Fawcett City
From her office, Hannah Carpenter had a wonderful view of Fawcett City. The city was beautiful, resplendent in the morning. Unfortunately, her position as the chief financial officer of Sivana Industries kept her in Sivana Tower most of the time. When she wasn’t there, she was usually traveling on behalf of the company. Her work took her all around the world, but this was where she called home. Glancing over at her curved monitor, she saw her calendar was free for most of the morning, after a cancellation. A rarity, considering the normal number of meetings she was in. She wasn’t going to cry about a canceled meeting with some of the accounting department’s people.
Rising from behind her desk, she walked over to one of the windows of her corner office. Sivana Tower was over fifty stories up and she was on the forty-eighth floor. Her view was magnificent, she could see over the river without a problem.
Fawcett City had been a trade city in Minnesota during the early years. There had been a lot of commerce conducted on the rivers and industry had helped power Fawcett through the turn of the century. Now in the twenty-first century, the city was experiencing some headwinds.
Sivana Industries was poised to lead the city into the future and she was going to make sure of that. Just her way of paying back the city that had raised her. If she happened to make a buck along the way, she saw no harm in that.
What she did see some harm in, was an explosion on the river. She watched, in the distance as a barge suddenly exploded. Her eyes widened and she continued to watch, as a few other barges also exploded.
Four fireballs lifted up into the sky, smoke already spewing as the barges continued to float. The barges themselves hadn’t detonated, no, it was whatever they had been carrying. She could barely make out tiny specs jumping off of the barges, and realized they were people. The crew of the ships. Her hand shot up to her mouth.
Something was going on.
There was some kind of organized attack? It didn’t make sense. No, it had to be some kind of an accident with whatever the ships had been transporting. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone.
One benefit of being one of the most important people in the city was that she had relatively close access to the people in charge.
She sent the text out to the deputy mayor of Fawcett City.
Whatever you need, Sivana is here.
Her assistant came into the room, asking if she had seen what had happened.
The two watched, and then her assistant put on the news from the flatscreen television in Hannah’s office.
There were already news choppers on the scene and they were cutting in from the local daytime show. Hannah walked over and slumped into her chair as she watched. EMS and Fawcett City Police and Fire were swarming the river banks and there would be boats in the water soon. They had to get the fires extinguished before they reached the fuel tanks of the barges. With four different barges, this was going to be a problem.
The barges themselves were huge.
They were close to an hour and were only halfway through the firefighting and recovery efforts when a fifth explosion took place.
If the river had been to Hannah’s right, this was to her left.
The financial district, relatively close to Sivana Tower.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Fawcett City
This was a coordinated attack.
It was too convenient.
But that thought went out of her head when she remembered where Jeffery Kine was. The CEO of Sivana sat on the Board of Directors for the branch. She was frantically dialing now.
“Please be alright.” She repeated over and over.
She got no answer.
Our industry will secure our future
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
In the days following the attack on the river and the reserve bank, Hannah had been in a state of flux. Which, that was putting it lightly. She had been trying to do her best to keep Sivana Industries together while giving what assistance they could to the local authorities. She had been down at the wreckage of the bank, trying to figure out what was going on and more importantly, where Jeffery was. They couldn’t tell who was dead and who wasn’t. The building had been seriously damaged and they were still clearing the wreckage. He hadn’t answered his phone, and the last ping they had from it placed him in the building.
She had spoken with the deputy mayor, Aaron Smiley, as well as the police commissioner, Haynes Armstrong. The work was almost complete, but they still hadn’t located Jeffery.
Hannah was beyond worried. She looked out at the Federal Reserve building from the meeting room she was in. She would much rather have been there. She and Jeffrey had come up through the ranks together. They had met when she had first started at IBM, fresh out of B-school. They had found kindred spirits in each other and she had followed him throughout his career. He respected her and wanted to make sure he was surrounded by people who knew what they were doing.
They had been through thick and thin and she wasn’t going to give up on finding out what happened to him. She owed him that. He would do it for her.
She had called Jeffrey's wife and left a few messages, but the woman was distraught. She had every right to be. It was as though at any moment of the day or night, Alicia could get a call informing her that the rescue efforts had pulled her husband’s body out of the wreckage of the building.
As for the barges, the authorities had not been able to rescue anything from them. That wasn’t a surprise. The ships had burned through and sank. The crew had been saved, mostly. The cargo had been completely lost. This was one of those times that Hannah had been glad to be in the position she was in. As it had turned out, the barges had been operated by Sivana Industries as part of the logistics department.
The division head had reached out to the families and Sivana Industries was covering the costs of burial. The life insurance payouts would be a good chunk of change, but Hannah was glad they were in a position that the increase in premiums really meant nothing. She would much rather not have lost the employees’ lives.
She sighed, trying to turn back to the meeting.
The others around the table were also having a tough time getting through it. The quarterly accounting results simply didn’t seem as important.
She looked around the room. “Guys, I think we should call it. I don’t know how much work we or anyone really is going to get done. I think some of you should take the day. We need to have some time with our families.”
She waited until everyone was gone and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Aaron.
“Do we have any idea what happened?” She asked, once the pleasantries were exchanged.
“No.” He said. “We’ve got the FBI here to investigate though. I’m hoping they can dig up something more than we have so far.” He said. “We’ll find out what happened to Jeff.” He said.
“I hope so.” She said. “Listen, I know I’ve got no right, but do you think I could have a meeting with Armstrong?” She asked. “I just want to talk to him.”
“I’m having dinner with him tonight actually.” Aaron replied. “I think we can add a seat at the table.”
She had spoken with the deputy mayor, Aaron Smiley, as well as the police commissioner, Haynes Armstrong. The work was almost complete, but they still hadn’t located Jeffery.
Hannah was beyond worried. She looked out at the Federal Reserve building from the meeting room she was in. She would much rather have been there. She and Jeffrey had come up through the ranks together. They had met when she had first started at IBM, fresh out of B-school. They had found kindred spirits in each other and she had followed him throughout his career. He respected her and wanted to make sure he was surrounded by people who knew what they were doing.
They had been through thick and thin and she wasn’t going to give up on finding out what happened to him. She owed him that. He would do it for her.
She had called Jeffrey's wife and left a few messages, but the woman was distraught. She had every right to be. It was as though at any moment of the day or night, Alicia could get a call informing her that the rescue efforts had pulled her husband’s body out of the wreckage of the building.
As for the barges, the authorities had not been able to rescue anything from them. That wasn’t a surprise. The ships had burned through and sank. The crew had been saved, mostly. The cargo had been completely lost. This was one of those times that Hannah had been glad to be in the position she was in. As it had turned out, the barges had been operated by Sivana Industries as part of the logistics department.
The division head had reached out to the families and Sivana Industries was covering the costs of burial. The life insurance payouts would be a good chunk of change, but Hannah was glad they were in a position that the increase in premiums really meant nothing. She would much rather not have lost the employees’ lives.
She sighed, trying to turn back to the meeting.
The others around the table were also having a tough time getting through it. The quarterly accounting results simply didn’t seem as important.
She looked around the room. “Guys, I think we should call it. I don’t know how much work we or anyone really is going to get done. I think some of you should take the day. We need to have some time with our families.”
She waited until everyone was gone and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Aaron.
“Do we have any idea what happened?” She asked, once the pleasantries were exchanged.
“No.” He said. “We’ve got the FBI here to investigate though. I’m hoping they can dig up something more than we have so far.” He said. “We’ll find out what happened to Jeff.” He said.
“I hope so.” She said. “Listen, I know I’ve got no right, but do you think I could have a meeting with Armstrong?” She asked. “I just want to talk to him.”
“I’m having dinner with him tonight actually.” Aaron replied. “I think we can add a seat at the table.”
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
Hannah smiled at the maitre’d of the Regalos. One of Fawcett City’s premier steak houses, Regalos was an institution she had been to many times. But she couldn’t remember the atmosphere being more moribund than it was currently. The maitre’d shuffled some of the papers at her station, looking flustered.
“I’m sorry.” She said. “Yes, Mr. Smiley and Mr. Armstrong are already here. They’ve been seated.” She said. “If you would follow me?” She asked, gesturing for Hannah to follow.
Hannah nodded, her eyes following the woman as they walked through the restaurant. There were fewer people than normal and the normal buzz throughout the building was more subdued. As they got closer to the table, Hannah stopped the woman for a moment.
“Is everything alright?” She asked.
“I…Yes.” The woman said, though Hannah could read from the body language that that wasn’t the case. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“Please, don’t apologize, it’s fine.”
“My husband works the docks and he was caught up in…in the thing.” The woman said.
Hannah’s mouth thinned before she changed it to a smile. She reached a hand up to the woman’s shoulder. “Is he alright?” She asked.
“He will be. It was a bit touch and go there. Please, let me get you to your table.” The maitre’d said and started walking again.
Hannah followed in silence, as they finished navigating through the steakhouse.
Smiley and Armstrong were sitting at a table across from each other. She slid in next to a seat so they all faced each other.
“Carpenter.” Smiley said, a small smile on his face. “Good to see you. Not the best circumstances, of course.” He said. “Glad you could join us.”
“I’m glad I could too.” She said. She turned to Armstrong. “Commissioner, thanks for agreeing to let me join this dinner.”
He smiled, reaching for his small glass of whiskey. “Like Smiley said, not the best circumstances, but when Aaron says the CFO of Sivana wants to sit down, that’s a meeting I need to take.” He said as their waiter came up to the table.
She ordered. A ribeye, medium rare. House compound butter. Asparagus. Fingerling potatoes. Water was fine.
She turned back to Smiley. “What’s the latest?” She asked.
“I’m sorry.” She said. “Yes, Mr. Smiley and Mr. Armstrong are already here. They’ve been seated.” She said. “If you would follow me?” She asked, gesturing for Hannah to follow.
Hannah nodded, her eyes following the woman as they walked through the restaurant. There were fewer people than normal and the normal buzz throughout the building was more subdued. As they got closer to the table, Hannah stopped the woman for a moment.
“Is everything alright?” She asked.
“I…Yes.” The woman said, though Hannah could read from the body language that that wasn’t the case. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“Please, don’t apologize, it’s fine.”
“My husband works the docks and he was caught up in…in the thing.” The woman said.
Hannah’s mouth thinned before she changed it to a smile. She reached a hand up to the woman’s shoulder. “Is he alright?” She asked.
“He will be. It was a bit touch and go there. Please, let me get you to your table.” The maitre’d said and started walking again.
Hannah followed in silence, as they finished navigating through the steakhouse.
Smiley and Armstrong were sitting at a table across from each other. She slid in next to a seat so they all faced each other.
“Carpenter.” Smiley said, a small smile on his face. “Good to see you. Not the best circumstances, of course.” He said. “Glad you could join us.”
“I’m glad I could too.” She said. She turned to Armstrong. “Commissioner, thanks for agreeing to let me join this dinner.”
He smiled, reaching for his small glass of whiskey. “Like Smiley said, not the best circumstances, but when Aaron says the CFO of Sivana wants to sit down, that’s a meeting I need to take.” He said as their waiter came up to the table.
She ordered. A ribeye, medium rare. House compound butter. Asparagus. Fingerling potatoes. Water was fine.
She turned back to Smiley. “What’s the latest?” She asked.
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
“We’ve gotten through the worst of it.” Haynes replied, his voice a bit grim. “The total number of dead is around twenty five at the Federal Reserve building and forty three on the river. The worst terror attack in Fawcett history and we’ve seen some over the years.” He said. “The body cataloging should be finished soon. We had individuals from the FBI here and they took over the site so there are aspects and some amounts of information that are out of my hands.”
“And we still don’t know who did this?” She murmured.
“No.” He replied, looking over at Smiley. “That’s one of the things that concerns me.” He said, looking down at his drink. “We’re ill-equipped to deal with something like this because it’s been so long since something like this happened. Back in the day, we had the Shazaams of the world. That’s not an option for us anymore. We have to take care of our own.”
She nodded slowly and looked over at Aaron, saw he was in agreement with what the commissioner was saying. She cleared her throat, as she knew what she was going to suggest and she wasn’t sure how they were going to take it. The plan had been in her mind for a few days and pitching it was going to take some doing. Though, she could tell Aaron and Haynes were open to something if it made sense. Hannah had worked with them before on different initiatives for the city. Was this really any different?
“What if it was an option for us?” She asked.
Aaron turned to her, some confusion on her face. “Which part?” He asked. “We’re going to take care of our own as best we can, but there’s only so much the FBI can do.”
“I know.” Hannah readily agreed.
“We can’t just find a Shazaam.” Smiley said.
“I know.” She agreed again. “Shazaam was one of a kind. Who knows who the Wizard gave his power to now. That’s not what I meant though. Shazaam was special, absolutely. But he and his family can’t be the only people in Fawcett City committed to doing good. Some of them just need the tools. What if we gave them to them?” She asked.
Aaron and Haynes exchanged glances. Haynes reached up, stroking his beard as he thought about what she was saying and realization came to him. “You mean, create our own supers?” He asked.
“Something like that.” She said. “It’s something I’d have to take to the board, especially since I don’t know who will be named interim CEO with…with Jeff…unaccounted for.” Hannah said, settling on the word that best described what she hoped was the situation. “Sivana has the resources, we have the technology. We can work with Fawcett City Police and we can help protect the city. We’ve seen crime go up after the Shazaam family were killed. We’ve been working to bring things down, but this attack is something the police,” she said and turned to Haynes, “you just aren’t equipped to respond to.”
Aaron leaned back in the booth as he processed what she was saying. “A city sponsored hero?” He asked.
“Or a team.” She said.
“And we still don’t know who did this?” She murmured.
“No.” He replied, looking over at Smiley. “That’s one of the things that concerns me.” He said, looking down at his drink. “We’re ill-equipped to deal with something like this because it’s been so long since something like this happened. Back in the day, we had the Shazaams of the world. That’s not an option for us anymore. We have to take care of our own.”
She nodded slowly and looked over at Aaron, saw he was in agreement with what the commissioner was saying. She cleared her throat, as she knew what she was going to suggest and she wasn’t sure how they were going to take it. The plan had been in her mind for a few days and pitching it was going to take some doing. Though, she could tell Aaron and Haynes were open to something if it made sense. Hannah had worked with them before on different initiatives for the city. Was this really any different?
“What if it was an option for us?” She asked.
Aaron turned to her, some confusion on her face. “Which part?” He asked. “We’re going to take care of our own as best we can, but there’s only so much the FBI can do.”
“I know.” Hannah readily agreed.
“We can’t just find a Shazaam.” Smiley said.
“I know.” She agreed again. “Shazaam was one of a kind. Who knows who the Wizard gave his power to now. That’s not what I meant though. Shazaam was special, absolutely. But he and his family can’t be the only people in Fawcett City committed to doing good. Some of them just need the tools. What if we gave them to them?” She asked.
Aaron and Haynes exchanged glances. Haynes reached up, stroking his beard as he thought about what she was saying and realization came to him. “You mean, create our own supers?” He asked.
“Something like that.” She said. “It’s something I’d have to take to the board, especially since I don’t know who will be named interim CEO with…with Jeff…unaccounted for.” Hannah said, settling on the word that best described what she hoped was the situation. “Sivana has the resources, we have the technology. We can work with Fawcett City Police and we can help protect the city. We’ve seen crime go up after the Shazaam family were killed. We’ve been working to bring things down, but this attack is something the police,” she said and turned to Haynes, “you just aren’t equipped to respond to.”
Aaron leaned back in the booth as he processed what she was saying. “A city sponsored hero?” He asked.
“Or a team.” She said.
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
Armstrong and Smiley looked at each other. They both seemed intrigued by the idea.
“Well that’s interesting.” Armstrong said. “I’m not opposed to it, but the idea of a corporation sponsoring a team, that seems to be…I don’t know if I’m fully comfortable with it.” He said.
She nodded. “I can understand that, I definitely can.” She said. “I think I have a solution. Fawcett City Police Department has full oversight. We can run the team out of Sivana’s headquarters, but FCPD picks the participants, FCPD picks everything.” She said. “That way, there are no issues with who’s in charge. FCPD and by extension, the people are.” Hannah said. “I don’t want anyone to think we’re doing this for any reason other than to help people.”
Smiley ran a hand over his mouth as he thought about the idea. “It’s…like Haynes said, it’s interesting. We could do a lot of good with this, I think.” He looked over at Haynes. “I’m not that opposed to it, to be honest. Hannah’s never failed this city when it comes to great ideas. Remember the recycling initiative?” He asked.
Hannah smiled warmly at Smiley’s vote of confidence. She turned back to Armstrong. “So, commish, what do you think?” She asked.
He looked down at his meal, nearly finished. Considering her words, he looked back up at her. “I think it’s worth a shot. I think it’s something that we could bring to Andrea, after we hammer out some of the finer details.”
She smiled, both outwardly and inwardly. This was exactly what she was hoping for. Getting both of them on board with the idea was the perfect outcome. Hannah had been hoping for at least one and working to convince the other. But this? This was the best outcome.
“We have an amazing opportunity to help Fawcett City. Think of the community outreach. We can do so much.” She said.
Aaron nodded. “I think it’s a great idea.” He said as the waiter came over and started clearing the plates from the table. He gave Haynes a smile. “Do you have some potential people we could ask?”
Haynes leaned back in his seat, thinking about it. “Of course. I mean there’s a few people I could think of. It would depend on how many people we’re considering for this team. I can think of at least two right now off the top of my head. Two very solid officers. Good with the community, I think there’ll be a lot of buy-in.”
“That’s awesome.” Hannah said. “Let’s circle back after we’ve spoken with the Mayor.”
Aaron winced slightly. “Andrea may take some convincing, I think. It’s not that she won’t like the idea, she’s going to want to know how we’re planning oversight. After all, it’s not just Sivana that would require it, it’ll also be the officers themselves.” He said. “Also, if she does go for the idea, I wonder if it makes sense to open a roster spot to a member of the public. It’s a way to include the people of Fawcett themselves in another way.”
“I like it.” Hannah said. “Let me work on how we convince Andrea.” She said.
“Well that’s interesting.” Armstrong said. “I’m not opposed to it, but the idea of a corporation sponsoring a team, that seems to be…I don’t know if I’m fully comfortable with it.” He said.
She nodded. “I can understand that, I definitely can.” She said. “I think I have a solution. Fawcett City Police Department has full oversight. We can run the team out of Sivana’s headquarters, but FCPD picks the participants, FCPD picks everything.” She said. “That way, there are no issues with who’s in charge. FCPD and by extension, the people are.” Hannah said. “I don’t want anyone to think we’re doing this for any reason other than to help people.”
Smiley ran a hand over his mouth as he thought about the idea. “It’s…like Haynes said, it’s interesting. We could do a lot of good with this, I think.” He looked over at Haynes. “I’m not that opposed to it, to be honest. Hannah’s never failed this city when it comes to great ideas. Remember the recycling initiative?” He asked.
Hannah smiled warmly at Smiley’s vote of confidence. She turned back to Armstrong. “So, commish, what do you think?” She asked.
He looked down at his meal, nearly finished. Considering her words, he looked back up at her. “I think it’s worth a shot. I think it’s something that we could bring to Andrea, after we hammer out some of the finer details.”
She smiled, both outwardly and inwardly. This was exactly what she was hoping for. Getting both of them on board with the idea was the perfect outcome. Hannah had been hoping for at least one and working to convince the other. But this? This was the best outcome.
“We have an amazing opportunity to help Fawcett City. Think of the community outreach. We can do so much.” She said.
Aaron nodded. “I think it’s a great idea.” He said as the waiter came over and started clearing the plates from the table. He gave Haynes a smile. “Do you have some potential people we could ask?”
Haynes leaned back in his seat, thinking about it. “Of course. I mean there’s a few people I could think of. It would depend on how many people we’re considering for this team. I can think of at least two right now off the top of my head. Two very solid officers. Good with the community, I think there’ll be a lot of buy-in.”
“That’s awesome.” Hannah said. “Let’s circle back after we’ve spoken with the Mayor.”
Aaron winced slightly. “Andrea may take some convincing, I think. It’s not that she won’t like the idea, she’s going to want to know how we’re planning oversight. After all, it’s not just Sivana that would require it, it’ll also be the officers themselves.” He said. “Also, if she does go for the idea, I wonder if it makes sense to open a roster spot to a member of the public. It’s a way to include the people of Fawcett themselves in another way.”
“I like it.” Hannah said. “Let me work on how we convince Andrea.” She said.
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
As it so happened, convincing Andrea hadn’t taken much effort. She had taken the meeting with the three of them and after maybe thirty minutes of conversation, Fawcett City’s Mayor had been on board. Maybe that was because she truly believed in the proposal. Maybe it was because Hannah had spent a few days working on how to develop the oversight portion of the idea. She wasn’t sure, but honestly, she didn’t care. They’d gotten it done, which was really all that mattered in the end. Andrea’s primary suggestion had been to identify candidates before they made the announcement. That was something that made complete sense and something Haynes had already been working on.
He’d identified two current police officers. Madison Hahn and Patrick Swain. They were two fairly decorated police officers. Swain was by far the more experienced of the two of them. A five year veteran of Fawcett City SWAT, he had seen his fair share of tense situations. Madison was closer to a rookie than a vet, but she had been working her beat for some time and her superiors had nothing bad to say about her.
They had run the names through Internal Affairs and nothing had come up. They’d spoken with the District Attorney to see if there had been any formal litigation surrounding either of them. Corey Richards, the County District Attorney, had come back to say there had been some issue with Swain early on in his career. He’d had a complaint lodged against him for excessive force. Internal Affairs had investigated but nothing had come of it.
Still, the individual had filed a lawsuit, but it had been handled. Hannah had looked over the facts of what had happened, and while she was no lawyer, she could understand why both sides had stuck to their story.
Either way, both Swain and Hahn had passed the vetting process.
Then they had started to work on the proposal itself, how they would present it to the public and how they would organize finding another member of this force. Hannah had been on a run when the name “The Guard” had come to her.
It fit everything they were looking for.
Now it was going to be time to figure out what Sivana was going to do to get these individuals ready to combat the threats the City faced.
Haynes had been in touch with the FBI regarding the attack on the Federal Reserve Bank. So far, there hadn’t been much but there was some information about the type of blasting caps used. Something about them being older and may be that was a way to figure out who had done this. Whether they found out who had caused the attack or not, Hannah would sleep better at night they were putting in safeguards to make sure that it didn’t happen again in the future.
That’s what this was about.
So when she woke up the morning of the announcement, she was excited but she was also calm.
She knew what she was doing was right. That it was good. That it was necessary.
That meant everything to her. She was in her office, to speak to one of the top developers in the company to figure out just what they were going to outfit this team with.
The Guard.
He’d identified two current police officers. Madison Hahn and Patrick Swain. They were two fairly decorated police officers. Swain was by far the more experienced of the two of them. A five year veteran of Fawcett City SWAT, he had seen his fair share of tense situations. Madison was closer to a rookie than a vet, but she had been working her beat for some time and her superiors had nothing bad to say about her.
They had run the names through Internal Affairs and nothing had come up. They’d spoken with the District Attorney to see if there had been any formal litigation surrounding either of them. Corey Richards, the County District Attorney, had come back to say there had been some issue with Swain early on in his career. He’d had a complaint lodged against him for excessive force. Internal Affairs had investigated but nothing had come of it.
Still, the individual had filed a lawsuit, but it had been handled. Hannah had looked over the facts of what had happened, and while she was no lawyer, she could understand why both sides had stuck to their story.
Either way, both Swain and Hahn had passed the vetting process.
Then they had started to work on the proposal itself, how they would present it to the public and how they would organize finding another member of this force. Hannah had been on a run when the name “The Guard” had come to her.
It fit everything they were looking for.
Now it was going to be time to figure out what Sivana was going to do to get these individuals ready to combat the threats the City faced.
Haynes had been in touch with the FBI regarding the attack on the Federal Reserve Bank. So far, there hadn’t been much but there was some information about the type of blasting caps used. Something about them being older and may be that was a way to figure out who had done this. Whether they found out who had caused the attack or not, Hannah would sleep better at night they were putting in safeguards to make sure that it didn’t happen again in the future.
That’s what this was about.
So when she woke up the morning of the announcement, she was excited but she was also calm.
She knew what she was doing was right. That it was good. That it was necessary.
That meant everything to her. She was in her office, to speak to one of the top developers in the company to figure out just what they were going to outfit this team with.
The Guard.
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
Hannah rose from behind her desk as the doors opened. She smiled at the man walking into the room. Barrington St. Germaine was one of Sivana Industries’ best developers. Possessing a brilliant mind, he had revamped a lot of their applied physics department. St. Germaine was a bit temperamental but she considered that par for the course for someone like him. As long as he got the job done, she didn’t really care. Well, as long as he wasn’t breaking laws, of course.
Hannah shook his hand and indicated he should sit.
“This is a special project we’re working on.” She said. “We’re in need of three, at least three different types of super powered equipment sets.” Hannah said.
Barrington nodded and steepled his fingers. “I appreciate us getting to the matter at hand. My time is being pulled in a number of directions, however I feel those directions may be useful for what you’re requesting. My first question would be how many sets are we looking at. You said at least three, but I need some upper constraint.”
She smiled. “Let’s say five.”
“Five.” The British born Frenchman said, holding up five fingers and she nodded. He looked away, at one of the pieces of artwork on her walls in the office. “Is there a particular theme or ‘thing’ we should be looking for?”
“Well, this is for the Fawcett City Police Department to use. I would want something that properly outfit the police with the tools they need to combat crime in the city and anything…more dangerous, should it arise.”
He reached into his pocket and produced a small pad of paper and a pen. “We’ll need some kind of a heavy, some kind of an aerial specialist. Maybe a…I don’t know, some kind of a speed related set up.”
“That’s why I figured we should talk.”
“I concur. I think the department has a few projects that could work. We’ve been developing a pair of suits that we planned on pitching to the government as an exoskeleton project.” He said. “They could work, if repurposed. Additionally, there’s a hard light project that could also be viable. It shows a lot of promise.”
She smiled. “That’s what we’re looking for. Those kinds of things. What else?” She asked.
“I have some ideas for an aerial specialist.” Barrington said and smiled. He rose from the chair and smiled. “I have some ideas that will work nicely.”
“I’ll have our two current candidates speak with you once we’ve pitched them the idea.”
Hannah shook his hand and indicated he should sit.
“This is a special project we’re working on.” She said. “We’re in need of three, at least three different types of super powered equipment sets.” Hannah said.
Barrington nodded and steepled his fingers. “I appreciate us getting to the matter at hand. My time is being pulled in a number of directions, however I feel those directions may be useful for what you’re requesting. My first question would be how many sets are we looking at. You said at least three, but I need some upper constraint.”
She smiled. “Let’s say five.”
“Five.” The British born Frenchman said, holding up five fingers and she nodded. He looked away, at one of the pieces of artwork on her walls in the office. “Is there a particular theme or ‘thing’ we should be looking for?”
“Well, this is for the Fawcett City Police Department to use. I would want something that properly outfit the police with the tools they need to combat crime in the city and anything…more dangerous, should it arise.”
He reached into his pocket and produced a small pad of paper and a pen. “We’ll need some kind of a heavy, some kind of an aerial specialist. Maybe a…I don’t know, some kind of a speed related set up.”
“That’s why I figured we should talk.”
“I concur. I think the department has a few projects that could work. We’ve been developing a pair of suits that we planned on pitching to the government as an exoskeleton project.” He said. “They could work, if repurposed. Additionally, there’s a hard light project that could also be viable. It shows a lot of promise.”
She smiled. “That’s what we’re looking for. Those kinds of things. What else?” She asked.
“I have some ideas for an aerial specialist.” Barrington said and smiled. He rose from the chair and smiled. “I have some ideas that will work nicely.”
“I’ll have our two current candidates speak with you once we’ve pitched them the idea.”
KING OF STRONG STYLE
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
Two SUVs pulled up to the Sivana Industries building. Hannah, in a green suit with a pale creme silk shirt underneath walked out the front door with a smile on her face. The doors to the cars opened and three people exited the vehicle. The first was a blond woman, strikingly beautiful. Madison Hahn had been with FCPD for a few years and had been working as a beat cop. She had gone through the vetting process and had been approved. In the lead was Patrick Swain, a five year veteran of FCPD SWAT and one of the most decorated and experienced officers in the entire department. She had no issues there, even with the background check.
The newcomer to the process was Valentina Rojas. Rojas, a Colombian woman, was relatively new to FCPD. She was putting in her time and working her way up. She had been heralded as one of the first on the scene at the Federal Reserve bombing and had done a lot of work in the first few crucial moments.
She had been the one to establish the base of operations for what would turn into the recovery efforts. Rojas was quiet, her docket indicated and kept to herself. But she had a drive to help the community. The background check on her was still coming back and the vetting process would take some time. Still, it was good they got her in the building. Hannah had a good feeling about Rojas and she wanted to get ahead of the curve on all of this.
The sooner this group was working together and working on the streets of Fawcett City, the sooner everyone would feel safer.
“Thank you all for joining me today, my name is Hannah Carpenter,” She said.
The officers nodded and she led them into the building. “Do you all know why you’re here?”
Swain was the one who spoke up. The other two were probably deferring to his rank. “Something about a task force. Not sure why we’re at Sivana though.” His voice was gruff and she could tell he was a bit rough around the edges.
Something good to have in a police officer but more importantly, something important to have on the team, in her mind.
“Yes, a task force.” She pressed a button on the elevator and took them inside. “I don’t need to remind you of what just happened to Fawcett City. Whoever did that, they’re still walking around. We don’t know if they’re still in the city or not. We don’t know exactly how they pulled it off. We don’t know much of anything about this situation, to be honest. That’s part of the problem.”
Now Hahn spoke. “Excuse me. You seem to know a lot about this but you’re not with the FBI or the police.”
“That’s correct.”
The elevator doors opened and she led them out onto Barrington St. Germaine’s floor. “Since the attack, we’ve been working with FCPD on how to stop something like this from happening again.”
Madison’s face shifted. “Like a preventative task force then.”
Hannah opened the doors to Barrington’s lab, looking over her shoulder and giving Madison a smile. She saw the shift to astonishment on the faces of Rojas and Hahn, whereas Swain kept his mask of imperceptibility. “Exactly like that, but also…nothing like that.”
The newcomer to the process was Valentina Rojas. Rojas, a Colombian woman, was relatively new to FCPD. She was putting in her time and working her way up. She had been heralded as one of the first on the scene at the Federal Reserve bombing and had done a lot of work in the first few crucial moments.
She had been the one to establish the base of operations for what would turn into the recovery efforts. Rojas was quiet, her docket indicated and kept to herself. But she had a drive to help the community. The background check on her was still coming back and the vetting process would take some time. Still, it was good they got her in the building. Hannah had a good feeling about Rojas and she wanted to get ahead of the curve on all of this.
The sooner this group was working together and working on the streets of Fawcett City, the sooner everyone would feel safer.
“Thank you all for joining me today, my name is Hannah Carpenter,” She said.
The officers nodded and she led them into the building. “Do you all know why you’re here?”
Swain was the one who spoke up. The other two were probably deferring to his rank. “Something about a task force. Not sure why we’re at Sivana though.” His voice was gruff and she could tell he was a bit rough around the edges.
Something good to have in a police officer but more importantly, something important to have on the team, in her mind.
“Yes, a task force.” She pressed a button on the elevator and took them inside. “I don’t need to remind you of what just happened to Fawcett City. Whoever did that, they’re still walking around. We don’t know if they’re still in the city or not. We don’t know exactly how they pulled it off. We don’t know much of anything about this situation, to be honest. That’s part of the problem.”
Now Hahn spoke. “Excuse me. You seem to know a lot about this but you’re not with the FBI or the police.”
“That’s correct.”
The elevator doors opened and she led them out onto Barrington St. Germaine’s floor. “Since the attack, we’ve been working with FCPD on how to stop something like this from happening again.”
Madison’s face shifted. “Like a preventative task force then.”
Hannah opened the doors to Barrington’s lab, looking over her shoulder and giving Madison a smile. She saw the shift to astonishment on the faces of Rojas and Hahn, whereas Swain kept his mask of imperceptibility. “Exactly like that, but also…nothing like that.”
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Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 5:43 pm
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
Barrington St. Germaine leaned against the desk, surveying the three candidates. He saw a great deal of potential. But they were going to have to put some effort in to make it all work. The possibilities were endless, particularly with the different pieces of tech and equipment he already had developed and had been working on since his conversation with Hannah.
“So, what do you think?” He asked.
“Well, this isn’t what I was thinking when we were told about this task force.” Madison folded her arms over her chest. “That doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme, I guess.” She looked over at the others. “What do you think?” She asked.
“If this allows us to help, I’m onboard.”
Madison turned from Swain to Rojas.
She said nothing but she nodded.
Hahn looked back over at St. Germaine. “Looks like we’re in.”
Hannah smiled. That was exactly what she had wanted to hear. She understood the idea pitch could be difficult. She had counted on everyone wanting to be included in helping the community. Buy-in was important and she was looking for people she could work with. Hannah was quite glad that it seemed that was exactly what they had before them.
“Barrington, could you walk us through some of the equipment they’ll be using?” She asked.
He nodded and pressed a few buttons on a display. Holographic images appeared. First, a set of gloves appeared. “Let’s start with the most complicated one. This is the Hard light project we’ve been working on for some time. These gloves allow the user to create hard light projections or constructs that can interact with the physical world.”
“Hard light?” Madison asked.
“Yes, hard light. Think of it as light but solidified.”
There was clear confusion on Madison’s face. He smiled. “Photons, solidified through agitation and vibrations. Once constrained and focused, they can be shaped into any number of tools. We were originally developing this as something that could be utilized in a number of rescue situations. Someone is trapped under debris or something to that effect. These would allow rescuers to tunnel through without the need for larger pieces of machinery. You don’t have to waste time in a situation where someone is, say running out of oxygen or injured to the point of needing immediate medical attention or surgery to save their life.”
“That’s fascinating,” Swain said. “So I’m guessing the constructs you called them,” He said, and Barrington nodded. “These constructs will be a bit different than tunneling gear.”
“Quite right.”
Barrington pressed a few more buttons and the gloves became smaller. A holographic user was now wearing them and swords appeared in the hands. The user was able to cut through metal and walls. “We’ve narrowed the limits to bladed weaponry, but the gloves themselves can create hard light, well I suppose the term would be projectiles. Bullets also would work, that can be fired from the palms.”
Madison nodded. “I like it so far.”
He smiled. “Great, let me show you what else we’ve got.”
“So, what do you think?” He asked.
“Well, this isn’t what I was thinking when we were told about this task force.” Madison folded her arms over her chest. “That doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme, I guess.” She looked over at the others. “What do you think?” She asked.
“If this allows us to help, I’m onboard.”
Madison turned from Swain to Rojas.
She said nothing but she nodded.
Hahn looked back over at St. Germaine. “Looks like we’re in.”
Hannah smiled. That was exactly what she had wanted to hear. She understood the idea pitch could be difficult. She had counted on everyone wanting to be included in helping the community. Buy-in was important and she was looking for people she could work with. Hannah was quite glad that it seemed that was exactly what they had before them.
“Barrington, could you walk us through some of the equipment they’ll be using?” She asked.
He nodded and pressed a few buttons on a display. Holographic images appeared. First, a set of gloves appeared. “Let’s start with the most complicated one. This is the Hard light project we’ve been working on for some time. These gloves allow the user to create hard light projections or constructs that can interact with the physical world.”
“Hard light?” Madison asked.
“Yes, hard light. Think of it as light but solidified.”
There was clear confusion on Madison’s face. He smiled. “Photons, solidified through agitation and vibrations. Once constrained and focused, they can be shaped into any number of tools. We were originally developing this as something that could be utilized in a number of rescue situations. Someone is trapped under debris or something to that effect. These would allow rescuers to tunnel through without the need for larger pieces of machinery. You don’t have to waste time in a situation where someone is, say running out of oxygen or injured to the point of needing immediate medical attention or surgery to save their life.”
“That’s fascinating,” Swain said. “So I’m guessing the constructs you called them,” He said, and Barrington nodded. “These constructs will be a bit different than tunneling gear.”
“Quite right.”
Barrington pressed a few more buttons and the gloves became smaller. A holographic user was now wearing them and swords appeared in the hands. The user was able to cut through metal and walls. “We’ve narrowed the limits to bladed weaponry, but the gloves themselves can create hard light, well I suppose the term would be projectiles. Bullets also would work, that can be fired from the palms.”
Madison nodded. “I like it so far.”
He smiled. “Great, let me show you what else we’ve got.”
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
It hadn’t taken Barrington long to show off the rest of the equipment. From there, the trio had gotten fitted for what he figured would best suit them. This had required a series of physical tests. After all, he could review their performance from the academy or subsequent physical fitness tests, but it was something else to see the human body in movement, in action. He could tell that Swain was probably the most fit, followed by a close tie with the two women. That made sense when you thought about it. Swain was older which meant he needed to be in better shape to keep up with others on the force as necessary.
He couldn’t bounce back as well from various soft tissue injuries, which forced him to be on his game as much as possible.
He was Barrington’s choice for the Poe suit. Poe stood for Police Officer One. The suit was a highly sophisticated nanotech piece of equipment. Capable of boosting the strength of the wearer, it also offered a great deal of protection as well. The other suits did offer durability, but the Poe Suit was the cutting edge of Sivana damage redirection and absorption technology.
Madison had been drawn to the hard light project and was already testing it out.
Which had left Rojas. She had been the toughest to pin down, mainly because she didn’t speak often and when she did, she kept her words as short as possible. For someone like that, he had an idea for how they would contribute to the team. Aerial support. You needed someone who had the ability to convey a message quickly from the air and provide overwatch with different situations.
She had been intrigued by the flight harness. The suit, which didn’t really have much of a name besides Zephyr currently, allowed for flight as well as some good acceleration and deceleration controls. It also provided a level of damage control. One of the issues was that besides the onboard flight capabilities, it really didn’t have much in the way of offensive weapons. That was something they would have to look into.
He turned to wear Madison was cleaving through a steel I-beam with ease. “This is pretty nifty, doc, I’m not going to lie.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you like it. I believe there will be one other human member of the team, and I have something prepared for that individual as well.”
Swain looked over from where he was looking at a computer monitor, reviewing some of the test footage from a previous user’s test of the Poe suit. “Other human member?” He asked.
“Yes, there will be five total members of this task force. The final will be artificial intelligence.”
Now Roja’s eyebrow raised. “Artificial Intelligence?” She asked.
He nodded. “Let me show you.”
He couldn’t bounce back as well from various soft tissue injuries, which forced him to be on his game as much as possible.
He was Barrington’s choice for the Poe suit. Poe stood for Police Officer One. The suit was a highly sophisticated nanotech piece of equipment. Capable of boosting the strength of the wearer, it also offered a great deal of protection as well. The other suits did offer durability, but the Poe Suit was the cutting edge of Sivana damage redirection and absorption technology.
Madison had been drawn to the hard light project and was already testing it out.
Which had left Rojas. She had been the toughest to pin down, mainly because she didn’t speak often and when she did, she kept her words as short as possible. For someone like that, he had an idea for how they would contribute to the team. Aerial support. You needed someone who had the ability to convey a message quickly from the air and provide overwatch with different situations.
She had been intrigued by the flight harness. The suit, which didn’t really have much of a name besides Zephyr currently, allowed for flight as well as some good acceleration and deceleration controls. It also provided a level of damage control. One of the issues was that besides the onboard flight capabilities, it really didn’t have much in the way of offensive weapons. That was something they would have to look into.
He turned to wear Madison was cleaving through a steel I-beam with ease. “This is pretty nifty, doc, I’m not going to lie.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you like it. I believe there will be one other human member of the team, and I have something prepared for that individual as well.”
Swain looked over from where he was looking at a computer monitor, reviewing some of the test footage from a previous user’s test of the Poe suit. “Other human member?” He asked.
“Yes, there will be five total members of this task force. The final will be artificial intelligence.”
Now Roja’s eyebrow raised. “Artificial Intelligence?” She asked.
He nodded. “Let me show you.”
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
“I call her ‘Summa’. It’s Latin, for ‘the highest’.”
“Like summa cum laude,” Madison said and Barrington nodded. “So what does she do?”
“The real question is what doesn’t she do?” Barrington mused, as they looked at the holographic display of Summa. “Summa is so advanced. The cognitive abilities are incredible. Constantly learning, adapting. She’s incredible. She also has incredible strength and durability. She can absorb energy, store it, redirect it.”
“She seems like a hoot and a half.”
Patrick folded his arms over his chest. “She would be a form of mission support then?” He asked and Barrington smiled, glad that Swain was catching on.
“Indeed.” He circled the display and pressed a few buttons and they saw test results video of Summa in action. “Summa would be more of a mission intelligence expert but she could see the field as well. She’s designed to take a group of individuals and guide them towards their goal.” He added.
Patrick nodded. “How much autonomy does she have? If she can do all the things you’re saying, at the level you’re also saying, what happens if she thinks what we’re doing is wrong or we’re going about it the wrong way? Sometimes, the easiest way isn’t always the right way.”
“You mean like a hostage situation?”
“For example, yes, but that’s just one of many.”
“I’m glad you asked.” Barrington pressed a few more buttons and data appeared next to the videos, which were now running on a loop. “She’s programmed, at a base level, to follow instructions from a number of key people. These are subroutines that can override her main processing. Now, at the moment, she doesn’t have any of you listed as individuals who have that access. I didn’t know who would be selected. But, I will be able to add all of you to that list.”
A door to the side opened and the police officers turned as the artificial intelligence in question walked into the room. Summa stood a bit shorter than five ten, slightly taller than Rojas’ five seven. The all metal body of the robot was mostly black and gray, except for purple on the face and chest. Summa stepped over to where Barrington was and stopped, waiting.
“Summa, introduce yourself to the team.”
She turned and held a hand up as though she was waving. “Good day, officers. I’m glad to be working with you as part of the team.”
“That’s incredible,” Madison said, looking at Rojas who didn’t speak, but nodded. She turned her head and considered. “I think she can really help us out.”
Barrington beamed. “I’m glad to hear that.” He rested a hand on Summa’s shoulder. “We’ve worked extensively on her. Once the AI was created, she and I worked hand in hand on her body.”
Hannah smiled. “Thanks for all your help today, Barrington. I want to get the team fitted and we have a lot to do still.”
“Like summa cum laude,” Madison said and Barrington nodded. “So what does she do?”
“The real question is what doesn’t she do?” Barrington mused, as they looked at the holographic display of Summa. “Summa is so advanced. The cognitive abilities are incredible. Constantly learning, adapting. She’s incredible. She also has incredible strength and durability. She can absorb energy, store it, redirect it.”
“She seems like a hoot and a half.”
Patrick folded his arms over his chest. “She would be a form of mission support then?” He asked and Barrington smiled, glad that Swain was catching on.
“Indeed.” He circled the display and pressed a few buttons and they saw test results video of Summa in action. “Summa would be more of a mission intelligence expert but she could see the field as well. She’s designed to take a group of individuals and guide them towards their goal.” He added.
Patrick nodded. “How much autonomy does she have? If she can do all the things you’re saying, at the level you’re also saying, what happens if she thinks what we’re doing is wrong or we’re going about it the wrong way? Sometimes, the easiest way isn’t always the right way.”
“You mean like a hostage situation?”
“For example, yes, but that’s just one of many.”
“I’m glad you asked.” Barrington pressed a few more buttons and data appeared next to the videos, which were now running on a loop. “She’s programmed, at a base level, to follow instructions from a number of key people. These are subroutines that can override her main processing. Now, at the moment, she doesn’t have any of you listed as individuals who have that access. I didn’t know who would be selected. But, I will be able to add all of you to that list.”
A door to the side opened and the police officers turned as the artificial intelligence in question walked into the room. Summa stood a bit shorter than five ten, slightly taller than Rojas’ five seven. The all metal body of the robot was mostly black and gray, except for purple on the face and chest. Summa stepped over to where Barrington was and stopped, waiting.
“Summa, introduce yourself to the team.”
She turned and held a hand up as though she was waving. “Good day, officers. I’m glad to be working with you as part of the team.”
“That’s incredible,” Madison said, looking at Rojas who didn’t speak, but nodded. She turned her head and considered. “I think she can really help us out.”
Barrington beamed. “I’m glad to hear that.” He rested a hand on Summa’s shoulder. “We’ve worked extensively on her. Once the AI was created, she and I worked hand in hand on her body.”
Hannah smiled. “Thanks for all your help today, Barrington. I want to get the team fitted and we have a lot to do still.”
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
Over the next few days, the officers had returned to Sivana, getting fitted for their new equipment and testing it out. Throughout all of it, Barrington was taking notes and recording material. He continued to tinker, to perfect. Some of it was natural. The Zephyr harness for example hadn’t been designed specifically for Rojas. There was fine tuning, adjustments to be made. Additionally, the contest or sweepstakes or lottery, depending on how you looked at it, to join the team had been completed.
Hannah had been happy to welcome Lucas Cartwright to the team. A father of three, Cartwright was a tradesman who worked in construction. He had volunteered to be a part of the team and had been selected as, in addition to his day job, he was also a volunteer firefighter. He had come to the scene of the bombing and had helped and Hannah wanted to project an image of Fawcett City united.
The Mayor had agreed and they had quickly reached out to him to see if he was still interested.
Now he was working with Barrington on what was called the Timber Wolf suit, an ode to the Great Lakes wolves found in Minnesota.
Hannah sat in her office, looking over a few reports when her secretary burst in. The woman was a bit out of breath.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s been a bank robbery.”
Hannah bit her lip and reached for her phone. She dialed Barrington and gave him the news. In the background, she could hear Patrick Swain tell Barrington they were ready to go. Barrington wasn’t sure, but Patrick seemed to be. At the end of the day, the three police officers were trained to be police even if they were still new to the more superpowered ways of being police.
She went to her window and watched as Rojas, in the Zephyr harness, flew out of Barrington’s lab’s entry/exit window. Hannah knew Swain and Madison would be close behind. Hanging up, she grabbed the remote and turned on the tv. Time to see if her plan would work.
==-==
Poe and Rapier were shown a modified truck, similar to a pickup truck but oversized. The thing was decked out and barely street legal. Then again, they were the law and they did have approval to use whatever they wanted, really. Rapier drove while Poe went through the communications frequencies.
“Valentina, I know you’re not the biggest talker, but if you’re going to be recon, you’re going to have to get over that. At least while you’re up there.”
“I talk fine, Swain.”
He looked over at Madison and smiled. Swain wasn’t too convinced that the code names weren’t cheesy and corny as hell. But if that’s what Carpenter wanted, he didn’t really care. It wasn’t that big of an issue for him.
“What do you see?” He asked.
“The robbers are in vehicles. There’s two black SUVs and one van. That seems as though it’s a lot of people to rob one bank. I don’t think I’ve seen something like this.” Her voice was slightly muffled by the wind rushing past her but her message came through loud and clear.
“Alright, keep tailing them. This thing can transfer your visuals to a screen in the car and we’re also tracking you. We’ll catch up.”
Madison looked back at him. “You’ve done shit like this before, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Let’s get there and we’ll figure this out.”
Hannah had been happy to welcome Lucas Cartwright to the team. A father of three, Cartwright was a tradesman who worked in construction. He had volunteered to be a part of the team and had been selected as, in addition to his day job, he was also a volunteer firefighter. He had come to the scene of the bombing and had helped and Hannah wanted to project an image of Fawcett City united.
The Mayor had agreed and they had quickly reached out to him to see if he was still interested.
Now he was working with Barrington on what was called the Timber Wolf suit, an ode to the Great Lakes wolves found in Minnesota.
Hannah sat in her office, looking over a few reports when her secretary burst in. The woman was a bit out of breath.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s been a bank robbery.”
Hannah bit her lip and reached for her phone. She dialed Barrington and gave him the news. In the background, she could hear Patrick Swain tell Barrington they were ready to go. Barrington wasn’t sure, but Patrick seemed to be. At the end of the day, the three police officers were trained to be police even if they were still new to the more superpowered ways of being police.
She went to her window and watched as Rojas, in the Zephyr harness, flew out of Barrington’s lab’s entry/exit window. Hannah knew Swain and Madison would be close behind. Hanging up, she grabbed the remote and turned on the tv. Time to see if her plan would work.
==-==
Poe and Rapier were shown a modified truck, similar to a pickup truck but oversized. The thing was decked out and barely street legal. Then again, they were the law and they did have approval to use whatever they wanted, really. Rapier drove while Poe went through the communications frequencies.
“Valentina, I know you’re not the biggest talker, but if you’re going to be recon, you’re going to have to get over that. At least while you’re up there.”
“I talk fine, Swain.”
He looked over at Madison and smiled. Swain wasn’t too convinced that the code names weren’t cheesy and corny as hell. But if that’s what Carpenter wanted, he didn’t really care. It wasn’t that big of an issue for him.
“What do you see?” He asked.
“The robbers are in vehicles. There’s two black SUVs and one van. That seems as though it’s a lot of people to rob one bank. I don’t think I’ve seen something like this.” Her voice was slightly muffled by the wind rushing past her but her message came through loud and clear.
“Alright, keep tailing them. This thing can transfer your visuals to a screen in the car and we’re also tracking you. We’ll catch up.”
Madison looked back at him. “You’ve done shit like this before, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Let’s get there and we’ll figure this out.”
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Re: Our industry will secure our future
Valentina Rojas, now going by the codename of Zephyr, moved through the air, aloft. She was still getting used to everything. It was one thing to test this harness out in a wind tunnel like environment. But she really had no experience flying in it. At least Barrington had been true to his word. The basics were fairly easy to pick up. The harness had a built in system that allowed her to think something and it happened. How that worked, well that was above Rojas’ paygrade. She was only a police officer, not some high tech scientist. If she could help her younger sister with her science homework, she considered it a job well done. Gloria was the one with the ten pound brain between the two sisters.
She shot through the sky, trusting the harness to do what Barrington had promised it would. The goggles they had given her allowed her to still see. She had to imagine it would be a bit more difficult otherwise. With that sight, she kept the two SUVs and van in her line of sight.
They were weaving in and out of traffic on the highway and they were going to get someone hurt or worse. Fawcett City Police had set up a roadblock a bit further down and were letting cars through as they tried to funnel people out of the danger zone. Some people were trying to get off through the regular highway exits. One thing that was nice about that, was that it clogged up the exits, making it more difficult for the robbers to exit that way, if they realized there was a roadblock.
She bit her lip, hard. Almost hard enough to draw blood. She was going to have to talk to Barrington about something to cover her mouth and nose. The wind whipping past her made everything harder than it needed to be.
“Rojas, this is Swain, we’re on the freeway headed towards you. How far until that roadblock?” He asked.
“Maybe two miles. But they’re going pretty fast.”
“So are we. Don’t engage until we get there.”
It wasn’t really as though she had had a choice. Barrington was still working on something offensive for the Zephyr suit. The design had been intended to be more for reconnaissance than direct confrontation. Rojas found this to be a little annoying. She wished she at least had her sidearm on her. What was she supposed to do if someone started firing something at her?
Just move out of the way and hope for the best? That didn’t really work for her.
She stayed on the trail of the three vehicles and she could see the roadblock rapidly approaching. So could they and a few of the people in the SUVs leaned out of the side and started opening fire with assault rifles.
“I don’t like this. The roadblock is taking fire. Looks like G36s.”
She could hear the frustration in Swain’s voice. “We’re almost there, hold on.”
She turned and looked behind her and saw that Swain was not lying. The large black vehicle she had seen in the garage earlier that day was hurtling down the highway towards them.
Rojas also saw Swain leaning out of the passenger side window, aiming something. It looked like nothing more than a pistol. How could he possibly hope to-
She didn’t hear the shot ring out as he fired, which made sense due to the speed she was going at and the elevation. But she did see the result.
The single round impacted against the back tire of one of the SUVs, making it explode. Sparks flew everywhere as the SUV careened out of the control before flipping.
He was a very good shot.
She shot through the sky, trusting the harness to do what Barrington had promised it would. The goggles they had given her allowed her to still see. She had to imagine it would be a bit more difficult otherwise. With that sight, she kept the two SUVs and van in her line of sight.
They were weaving in and out of traffic on the highway and they were going to get someone hurt or worse. Fawcett City Police had set up a roadblock a bit further down and were letting cars through as they tried to funnel people out of the danger zone. Some people were trying to get off through the regular highway exits. One thing that was nice about that, was that it clogged up the exits, making it more difficult for the robbers to exit that way, if they realized there was a roadblock.
She bit her lip, hard. Almost hard enough to draw blood. She was going to have to talk to Barrington about something to cover her mouth and nose. The wind whipping past her made everything harder than it needed to be.
“Rojas, this is Swain, we’re on the freeway headed towards you. How far until that roadblock?” He asked.
“Maybe two miles. But they’re going pretty fast.”
“So are we. Don’t engage until we get there.”
It wasn’t really as though she had had a choice. Barrington was still working on something offensive for the Zephyr suit. The design had been intended to be more for reconnaissance than direct confrontation. Rojas found this to be a little annoying. She wished she at least had her sidearm on her. What was she supposed to do if someone started firing something at her?
Just move out of the way and hope for the best? That didn’t really work for her.
She stayed on the trail of the three vehicles and she could see the roadblock rapidly approaching. So could they and a few of the people in the SUVs leaned out of the side and started opening fire with assault rifles.
“I don’t like this. The roadblock is taking fire. Looks like G36s.”
She could hear the frustration in Swain’s voice. “We’re almost there, hold on.”
She turned and looked behind her and saw that Swain was not lying. The large black vehicle she had seen in the garage earlier that day was hurtling down the highway towards them.
Rojas also saw Swain leaning out of the passenger side window, aiming something. It looked like nothing more than a pistol. How could he possibly hope to-
She didn’t hear the shot ring out as he fired, which made sense due to the speed she was going at and the elevation. But she did see the result.
The single round impacted against the back tire of one of the SUVs, making it explode. Sparks flew everywhere as the SUV careened out of the control before flipping.
He was a very good shot.
KING OF STRONG STYLE
Posts: 18949
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 5:43 pm
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 5:43 pm
Re: Our industry will secure our future
Madison’s eyes widened as the back of the van opened up.
“How the fu-”
She didn’t have time for anything else as she had to spin the truck, slamming on the brakes and yanking the wheel to the side. The back of the van contained a minigun and the barrel started spinning.
50 caliber rounds sprayed at the side of their truck.
“So these guys are more than your run of the mill bank robbers.”
“You don’t say,” Swain replied dryly. “The armor on this truck is good, but I don’t think we should be risking it.” He looked over at Madison. “Ready?” He asked.
“I really hope this armor works.” Madison activated her suit, and a blue hard light knife engulfed her hand. “Otherwise grand opening and grand closing.”
They were out of the vehicle. Madison ran towards the unflipped SUV. The passengers were getting out and she sliced through one of the doors as one of them ducks. She kicked the guy, hard. The Rapier suit amplified the hit, throwing the man backwards and making him drop his assault rifle. She turned to the next one. She wasn’t sure how strong these blades were, but Barrington had said her mind would be able to control the severity with which they connected. As if that sentence was supposed to make sense. But when she slashed at another guy, she cleaved through the barrel of the G36, rendering it useless. He went for his sidearm, but she was faster, connecting with her fist. A split second before her fist connected with his forehead, the blade disappeared.
She wasn’t sure if she had been going to impale the guy or not, but thankfully it had worked.
Swain meanwhile was using the truck as cover and going for incapacitating shots on the minigun operators.
From the sky, Rojas appeared, landing inside of the van. She took the minigun operators by surprise, taking them out. As she disconnected the minigun set up, this freed up Swain to turn his attention to the SUV that had flipped. The passengers were crawling out and he got to work, taking them out quickly and efficiently. The whole encounter, once Rojas got there, was over in a few minutes.
The three of them surveyed the field.
“Hell yeah, that felt good.” Madison smiled, looking at the other two.
“Job well done,” Swain replied and looked over at Rojas. “Thanks for keeping an eye on this.”
She shrugged. “I need a mouthpiece.”
He laughed. “I’m sure that scientist guy is just itching to hear what we think.”
One of the would-be robbers groaned and rolled over. Madison eyed him. “You know what I think? I think we should ask some questions about how people got their hands on a god damn minigun.”
“50 cal rounds aren’t cheap,” Rojas said, agreeing with her.
Officers from the road block were coming onto the scene now and they had cuffs with them. The weapons were being collected. Up above, news helicopters hovered and behind them, Rojas could see news vans speeding towards them. She smiled.
“Good thing I’m not the team leader,” She added.
“I think this is the most Valentina’s spoken,” Madison said and looked over her shoulder. “But yeah, she’s got a point, Swain.”
“How the fu-”
She didn’t have time for anything else as she had to spin the truck, slamming on the brakes and yanking the wheel to the side. The back of the van contained a minigun and the barrel started spinning.
50 caliber rounds sprayed at the side of their truck.
“So these guys are more than your run of the mill bank robbers.”
“You don’t say,” Swain replied dryly. “The armor on this truck is good, but I don’t think we should be risking it.” He looked over at Madison. “Ready?” He asked.
“I really hope this armor works.” Madison activated her suit, and a blue hard light knife engulfed her hand. “Otherwise grand opening and grand closing.”
They were out of the vehicle. Madison ran towards the unflipped SUV. The passengers were getting out and she sliced through one of the doors as one of them ducks. She kicked the guy, hard. The Rapier suit amplified the hit, throwing the man backwards and making him drop his assault rifle. She turned to the next one. She wasn’t sure how strong these blades were, but Barrington had said her mind would be able to control the severity with which they connected. As if that sentence was supposed to make sense. But when she slashed at another guy, she cleaved through the barrel of the G36, rendering it useless. He went for his sidearm, but she was faster, connecting with her fist. A split second before her fist connected with his forehead, the blade disappeared.
She wasn’t sure if she had been going to impale the guy or not, but thankfully it had worked.
Swain meanwhile was using the truck as cover and going for incapacitating shots on the minigun operators.
From the sky, Rojas appeared, landing inside of the van. She took the minigun operators by surprise, taking them out. As she disconnected the minigun set up, this freed up Swain to turn his attention to the SUV that had flipped. The passengers were crawling out and he got to work, taking them out quickly and efficiently. The whole encounter, once Rojas got there, was over in a few minutes.
The three of them surveyed the field.
“Hell yeah, that felt good.” Madison smiled, looking at the other two.
“Job well done,” Swain replied and looked over at Rojas. “Thanks for keeping an eye on this.”
She shrugged. “I need a mouthpiece.”
He laughed. “I’m sure that scientist guy is just itching to hear what we think.”
One of the would-be robbers groaned and rolled over. Madison eyed him. “You know what I think? I think we should ask some questions about how people got their hands on a god damn minigun.”
“50 cal rounds aren’t cheap,” Rojas said, agreeing with her.
Officers from the road block were coming onto the scene now and they had cuffs with them. The weapons were being collected. Up above, news helicopters hovered and behind them, Rojas could see news vans speeding towards them. She smiled.
“Good thing I’m not the team leader,” She added.
“I think this is the most Valentina’s spoken,” Madison said and looked over her shoulder. “But yeah, she’s got a point, Swain.”
KING OF STRONG STYLE
Posts: 18949
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 5:43 pm
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 5:43 pm
Re: Our industry will secure our future
With the would-be bank robbers foiled and arrested, Swain and the others had to deal with the press. Which was exactly what Hannah had hoped for, as far as Swain was concerned. He was under no false pretenses about what this group, this project, was. He understood what role he was being asked to play. The city council needed to show force, show the citizens they could be protected after such a horrendous attack. It had been some time since Fawcett had faced something as dangerous and deadly as the Federal Reserve bombing. They didn’t have Shazam to protect them and stop things like that. So they had to look inwards.
Dealing with the press had been annoying. He knew it would arguably be the most difficult part of the job. As police, everything they did was scrutinized. Now that they had been given the ability to do even more than a regular human being, the scrutiny would only increase.
Swain stretched as he sat in the locker room. He could feel the muscles ache. Even with the Poe suit, it was still a lot for the human body to handle. He made a mental note to check on Rojas and Hahn. They were good. He would run them through some strength training and some more combat training.
Being a member of Fawcett City SWAT had afforded him opportunities the average officer didn’t have. But on top of that, he had been in the U.S. Army prior to joining.
Reaching into the locker and his bag, he pulled out some over the counter NSAIDs and popped a few of them. The shower had definitely helped, but tomorrow was going to be a bitch. After getting dressed, he left the locker room in the Sivana Industries building. He found Rojas waiting for him.
“What’s up?” He asked.
“Nothing,” She replied. “I spoke to Barrington and I’m headed home. Wanted to see if you needed anything..”
He smiled. “I’m good. Where’s Maddie?” He asked.
Valentina jerked her head towards the general direction of the exit. “Something about a date tonight.”
Patrick nodded. Valentina wasn’t one to waste words. He didn’t really get it, not all of it. He could appreciate it though. It was absolutely preferable to people to who talked way too much. “Yeah. Yeah.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “I should probably be trying to figure out when I can take my wife on one of those. It’s been a while.”
Valentina joined him as he started walking towards the exit of the locker room area. “I was wondering…” She trailed off. “This might be a weird question, but do you think we would get some kind of separate…space?” She asked.
He frowned. “You mean like a clubhouse?” He asked, with a smirk.
Valentina rolled her eyes. “No, not like a clubhouse.” She looked around them as they waited for the elevator. “This is nice, but it’s still a corporate building.”
The elevator doors opened and Hannah was standing there. “I was on my way to find you guys. Where’s Hahn?” She asked.
“Did something happen?” Swain asked and Hannah shook her head.
“No, I wanted to coordinate schedules about a dinner with the Mayor.” Her eyes widened when Swain couldn’t help it and started laughing. “What? What did I say?” She asked.
“Nothing. Never imagined having dinner with the Mayor, that’s all. Valentina won’t be able to keep her mouth shut, she loves her.”
“Really?” Hannah asked, looking between the two.
Swain covered his mouth to hide the smile.
Valentina was quiet for a moment, before speaking. “Actually, Patrick was trying to figure out a date for his wife and him. This might be perfect.”
“Really?” Hannah asked, looking between the two.
The corner of Valentina’s mouth twitched upwards.
Dealing with the press had been annoying. He knew it would arguably be the most difficult part of the job. As police, everything they did was scrutinized. Now that they had been given the ability to do even more than a regular human being, the scrutiny would only increase.
Swain stretched as he sat in the locker room. He could feel the muscles ache. Even with the Poe suit, it was still a lot for the human body to handle. He made a mental note to check on Rojas and Hahn. They were good. He would run them through some strength training and some more combat training.
Being a member of Fawcett City SWAT had afforded him opportunities the average officer didn’t have. But on top of that, he had been in the U.S. Army prior to joining.
Reaching into the locker and his bag, he pulled out some over the counter NSAIDs and popped a few of them. The shower had definitely helped, but tomorrow was going to be a bitch. After getting dressed, he left the locker room in the Sivana Industries building. He found Rojas waiting for him.
“What’s up?” He asked.
“Nothing,” She replied. “I spoke to Barrington and I’m headed home. Wanted to see if you needed anything..”
He smiled. “I’m good. Where’s Maddie?” He asked.
Valentina jerked her head towards the general direction of the exit. “Something about a date tonight.”
Patrick nodded. Valentina wasn’t one to waste words. He didn’t really get it, not all of it. He could appreciate it though. It was absolutely preferable to people to who talked way too much. “Yeah. Yeah.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “I should probably be trying to figure out when I can take my wife on one of those. It’s been a while.”
Valentina joined him as he started walking towards the exit of the locker room area. “I was wondering…” She trailed off. “This might be a weird question, but do you think we would get some kind of separate…space?” She asked.
He frowned. “You mean like a clubhouse?” He asked, with a smirk.
Valentina rolled her eyes. “No, not like a clubhouse.” She looked around them as they waited for the elevator. “This is nice, but it’s still a corporate building.”
The elevator doors opened and Hannah was standing there. “I was on my way to find you guys. Where’s Hahn?” She asked.
“Did something happen?” Swain asked and Hannah shook her head.
“No, I wanted to coordinate schedules about a dinner with the Mayor.” Her eyes widened when Swain couldn’t help it and started laughing. “What? What did I say?” She asked.
“Nothing. Never imagined having dinner with the Mayor, that’s all. Valentina won’t be able to keep her mouth shut, she loves her.”
“Really?” Hannah asked, looking between the two.
Swain covered his mouth to hide the smile.
Valentina was quiet for a moment, before speaking. “Actually, Patrick was trying to figure out a date for his wife and him. This might be perfect.”
“Really?” Hannah asked, looking between the two.
The corner of Valentina’s mouth twitched upwards.
KING OF STRONG STYLE
Posts: 18949
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 5:43 pm
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 5:43 pm
Re: Our industry will secure our future
Barrington pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. He had been working late, again. He pushed back from the desk, rising from the chair. He had long ago requested that Sivana build him a smaller research facility into his home and they had complied. The lake house was his pride and joy. He had helped design it and had overseen the construction. A few miles outside of Fawcett, it was right up on one of the many lakes that called Minnesota home. The house was expansive and he’d sunk a lot of money into it. He walked over to the fridge in the lab and opened it, pulling out a bottle of water.
He wanted something harder. The reports had come in from all of the suits they had deployed. Everyone’s suits had performed well, at least to standard. There was room for improvement and he was going to work on them. But that wasn’t why he wanted something harder. It had been a long day, a long series of days and he was annoyed.
His research was more important than what he was doing. And yet, Hannah was having him do what he was doing. She was reducing him to a common engineer. This was so far below his paygrade.
Barrington could understand why she wanted him to do it, of course. The people needed to be protected. Sivana was in a position to do that. But that was not Sivana’s job. More importantly, it was not Barrington’s job. His job was to use his brain for the betterment of mankind. His job was to make sure he was continuing to push boundaries.
Not this.
These were all things that could be farmed out. What was Sivana paying all of its engineers all this money to do then? Sit and twiddle their thumbs? He was pacing around the lab.
The door to the lab opened and he turned to see Summa walking towards him.
“The team performed admirably,” The AI said. “And yet, I feel something is amiss with you.”
“This is child’s play,” He replied, gesturing to the screens of his monitors. “This is beneath me.”
“This is what you wanted.”
“This is not what I wanted.” He shook his head. “I wanted change. True change. We have the ability to do something great.”
“Of course, but you projected too ambitious of a timeline. I told you then.”
The AI reached his desk, surveying the monitors. It was an interesting gesture from a mind already plugged into the Sivana servers. Summa had access to everything he was reviewing already. Her programming and the generative code she was developing was turning her more human-like everyday. He loved to see it. “With the addition of Timber Wolf, I anticipate that we will not be able to move up your timeline by much. Maybe a few months, at best.”
“I want this all to be working by the time the election is happening.” He glowered. “But Hannah is insistent that I waste my time with these pursuits. There are only so many hours in the day.”
“And you need to rest.” Summa guided him from the lab towards an adjoining room. Here was a bedroom. He originally had not planned for there to be one here, but Summa, even in her stages of infancy, had suggested improvements. As it was, he barely spent any time in the lake house’s actual bedroom. Rather, when he slept he was usually in this bedroom in the basement.
“Hannah is causing me problems.”
“You took that into the calculations.” Summa paused. “But I sense that your anger is upsetting you. Would you like me to assist?” She asked.
He thought about it, then nodded. By the time he turned around, Summa had engaged in a series of subroutines. They were working out all of the kinks, but human flesh covered her metallic form. She no longer appeared as she had in front of the team in Sivana Industries. Rather, she appeared, all the way down to the same height, the same as Hannah Carpenter, wearing a business suit.
Summa smiled. “How can I assist?” She asked, her voice modulated to perfectly mimic Hannah’s.
“I hate you,” Barrington said and his fist lashed out, cracking against Summa/Hannah’s face. “I hate you and everything you want me to do.” He punched again. “These people need strength, they need guidance. They need order.”
Minutes later, though he had lost track of time, he was spent, and Summa/Hannah was on the floor, covering up. He looked down, making mental notes that they needed to work on functioning blood flow. His breathing was heavy.
“You need more,” Summa/Hannah said, taking off the suit jacket. “Much more.” She unbuttoned the shirt. "I know what you need."
He wanted something harder. The reports had come in from all of the suits they had deployed. Everyone’s suits had performed well, at least to standard. There was room for improvement and he was going to work on them. But that wasn’t why he wanted something harder. It had been a long day, a long series of days and he was annoyed.
His research was more important than what he was doing. And yet, Hannah was having him do what he was doing. She was reducing him to a common engineer. This was so far below his paygrade.
Barrington could understand why she wanted him to do it, of course. The people needed to be protected. Sivana was in a position to do that. But that was not Sivana’s job. More importantly, it was not Barrington’s job. His job was to use his brain for the betterment of mankind. His job was to make sure he was continuing to push boundaries.
Not this.
These were all things that could be farmed out. What was Sivana paying all of its engineers all this money to do then? Sit and twiddle their thumbs? He was pacing around the lab.
The door to the lab opened and he turned to see Summa walking towards him.
“The team performed admirably,” The AI said. “And yet, I feel something is amiss with you.”
“This is child’s play,” He replied, gesturing to the screens of his monitors. “This is beneath me.”
“This is what you wanted.”
“This is not what I wanted.” He shook his head. “I wanted change. True change. We have the ability to do something great.”
“Of course, but you projected too ambitious of a timeline. I told you then.”
The AI reached his desk, surveying the monitors. It was an interesting gesture from a mind already plugged into the Sivana servers. Summa had access to everything he was reviewing already. Her programming and the generative code she was developing was turning her more human-like everyday. He loved to see it. “With the addition of Timber Wolf, I anticipate that we will not be able to move up your timeline by much. Maybe a few months, at best.”
“I want this all to be working by the time the election is happening.” He glowered. “But Hannah is insistent that I waste my time with these pursuits. There are only so many hours in the day.”
“And you need to rest.” Summa guided him from the lab towards an adjoining room. Here was a bedroom. He originally had not planned for there to be one here, but Summa, even in her stages of infancy, had suggested improvements. As it was, he barely spent any time in the lake house’s actual bedroom. Rather, when he slept he was usually in this bedroom in the basement.
“Hannah is causing me problems.”
“You took that into the calculations.” Summa paused. “But I sense that your anger is upsetting you. Would you like me to assist?” She asked.
He thought about it, then nodded. By the time he turned around, Summa had engaged in a series of subroutines. They were working out all of the kinks, but human flesh covered her metallic form. She no longer appeared as she had in front of the team in Sivana Industries. Rather, she appeared, all the way down to the same height, the same as Hannah Carpenter, wearing a business suit.
Summa smiled. “How can I assist?” She asked, her voice modulated to perfectly mimic Hannah’s.
“I hate you,” Barrington said and his fist lashed out, cracking against Summa/Hannah’s face. “I hate you and everything you want me to do.” He punched again. “These people need strength, they need guidance. They need order.”
Minutes later, though he had lost track of time, he was spent, and Summa/Hannah was on the floor, covering up. He looked down, making mental notes that they needed to work on functioning blood flow. His breathing was heavy.
“You need more,” Summa/Hannah said, taking off the suit jacket. “Much more.” She unbuttoned the shirt. "I know what you need."
KING OF STRONG STYLE
Posts: 18949
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 5:43 pm
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 5:43 pm
Re: Our industry will secure our future
The Guard had been in effect for a few days and had already responded to a number of issues. There was more than simply run of the mill things like bank robberies, which was sarcasm when Swain thought about it. There was already talk of what they were going to do with the elements of organized crime that operated in Fawcett City. They had the firepower now, the question was finding ways to go after them. The nice thing was that organized crime in the city wasn’t that widespread. So there were fewer targets. But the targets were rather controlling when it came to anything that threatened their hold on the city.
Currently, Valentina was walking through security at the Mayor’s gala dinner. She felt it was a bit much to be celebrating the Guard’s work. They had barely been on the scene for a few weeks now. But the news and the press was eating up everything they did.
Their newest member, Timber Wolf had come into the group rather well. Cartwright had been a useful addition. Valentina was more than happy to let him deal with people more. She had tried her best to meld into the background of things. So far it had worked pretty well for her. That was one thing nice about her suit. She could be above it all.
She had her sister with her.
Gloria was ecstatic about everything and anything related to the Guard. If Sivana started making merch, Gloria would be buying it with money she didn’t have. The high schooler was thrilled to be out this late, even though it was a Saturday. Normally, she had her nose in the books, as per Valentina’s strict instructions. Valentina did everything she could to protect her younger sister. She remembered when she was her sister’s age. It felt like forever ago, but it hadn’t actually been that long ago.
Valentina checked Gloria’s dress, making sure there weren’t any wrinkles or any issues.
“Valentina, you made it.”
She turned, seeing Lucas Cartwright coming towards her. One thing that wasn’t that great about Lucas was that he seemed to be a people person. She would rather have been dealing with a more stereotypical blue collar construction worker, but that was not meant to be. He was that, in many ways, but at the same time, he was definitely not. She nodded and gave him a tight lipped smile. She saw cameras inside turning towards them and realized it was probably not the best decision to freeze him out. While she didn’t really care whether Lucas learned she didn’t want to really talk to people, she didn’t want anyone thinking there were issues on the team.
Especially when there weren’t. She simply didn’t get close to people or talk to people really.
“Yes, we were able to make it without an issue,” She said.
“That’s awesome. I had to find a sitter last minute as the usual one had to cancel, but hey, things worked themselves out.”
She nodded. “We should get into the dinner.”
He gestured. “I’ll follow you guys.”
Valentina grimaced slightly as she led the trio through the opening foyer of the hall into the actual dining area. The place was pretty decked out. There was enough room for way more tables than were currently there. She saw Madison in the distance along with her date. Patrick and his wife, Isabelle, were nearby. Leading the trio, she headed in that direction, while looking around for Barrington, or Summa. The AI robot had been rather helpful over the past few weeks.
“So, this seems like a big fuss.”
She kept walking, as she realized one of the other reasons why Summa was great.
She didn’t speak unless spoken to.
Currently, Valentina was walking through security at the Mayor’s gala dinner. She felt it was a bit much to be celebrating the Guard’s work. They had barely been on the scene for a few weeks now. But the news and the press was eating up everything they did.
Their newest member, Timber Wolf had come into the group rather well. Cartwright had been a useful addition. Valentina was more than happy to let him deal with people more. She had tried her best to meld into the background of things. So far it had worked pretty well for her. That was one thing nice about her suit. She could be above it all.
She had her sister with her.
Gloria was ecstatic about everything and anything related to the Guard. If Sivana started making merch, Gloria would be buying it with money she didn’t have. The high schooler was thrilled to be out this late, even though it was a Saturday. Normally, she had her nose in the books, as per Valentina’s strict instructions. Valentina did everything she could to protect her younger sister. She remembered when she was her sister’s age. It felt like forever ago, but it hadn’t actually been that long ago.
Valentina checked Gloria’s dress, making sure there weren’t any wrinkles or any issues.
“Valentina, you made it.”
She turned, seeing Lucas Cartwright coming towards her. One thing that wasn’t that great about Lucas was that he seemed to be a people person. She would rather have been dealing with a more stereotypical blue collar construction worker, but that was not meant to be. He was that, in many ways, but at the same time, he was definitely not. She nodded and gave him a tight lipped smile. She saw cameras inside turning towards them and realized it was probably not the best decision to freeze him out. While she didn’t really care whether Lucas learned she didn’t want to really talk to people, she didn’t want anyone thinking there were issues on the team.
Especially when there weren’t. She simply didn’t get close to people or talk to people really.
“Yes, we were able to make it without an issue,” She said.
“That’s awesome. I had to find a sitter last minute as the usual one had to cancel, but hey, things worked themselves out.”
She nodded. “We should get into the dinner.”
He gestured. “I’ll follow you guys.”
Valentina grimaced slightly as she led the trio through the opening foyer of the hall into the actual dining area. The place was pretty decked out. There was enough room for way more tables than were currently there. She saw Madison in the distance along with her date. Patrick and his wife, Isabelle, were nearby. Leading the trio, she headed in that direction, while looking around for Barrington, or Summa. The AI robot had been rather helpful over the past few weeks.
“So, this seems like a big fuss.”
She kept walking, as she realized one of the other reasons why Summa was great.
She didn’t speak unless spoken to.
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