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Finding the undercover agent was somewhat tricky for the two detectives. Not only did they have to go about trying to not be seen by any of their own for going there, which also meant going in their personal vehicles rather than an official car that would have tracking devices installed but also try and find someone whose very nature means they have to try and blend in with society and they were never given any information on how to contact them in the first place. They step out of their car and wonder how best to go about even beginning. It's not like they could go through his department to find his location and he didn't give them any phone number to call or anything. On a whim, detective Matthews walks up to one of the morphs and raises his hand to get their attention.

"Do you happen to know where I could find an undercover agent?" he asks, handing her a small bill and showing his badge at the same time. "We'd like to ask him a few questions."

The rabbit morph takes the money and doesn't even blink at the absurdity of the question. "Yes, he should be somewhere around Third and Apple. Just go that way, walk three blocks and take a right, you'll find it eventually."

"Thank you," he nods as they turn it out, somewhat surprised that they actually did get a response.

"So what's your bet," Detective Ryan asks once they are far enough out of earshot. "Is this a trap, a scam, or being sent on a wild goose chase as they just stole your money from you?"

"Honestly? I think any of the above. Well it doesn't seem like it'd be a trap, though. I didn't hear any drum beats and they didn't seem at all concerned. But considering the Underground routinely just gives him information, he might be nothing more than an undercover agent in name only. I imagine it is entirely possible that the entire area knows who he is and just use him by giving him what he wants to help them get what they want. Especially when you consider the fact that his department knows he interacts with the Underground and everyone else considers that a group to be reviled excessively. Undercovers are permitted to be a bit looser with the law. So if all he's doing is standing around and not trying to bring the Underground in, I doubt any judge would rule that as outside of his bounds as an undercover and they get to brag about all the good his department has been able to pull up."

Sure enough, when they manage to find the intersection that they were directed to they find him. He's not exactly where the rabbit had said he would be, but rather the next block down. But they find him easily enough. And he's just chilling along the wall, watching everyone walk around and going about their business. They wave to get his attention and he waves back casually enough, pulling out a cigarette and lighting up.

"So we meet again," the cat says once they're in earshot. "Didn't think I'd see you two again so soon. I'd like to thank you for delivering my message the other day. It was much appreciated. Wasn't a big haul, but getting three tons of drugs off the streets is a victory any way you look at it. But I doubt you just came here to chat. So what insight into Morph society are you trying to learn about today? Can't be about the one fox girl, I've seen her doing her normal rounds again so that seems to have been back to normal. That is until the whole FBI thing happened. I tell ya, the people here are not happy about it."

"How bad has it gotten here?"

"Well, they're not set on rioting just yet. There are far more protests going around. Won't see that shown on the news, it's not the message they want to give. Showing people marching around claiming victory over injustice as they forced the government to turn tail and run is not good for the public image of the state. Actually haven't seen a single news reporter in the area at all, not even the usual crowd. Looks like the state is going to try and pretend this area simply doesn't exist until the protests end or they get things back under control here. But the protests are peaceful. Not a punch thrown, not a window smashed. Just a lot of walking and shouting.

"We've learned of a phrase recently and we think it may be something going on that's far bigger than what we were expecting. Do you know what is referred to when someone mentions the Black?"

The cat quickly looks rather concerned for a moment, looking at all of the other people in the street, though at what specifically the two detectives cannot tell at the moment. He quickly motions to a side-alley nearby between a couple of buildings. "Not here, can't be sure if it's safe to speak of such matters in the open, especially not here in Vitraan."

"Does this have something to do with the FBI?"

"Not directly no. It's not the FBI I'm worried about overhearing. I'm more concerned about one of Them overhearing what we have to say."

"Them?" Detective Ryan turns and looks around. "You mean the Morphs?"

"A certain kind of Morph, sure," once they're all safely within the alleyway he reaches into a pocket and pulls out a scrambler. A fairly high-end one too from the looks of thing. Detective Matthews can't help but be surprised that they would have one of these, even when he knows for a fact that as an undercover, such devices might be necessary in order to relay information without any recording devices picking up on the transmission. "Okay, I think we should be safe for the time being so long as we don't speak too loudly. Us Morphs do typically have rather good hearing, after all."

"So what is the deal with the Black thing? Why would some of them consider whatever it is to be far less preferable to jumping out of a four-story building?"

"Because in many regards a few broken limbs is infinitely more important than becoming black. Our bodies are tough and durable and heal rather quick. Morphs are genetically superior to humans, they were designed to be. Even second-generation Morphs are still physically better. We can go through a lot more than you can and still come out the other side mostly unharmed. But Black, man. No coming back from that. So I one hundred percent would agree with the choice of jumping out of a building over getting the Black, or even just the potential of the Black. That shit is scary. And even them knowing you know that secret is dangerous."

"I don't understand. Is this something that has to do with their claim of Black Industries pulling the strings of the FBI? Is there some sort of secret that they are aware of that we are not?"

"Well here's the problem with that," the cat says, looking more off into the distance than at the two detectives. "It's like a somewhat poorly kept secret. I fully expect that they are correct about Black Industries pressuring the government to get involved. Because the Underground has made that corporation to be their biggest enemy. It wasn't always that way. At first they were just vigilantes trying to do what the cops wouldn't. But they noticed that people would go missing and then reappear a few days later as if nothing was wrong. Only they were paranoid and almost by accident uncovered Black's dirtiest secret."

"And that is?"

"You know how the Red and Orange morphs are alive and have rights and the Black morphs are synthetic and don't? Well, there's been a development in that lately. I don't know if Black Industries designed it themselves or someone else is using their facilities to do so, but there's now a serum that will convert a Red or Orange into a Black."

"You're kidding!" Detective Ryan exclaims.

"I wish I was. But I have seen far too much evidence to say otherwise. That's why you've probably seen the Underground going around and killing Blacks. More accurately they're killing people who used to have red or orange blood and now it's either all black or going black. To what end this is being done I cannot say. And I quite frankly don't even want to know. Just knowing that that is a risk I could face is enough to give me nightmares. I can only imagine what it must be like for the people in this city to be afraid of if they knew what could happen to them. That's why Black Industries wants them shut down. The Underground is getting more and more proactive in trying to stop the spread of this serum."

"Why haven't I heard about this before?"

"Because you're not a morph. Of course, even they don't usually know what's going on. They just know that there is a problem and they trust in the Underground to do their best to take care of it. Why do you think they're so supportive of that group? The people aren't dumb. They know that there's no reason the police and the FBI would take such an active role in trying to destroy their group if they weren't dealing with some really dangerous shit. I mean, think about it. If all the group did was just push some humans around that were getting a bit too aggressive over people do you honestly think they would be so aggressive over the group? Nah, they're into some really deep shit and the people know it. They know that these people are all but their only line of defense against whatever boogeyman they're fighting. And so they most definitely will show their support to this group whenever and wherever possible. I fully expect that if the Underground just came out and said 'do this or you'll get the Black,' a large majority will do that. But they haven't because if they were to move they'd want to make sure that it isn't just something someone else can continue where they left off. Because the last thing any of us want is to get the Black. For if you are given it, you might as well be dead."

"Is that why we're in an alley?"

"Yes. It's public knowledge that there are Blacks in Vitraan. Most are given simply instructions on how to live their life. Anyone really paying attention can tell which of these are Blacks, despite what the courts may say. But then there are the other kind, the ones that will have all of the memories and knowledge of the person they were before, only now with the instructions given to them by whoever converted them the second time. A prisoner in their own body as they try to subvert society and bring us all down. When talking about Black's dirty little secrets you need to always be careful what you say, at least for us Morphs. For if they know you're spreading the truth, Black will learn of it and they will come for you. I'd say you should be wary of Blacks as well. You may not be susceptible to their serum like I and any other Morph may be," he looks around to the side in a show of caution as she looks from one wall to the other with no one having been in the area for the entire conversation. "If Black does have the FBI under their thumb and I have heard from the grape vine just how much that organization has put you under thin ice in regards to this city it would stand to reason that the Blackies could quite easily just go and inform on your activities to the FBI. And then where will you be?"

"Yeah, we'll keep that under advisement. But it's not like it'd be all that much healthier for us to suddenly become suspicious of every Morph we come across. After all, you're one," Detective Ryan says softly. "No offense intended, but until we get evidence proving one side over the other I'm not going to act on information from either side. I will investigate the matter further, but I'm not going to simply blindly accept the information offered to me from either side. Until I get evidence that proves one or the other it is just as possible that the Underground has turned you, the FBI is correct and you're trying to get me to subvert our own government in favor of a terrorist organization, as it is that the FBI has been put under the control of a corporation that's secretly plotting to turn everyone into robots or something."

"That is perfectly fine," the cat responds. "That is a very healthy attitude to have. In fact, given the way things are going lately that is probably the only safe attitude to have. Trust no one, trust nothing but what you can verify for yourself. By all means trust nothing that I have said. I might have been compromised by the Underground. Or perhaps the Black is from another organization and they've already gotten to me and twisted my mind," he quickly reaches into a pocket and pulls out a small dagger, startling the two detectives as he presses the dagger into the back of his hand and drawing blood. He presses against the wound, the reddish blood welling up on the top. He licks it after a moment. "But for now my blood is still Red. So at least I still have that. But I'm sorry, for now this is all that I can give you. I make a point to staying away from demons. Far enough problems in my life to deal with things that go bump in the night. If you want to go further down this rabbit hole you'll have to look elsewhere, just know that where that lies is where only going to be more dangerous."

"Well, I guess thank you for what you have given us. It might even end up becoming related to a case we're working on already. Have a nice day."

The two detectives turn and walk back into the main street so that they can head back to their cars.

"You think it's related to our case?"

"I'm not ruling it out. But it would match up with the timeline. Bunch of Morphs get killed with an injection to the neck and the Underground go in to try and stop it and are currently fighting a group using an injection transforming morphs into synthetics. It is very possible that the deaths are the result of someone trying to perfect the serum and now that they have it there's no more death, only conversions."

"But that would mean that they are currently working on trying to do the same to us normal people, then."

"I think I'm going to ask Black Industries directly what is going on. They may end up just giving me the runaround and I imagine that the FBI may have words with me, but if this is possible it is a very serious issue that must be addressed sooner than later. At the very least it should allow me to read the room and see just how much danger are we all going to be in if this is allowed to continue as it is. As we agreed I'll leave you out of anything I find. I don't care if the FBI takes me down if it means stopping an unforgiveable injustice and having your identity stolen as he was implying would definitely qualify."

Having moved everyone to a secondary base by way of some tunnels, Michael was talking with his head operatives in regards to what to do next. As they had brought Noah to the secondary base as well, Alex was currently off tending to him and checking in with the doctor, much to Richard's annoyance. She was just a scout and not really all that important of one, either. To him, she had no business being around them while they're planning their next move. Especially with how much of a danger she was to the mission. If it wasn't for Michael's cunning they probably would not have escaped unscathed as they had.

"Part of the issue," Devon says, "is that we may have avoided capture for the time being, but that isn't going to last forever. We're only right now safe because we're in hiding. Meanwhile, us being in here means that all the people in the city no longer have us to look after them. I don't think that we can stall out the FBI long enough that they'll give up, at least not without sacrificing a lot of innocent lives in the process."

"Eh, that's not the biggest concern right now," Richard says in response. "We need to be thinking about the bigger picture here. We can't simply afford to have the entire country rain down on us. We don't have the manpower to face the might of the military, especially if we lose the public's approval. We won because they were stupid and the people trusted us to protect them in the future. Losing a few dozen is far better than losing the thousands if not hundreds of thousands we stand to lose if we fail in our ultimate objective."

"So is the mighty Richard saying that we should just tuck our tails behind our legs and hide like cowards until it blows over?" Devon teases, causing Richard to rise and quickly take a couple steps towards him but is stopped by Michael raising his hand.

He takes a moment to look over the room, stopping at Alex for a moment before continuing. Since she can't hear she isn't even paying attention to anything going on, instead is going about tending to Noah.

"We don't exactly have the luxury of time to accomplish our goals. If we wait it's not like they're going to patiently wait or continue as normal. If they know we are hiding then they're going to simply enforce that hiding and ramp up their actions so that by the time we could get out it'll be far too late. We know what they're doing. We already are planning to take more direct actions against Black. But Richard is correct in one thing. The lives of a few outweigh the lives of the majority. The FBI is going to do another raid. We'll make sure of that. This time, though, it's going to be even more severe of a job for them. I'm going to want you all to go ask around the town to get some volunteers to the next step. We're going to force their hand and make them do something they can't take back."

"Are you saying?" Angela begins.

"I am," Michael nods. "Or at the very least we need the people we send in the next time we confront the FBI to be ready for that eventuality. Some are going to lose their lives in the next encounter. And when they do that will mark an uprising if not in the city but the entire world that they will have no other recourse but to declare war on an entire people or back off completely," he pauses for a moment and watches Alex sit down and get Noah to eat before continuing. "If they declare war, then our next strike against Black will be seen as us retaliating against an unjust oppression. If we can find evidence that they are behind the raid then that will pretty much ruin any credibility Black and the FBI have with the general public, letting us carve massive strides in progress. And if they back off, Black will be forced to try and figure out what move to make next, giving us a window to figure out what their ultimate plan is. Either way, that mission against Black will proceed as planned and Alex will be the one to do it," He turns and faces Richard again. "I know, Richard, that you were hoping I'd send you. But the fact remains, of everyone in our group, she is the one most likely to be able to get what we want. I'm sure you understand that for any job that one should always use the right tool for the job. You are a hammer. You are loud, forceful but typically get the job done. For this particular mission we need a bit more finesse. A scalpel will do far more for us here than any hammer ever can. Especially when you consider what happened the last time we attempted this particular mission."

Richard still frowns but doesn't say anything, instead his eyes dart quickly over to Alex and Noah. "Unless of course," Michael adds, "you wish to contest that you can do a much better job at succeeding than the one who had planned this mission from the ground up. If you think you can succeed where he did not. And you know full-well why he chose to not use the right tool then. Do you think you could do it better than he could?" Richard tries to stare him down in response but makes no statement. "Thought not. For our best chance of coming through this we will use our best tool. And in this case that's going to be Alex. Now get working. Tell all the handlers and scouts to gather up some people for the next stage of our plan. I want only volunteers for those who will be our sacrifice for the FBI. Make sure they are also fully aware of what we're asking them to do. I won't have people panicking once things get real because they didn't think things through. If we do this and fail we won't get another shot."

Richard grumbles and turns to leave. It wasn't his job to go deal with the Handlers. Let the others take care of that. He feels the need to vent some frustration instead. Under ideal circumstances he'd just find a black and lay into them, but they still need to be quiet for the most part. But there's bound to be a punching bag or two held up in one of their safe houses that he can use, and use making sure they're all still secure as an excuse to not just asking for pawns to Michael's next plan.