"The Adversaries" - STREET LEVEL CAMPAIGN (Power Level 7 - Will grow to P lvl 10)
The formation of 'The Adversaries' Campaign, started as a one person adventure with a first time player (ARCLIGHT- Elec. Blaster). I ran a Crime-fighter archetype (The Watcher) as an NPC, to help him get the ropes. One at a time, his friends asked to join, so I have written each one in. The 2nd player (The PASTOR- Demonic Strength and toughness) has only played 5 times so far and the 3rd player just entered (AGENT13- Psi Ops-Telepathy). Another friend wants to play a martial arts master (Wu-Wei), but won’t be available till after December. Section 1 (A shocking turn of Events) & the last half of Section 7 (A Pastor's Story) are ARCLIGHT and The Pastor's origin stories if you want to skip those, the rest is the campaign as played. Role play and planning stages are in plain text, combat is in bold. At the bottom I have added Stat-block info for the 3 characters if anyone is interested. They are all Hero Lab Legal.
I'm looking for feedback on the campaign so far, and ideas for interesting directions in the future.
I want to do some sort of long term CIVIL WAR theme, during which, as anti-registration activists, they will be labeled 'the Adversaries'. So far I know that: SHADOW is responsible for ARCLIGHT's father's death, Major Demons want the Pastor's Bible to get their powers back, AGENT-13 will leave AEGIS at the beginning of the "Civil War" arc, and WU-Wei will meet the team by trying to kill the Pastor. (Wu-Wei is a Demon Hunter, feels dark energy pouring off the priest) Thank You in advance for your feedback.
A Shocking Turn of Events
Young William Stryfe had a hard time in school. His IQ was high, but he was more interested in doing Karate and Parkour than his studies. Enrolling at NYU, he majored in physics only because he already had a solid grasp of the subject from his father’s research. He couldn’t imagine devoting 30 years of life to science like his dad, who had ignored family and friends for years, in a driven pursuit of clean energy.Dad’s Bio-A.R.C. program (Biogenic Auto Recharging Core) promised to store, and auto regenerate, multi-gigawatt power levels in an easily regrown bio stratum, providing eco-friendly energy for all. Will accepted an internship at his father’s company just to be able to spend time with the old man, and working together was bringing them closer than ever. One night, while Will was working late, his father burst into the computer lab, and told him to destroy all project documents. He said he had uncovered government funding, and then followed that trail to files describing a militarized version of his research. Dad went to confront the company director while his son dutifully destroyed his father’s life’s work. Exactly what caused the explosion in the bio-lab was never discovered. His father obviously tried to stop the experiment, and something went terribly wrong, shutting down power to half the city in the process. His father and the lab personnel didn’t have a chance, but the wall between him and the bio labs saved Will’s life. Bruised, and badly cut by fragments from the glass observation barrier, the doctors said being covered in the bio mass goo from the experiment vats probably prevented his bleeding to death. They were sure they got all of the bio material out of the wounds, and he showed no infection or ill effects. The other “effects” began to develop later that week. Since getting out of the hospital, Will had been trying to figure out what his father discovered; what got him killed. The condo seemed so empty now. With no siblings, and a long dead mother, Will inherited everything; Condo, car, and enough money to live on for years, if he was careful. All he needed to do was find a good job. All he could think of was discovering why his father died, that and controlling the huge electrical charges he had been generating since the accident. At dad's old business office, he tried to access protected files using expired passcodes, but it didn't work, and after that he was pretty sure he was being followed by men in dark suits! He tested his abilities by discharging blasts of electricity in an old scrap yard, learning to control his electrical aura enough to stop shorting out everything in the condo. But the long term health effects worry him, and sometimes he feels he can’t hold all the energy. He knows he needs to find a biochemistry lab in which to run some tests, and hopefully figure out exactly what has happened to him. With all of this on his mind, Will gets a mysterious text from someone signing only with the initial "W". "Mr. Stryfe, my condolences on your father's recent passing. I have information indicating his company was involved in illegal weapons programs. The nature of his ‘accident’ last month confirms this Intel. I monitored your attempt to breach their corporate security, and I assume you are trying to find out what happened to your father; be aware that if I noticed, so did they, you could be in danger. I still need to find out who was funding the illegal research, and I believe we could help each other out. Text if you will meet with me. If you don't want to pursue this any further, then I suggest you leave town immediately. W." The W is the signature of the Watcher, a well-known vigilante. Will texts that he will meet with him. After giving Will a street address in Hell's Kitchen, the Watcher observes him from the rooftops, making sure he wasn't followed. He then texts Will to meet him up there so he can detail his plan for getting into the Bio-Tech database. He explains that Will must talk his way into the business office again, get to a computer that is on the local network, and upload a rootkit from a thumb drive (10sec). As a business office, it doesn't have the security the lab would, but it is still connected to the main servers. And even if Will is being watched, they shouldn't refuse him entry to retrieve a few of his dad's personal affects. Afterward, successful or not, Will is to go directly to a Manhattan safe house the Watcher has prepared.
Espionage and Deception
Receptionist Lisa Evans has worked at Bio-Tech for years. She remembers Will, and is friendly. Friendly Persuasion check: 1 degree of success or more and she will wave him back with a smile. 1 degree of failure and she will wave him back but call security to report the visit. 2 degrees of failure and she will call security to accompany him back. 2 Corporate Security guards (Flashlights & mace) Will is greeted kindly and waved back. (2 degrees of success) He uploads the root kit without a hitch, but his visit prompts an agent to order his arrest. Will is followed by a van as he rides away on his Ninja900. At a red light, 4 corporate mercs and a female agent try to block him in with a van, and grab him. He evades them on his motorcycle, riding down the side walk and zig-zagging through oncoming traffic. When Will finally lays it down, he zaps the street lights to block up traffic and then makes a run for it. When they finally catch up to him, their tasers don’t stop him, so they pull submachine guns. He runs down an alley, but the agent in charge wounds him in the leg, pinning him down behind a dumpster. Just then a police officer intervenes, but dies instantly under the combined fire of 2 MP-5's. This lets Will try to arc-blast the agent. She is too quick and takes cover behind the dumpster. Will electrifies the dumpster and dazes the agent, causing one merc to run to her aid. The other 3 order Will to put his hands up and come out. He does put his hands up, but then arc-lights! He half blinds the 3 mercs, but only narrowly avoids another burst of automatic fire as he dives back behind the dumpster. Already bleeding from the agent’s leg shot, Will thinks this might be it. Just then the Watcher provides a smoke screen for him to retreat behind. Leg throbbing, Will leaps to grab a fire-escape ladder, and is surprised by the arc of magnetic energy that pulls him into the air. He can climb 6 stories in 6 seconds!
Hack & Bash
The Watcher gets Will back to a safe location and bandages his wound; only a graze, so once the bleeding stopped, it was no real danger. After Will explains the electrical powers he displayed in the alley, they check out the data. It leads to an army officer who committed suicide just 3 days after the accident! Police records show there was no suicide note, and no known motive. To go further, they must access the Army financial records. Learning which officer oversaw the money transfer, and from which department, would give them a live lead. He has contacts in the Office of Naval Intelligence, but they may not have access. Alternately, he could hack the Army database. Financial records are not high value, so it may not be too difficult; the Watcher is confident he can avoid identification, if not detection. Attempting to hack the Army database is a felony, and depending on what is accessed, possibly treason! The local database is not top security, requiring few Technology checks. The first (DC10) locates the hidden isp. The second defeats security (DC25). Once you have succeeded in these checks, you have accessed the site. To find the data make another easy skill check (DC10). If you fail 2 checks before you succeed at 3, an administrator shuts down the hack and attempts identification. Evade ID is (DC15). The ONI proprietary program gives +2, and the Watcher’s super computer at the ‘Watch Post’ gives +5. They attempt it on a burner laptop at a cybercafé, but fail repeatedly; so the Watcher blindfolds Will, and takes him to his HQ, the Watch-Post. Here the Watcher can use his custom computer, though if he is detected at this location, it would mean abandoning his HQ! The hack is a success, and the financial records show that the money didn't really come from the army at all. An army account was set up by the dead officer, and the $5 million was transferred into it from a local NY isp. It was then sent to BIOCORP. The Watcher says-"Maybe these people can tell us about the money transfer." The local isp is close, the address flashing on the screen is about 10 blocks away!
The Terrorist Cell:
After gathering data on the address through telephoto lens, thermal imaging and parabolic mic, the Watcher and ARCLIGHT devise a plan. This is apparently a small terrorist HQ, hidden in a second floor apartment, over a deli. The building is a typical 6 story row structure. On the ground floor is a Deli, drug store and tattoo parlor, while the upper floors are all apartments. There is a parking structure below with a gated entrance. The apartment is on the SW corner 2nd floor, directly over the Deli. It has 2 windows on the west wall, and 2 on the south. The entry between the Deli and the Drug store is a hall, 20 feet long, that leads to mailboxes and 4 elevators as well as the door to the stairs.
OBJECTIVES: Extract computer data and leader for interrogation. Minimize profile, no casualties.
It appears that only two terrorists are present, so Will goes to the apartment door and bangs on it, yelling that his laptop has been stolen, and accusing the residents of the theft. They tell him to go away but he persists until the door is opened. That is the Watcher’s cue to repel down the front of the building and throw a flash grenade through the window. Will has a chance to force his way in, as the man at the door turns toward the noise. The terrorist at the door turns too late to be affected by the flash, but the cell leader is dazed and totally surprised as the Watcher comes crashing through the 2nd story window. Will grabs and shocks the guy at the door, dazing him just as he tries to pull his gun. The Watcher tries to disarm the blinded leader with a staff strike, knocking him to the floor, then dives across the room to strike the other gunman. Will tried to shock-punch him, but the Watchers staff strike knocked the guy out of the way. Then the Watcher flipped back across the room and took out the leader before he could get to his gun, and Will shocked the doorman one more time, putting him down. Suddenly, two more terrorists (from the deli downstairs) come charging down the hall, one with an Uzi and the other a Tech-9. Will shuts the door and locks it, then pops a flash drive in the computer and downloads all files, while the Watcher braces the door. As they start to break it down, The Watcher jumps back and prepares to hold the entry. He slams both of their heads into the wall with his staff, dazing them, but one of them catches him with a lucky spray of bullets, knocking him back but not penetrating his armor. Will tries something new creating a burst of electrons in the doorway, finishing off both remaining terrorists at once! ARCLIGHT and the Watcher then grab the leader and data, and escape to the roof, with the sound of police sirens in the distance.
Local Cell HQ Investigation Data: HQ features- Comms, Comp, cover identity, and 3 security cameras. Cell Equipment- Car, van, 2 motorcycles, 6 light combat vests, and assorted automatic small arms and homemade explosives. Cell’s strategic objective: Trade disruption; Harbor terror. Interrogation Evidence- This is an OVERTHROW terrorist cell of 6 members. An unknown female Overthrow agent showed up and transferred $5 million into the cell's account, then back out, leaving immediately after. Computer records confirm this, and show that the transfer went to the army acct. The origin of the transfer however, bounced between dozens of isp all over the world within moments. Determining the funds origin is nearly impossible (DC30 Comp). They pull up video footage from the 3 cameras, and yes, the woman is the same one who shot Will in the leg. The Watcher recognizes her from AEGIS’ most wanted list: Queen Cobra they call her, an international terrorist. Without the Office of Navy Intelligence's proprietary OS, and the Watchers computers, it would have been impossible, but the Watcher identifies the isp of the money transfer. It came from the New York offices of AEGIS!!!
A call for Help!
Later that week Pastor James Prophet, of the 49th St. Mission Church, calls the Watcher asking for help. Just after 9:00pm, a young member of the "Kitchen Knives" gang came to warn him that the Russians were coming that night, to take the girl he’s been hiding at the church. The Pastor has a burner phone the Watcher gave him in case of trouble, and this definitely qualifies. The girl, Mariana came to him, 3 nights ago, after the Russian mob killed her husband over missing money. She knows her husband Juan ran loan sharking for the mob, and that the local cops are on the take. Afraid of the police, and with nowhere else to turn, the Pastor let her stay. He’s been trying to arrange a place for her out of town, but now it’s too late. Will asks if he can help out, so the Watcher and ARCLIGHT head to the church. The Pastor is hiding Mariana in the battered-women’s dorm on the 3rd floor. She saw the Russians take her husband from the street and can identify a main boss. Terrified, she fled to the roof, leaping to the next building to escape them that night. The Pastor and the Watcher, both trusted in Hell’s Kitchen, finally convince her to let the Watcher take her to the FBI. A dark sedan is spotted sitting up the street, so the Watcher insists on getting Mariana out via the roof. He asks ARCLIGHT to stay and protect the Pastor.
The Mob goes to church.
Mob lieutenant, Sergei Valosky arrives at the Church with 6 enforcers. As they approach the front door, Pastor James invokes the glyph for demonic strength and then goes out and pretends to be locking up for the night. ARCLIGHT remains hidden, watching from the window. "HEY! PASTOR! Churches should never close, I need speak with you, unburden my soul". Valosky convinces the Pastor to let just him come inside, but once inside he tells the Pastor to give him the girl or he will burn down the church! Pastor James tells the gangster to leave and Sergei seems to comply, but as they get to the door he says to his men, “FIND GIRL!” And then all 6 gangsters head up the front steps! The Pastor is in the doorway, so the nearest thug grabs him and tries to push past, he is held fast in the Pastor’s grip. The muscle next to him, a really big Czech, shoulders the Pastor into the door jamb, dazing him. Sergei says, "Just hand over girl, we walk away. Otherwise, we burn down your little church." .....but then Sergeis's facial expression changes, and in a strange voice, without a Russian accent he says, "GIVE US THE BOOK, AND YOU CAN KEEP THE GIRL AND THE CHURCH”. Sergei's goons glance at him confused for a moment, the Pastor doesn’t answer. Then, in his own voice again Sergei yells “The Girl!”, and two other thugs push past the restrained Pastor. Neither see ARCLIGHT behind them on the stairs. Blasted from behind the first thug goes down quick, while his buddy spins around, pistol ready. He may have shot ARCLIGHT dead on the stairs but just then, Pastor James swung his arm around to throw off the 2 grapplers who couldn’t pull him down. He flung the big Czech 30 feet inside the church. His body knocking down the thug trying to shoot Arclight, before smashing into the pews and lying still. The smaller guy griping the Pastor ducked under the arm sweep, but fell down fumbling for his pistol. The gunman inside, again tried to shoot ARCLIGHT, but was finished off with an arc blast. Unfortunately, the guy who ducked James’ arm and fell to the ground, shot him in the side, and the Pastor went down. ARCLIGHT shocked that guy out, just before a huge black gunman came through the door firing wildly. Arclight dodged back and ran behind the stairs to avoid the shots, as the Pastor got up and with one punch, knocked the next guy who tried to enter, a mean looking Vato, all the way down the front steps. Sergei and the last thug then fled, while inside, ARCLIGHT used his magnetic arc power to tear the big guy’s gun out of his hand, and then the Pastor lays him out. ARCLIGHT and the Pastor question the thug, but only learn what they already knew, the Russians want the girl. Will leaves when he hears sirens, and the Pastor tells the police that the Watcher and an unknown electricity wielding hero saved him, then goes to the hospital for a superficial gunshot wound, while the Watcher gets Mariana safely to the FBI.
A Pastor’s Story
The next day, the Watcher tells Will the safe house he is in, is about to be occupied by a federal witness. Since it’s not safe for him at home, the Watcher asks Will to lie-low at the Pastor’s church for a while, just until he can arrange another option. Besides, the Watcher intends to pay a visit to the Russians, and he needs someone to keep an eye on the Pastor and the church. Will says he would be happy to, but that the Pastor, “can take care of himself!” After Will describes the abilities displayed by the priest, the Watcher asks him to try and find out their origin. The Pastor agrees to let Will stay, and even gives him a cover job as, ‘Jon’ the new church handyman. The two of them get along well, and one night, after drinking a half a bottle of Irish whiskey, the pastor finally tells Will his story. He starts, at the beginning. “I grew up in Hell’s Kitchen with a loving Italian mother, but a hard Irish father. Dad worked the docks during the 70’s recession, becoming a union enforcer in the 80’s. He drank regularly, and had a mean temper, but he rarely hit my mom; he beat me a lot, but never without reason. Dad disappeared in 89’, when I was still a boy, and the house quieted down. Mom stressed school and church, insisting I be an altar boy. I didn’t like studying, but Father Flaherty’s afterschool boxing program I loved. Boxing at the gym and working at the church, the Pastor became like a second father to me. I was tough enough to hold friendship and respect in that rough neighborhood, without joining in the illegal activity, and after graduation I was planning to enter seminary school, but things took a turn. A street gang chased a guy into the church one night and I fought them off, knocking out the leader; he unfortunately died at the hospital. The boy outweighed me by 50lbs, but he was only 16 years old. I was an adult (18), and a trained boxer. I served 5 years for 2nd degree manslaughter, completing my seminary work on the inside. By the time I got out, Father Flaherty was a Bishop and he got me the mission parish at my old church. It had been closed for 2 years so the community was very happy to see it re-open, and all was going well. Then 4 months later, a young girl was killed in a drive-by, and the community asked me to talk to the local gangs about a truce. (LOL) I was beaten up pretty bad, and my car set on fire. Low on cash, I bought a dented black 59’ Cadillac at a church auction, and my world changed forever! Sitting in the alley in my rusty new car, the glove box fell open. Inside I found an old bible with a large section of hand written notes at the back. I recognized the script from seminary school; Enochian Angelic symbols, the language of the birds. Recognizing one as the word for cart, I pronounced it and the Cadillac faded into a black mist, dropping my ass in the alley. When I said the word again, the car reformed, only now looked brand new! The Chrome was shined, and the dents gone! The writings in the bible are in two sections; 20 pages of journal, and then 9 pages of large, complicated symbols. The one that looked like cart was only the first I unlocked. I went to the seminary library every day over the next few weeks. The language is like Enochian, but different. The journal describes an angel’s mission to recapture escaped demons. Each had its powers bound within the bible before being cast back to hell. After translating 3 more glyphs, I prayed for guidance, but all that came to me were the words of Saint Augustine. I knew that I now had the power to face the troubles afflicting Hell’s Kitchen; that Prison was just a test, and my task was now at hand. God had delivered the tools I needed to get the job done! St. Augustine described a Pastor's duties in these words: oo ...in other words, be a hero! I think you and I came pretty damn close last night. (LOL)” After the Pastor finished his story, Will felt obliged to share his own, and when he was done, the two men realized that they share a lot more than just being friends with the vigilante known as the Watcher.
AEGIS
The Watcher spends that night investigating the Bio-Tech/AEGIS connection, and decides to call the ex-director of AEGIS, Jack Kirby, also known as the PATRIOT! The next day, the Watcher and ARCLIGHT disguise themselves and go to meet the Patriot in an abandoned dock yard. After hearing the situation, and figuring out ARCLIGHT's identity, the Patriot tells the vigilantes that he trusts Philip Powers, the present Director of AEGIS, and they should take their evidence to him. The Patriot makes a call, and all three of them go to AEGIS' NY office, to meet personally with Director Powers. After being brought up to speed, the director asks them to cooperate with his investigators to help find the double-agent. He also asks ARCLIGHT to officially register as an AEGIS Ally, and wear a tracker so they can protect him. Powers doesn’t bother to ask the Watcher again. ARCLIGHT agrees to help with the investigation, but refuses to register, or wear a tracker. They give Director Powers all the information they have, then head home. On his way back to his bike, four mercenaries try to grab Will in the alley next to the Diner. ARCLIGHT blinds the two in front of him, then arc-leaps onto the roof, avoiding the automatic fire of the least affected mercenary. The two mercs entering the alley behind him are ordered back to get the van, giving ARCLIGHT time to lean out and arc-blast the one who shot at him. He knocks that merc out with one hit, and ducks down in time to avoid a burst from one of the guys running for the van. Before they can get the van from across the street into the alley, ARCLIGHT jumped down and escaped on his Ninja900. He called the Watcher when he noticed a recon drone following him, and was told to get under something and take it out when it followed him, which he did nicely, before returning to the 49th St. church.
Join us Will, Join us.
The next day, Director Powers calls the Watcher to tell him that the investigation into the money transfer has stalled. It bounced around the globe too many times, and they can’t determine its origin. AEGIS' Theta Group (Psi Ops) has been called in to try and intuit the correct path, but the Patriot has an idea to use the Theta investigators to uncover the mole. He knows which shift the transfer was made during, so, “If we throw Queen-Cobra's picture up all over the CIC monitors, and then ARCLIGHT yells 'THAT’S HER', I bet you the mole will react enough for AGENT-13 of Theta Group to get a read on him.” “THEN WE WILL HAVE THE BASTARD,” shouts Kirby. The work shift they need is coming up in just 2 days, so the Director and the Patriot tell ARCLIGHT that they will call him, and send a car when it is time. Director Powers again asks Will to register and wear a tracker so they can coordinate more effectively, reminding him that any information found out about William Stryfe during official AEGIS investigations would have to go into the case file, and this information is available to law enforcement and security services upon request. AEGIS investigators may figure out Will is ARCLIGHT, and this information will be recorded in the unregistered meta-human files. These are also the ones the government will go after first, if the National Registration Act goes through. If ARCLIGHT becomes a registered AEGIS Ally, his identity becomes confidential. Information uncovered during the Bio-Arc investigation that reveals his identity, will be redacted from the file before other agencies are allowed access. Even the Watcher thinks Will might ought to register, if only to bury all the information that is already out there. If his identity becomes openly known, registration would at least provide some legality. The Watcher admits that if his own identity became known, he would register. But Will still refuses. Most of the men who know who he is, are honorable, and those who aren’t, seem more interested in capturing him than revealing his identity. ARCLIGHT intends to keep his real name out of AEGIS files a little longer, if he can.
Monster Hunt
The next night, Will and Pastor James are working at the church food drive, when a member of the church calls and asks the pastor to come by. She is on bed rest for high blood pressure, but seems desperate to talk, so Pastor James says he will head right over. The Watcher told Will to lie low at the church until he could arrange another safe-house for him, but he also asked him to keep an eye on the Pastor, so Will pulled up his hoodie, and went along for the ride. Ms. Booker lives on 37th Street, in the Jefferson Heights Apartments. Not a friendly neighborhood, but the Pastor’s collar lets him walk right through Crips & Bloods without much worry. Will is a little worried, but he keeps it to himself as they enter the tiny 3rd floor apartment. Ms. Booker profusely thanks the Pastor for coming, and then launches into a desperate plea for help finding her missing Grandson. Leron Booker is 10 years old and has been missing for 3 days. His mother died when he was 5, and since then he has lived with his grandmother. The NYPD has put out a watch, but there are no leads, and they don’t seem to care, in grandma’s opinion. Her greatest fear are the rumors from “Troll-Town”, the area under the overpasses, just 4 blocks west of her Apartments. There is talk that several runaways were taken by the strange Meta-Creature known as WEB! Ms. Booker says that everyone knows Pastor James can get in touch with the Watcher, and she believes only he can help her now. After consoling her with the fact that WEB has never been known to attack children, and promising to contact the Watcher for her, Pastor James and Will get back in the Caddy, and head to the church. They call the Watcher en-route and he agrees to help, but he is involved in a surveillance op, and will have to meet them at midnight. With a few hours to kill, James and Will head down to “Troll Town” to see if they can find out anything from the runaways and homeless who shelter there. They park the Caddy in a back alley, and the pastor tucks it into his Bible before invoking the symbols for strength and resilience. Then He, in his collar, and Will, with his hood up and looking homeless himself, walk into “troll Town” and start asking about the missing kids. After learning nothing from a few old men, huddled around a trashcan fire for warmth, they find some street kids, and the Pastor convinces them that they are not with the police. The kids tell him about the missing runaways, 3 vanishing in the past few months. WEB was seen in the area each time, as well as a convoy of black vans that they think might be hunting it. No one saw WEB take any children, but the kids are terrified of him, and no one will walk around alone anymore. With only a half hour left before they needed to meet the watcher, they headed back to the church.
Lure the Watcher to his Death?
As they came in the back door, they were stunned to see that the Russian mobster, Sergei Valosky, had come back with 8 enforcers, and had taken the choir coordinator, Alina Chavez, hostage. Will considered quickly slipping back out the back door, but with a gun to the terrified girls head, the Pastor gave up immediately, so Will followed suit. They were brought in and sat in the first pew, with half a dozen guns pointed at them. Looking around they could see 6 goons, each with a piece, and 2 tough looking Russians carrying AK-74 heavy assault rifles. Sergei told the Pastor to call the Watcher, and convince him to come to the church, or Alina and his handyman (Will) would be shot in front of him. Before he can answer, Will offers to call the Watcher, for a reward, but Sergei tells him to call, and not arouse any suspicion, or the girl, then the priest, and then he, would eat a bullet. Seeing that negotiation is useless, Will calls the Watcher and says, “Hey, I know I haven’t spoken to you in quite a while, but I need to talk to you at the church.” The Watcher immediately knows they are in trouble because they had spoken only hours before. “Is it the Russians again”, he asks Will. “Yeah, as soon as you can get here, thanks,” he responds, nodding to Sergei that it is done. “On my way, stay calm” the Watcher growls, then hangs up.
A Shot in the Dark
“He’s coming” Will says, and Sergei smiles, telling his Russian gunmen to load the “Special Ammunition”. Sergei then moves the two of them to the left choir section, with a goon holding a 9mm on them; and Alina is taken into the Pastor’s office, her captor given orders to shoot her if anyone but Sergei comes in. Next, while the Russians break out blue tipped Armor Piercing rounds for their AK-74’s, Sergei sends 2 of his thugs to watch the streets, front and back. “Call when you spot him, but stay out of sight” he says. The 2 Russians take up positions near the dais, where they have line of sight to the back and front doors; each has a pistol wielding thug watching his back. Sergei paces the aisles, his Desert-Eagle in hand. Several minutes go by, during which Sergei checks in with his look outs repeatedly. Will and the Pastor exchange a few looks and whispers unnoticed, agreeing that they can’t let the Watcher walk into a death trap. His ballistic armor might not stand up to those rounds! They bide their time, looking for an opportunity. After 10 more minutes of pacing, Sergei loses contact with his lookouts! Nervous, he orders Alina brought out and taken to the choir seats on the right, across the room from Will and the Pastor. Just then, the lights go out, and they hear the sound of breaking glass upstairs! It’s dark, but the street lights outside throw some light through the windows. “You two check it out”, Sergei barks at the two goons who were not holding hostages. The thugs leave the gunmen they were covering and nervously head up the darkened stairs, pistols at the ready. Sergei orders his Russian gunmen to move to the front of the Church near the stairs, and “Kill anything that comes down!” Most of his attention is on the stairs, but every few seconds, he glances back at the men holding hostages. There’s a noise of a body hitting the floor upstairs, and everyone looks up. That’s when ARCLIGHT and the Pastor make their move! Pastor James grabs for their captors gun, but the guy dodges back and shoots James dead in the chest. At the same time, ARCLIGHT magnetically jerks the gun away from the thug across the room holding Alina, and jumps over the railing, diving behind the second pew for cover. Sergei and one of the machine-gunners both take a shot at him, but luckily he was moving fast in dim light, and once behind the pew they lose him. ARCLIGHT pops up mid-pew, and Arc-blasts Sergei in the chest, taking him out. Both machine-gunmen, eyes blurry from a lightning bolt in a dim room, fire wild bursts as he ducks down. The Pastor, unhurt by the 9mm bullet, shoulders the man several inches into a sheet rock wall while running to save Alina who is being dragged by her captor toward the backdoor. At this point one of the two who went upstairs comes running back down, causing the gunmen to turn to the stairs, and giving ARCLIGHT time to blast one of them in the back. The other gunman takes cover behind the last pew, and the man running down the stairs is hit in the back of the head with one of the Watcher’s steel batons. While everyone else’s attention is at the front of the Church, back near the altar, Pastor James backhands Alina’s guard into the pipe organ, and then hurries her out the back door, before returning to the fight. The last gunner takes a guess at where ARCLIGHT is, and fires a burst that rips through the pew a foot from his head. The Watcher is halfway down the stairs, but before he can take him out, the Pastor hurls the 1st pew 30 feet across the room, smashing the back pew he is crouched behind, and knocking him unconscious. The Watcher and ARCLIGHT take off at the sound of sirens, leaving the Pastor to explain to the Police. He tells them the Russian mob showed up again, and he and the handyman, Jon, were held at gunpoint. They forced him to call the Watcher into a trap, or be shot. He tells them he had no choice but to make the call, and pray for the best, and that he thanks God the Watcher, and the hero the Watcher called ARCLIGHT, managed to defeat the gunmen without being injured. ‘Jon’, he says, ran out the back door during the fight; he is a homeless man from ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, and the Pastor has no contact information for him, but he promised to bring Jon down to the station to make a statement, if he ever turns up.
THE PATRIOT ACT
The next day, afraid Alina might tell the police what she saw, and contradict his story, the Pastor convinces her, as an unregistered, illegal alien, to deny involvement. Between the darkness, and being on the far side of the room, Alina saw very little anyway. Will’s first magnetic arc dazzled her so that she was barely aware it was the Pastor helping her while she blindly struggled. She did quit, however, too much had happened at that church lately. ARCLIGHT and the Watcher had retreated to the Watch-Post, to plan a counterattack on the Russian mafia, but they were interrupted by a call from the Patriot. Instructions for the AEGIS plan, along with a timetable, were all detailed in an encrypted data transfer. AEGIS will be picking ARCLIGHT up tomorrow at 4:00pm. The plan is set to commence at 5:00, and hopefully will be all over within a few minutes. Since the Watcher is not needed for the OP, he is asked not to come, to help reduce the profile. “I need to have a vodka with some old friends anyway”, he says, and goes back to choosing target order. Will is apprehensive, but excited to finally be closing in on the people responsible for his father’s death.
THE AEGIS OPERATION
A Limo pulled up at the church at 4:00 pm sharp, with an armored tactical van guarding it. The trip to AEGIS HQ takes only 20 minutes. After going over the plan several more times with Director Powers and the PATRIOT, Will is led to the C.I.C. where AGENT13 is posing as a computer tech. Will and the Director walk over in front of the monitors, and as soon as images of “Queen Cobra” appear, William yells out, “THAT’S HER! That’s the lady who shot me.” Agent 13 performs a hard (DC30) check on his telepathy power and identifies the double agent by his emotional responses. After alerting the Director of the man’s identity telepathically, AGENT13 moves into a position to take him down. Already nervous, the mole notices and makes a break for the door, shooting a poisoned dart from a wrist launcher at Will on his way by. The dart fails to penetrate Will’s Kevlar vest, and when the spy looks back toward the exit he was dashing for, he stops in his tracks…the room is changed, a smooth wall where a hallway was a moment before. By the time he spins around to look for another escape route, the Director’s tactical team surrounds him. They disarm and cuff him, and only then AGENT13 drops his mental illusions hiding the Hallway. The prisoner stares straight ahead, refusing to answer any questions, but when AGENT13 begins to perform a deep psychic mind invasion, the man yells out, “Oh God, I’m compromised” and drops over dead, green foam bubbling from his nose and his mouth. The modified cyanide toxin was extremely fast acting, shutting down brain activity in seconds; the mole broke open a tooth capsule the moment he knew he was being mind probed, but AGENT13 did get a rush of imagery, and the organizations name…SHADOW! AGENT13’s debriefing began before the medics finished declaring the spy dead. Looking for connections with Queen Cobra, who the spy knew as “Venom”, uncovered memories of meetings with her in New York, and the orders he received through her directly from “OVERSHADOW”. His objectives primarily concerned computer hacking/surveillance operations, as well as the occasional planting of disinformation, but his last order was to follow and kill Will Stryfe if the boy returned to AEGIS, and then to contact Venom immediately to retrieve the body. Director Powers and the PATRIOT agree that they have a very limited window to use Will as bait to draw out Venom. Once she discovers that her operative has been eliminated, Venom will be impossible to lure into a trap, though she will likely start sending unaffiliated assassins to finish off William Stryfe. They discuss the options, and Will eventually agrees to be the bait for AEGIS’ sting operation to capture VENOM, A.K.A. Queen Cobra, a terrorist agent that AEGIS personnel have been hunting for years.
THE STING
Director Powers’ plan is simple enough, Will is to ride his bike around the diner where he was attacked until a drone spots him, then park and walk until Venom, or other SHADOW agents come to get him. Two assault vans will stay within a few blocks, one north and one south, and move in when Will signals. In the command van rides the ARCHER, and two 4-man squads of AEGIS Combat Troopers; in the other van is AGENT13 and another two squads, all are equipped for a heavy assault. The Director gives them the green light, and Will gets on his Ninja900 and heads toward the diner.