I was interested in exploring how non-hunters would exist in Remnant and deal with the crazy bullshit that exists in the main story, so I started writing this, about a Vale SWAT team tasked to deal with the rising crime in the city.
Crimson stepped down the ramp first, the rest of Gold team close behind him. Just ahead was a dust store, blinds down, door locked, with at least five gunmen and an unknown number of hostages. Once they were out of the vehicle, Ao took point along the wall of the building, just behind a dumpster. Moss and Onyx came up behind Crimson, peering around the wall behind them, towards both the front entrance, and the gawking VPD officers taking cover behind their squad cars.
They had been called in by an off-duty officer who happened to be passing by at the time of the attack. Gunmen had taken him, and any nearby civilians off the street and led them somewhere in the building at gunpoint. Alerted, the might of the Vale PD had been summoned, a grand total of three cars with two scared officers contained within. They had proceeded to cordon off the scene, while negotiation teams attempted to reason with the criminals while Gold team was assembled and brought in.
Crimson was used to working with Moss and Ao, and generally picked the two if he was given the opportunity. Onyx was something of a wild card; he had been transferred in from Atlas counter-terror as a reaction to the rise in armed robberies in Vale, and Crimson hoped that he wouldn't need to be reminded of VPD's distaste for "shoot first – ask questions later" gunslinging. These weren't the New Mantle Party that the new operative was likely used to, and would likely comply if properly cornered. He also was fully aware that Onyx was using the opportunity to scout him out, and welcomed the challenge.
Team assembled, Crimson signaled for the team to advance to the next corner, from which they should be able to see their point of entry at the back of the store. Ao stopped at the corner, clipped his SMG to his vest, and brought out his mirror to check around the corner. As proud as Crimson was that his teammate had perfectly anticipated his next command, he was mildly irked that a subordinate acting seemingly without order put on a bad show for their new member.
Ao gave the all-clear. Crimson felt Moss' hand come to rest on his shoulder, and did the same for their point man, who began to move around the corner towards the door, mirror still in hand. There were no windows on this side of the structure, so the team felt relatively safe, compared to an approach from the front, where they would have only had a glass storefront between them and any incoming attacks.
Ao checked the door, signaling that it was once again all clear. No hostiles close enough to hear, Crimson reached to his throat and hit the transmit button for his radio.
"Alright boys, we're going deliberate entry for this one. Take it slow, check your corners, and watch your fire—we don't know exactly how many hostages are in there."
"Sounds good, Boss," replied Moss, casual as ever. Onyx nodded in agreement, remaining silent.
"Door's unlocked," said Ao, as he stepped away, stowing his lock picks in a pouch. "Ready to enter."
Moss took his position to the opening side of the door, and placed his hand on the knob. Ao remained where he was, facing Moss across the entryway. Crimson moved up behind Ao, placing a hand on his shoulder once Onyx had taken position behind Moss.
Given an affirmative nod by Crimson, Moss twisted the knob and swung the door open. Crimson could feel Ao tense up, gun raised and pointed down the small hallway. Without a sound, he and Ao entered the building, covering the branch ahead. Their boots made quiet tapping sounds on the tile floor, and the two moved carefully forwards. Looking just over his sights, Crimson saw a small insect move along the off-white stucco wall.
"Trailers coming in," whispered Moss from the ear-bud, as he and Onyx joined the rest of Gold team. Crimson surveyed their position. To the team's right was a storage room, while the path to their right took a bend and led out into the main store space.
"Blue element," he said, referring to Onyx and Moss. "Take left. Red will go right."
The storage room seemed like an ideal place for the gunmen to corral the hostages, which would require the sort of tact that he knew Moss lacked. He had no doubt there was a detachment of criminals plundering the main area of the store, and the more open area would play towards blue's rifles quite nicely.
Moss and Onyx padded slowly down the left hallway, weapons raised. Meanwhile, Ao triple-checked his SMG, and engaged the single-fire mode. Crimson did the same—if they were walking into a room stacked with civilians, he wanted full control over his shots.
The two approached the door, and Ao once again brought the familiar mirror to bear.
"Boss," crackled the radio in crimson's ear. "we've got two by the front of the store. Looks like they're watching the police outside. They've got a radio ready." He could sense the excitement in Moss' voice.
"Can't see clearly inside, Boss," whispered Ao. "There are boxes blocking the lines of sight."
"Check the door and prep gas," he replied coolly, pressing the transmit button near his throat. "Moss, on my signal, restrain them." The radio clicked once in response, while Crimson watched Ao poke around the lock, then grab a small canister from his belt. The two then placed masks on their faces, to protect from the effects of the gas.
"Gas ready on your order." Crimson grasped the door handle, and readied his pistol in his off-hand. He felt his heart accelerate and his grip on the handle tightened. With his pistol-wielding left hand, he clicked and released the transmit button, signaling Blue element to begin. In one smooth motion, he twisted the handle and pushed the door inwards. He saw the grenade sail over his head, trailing its payload of stinging gas over the crates that had blocked Ao's view. It landed inside, and he heard a shout. Suddenly, the grenade burst in a white cloud, and Red element pushed into the cluttered room.
The storage area was surprisingly empty of people; its only occupants were two grunts in tacky suits, doubling over as the gas took effect. Crimson stepped around barrels labeled with the names of dust and the location of their mines of origin. He silently cursed as his boot caught a case of Mistral Fire, sending it tumbling to the ground with a clatter.
"Police! Get on the ground!" He yelled, pistol trained on the furthest of the pair of goons. The two complied, unable to so much as open their mouths to respond as the gas burnt at their eyes and throats. But where were all the hostages? Crimson and Ao began to cuff the gunmen, who initially resisted, but relented at the suggestion that they would be escorted out of the gas.
"Boss, over here!" Called Ao, who was pointing to a disturbed tile, which must have been hastily dropped back in place. The pair pried it open, to reveal a straight drop of roughly two meters, which joined a tunnel under the store. Crimson groaned, this had just become significantly more complicated.
"Blue, is the store front clear? If so, get over here with your masks. We've found something."
The pounding of the other two team members' feet alerted Crimson to their presence. He pointed to the opening in the floor.
"Well that wasn't in the blueprints," quipped Moss. Crimson could imagine the grin behind his teammate's mask. He could only grimace in response.
Crimson's hand once again reached to his throat. "TOC, this is entry team. The main building is cleared, but we're missing one tango and all the hostages. A tunnel has been found, and we are preparing to enter, copy." The team waited uncomfortably for a second.
"It's like we're asking mom for permission to go over to a friend's house," remarked Moss, breaking the silence before their radios crackled back to life.
"Entry team this is TOC. Continue your mission, VPD will move into the structure, over." Crimson sighed. While daunting, it was expected. He turned to his team and cleared his throat, catching their attention.
"We have four of five gunmen accounted for, and no hostages in the main structure. Our job's not over until they're all headed home." The sounds of assent were interrupted by the newest member.
"Permission to take point, sir." Crimson turned to Onyx, who looked just as surprised as everybody else was. "The NMP had tunnels just like this underneath the ice. I have experience with them," Continued the Atlesian, patiently.
"Granted," replied Crimson. We'll follow your lead. The rest of the team nodded in agreement. Onyx tightened the straps on his vest in anticipation, and placed his rifle on the ground. He then drew his pistol and knife, checking the weapons before turning to Crimson.
"Chances are this tunnel leads in two directions. You cover our rear, and we move in the direction I pick, clear?" Crimson irked at the tone of authority coming from a new recruit, but reminded himself that Onyx was anything but fresh.
"Clear," he replied, lining up in order with the rest of Gold team. The gas in the room had settled as a mist at knee height, and was slowly falling through the hole into the darkness below. Onyx stepped up to the maw, pistol readied and supported by his knife hand. With a breath, he looked around the room, before stepping forwards and falling into the hole.
Onyx hated the masks. He understood their necessity, but they felt so limiting on his sight that he almost felt like braving the stinging gas just to recover his peripheral vision. His mind had grated at flouting authority for the tunnels, and were he still in Atlas he would probably have faced a harsh reprimand after the fact, but he was thankful that his new CO seemed to be more lenient with autonomy than he was used to.
The darkness of the tunnels washed over him as he fell. If these were anything like the ones he dealt with in Atlas, there would be sufficient lighting inside.
Clearly I'm not in Atlas anymore, he thought to himself upon landing. The blackness stretched into an infinite maw, defying vision. Only the slowly falling gas was visible, in the small rectangle of light from the room above.
Only adjusted his knife-wielding hand, activating the flashlight underneath the barrel of his pistol. He swiveled, checking both directions of the tunnel. To his rear, the tunnel had a bend only ten meters away, with signs of foot traffic leading around the corner. He moved towards the bend, and heard the soft thuds of the other three falling into the tunnel behind him. His small light was quickly joined by those attached to the weapons of his teammates, illuminating the rough dirt walls, supported by wooden planks. Another difference, he thought. In Atlas these would be metal or stone; trees were too rare to be used as a building material. His soft chuckle was caught by the nearby Moss.
"What's up?"
"The hostages were led this way," Onyx gestured down towards the corner.
"On your lead," replied Ao.
"You ready?" That was Crimson, this time. Onyx was getting better at recognizing their voices, despite the masks.
"Almost. These tunnels are slightly different," he replied. "I'm used to lights."
"That's an… Interesting design choice."
"Ao?" Onyx noted a hint of concern in Crimson's voice.
"Nothing. Let's continue," replied the taciturn teammate. Onyx exhaled and proceeded to the bend, listening to the crunching noises his teammates' boots made on the ground behind him. It was a comforting sound in this dark hole. With a sharp exhale, he swung around the corner, continuing quickly through the larger chamber to make way for the other three. What he saw horrified him.
The team's flashlights illuminated fresh bloodstains on the left-hand wall, and the shell casings littered the ground. Onyx heard a retching sound behind his back. He tore his mask off as the team rushed forwards through the room with a new sense of urgency. At the end, the chamber narrowed out again, once again bending off into darkness.
Sick to his stomach, Onyx raised his weapon at the wall of blackness. All he saw was a mound of dirt, fallen in from the ceiling above.
"They collapsed the damn tunnel behind them!" Shouted Moss, throwing his mask to the ground in frustration. Onyx turned his head to the rest of the team. Ao was staring off into the distance, eyes trained on the rubble, but mind clearly elsewhere. He could see the light from Crimson's rifle coming from the previous execution chamber. Silently fuming, he made his way back.
Crimson turned his head slowly to face his team. His face looked more stern than usual, and the sparse light made his light eyes more prominent.
"That's twelve bloodstains on the walls," he remarked coldly, still crouched by the wall. Onyx's eyes drifted to the countless casings on the floor. Twelve executions, so what were these? Crimson raised an object in his hand—it glittered silver and black in the light from their guns. "I found this badge under a small bit of dirt; it must be our off-duty cop. Whoever did this missed it."
Onyx exhaled. A massacre something new, and not exactly what he had expected when he was told he'd be going to Vale. He turned to Moss, who was busy throwing up in the corner. Ao, however, was fixated on a certain spot of the wall, illuminating it with his flashlight. Crimson had also noticed, and was walking over.
"Ao, what've you got?" In response, Ao merely shifted to the side, showing the scrawlings to the rest of his team. Two letters.
WF
Ao smoothly stood up, jaw clenched. "White Fang."