Chapter 20 – Hunt for Rooks

The following night, James had finally gotten a call from Guerra, telling him that he was ready to help them find out where Rooks was stationed. He had decided to do this himself, give the other two a chance to catch their breath. Well, in reality the kid wanted to explore what he could do with this newfound control over his Lair, and Sophie wanted to watch what her adoptive younger brother would do.

In all honesty, James didn't feel like leaving those two alone would be a good idea. For one, Sophie seemed to have grown quite attached to the kid, even if he hadn't even told them his real name yet. Kept at the codename basis in that he only called himself KRONOS. She had taken to the big sister role fairly quickly, almost too quickly the man felt. He figured that it was a woman thing, but so far it seemed that the kid actually reciprocated the gesture. No matter how hard the kid tried to hide it behind his little 'tough guy' act. An act both adults saw through as clear as crystal.

Also, James didn't feel like he could trust the kid just yet, not even with this mind link or whatever. The reason for this was his conservative behaviour. He didn't even bother telling them his real name when they told him theirs. Rude much? But then again, kindness was a rarity in this fuck-hole, so it made sense to be on guard. But if that were all, then the man wouldn't care as much. No, there were more reasons for him to be on guard around the kid.

For one, the man could tell the kid knew more about Blackwatch than any average civilian. It was in the way he acted, the way he thought, the way he moved when attacking Blackwatch soldiers. The kid struck with the ferocity of an animal, not giving a damn about anything else. People like that usually held a grudge against someone, and they wouldn't care about who got in their way. James would know, he was sort of like that himself.

He also didn't trust the kid on a viral standpoint. Or maybe it was from a primitive one, as indicated with Gray wolf behaviour. Gray wolves are apex predators that occupy a top niche in the natural food chain. Like bears and cougars, they have few competitors and play a prominent role in any ecosystem they inhabit. They also fight, kill or displace other top carnivores such as cougars, bears and coyotes. Studies have shown that the reintroduction of wolves can reduce coyote populations in some areas. James wasn't someone who studied boring shit like biology, chemistry etc, that was more on HER specialty. She would sometimes go on about things like animal behaviours and he would pretend to listen to her.

Blacklight just installed the ability to understand this information into his brain, to help him find ways of evolution. He had noticed he'd become a bit more… sciency, after his infection.

These Apex Predators attack other Apex Predators, and his viral instincts sometimes tell him to do the same to KRONOS. There's only room for one Predator in this jungle, one could say. It was like how lions fought each other over territory or mates. The kid was powerful, stronger than him, which was one of the reasons why James hadn't done anything.

Plus, Sophie would rip his balls off and shove them down his throat if he did try anything.

Right now, James was walking through a street, one that was directly opposite to the Church Guerra resided in, ironically enough. He had been meaning to ask him what his progress was on finding information about KRONOS, but this call from him had put a hiatus sign on that plan. Despite his distrust for the kid, finding Rooks was a bigger priority in his mind.

His phone began ringing, and he saw the caller was the same man he had just been monologuing about. Answering the call, James raised it to his ear and started speaking. Once he heard the call connect. No time for small talk, especially for something like this. "Alright father, where do I find rooks?"

"His location will be top secret. But back in the day we just to break into Blacknet Terminals and steal that kind of information. They are those satellite trucks you'd have seen around. One of them is west of you, with a sizable Marine and Blackwatch presence. I'll send the co-ordinates to your phone."

The bald Prototype heard a clicking sound come from his phone, and he figured that was the sign that it had received the co-ordinates to the Blacknet Terminal. The man couldn't help but be surprised though, the way Guerra was speaking indicated that he had done this type of shit before. How had Blackwatch or any other official party not caught him yet? Probably too smart to leave any tracks, something that surprised him all the more. "Didn't know you were such a rebel. What exactly did you do before you were a priest?"

"Let's just say I've had a lot of Tatoos removed."

"Enough said."

Locating the Blacknet Terminal wasn't that hard, James realised. It was actually right behind Test Site Jefferson, guarded by a few Blackwatch soldiers wielding Assault Rifles. He didn't think for a second about sparing them, it wasn't like they would be missed anyways. Not by their comrades or the people either. So, after, 'snacking' a bit, James approached the Terminal.

The Blacknet Terminal was literally a black, armoured truck with the Blackwatch insignia in several places. There was a signal Satellite on its back, slowly rotating a constant 360 degrees, that allowed it to connect to Blackwatch's servers. Approaching the Terminal, James went to its keyboard and tried to log to bring up the personal database. His attempts, though, ended in failure as there was no clearance available for him, none pf the soldiers, not even their Captain, were cleared to access that information. 'Son of a-' James would have continued, had he not noticed a name briefly flash by the screen before it went blank.

Drawing back, the man calmly walked away from the Terminal, not bothering to log off or anything as he pulled out his Phone and called Guerra while going out onto the sidewalk nearby. "Alright, I've got a name. Dr Samuel Bellingsley."

"Si. He's a head researcher for Gentek. You're getting closer to Rooks for sure."

"Hm. Lemme try something."

James ended the call and pocketed the Phone. He then looked around, checking to see if there were any soldiers lying about even after killing the Blackwatch ones. Once he saw that the coast was clear, the man ran towards an apartment complex, one shaped like an R if one looked at it from a Bird's eye view. He ran up it until he reached the top, flipping over onto the rooftop.

Landing in a standing position, James looked up and saw three people standing around a barrel, a fire burning on top of it which they were holding their hands out towards. All three stared at him with gaping mouths, prompting the man to give them an irritated glare. "What the hell are you looking at?!" he snarled sharply, snapping them out of their daze.

It didn't take them long to get the fuck outta there.

When he was sure he was alone on the roof, James looked out into the distance. This ability he planned on using, the same one he used to track down those Blackwatch commanders earlier. He didn't know if it would work or not. It worked with them, but not on Rooks. He had been pondering it for a while, but Próta had confirmed it for him: that the ability would only work when the target was within a set radius. Rooks had been outside that set radius, which was why he had not been able to get a pulse back that time. He hadn't been happy that something related to the kid had helped him understand this, but at least it was Próta and not the kid himself. The lesser of two evils, in his eyes.

Nevertheless, now was the time to see if Próta's words were true. Closing his eyes, James focused on his Hunter Pulse ability. Unlike the kid, he and Sophie never had problems with the multitude of voices in their heads. They just heard nothing but silence, and they weren't bombarded with memories of their victims whenever they closed their eyes. Though, they could still access these memories upon their will. This counted as a topic of intense debate between the kid and Próta, both of whom had no clue as to the cause of this phenomenon, this difference between them and him.

He almost stumbled forward when James felt something 'explode' out of his mind. It felt like this tight and hot sensation in his mind, a sensation that erupted out of him in all directions. The man uttered a curse under his breath, holding the side of his head as he opened his eyes. Everything was red, indicating that the ability was indeed active, and for a few seconds he got nothing. He almost thought that the ability had failed, until he looked to the east when James got this sudden urge to. He soon smirked, seeing a return pulse coming back to him. Looked like the voice was right, this ability DID work.

"Alright. Sammy's about to get an unwelcome visitor."

Tracking down the Head Scientist required a few more Hunter Pulses, but James didn't mind as much now that he knew for sure that the ability worked. He also used it as much as he could so that he could get used to the experiences he went through when the ability activated. One perk about being a Blacklight being was quick adaptability, made sense considering how the virus worked. Seriously, what was going through those scientist' heads when they were cooking up this damn thing?

Probably some fucked up shit.

Right now, James stood atop a ledge belonging to a 4 story tall building, one that overlooked a set of Refugee houses. There was a road winding around it, with some cars parked on the side while others drove through it. People of various plain appearances, although they all wore white hospital masks over their faces, mingled about while keeping their heads down to attract as little attention as possible.

The man he had been hunting stood talking to a refugee, probably looking to question him about something he had been experiencing that was secretly committed by the Scientist himself. Like many of the Scientists in this hellhole, the man wore a blue hazmat suit equipped with black gloves and boots. The way he spoke indicated that he had a pompous air about him, as the citizen looked like he was one step away from knocking his block off but restraining himself. It wouldn't do to have a full squad of men in black knocking at his door, his family probably wouldn't survive either. That was James' thoughts on the citizen's thought process, anyways.

'Well, I'll wait till the asshole's finished his little chat before 'picking his brains' about Rooks…' James thought as he kneeled on the ledge, eyeing his prey like a hawk. While he did so, the man felt something in his mind. It was like when someone was banging loudly on a locked door to get the attention of the occupants inside. James immediately recognised this feeling though, since he'd had it several times in that lair. There was only one reason for this, and it was something that he had been slowly getting used to. Mentally, James allowed the 'door' to open and the link to establish itself.

'Sergeant Heller.'

'Próta.'

'Just to let you know, I have been tracking some of the Infected from nearby positions. Apparently, they have smelled your scent and will be on to you within the next 8 minutes. I informed the Progenitor and he wanted me to let you know.'

'The Kid did, huh?'

What James learned barely registered in his mind. He didn't feel too worried about possible infected attack, considering what he was. But he'd rather fight them without having to worry about civilian casualties. If anyone were to ask why he was so calm about being hunted by a bunch of nightmarish freaks, then he'd just say that it was 'just another day at the office' considering James and Sophie had survived against attacks like this constantly through their stay in the Yellow Zone.

'Also, Sergeant. I have noticed some… interesting specifications within your DNA. They appear to be related to your knowledge of weapons and will be activating momentarily. I'll let you know when they are awakening, thus it would be best for you to finish your task quickly. Once these mutations activate, you will release an explosion of pheromones that'll attract the infected to you like moths to a flame.'

Now THAT drew his attention more than the knowledge of an impending infected attack. New Mutations? Like his claws? Oh, sign him the hell up. He wouldn't mind having some new toys to play with, it'll make him stronger and less likely to lose against the kid should he attempt to betray him. Plus, it'll put him on even ground with the kid and Sophie, who have way more mutations than he did at the moment. 'Alright, now would you fuck off? I gotta get this done fast if what you say is true.'

Próta promptly cut the connection, allowing James to refocus his gaze upon the Scientist he was hunting. Apparently, it was his lucky day as the man had finished his conversation and was now leaving against one of the trailers meant to house Refugees, a clipboard in hand that he was writing in. There was next to nobody around him, meaning that he would be in a perfect position to target him.

'Perfect…'

With the speed and grace of a true predator, James leapt into the air, rising to about 12 metres from his initial jumping point, before he angled himself and shot down towards his prey. It happened in seconds, as James landed on top of the man, Samuel letting out a shriek of shock and confusion as he was knocked to the ground. While the man was dazed from the impact, James swiftly stabbed him through the chest with his right fist, making Samue gasp and gurgle before James swiftly consumed him.

Standing up and holding his head, James groaned as memories played through his mind's eye:

DR BILLINGSLEY: Sabrina! I wasn't expecting you today.

SABRINA: No time for small talk, I'm afraid. Your status report was due 24 hours ago.

DR BILLINGSLEY: Didn't you get my memo? I'm waiting to see the effects are on the Suarez family. Both parents are terminal, but the children seem to be exhibiting some fascinating viral outcomes.

SABRINA: Oh right, the kids with the stage four liver cancer.

DR BILLINGSLEY: Yes, what's your point?

The memories stopped playing, but James didn't care. In fact, he could only feel relieved that he didn't have to listen to that conversation anymore as he lowered his hands from his head. Damn bastard, he should have taken his sweet time tearing him apart, James couldn't help but think to himself as he bit back a growl of pure fury. Rage made his eyes gain a slight crimson glow while crimson red Tendrils rippled over him. Experimenting on civilians was one thing, but extending that to the children as well? Children with already known illnesses? Normally people would be disgusted by that, but it had a… much greater impact on him.

His only solace was that the man was dead now, so he wouldn't be conducting those twisted experiments himself any longer.

Snapping out of his rage-induced stupor, James took a few deep breaths to calm down. It wouldn't do to go on a crazed rampage like what he wanted. Once he was sure he was reasonably calm, James took out his Phone and dialled Guerra's number, raising it to his ear. He soon heard the call connecting, and wasted no time informing the man of what he had found. "Billingsley didn't know anything about Rooks." He began, his lower lip trembling with repressed anger at the next part of his sentence. "But I heard something about a Gentek Lab experimenting on people."

"A lot of the 'Catch and Test' missions done by Gentek are closely monitored by Rooks. I bet you get to that facility, you'll find out where Rooks is stationed."

"… This is starting to feel like one wild fucking goose chase." James muttered, a slight frustration slowly ebbing into his tone as he heard Guerra chuckling on the other end of the line. Let it be known that James had a short temper, and his patience was nearly at its limits with this chase.

Then, he heard the sounds of infected roaring in the distance. His eyes narrowed as Tendrils rippled over him. "I'll call back, looks like I've got some company."

"Alright, but be careful, James."

With a nod, James cut the call before pocketing his Phone. No sooner had he done that did the man hear the screams of terror coming from the civilians, as a pack of 6 Brawlers fell from the skies, two landing at the entrance to the trailer park, while the others landed on top of them, encircling the bald Prototype. Said Prototype showed no reaction to this, keeping his eyes level with one of the Brawlers at the entrance. The reason for that? The Brawler he eyed was sporting a back covered in long, sharp spikes. Its claws looked sharper, as did its fangs, and it sported a second pair of hollow red eyes, all four filled with extreme bloodlust.

Before James could respond, he felt the attempted establishing of a link, and opened it. 'What is it? I'm busy here about to play with the dogs.' He asked with an annoyed, irritated tone of voice.

'Your mutations are about to activate. I suggest you done your armour, as things will be getting dicey soon enough.'

No sooner had Próta said that, did James start feeling something happening within his arms. They both began trembling wildly, fingers rapidly twitching with sporadic movements as he felt something taking place deep within their structure. None of the Brawlers attacked, instead favouring the option of getting into defensive stances, ready to pounce at the slightest moment.

James groaned and grunted as the changes took place. The first time a mutation was applied was always the most intense, the man figured. It had been the same for when he'd gotten his claws, same for his Armour. Both times he'd gotten the feeling of his arms or his entire body being skinned alive then having each piece put back onto him in a different order. Not something he liked to experience, thank you very much.

Finally, the changes stopped, and James looked down at his new limbs, and boy were they a sight to behold. If there was a literal personification of 'do you feel lucky punks?' then this would be it.

His arms, down to the forearms, were covered by his usual crimson Tendrils originating from his shoulder, but below the elbows the forearms were completely different. They formed a cylindrical mass the same thickness as his arms, but with dozens of long barrels protruding out of them. They all pointed in the same direction though, and that was the tips of his arms so if he aimed them at someone, all barrels would be pointed at them. The barrels eerily resembled those of the SA-H02 Assault Rifle, he remarked. Also, his shoulders had these large masses of crimson flesh hanging down his back, shaped oddly like sacks, which were also connected to his arms by crimson Tendrils.

He figured he'd call; these his 'Riflefists'.

"Aw yeah, imma have a blast with these…" he muttered under his breath as Tendrils rippled over him, forming his Armour save for his transformed limbs. He then eyed the Brawlers around him, like a predator eyeing their prey, with intense hunger. His eyes filled with glee while he raised his new toys to fire. "Now then, do you feel lucky, punks?"

The Spiked Brawler gave a loud roar, which sounded to him like a command to the rest of the infected, for they all charged at him with the intent of ripping his flesh a new one. 'Heh, lets see them try.' James thought, smirking darkly behind his Helmet as he aimed his Riflefists. Instincts took over at that moment as their interiors seemed to gain an eerie demonic red glow.

In an instant, the barrels all shifted directions, so that they were pointing towards one brawler each. Since there were so many barrels, they had to point several at a time at each of the approaching creatures. The glow lasted for a second, before these long, sharp dagger-like projectiles made from crimson sinew burst out of them, flying through the air like actual bullets.

The infected stood no chance.

Upon contact, the Brawlers roared and screamed as the projectiles tore through their skin like they were nothing but tissue paper. Their flesh was torn, their limbs severed from their bodies only to be sliced to pieces by stray projectiles, and blood to be splattered across the entire area. None of them managed to get even close to James, something that both amazed and slightly disappointed the Prototype. He wanted them to last a little longer than that.

'Still though, barrels that shift around like that, locking onto a target before unleashing hell… provides a constant 360 perimeter around me when these things are out…' James remarked, before he noticed something else that was interesting. The sacks hanging behind his shoulders, they each were significantly smaller than before he unleashed hell. They were gradually grow back to their regular size, and while they did he'd felt Biomass being sucked from his reserves. That must mean these things use his Biomass as fuel to create ammunition, or some shit like that.

Seemed legit in his eyes.

Shaking his head, James shifted from his Riflefists to his claws when he saw that the Spiked Brawler had already pounced on him with its claws bared to slash. He sidestepped the pounce, deflecting the claw that would have impeded his manoeuvre with his own before getting a hit on its side. The Spiked Brawler screamed in pain as it slid across the ground, embedding its claws into it to increase traction. When it finally stopped, it didn't pull them out the ground for some reason.

Said reason soon made itself all too apparent when, out of his screaming viral instincts, James dive rolled to the side to avoid a large, and he meant LARGE, spike rising out the ground where he'd once struck. If one wanted a proper visual for it, just imagine an isosceles triangle, only 3D and littered with pointed edges, smaller spike protrusions coming out of it like the barrels coming out his Riflefists, all pointing in the same direction as its tip. 'Definitely don't want THAT up my ass…'

Before he could do anything else, the same feeling from before when he got his Riflefists triggered itself, and his arms began to mutate once again, causing a groan to escape the man's lips. "Ugh, what the hell is going on now?" he uttered in a pained grimace, until the transformation was completed. When he looked to see what he had gotten this time, James couldn't help but whistle in appreciation. "Hello mamma…"

Now, instead of his Riflefists, James had two large Rocket Launcher barrels eerily reminiscent of the ones Blackwatch used, coming out the tops of his forearms. The forearms looked like they had been merged into the bottom of these new toys, with no hands in sight or feeling. Also, each Rocket Launcher had small curved spikes around the tips of their barrels as a way to better aim the rounds within. His shoulders now looked more like ammo cartridges, so he figured they worked similar to his Riflefists.

Looking at the Spiked Brawler, James got an idea as he got into the proper stance for firing one of these babies. He then tried to 'fire' and the end result was a single round, shaped like those dagger projectiles but bigger and with its own organic thrusters, to be released in the Brawlers direction. The Infected had barely managed to dodge the attack though, since it was slower than his Riflefist rounds.

However, it didn't expect what would happen next.

Once the round hit the ground, it detonated, and when it did it revealed a rather… deadly little secret. While it caused a small explosion like the normal rounds from a rocket launcher, it also released a whole load of smaller projectiles like the ones he fired from his Riflefists in all directions, tearing through the Spiked Brawler like it was nothing but an illusion.

Another Whistle was James' response to that. 'Daaaaamn, that felt badass…' he thought to himself, amazement shining in his eyes as he stood upright and looked at his weapons. They rippled with Tendrils, before they returned to the form of normal human arms, allowing him to clench and unclench his fists.

'A name for those suckers would be nice… hmmm… I'll call em my 'Busters' for the time being.'

Still, he needed to get these infected remains out of here, can't have the virus spreading from this area to all those civilians. That was the man's thoughts as he quickly released his Tendrils onto the entire area. It was an attack he'd come up with when he sparred with Sophie, who told him how KRONOS excelled in manipulating Blacklight to produce all kinds of wacky Tendrils. While annoying to have to mimic, it nonetheless served its purpose as Tendrils pulled in the solid pieces for consumption, while others wiped the blood clean off the ground with no trace of it left.

When the process finished, and the Tendrils had retracted, James felt power coursing through his veins, greater in quantity than ever before. What he found more interesting was how the Spiked Brawler carried way more Biomass than the rest of its brethren. 'Probably due to mutations and shit…' he thought to himself. Again, Blacklight did make him more… sciency for evolution purposes.

Still though… he liked that spike attack that his opponents used, it could be a nasty surprise for whenever a Tank rolled in. Especially if he could figure out how to remotely trigger them instead of them just instantly jutting out when he stabbed his hands into the ground. Sorta like landmines, in a way. Almost instantly after he thought about it, James felt mutations apply themselves for a few seconds, before they finished, and he felt a change having been done to him.

A slight smirk tugged at his lips, hidden by his Helmet. Raising his right hand, James smashed it into the ground, allowing Biomass to erupt from his hand. In the next instant, a ring of spikes had risen out around him, each one tilted in a specific direction. They weren't nearly as tall as the Spiked Brawler's Groundspikes, but they did look big enough to impale a person. Plus, unlike that one, these spikes looked more like the blades of Combat knives than anything.

'Now THAT will be coming in handy…'

While he would have liked to stay for a bit longer to test out how he could use these new toys, James still had a job to do, something he was reminded of when he heard the sounds of Blackwatch vehicles rolling through the streets with his Blacklight enhanced hearing. 'Whelp, I'm outta here…' he thought, shifting his form to that of Samuel Billingsley before leaving the area.

The memories of his recent victim told him of which Gentek facility he needed to go to. This was one located within Oakhurst, in the western side of the Yellow Zone. It was quite a large facility, and if he wanted to get inside of it, he would have to make sure to go through the main entrance: The Gate. That was what he assumed when he landed close by, without anyone seeing him of course. Before he started anything though, James took out his Phone and called Guerra. "Alright father, I'm at the Lab."

"Alright, listen, James. All these Blackwatch and Gentek places use Biometric security: retinal scans, blood tests, things like that. Getting inside won't be easy."

James could only smirk at that, his form rippling with Tendrils, though he still remained in his 'Billingsley' form for the time being. It would make sense to go in as this guy, as he wouldn't have to waste time consuming some poor unlucky sucker. "Relax father, it'll be easier than you think."

"Maybe. Oh, one more thing, normal soldiers don't have clearance to enter the Facility, they have to get the Commander's approval first. Basically look for those men in black uniforms with yellow highlights. They should allow you to get inside.'

"Got it, thanks father." With that, James pocketed his Phone and began trekking his way over to the Facility's main gate. As he approached it, James sensed someone approaching him, causing a brief flash of irritation. Can't a guy infiltrate a restricted area in peace? Wait…

He looked to find that it was another Scientist, walking down the pathway to the gate where he was headed. He looked like one since he wore those blue hazmat suits instead of those Blackwatch uniforms and was unarmed. Guy walked like Samuel did, with a strut that basically oozed arrogance and self-importance. When the man noticed him, he changed direction and walked up to him. "Hey there doctor. How'd the test results go?"

Searching through memories belonging to his recent victim, James found that this was one of his co-workers on the experiment involving the children with te stage four liver cancer. He was the one who injected the virus into them in the first place while 'Sammy' got a front row seat. 'Well, lets see how my acting skills are, been a while since I had to perform at a play.' He remarked in angry amusement. The last time he had to act like he gave a damn about something was when he'd been auditioned for a play back in highschool. Didn't like it, so he'd never bothered with it again, although many did say he was a good actor.

"They're good so far, the virus seems to favour the children more than the parents. Probably cause unlike their parents the kids aren't terminal. It seems to be trying to reprogram the cells to stop the cancer from killing its host… at least, before it does." James replied, disgust rising within his gut as he talked virology with this egghead. He was just going through what the man whose face he wore had seen in his memories, but nonetheless, he couldn't help the revulsion he was feeling. He would make sure to consume this bastard when he got outta this shit show, just for making him go through with this.

"Hahaha, yeah I feel ya. I feel like we'll be getting some interesting specimens from those kids in the near-future…" the other man, who James found through Samuel's memories, was named Connor Bailey, responded while chuckling in mirth. Was a killer who would have been charged for his crimes, killing via toxins, had Blackwatch not put him on their payroll. His crimes were almost like Samuel's, who would have been convicted for sexual assault with the usage of drugs so that his victims couldn't fight back, nor remember the event, had Blackwatch not intervened.

Already enough to put him on James' shit list.

Oh, how much he wanted to consume the man right now, just out of principle alone. He could only imagine what it would have been like if he went after someone dear to James himself, the man would be nothing but a bloody smear on the wall by the time he was done. Just as he was about to go 'screw it' and just do it right this fucking instant, an idea struck him, something that honestly sounded as risky as all hell. If he could use his Hunter Pulse to track people, could he use it to check and see if anybody was watching his target?

Back when he was hunting for Samuel Billingsley, he had noticed that sometimes he'd be covered in this red aura, and other times he'd been covered in this white one. He wasn't sure completely, but James just 'felt' like the better time for consumption would be when they were glowing white. In that case, what would happen if he tried it here? James had done this enough times to have gotten used to the experiences of using the Hunter Pulse ability by this point, so why not?

Not like anyone would miss another asshole?

With that in mind, James shot out a Hunter Pulse, seeing everything turn red as the man in front of him was highlighted. To his fortune, the man was highlighted in white, meaning that eh was a free snack right now. 'Oh, that is PERFECT!' James thought, acting fast before anyone could notice and silently stabbed the man through the stomach with his right hand, consuming him as well. Tendrils rippled over him as the process finished and his memories were assimilated. Though he didn't pay them any attention.

Now that he had done the world a favour, he had his own work to do.

Entering the Gentek facility had never been so easy before in James' life. Neither of the soldiers that had been guarding the gate, nor the ones on top of the fortress-like wall surrounding it, had seen what he had done to Connor Bailey, something that the man had to mock the soldiers for. If they couldn't hear something from THAT distance, then why the hell were they on guard duty in the first place?

Unbeknownst to him, those two guards were actually lamenting the fact they had forgotten their hearing aids today.

Now the was within the Compound, James had to admit that the place was pretty big, possibly the biggest in the entire Yellow Zone. Though, that was probably because this place consisted of two Gentek facilities next to one another. The one that he had entered was shaped like very fat arch, with the main building being on the southern side while there was a smaller building, likely a storage area for weapons and ammo, at the northern side. The Compound itself was filled with soldiers and scientists, each doing their own thing. What caught his attention though, was the set of 4 tall canisters near the southern side of the Compound, where the Commander seemed to be typing into a console. James didn't know why, but something about those canisters rubbed him the wrong way.

Nevertheless, James didn't focus on this for very long. He had a job to do, so he pretended to act 'normal' for a Gentek employee. He slowly, calmly began walking towards the Commander, imitating the 'I'm better than you and we both know it' strut that these Gentek Scientists were apparently known for. 'Ugh, the things I have to do to get what I need…' the man lamented. He mentally vowed to NEVER let this information slip into Sophie, or worse the kids' hands, otherwise the humiliation may make him attempt suicide, damn any healing that Blacklight may possess.

Finally, this little torture of his ended when he was standing right behind the commander, about to consume him.

The man looked up from the console to see the looming shadow enveloping him, but before he could turn around, a gasp escaped his lips behind his helmet as something impaled him through his chest. The last thing he heard before darkness replaced his vision forever was a sinister, gruff and DEFINITELY male's voice. "Mind if I borrow your keys?"

Memories swam through James' mind, as the man sorted through them to find the information he needed. Namely the access codes so he could get inside the Gentek facility. He did find out what this poor sod's past was like though, and boy did it make him feel glad that he had been able to consume the fucker when he did. Apparently, the guy was a repeat sex offender, brutalising women after he wold have his way with them. He didn't care who he went after, be it married, single or underaged. As long as they had a pair on their chest then they were fair game to him.

That fucker got what was coming to him.

Finally, James got to what he wanted, the access codes for the facility. Now, he could get inside and find out where Rooks was hiding. Once he got that information, James planned to make sure the Commander 'knew' just who he had fucked with, no doubts about that. With those thoughts in mind, the man turned on his newly formed commander's boots, having shifted into the recently consumed Blackwatch Commander's form upon consumption.

Walking down to the southern building, James headed towards the entrance, eyeing the small console beside the door. It looked like one of those calculator keyboards one would see at the cash machines, but in Blackwatch's colours. Approaching the Console, James reached for the memory of imputing the codes from his victim's mind, before inputting it into the console in real time. By the time he finished, there was a positive sounding beep sound from the Console, and the sound of locks being undone. A small smirk formed on his lips within his disguise, before James opened the door to the facility and headed inside.