plainly. The pig stayed frozen, unsure of what to do. "To what?" "Everything."

The pig went to work, trying to focus on what he was used to doing as opposed to the situation he was currently in. He worked as fast as he could manage, hoping that this entire thing would be over soon. "There." He exclaimed. Greg motioned for him to move over, to let Fox take over.

Fox had brought with him a specially made hard drive. Although it was incredibly large, he quickly realized it wouldn't be possible to copy everything over. He rummaged around the database, finding whatever seemed relevant and copying it over. "What have you found?" Greg asked. "It seems to be all sorts of traffic. Financial transactions, corporate communications, commands for their agents; it seems this is indeed a hub for their communications. I'm still unable to pinpoint the exact source of the orders, but at least now we have a glimpse into their operations."

Fox continued looking into the vast amount of data in front of him. "I'm copying over some of the more interesting files, I'll have to analyze everything later. Although I have found one interesting piece of information." He read off the screen. "'I assure you that the clavigers are more than capable of handling the situation.' That's from a particularly high priority communication, which appears to be from the head of Nona Industries." "Well I think we found what our friends are called." Greg said. Fox continued his search. "Even with access, many of these transmissions contain encrypted data packets. I guess they didn't-" He stopped suddenly, and touched his ear. Greg took notice. "This your 'friends' again?" Fox simply began typing as fast as he could. "We need to get out of here."

Fox finished transferring whatever data he could, and gathered up his things. "Wha- what about me?" The pig squealed. "Stay." Greg commanded. He followed Fox towards the elevator. "How long do we have?" "About three minutes." They reached the elevator, and quickly got inside. They rose steadily for a while, but stopped abruptly. "Damn. They're definitely on to us." Greg pried the doors open. Fortunately they had stopped just short of the lower floor. Greg struggled, but eventually managed to open the outer doors. "Guess we're doing this the hard way." He sighed, reluctantly getting ready to pull himself up.

After he managed to pull himself through, he helped Fox up. "I hope you have an exit strategy." "I'm afraid not. We'll have to try and blend in with the crowd." "Fantastic." Greg said, quite sarcastically.

As they headed towards the exit, alarms rang. Security officers began rounding up people, and funneling them towards the exits. Over the intercom, they heard a male voice say, "Please remain calm. All trains are now suspended. For further instructions, please defer to the nearest Arterias security agent." "Shit!" Greg exclaimed. "What the hell are we gonna do now?" Fox listened to his earpiece for more instructions. "Apparently, we do what they say." "Seriously?" "My source hasn't been wrong yet." Greg sighed. Even though he didn't entirely trust Fox's "source", he certainly didn't have any better strategies.

Outside, more security officers had gathered everybody in groups, and they were processing everybody one by one. No doubt looking for Fox and Greg under cover. Their group was directed towards one side of the building. "Single file line. No sudden moves." One guard said. Everybody did as they were told, and another guard started processing people. Luckily, Fox and Greg were towards the end of the line, but it was only a matter of time before the guard got to them.

"Any more bright ideas?" Greg muttered to Fox. "Duck." Fox said, confused. "What?" Greg asked. His answer came in the form of glass shattering, as several smoke grenades striking the surrounding area. People scattered, any sense of control now gone. Among the confusion, Fox and Greg took the opportunity to flee. They made their way quickly down the street, pushing their way through the crowd. They headed past an alley, but from within, they heard a shout. "Over here!"

They turned, and saw Ingrid waiting beside a black van. "Thank goodness you're here!" Fox exclaimed. They all hurried inside the van. "Where's Ms. Cache?" Fox asked. Ingrid drove to the end of the alley, and Helena came out of a building holding a grenade launcher. She entered the car, and gave Fox a smug look. "Guess it's time to leave, unless you'd like to stay a while longer." "Very funny." Fox replied, annoyed but relieved.

*****

After making sure they weren't being followed, Ingrid drove to the safe house under Fox's directions. They headed inside, with Helena insisting to do a sweep of the area. Once inside, Fox quickly got to work analyzing the data, while Greg interviewed Ingrid.

"How the hell did you know where we were?" "It was Jessica who told us about what you were doing. We tried to reach out, but you didn't answer. Naturally, after asking, Alex sent us a program to get your locations from your data pads." Fox ignored what was yet another intrusion on his system and focused on the current situation. "But how'd you know we were in trouble?" "We didn't. Until we got here. And considering all the security, it was pretty clear you'd gotten yourselves into some sort of trouble." "Hmmph. And the grenade launcher?" "Helena's. She always tries to be prepared." "Remind me what Helena's job is." Greg asked Fox. "To be quite honest, Mr. Wetzel, I've never really known." "Nor will you." Helena said, startling them both. She had come out from the other room, yet none of them had seen her come in.

"So, considering we just saved your asses, would you mind telling us what the hell is going on?" Helena said, in a curious but demanding tone. "We found out what our mysterious friends are up to. More importantly, we found out who they are. They appear to call themselves the 'Clavigers.'" "Sounds friendly. What's that?" She pointed to the screen of the computer. "This is all we managed to get off their servers before they found us. It'll take a while to analyze the whole drive, but already I'm seeing some very interesting things."

Ingrid stood beside Fox, and looked at the files on screen. "What's that?" She asked, pointing at one particular file. Fox brought the file up. "It seems... Oh now this is interesting." It was a large file, in a raw modeling format. "Is that, a weapon?" Ingrid asked. "It's not like any I've ever seen." Fox replied. "Look. There's some meta data associated with this file." Ingrid reached over, and brought up the details. Fox didn't appreciate the intrusion of personal space, but overlooked it, given the importance of the situation.

"Title: WC SGVSR M01. Description: Necessary component of Operation Archangel." Ingrid read off the screen. "Look at the materials list. I don't even recognize half of these things." "Nor do I. Considering the lack of reporting on the subject, I think it's safe to say we know what they seem to be trying to hide." Ingrid searched for any files associated with Operation Archangel. "There's a lot of files related to this 'Archangel' project. They all seem to involve military equipment. Surely their not gearing up for a war?" "That's not possible. Surely the government will stop them, right?" Greg said. "I'm not sure. Based off some of the other files, they've managed to stay underground for quite a while. It's hard to say for how long, most of what we recovered was pretty recent."

Ingrid pulled out her data pad. "If the spooks were onto something, I'd have at least heard whispers by now. I'll check, but I think it's safe to say we're the only ones who know about this. Or at least, the only ones who actually care." Helena stepped forward, "That doesn't quite answer why their doing this. 'Control the world?' For what? Money? Fame?" Fox thought about this. "You're right. There's definitely more to the story, but until we finish processing the data, and even then... we have no way of knowing for sure. But what I can tell you for sure, is that whatever the reason, we need to stop them. The real question is how." No one had an answer for this. After all, how does one take down a shadow organization with billions of resources at their disposal?

***

Fox had decided that it would be best to meet in a larger space, to be able to hold everyone. Luckily, it turned out Greg had to cover for a coworker at the bar, late night shift. There were a few people, but they were mostly passed out or close to. Anyone else was too interested in their own affairs to notice the Impromptu meeting taking place.

"Looks like we're all here." Helena said, as Jessica, Gabriel, and Alex approached the table. "I guess it takes war to bring everyone together." Ingrid remarked. "Speaking of which, I'm Ingrid and that's Helena." Gabriel leaned in to shake their hands, but neither reciprocated. "Well, I'm Gabriel. Good to finally meet you." "Pleasantries aside," Fox interjected "We have pressing issues to discuss."

"As you all know, our main purpose has always been to help people. People who were in bad situations, who would otherwise not get help. By now, I think we're also all aware of the agents who have stood in our way. Although we'd managed to find out their plan, we've not known their name. Until now."

"The 'Clavigers' as they call themselves want to control everything. Corporations, banks, educational institutes, and even governments themselves. And from what we can tell, they have the resources to do it." "How many people know about this?" Gabriel asked. "As of today, seven." Fox said, with a forlorn look on his face. Gabriel stood up, "Well we have to tell someone. The chief, the Ministry, someone!" Jessica sighed. "People have already tried to shine a light on Nona's past activities. They're all dead now." "Considering they never even got below the surface," Greg added, "It's safe to say the more people that know the truth, the bigger the danger." Fox nodded, "It's a tough situation. But it gets worse. Ms. Mantissa, if you will?" "I've been helping Fox analyze the data stolen off their servers. It's a mixed bag, but there are several communications to government bodies. Most of them are above my pay grade." Jessica sighed, "So we don't know who's working for them. Fantastic." "Then what the hell can we do?" Gabriel asked. Fox leaned back, extremely worn out. "Hopefully? Give the world a fighting chance."

"What have you got planned?" Alex asked. "There's still a lot we don't know, about Nona and about the Clavigers," Fox said, "But we have enough information back to start hitting back enough to slow them down. If we are successful enough, we might even be able to take them down." He pulled out his data pad, and loaded up some charts. "We know we can't take them head on. We've all seen their agents and what they're capable of." "Not to mention all the mercenaries doing their dirty work." Jessica added." Fox nodded, "Instead, we'll have to find other methods of taking them on." "We already managed to disrupt part of their operations." Ingrid said, "Considering how hard they're looking for those fragments recovered by Ms. Cache and Ms. Mantissa, I think it's safe to say they were a key part in their plan." He sighed, "As far as I can tell, those fragments are part of their Archangel project. I've been searching around, and it turns out that that is indeed a key part of their plan. It's only in it's infancy, so that may be a good place to start."

"Sounds fun. So, where_do_we start?" Helena said. She sipped her drink; she had insisted on one, whereas everyone else had decided on none. "I suppose in that particular case, it'd be best for Ms. Mantissa to continue her role in government. Try to find out more about what Nona's up to, maybe even find out where their key assets are. And of course, Ms. Cache, it would make sense if you were to stick with her." "Fine. But if anyone gets into an exciting situation, I want to be there." She swept her hair back, and seemed satisfied.

"Since the two of you seem to insist on sticking together," Fox turned to Alex and Jessica, "Then perhaps it'd be best if you continue to investigate exactly what these mercenaries are doing." "If what the lieutenant said is true, then it could mean innocent people are in danger." Jessica said. "Two birds with one stone." Alex replied.

"In that case, I'll continue to analyze the data. Hopefully, with enough effort I may be able to establish a permanent backdoor into their communication." "What can I do?" Gabriel asked. Fox thought a little. "Originally, we had hoped that having you on our side would allow us to help more people. Of course, now it's clear there's a bigger picture."

"I think you should stay where you are. In your current position, it's likely you would draw unwanted attention." "So, just do nothing?" Gabriel asked, annoyed. "Mr. Smith, given what we know-" "But I can help! I can give you any information the police have." "Fine. But I don't expect you to get into trouble for our sake. We've all been doing this for years. You've only been here for a few weeks. Presently, you have the most to lose."

"I guess I'll help him out then." Greg interjected. "If anything happens, I'll be ready to lend a hand." Fox sighed, leaning back again. "I suppose we all have our roles, now comes the hard part. Considering the situation, I think it's best if we all keep in contact." "What about the network?" Jessica asked. "I think we've all noticed more and more problems." "Unfortunately, Ms. Ansi, there's not much we can do. The GPS satellites are beyond our reach, and the infrastructure that is within reach is too vast to maintain." "What about using one of _your_companies?" Ingrid asked. "If you simply 'convince' one of the telecommunication companies to use a 'special' device in place of the usual towers, they could do all the work for us." "You mean tricking them. And what if someone finds out?" "I can't do all the work for you."

Fox sighed again, nervous of what was to come. "In any case, we should all be careful. The past few years have been ordered. We knew what to expect, and what to do in any situation. But this is uncharted territory. As of today, anything could happen." Fox got up, and gathered his things. As he turned to leave, he had one last thing to say. "Whatever happens, at least we can say we fought back." With that, he left, and everyone else wondered about what to do next.