Sky was feeding Nox the footage outside of the Domovoi. He hadn't been back since he returned to Moscow, not that there had been all that much time between arriving home after his three month tour to being kidnapped and this very moment. It hadn't been long at all and a metric ton of shit had gone down.
Nox watched as the rewound footage finally came across the elusive man escaping custody. How foolish the officers had been, they clearly hadn't worked with the Monster Squad at all. They would have known to heed whatever warning Dorian gave him. Either that or Dorian's reputation had truly been tarnished in the IA. Dorian was cleared of all wrong doing and he was back on the case -- which was good but Dorian was not a hunter, he was a cop and he had to follow the law. The escape couldn't have been better planned.
There was no way that they'd get this man on a death sentence for cohesion. It was hardly serious enough, and putting him in a prison was a no go, he'd be out or running the thing in a matter of weeks.
Nox found the direction he bolted in. "Sky follow him, see if you can can catch up to him. I'm going to talk to Dorian."
Dorian was inside the precinct and several of his fellow officers greeted Nox. "Good to see you. Can't wait to see what you'll teach us next."
"We got a sentient on the lose, not the friendly kind like Alex. More like her father -- her brother actually."
Dorian growled. "Really? Nox. You had to say that?"
"It's the truth and it shouldn't be hidden."
Dorian sighed. "These men aren't trained to handle this kind of danger."
"I know. But they need to know the danger. And I'm not here as a consultant." Nox looked at Dorian with one of those looks that said this was more than just doing his job -- he was protecting family. His sense of family was too strong, but that was probably why Ana and Cruz loved him as much as they did. He was family and Dorian had fucked up their relationship by betraying him. He'd fucked up a lot more with that single action, and now he was paying for it.
But that didn't matter now. Dorian filled Nox in on what he knew. Nox nodded along and listened by he seemed distracted with whatever was going on in his HUD. Dorian didn't know when he'd started wearing the contacts, but it was obvious he was distracted. "Wicked helping out?"
Nox turned his attention to Dorian with a wry smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Something like that. He gave me an AI assistant so I wouldn't have to bug him all the time. Can do most of what he did without needing his assistance."
Dorian shook his head. "You have always been braver than I am. I wouldn't trust that kid farther than I could through him."
Nox looked at Dorian and frowned. "Calling the kettle black aren't we?" He didn't say it with any feeling, or even any anger, it was just what it was and the sarcasm was not lost on Dorian even if there hadn't been any in his tone. Nox was busy but he was off.
"What's wrong?"
Nox shook his head and turned to walk outside. "Nothing you need to worry about. Ana can fill you in. I need to go."
Dorian watched Nox walk back outside and he followed him to the entrance doors and watched as the tall lanky kid stood talking to himself and waiting -- what was he waiting for? He saw the other man walk up and nodded knowingly. He was waiting on backup. At least he was that smart today.
”Jared we have an emergency. Someone is manipulating Rachel - supernaturally. Nox is going after him. I volunteered you to help. He knows what you can do. Bring Vera. Lock down the house - he probably knows where we live. I’m going after Rachel and getting her somewhere safe.”
Emily’s words started as soon as he answered the phone. ”Got it,” he said, not needing more. If Emily was this riled up it was bad - and Rachel was in danger.
”Meet him outside Domovoi building. Be safe - come home to me - I love you!”
”Love you too!”
Jared hung up the phone and found Matt, telling him there was potential danger and he needed to lock down the house. He knew what that meant and would take care of it. He checked his weapon and land warriors as well as his other equipment. His magic would probably be sufficient, but never hurt to be over prepared.
He went straight to the building. He saw the tall lanky kid that he knew to be Nox. Emily had pointed him out to Jared when the video went viral. Jared also knew his history with Emily. Emily had dealt with it, and it was before they had met. Sure he had hurt her, but she also said that prepared her emotionally for him. He had little anger towards the kid.
Jared approached. ”Vanders. What do I need to know.” he said getting straight to business, and also offering his hand. That was enough for the introductions for now. Time wasn’t on their side. The niceties could be observed later.
Nox noted that Jared introduced himself with only his last name. So it was gonna be like that. It should have bothered Nox, or made him react in some way but Nox just took his hand. "Nox." As he looked at the other man he noted the land warriors and smiled. "I got a live feed, a map, if you let me connect to your land warriors, I'll share."
But he didn't wait for the permission Sky would take care of it as soon as she had access to the unit. "First things first, do not let the fucker touch you, no matter what. That's how he controls you." Nox started walking in the direction he'd gone. There was no time to waste. Though it wouldn't be too bad if he got closer to some back alley and the kill would be cleaner. "He went this way. I need to make a stop on the way, it'll take us from the path but I've got my eyes tracking his movements so we won't lose him." There was no place in the city that he could go that Nox couldn't find him. And it would be all the better if the prick slipped into the tunnels -- his eyes were even better there.
As they walked Nox filled Jared in on the situation and on Sentients in general until he stepped into a storage facility and walked the maze of units stopping in front of his. The door was wide enough to park a car and the number of oil stains on the cement said there ha dprobably been a few in the past, but this storage unit was filled with crated weapons -- none he ever used, but they came in handy for big hunts, not that they had big hunts in Moscow. And not that the Atharim here needed his stash, they had one of their own. He could have sold it all, but it had sentimental value -- as such as it was being all his father's things.
But Nox ignored the crates and unzipped a duffle bag where he'd stashed Damnation, his Beretta M9, and Salvation, his survival knife, though it was just the knife, the other stuff was mostly used and gone, or stowed someplace else now. "Thnk of anything we might need. You already got land warriors so I don't need to offer up a pair." Though he did have another couple of sets of lens like he had from Sage.
Jared followed and listened to Nox, and gave his permission to hook up his land warriors, but it appeared that he needn’t have asked because by the time they were on, he was already getting the tac feed. Nox had done it anyway. It was the mark of a good leader. Jared got the lowdown on what was happening and what these sentient things could do. It probably all could have been said in a couple of minutes, but Mox rambled on and on. It didn’t bother Jared at all, but it did make him wonder why Emily had slept with him. It wasn’t that he wasn’t attractive or anything, he just wondered when they had the fucking time to do it.
They arrived at a storage unit and got weapons. Jared took the time to check his gear. He already had, but if you had the opportunity to, you did it again. He attached a silencer to Vera, he Sig Sauer 220, and pulled out his own knife. The gun had been customized by Jared and had been modified to accommodate his style of carrying his knife and gun at the same time. It allowed him to instantly switch between a gun and a knife fight. Although from what he heard, he didn’t want to get close enough to use the knife.
”So the gist of what I’m hearing is to shoot the fucker first and if he gets up to ask questions shoot him again,” he said with a slight grin. It was the sort of dark humor that soldiers developed.
”As far as equipment goes - depends what the plan is. Straight out assassination, or are we gonna funnel him somewhere. I got Vera, my knife, and my magic. Thought better of grenades. Civilians and all. I see you got lens warriors, got to pick up some of those. Comms in case we get separated,” he pulled out his own comm bead, just had to tune it to the right frequency.
Nox picked up a pair of lenses out of a nearby crate and handed the small case to Jared. "Consider it a gift." He had at least one more set to give out a gift from Sage. "Comms will sync up with the warriors."
Nox started threading the belt into his jeans to strap the gun and knife to. "We need to keep him away from people. It's best to get him in the tunnels so clean up is easier. But he's not native to Moscow, probably don't know about them. So we'll have to stick to the alleys and back streets."
Nox sighed. "And that also probably means we don't want to use guns." Though he did notice that he was putting a silencer on it. There was probably one in a bin somewhere, but did he want to look. Probably note. He didn't plan on using it anyway. But he'd see what happened when they got there.
"We should go. I think we got what I came for."
Jared took the gift with gratitude. ”Thanks - appreciate it!” He put in the lens warriors and they powered up - sonic to his comms and giving his tac feed. New toys were always cool.
Jared nodded at his assessment. ”Could always try to funnel him into an abandoned building or something too. We’ll see what happens. You know what they say about plans. I’ll have my power close at hand, but won’t seize it until I need it.”
His equipment was checked and stowed. He could easily access it, but at the moment he pretty much looked like another civilian out for a walk on the streets of Moscow. ”Ready if you are. You’re the expert here. I’ll follow your lead.” It wasn’t laziness - it was just practical. Nox knew what he was doing and knew the targets abilities better. On top of that, what they were doing wasn’t legal - not that Jared cared about that, but Nox was more familiar with these types of operations. It made sense for him to have command.
Wasn't expecting him to take charge even if it was family but it was good to know he didn't mind some kid bossing him around. Not that Nox was going to be bossy. He could do whatever the fuck he wanted as long as he didn't get him killed. Which was an interesting thought in light of his last charge in to things. Going after a Dreyken with just a broken stick. At least this time he had a gun, not that he was worried about a human Sentient. He and Aria had worked on his tolerance to being controlled though it had been months since he'd killed her and that stopped, but still he at least knew how.
Nox lead Jared to the nearest tunnel entrance. "We can move faster through the tunnels and get ahead of him" The entire network of tunnels below the city had been mapped and as long as there was signal to be had it was all laid with cameras. it was weeks of work that he had done with Sage telling him were the best place for coverage was. After the first few levels though there were no cameras no signal and the world was completely cut off. It's kinda how Nox felt now like he had lost the signal. And maybe he had. Maybe the part where the ability was, was also part of where your drive for life was. He wasn't suicidal at the moment, he wanted to get home to see the smiles of the little one and have a good meal. But he had to do this. His second good deed of the day.
The blinking dot on the map was behind them. "There is a dead spot in coverage coming up where your mark is going. I won't be able to follow him" Sky said in both their ears.
Nox flicked his eyes and sent an indicator to Jared's HUD. "You go there, and we'll box him in at the dead zone. I'll be coming at him from this direction. When we get to the dead zone use an air wall to block all the other connections." It looked like a cross roads of alleys, probably were once actual paths but now the homeless and ruffians used them.
A voice came in his ear, feminine but with a slight twinge that told Jared it was likely an AI. That was interesting, not to mention the fact that it was tracking Pirozzi with the city's cams. Nox had a hacker on his side - and a good one at that. Jared had a modest set of hacking skills. It could be more if he practiced it more. That was something to think about, but later.
The position came up on his lens warriors and he acknowledged Nox's order with a "Got it," and began to follow the convenient trail that was being projected to him.
Using the tunnels was a great way to get through the city quick. On top of that, it seemed as if Nox had mapped out these routes as well. Yeah he was the right choice for being in charge. He came back up out of the tunnels and turned the corner towards the dead zone. Pirozzi was there. He had no idea if the man knew him or not, but he clearly didn't like seeing Jared pop up there, and he wasn't far away. Pirozzi lunged at him, trying to grab him.
"Oh fuck no," Jared said, executing a turn to avoid allowing Pirozzi to touch him. It was a good thing Nox had mentioned that, his marital arts instincts would have had him going in for a grab.
Jared seized his power and used flows of air to grab Pirozzi and fling him back into the alley. Jared hadn't had a chance to pull out his weapon yet and needed the space. He wasn't getting into a close quarters fight with the guy. He landed prone on the ground and Jared could see Nox. With the power still in his grasp, he wove walls of air, blocking out Pirozzi's escape.
"Wall's up - he's trapped," Jared reported. Of course, Nox would be able to see it, but it was then that he had realized, Nox hadn't used his at all. He could - at least as far as Jared knew. Jared pulled out his knife and firearm. The bastard would be dealt with soon.
The guy they were after looked a little like Alex but not enough that it felt wrong. Jared remembered his words and avoided his touch and used the power which Nox didn't see the weaves which should have pissed him off, except it was just like everything else numbing nothingness. Pirozzi was on the ground when he got there. Nox pulled the knife from the sheath at his waist.
And by the time Nox got to the man he was on his feet. "You have no idea who you are messing with."
"Actually I do."
The man smirked when Nox reached with his left hand and wrapped his fingers around his throat. He looked liked he was trying real hard to send emotions to him. Nox grinned and he jammed the knife up into his stomach and up inside the ribcage."See Rachel is a friend of mine. You picked the wrong girl. Tell your father hi when you see him in hell." Nox pulled the knife twisting and make the wound larger. And pushed him to the ground.
"Easiest clean up will be fire. I can't do it. If you don't have the stomach for it I'll just let ping the Atharim clean up grew waiting on standby."