"It is the year 2090 in NEO BASELEAF CITY. The technological terror of the THIRD WORLD WAR is now but a distant memory, but the consumption of conglomerate technology itself is more abundant than ever. The world is a neon saturated concrete concoction of every race, gender, sexuality and creed under the sun. The Government's iron grip on the news, led by Information Minister IRENE LIONDEN has decimated any thoughts of free journalism. CRIME, and its consumption of daily life through fear of the people have become the norm for citizens of Neo Baseleaf City.
One new agent in the shady police force of Neo Baseleaf City is NATALIE PAQUETTE, daughter of a French Immigrant who himself was formerly on the force until a tragic encounter with Neo Baseleaf City's most wanted crime lord; the notorious and mysterious HEIRESS, who has had the police force on her tail for nearly a decade now. Once a quiet, innocent girl who only wanted to study electrical engineering, Paquette now seeks revenge for the murder of her father, and she shall not stop until Heiress is dead by her hand with the weapon her father wanted her to have in his will; his WINGMAN MAGNUM. For nearly two years, Natalie has been training and preparing for what she called her "destined date with revenge" with Heiress.
Recent reports have indicated that THE SLECNI, Heiress' crime organisation have been showing signs of activity at one of Neo Baseleaf's most densely populated buildings; GRAND TOWER, home to hundreds of civilians and the cybernetic civil rights movement M.R.V.N. Police Chief RENEÉ BLASEY sends out Paquette on her first mission, assigned with her partner TAE JOON PARK to seek out the cause of the activity at Grand Tower, hoping to find a lead to Heiress…"
Chapter 1
Natalie kept adjusting her red tie over and over again, trying her best to make sure it fit snugly onto her collar. I didn't learn this in training she thought, but Chief Blasey insisted that Natalie dresses formally for any operation. Her trench coat though, was a different story, it's orange hue clashing against the coal black of her partners. Tae Joon was comparatively more ready than Natalie, but by this point he'd been with the force ten years. He was sick to death of chasing Heiress, but he was a good friend to Natalie's father, and would do anything to make sure his partner was avenged. Nevertheless, his new partner was still green. This was her first mission, and her orange coat made her stick out like a sore thumb in the dark, grimey streets of Neo Baseleaf. The Civil Rights demonstrations were to begin in about 20 minutes. Natalie never gave the civil rights of Augments, or 'Auggers' much thought. The people who had given their life to technology. The same technology that ran their city, and to most people, the same technology that destroyed people's ability to think freely without interference from Lionden's censorship. But the Augments didn't feel that way. They felt 100% human. Natalie thought it was strange that she was never deemed as an Augger. After joining the force, she had to have mandatory surgery on her brain so she could join the police's neuronic network. It was immensely helpful in theory; being allowed to see what her partner saw without obstructing her own vision.
"You sure you're ready for this?" Tae Joon asked as they made their way through the crowded underbelly of the city, the subway train crying out from underneath them. Natalie gave him a deadly, serious look. "I could never be more ready" she said. She had every reason to be ready. She wanted Heiress to pay, and anything that could get her closer to that goal was just another step in the right direction. She had torn her father, the father she loved and admired so much as a young girl, away from her in the blink of an eye. Natalie couldn't do anything back then as her father was murdered in front of her own eyes. But now, she was ready. She didn't feel anything other than calmness as she and her partner approached the Grand Tower. Something big was stirring. Slecni, the crime gang ran by Heiress, had a particular disdain for Auggers. Ironic thought Natalie. Heiress was a Augger. It's how she got the one up on her father. But her identity remained a mystery, her face masked and skin covered completely. Natalie's only lead was her Wingman Magnum. The gun which was one of two ever produced; Heiress had the other. Natalie briefly touched the handle of the gun, holstered carefully against her left breast under her jacket. Most officers are issued with a P2020 pistol, or R-301 Carbine Rifles for S.T.A.R.S members, but Natalie was allowed to keep her Wingman as her issued weapon.
"Hmph, we'll see how ready you truly are once the action gets going" snarked Tae Joon as the building began to get closer, looking over them. As they cleared the alleyway and came onto the thoroughfare just opposite the building, a large vehicle parked directly in front of the building's main entrance. Uniformed Bio-Soldiers, the army of the Government, came out, numbering about 25 in total. Great, just fucking great thought Natalie. Anita Williams's crowd. Can't they just leave anything to us anymore? Or are they bored of assaulting the homeless people downtown for fun? The Bio-Soldier Unit, known colloquially as "The Solar White Knights" were led by Anita "Bangalore" Williams, someone who herself was reasonable, but was never held accountable for anything anyone in her unit ever did. They were corrupt to the bone, even more so than the police. Natalie trusted in Chief Blasey. She arrived at the scene of her father's murder before anyone else, and took Natalie in as an officer with no questions asked. But Williams? Natalie had her doubts. As the duo of detectives approached the Tower, hands in pockets, they were inevitably stopped by Williams, standing authoritatively in front of them and blocking their path.
"Beat it kiddos, this is UBS jurisdiction" said the commander proudly. Tae Joon smirked and pulled his District Badge and a permit of Investigation of Public Affairs. "As per your boss, I'm afraid it very much is our business, Commander Williams. Step aside and let us do our job, we know you don't do yours very well without some help" said Tae Joon snarkly. The Commander's face grimmaced, and Natalie couldn't help but form a slight smile. It didn't go unnoticed. "You watch yourself, Rookie. You ain't got no stars on your chest yet, stay outta my damn way." Natalie wasn't going to let it end there, walking by the commander behind Tae Joon and getting one last word in before Williams could even realise it; "At least I have a chest, Commander". Natalie loved that. It was an attitude she'd learned from Chief Blasey after all. Keep your wits about you, but don't forget to have some fun once in a while. She knew when and where moments like that were appropriate, she'd figured she may as well have some fun before the mission itself began.
"I've got a bad feeling about this" remarked Tae Joon, lighting a Nicoretta up. Natalie hated the smell of artificial strawberries that the Nic's created, making the world seem even faker than it already was. Real Strawberries were deemed 'unfit for consumption' after the war destroyed the way that strawberry plants worked, their runners under the ground not being able to reproduce correctly making them deformed and chemically altered to the point of being too poisonous. This, of course, was all information Natalie was simply told and had never seen herself. She'd never left Neo Baseleaf, in fact she'd hardly heard of the world outside of the walls of the city.
"What's there to worry about? We're here to get the Slecni and get a lead on Heiress. Simple." said Natalie, coldly. "I don't think it's as simple as that. I think we're being set up, whether it's M.R.V.N or the intel we received, I think something's off." As much as she had her reasons for doubting Tae Joon's judgement, she wasn't one to completely shrug off her partner's experience, especially one as decorated as Tae Joon, who received a Medal of Bravery and Distinction of Service for his previous operations against Slecni. As they reached the target floor, the noise from the event was becoming louder and louder, much to Natalie's dismay. She didn't like it when things got too loud, it only brought back painful memories for her. Like it or not, Natalie had to bear the pain and follow her directive. The mission was all that mattered now, for the safety of those she swore to protect.
The elevator finally reached the target floor; floor 39 of 100. Tae Joon took the lead, motioning to Natalie to double-check her Neurolink. This was it. According to the intel they'd recon'd, the M.R.V.N. rally was a prime target for the Slecni. A chance for them to fan the flames which were already beginning to rise due to the civilian unrest in the lower income sectors. The Government had an Augment programme which let them have a more stable chance at getting employed than a non-augged human. Natalie wasn't bothered by this, but there certainly felt like there was more to it than met her eye initially. "I'm in," said Natalie over the neuro network, which allowed her to say what she needed to without speaking audibly. It made stealth missions a million times more easy for the force, but it had its downsides too.
"Good" responded Tae Joon. "You take the right, I'll go for the left. Keep an eye on the demonstration, particularly the speaker. I'll keep an eye on the rafters, you never know where a Sniper may be".
"Roger" Natalie responded, clutching her Wingman in her hand, drawing it from its holster. The power she felt from holding such a beautiful weapon was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. One shot anywhere above the groin was practically certain death for those unlucky enough to be at the end of a Wingman's barrel.
Having arrived at her stakeout point, Natalie began surveying the area, keeping Tae Joon's vision locked in the upper left of her eyesight. With Neurolink, Natalie could see and hear everything her partner could. It feels like cheating, but damn if it isn't a good fucking cheat thought Natalie, keeping a special eye on the centre of the room, which had filled up completely with human and Augger alike. It was only another minute before the speech was set to begin. "Safety off. Eyes open. Heart closed. The mission is all that matters, Natalie" Chief Blasey's words echoed through Natalie's skull. She was right. Natalie had to focus on her mission, and not let her emotions get the better of her. Not that it would do much anyways thought the ever so cynical Natalie. Life hadn't been the same since Papa was taken from her.
Revenge.
Revenge.
Revenge.
That one word pounced itself around Natalie's brain every waking second of every day since her father was taken from her. She would bring Heiress to justice if it was the last thing she'd so. She promised herself and her father that, and there was no way she'd let him down in her heart.
"You know kid, I don't get why Blasey was so adamant you got sent on THIS mission of all the available tasks our department, it just feels a bit weird for her to send you out on something so intense straight away you kn-"
"Shut up for a second, look up to your right" Natalie said sharply over the link. Tae Joon did as she said, and in his sight was someone holding a Longbow DMR Sniper Rifle. They didn't look like UBS or Police Force either. Not Good thought Tae Joon. He wouldn't have the time to get up there and prevent the shot, based on his calculations he'd miss the shooter by two seconds after they'd taken any sort of shot. Natalie however was more proactive than her Korean counterpart and sprang into action. The ballroom they were in was three floors tall with multiple ways in and out. Natalie was quick to notice the fire escapes too. This won't be easy she thought, jumping and climbing a balcony as stealthy as possible. Tae Joon had to reposition behind Natalie, trying not to be seen by the unknown Longbow wielding subject, but he still had a ways to go to catch up with Natalie, who'd made it to the assailants floor. Gripping her Wingman tightly, and without a second to spare, she approached the veiled figure, pointing the magnum straight at the back of their head.
"Freeze, NBLCPD, put the weapon down and put your hands where I can see 'em!" said Natalie in a textbook tone, trying to sound as calm and composed as possible. The person in front of her dropped the weapon, but didn't put their hands up. Tae Joon, P2020 pistol in tow, finally caught up to his partner, joining her in trying to apprehend the perceived suspect Slecni member. The cloaked person began laughing, almost maniacally in tone, puzzling the two officers.
"Tell us about your leader, Heiress!" demanded Natalie, firming her stance. Tae Joon began to slowly circle around to the front of the suspect in order to make an arrest go more or less as swimmingly as possible. He had his doubts though. Sweat began pouring slowly from Natalie's temple. She was more desperate to try and find a lead on Heiress than catch the suspect at this stage.
"Hahaha, HAHAHAH! I guess it's my time, huh my lady? This was the test you told me I would become?! Hahaha, HAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHA!" he laughed, catching the attention of the M.R.V.N. members below their position, who looked on in confusion. "Well, Ms. Paquette, you'll just have to ask my lady yourself! You'll be meeting her sooner or later- oh, that's right! You've met her before, right?" he said approaching Natalie slowly.
"Hey punk, back the fuck off" scowled Tae Joon, noticing that things were seeminly heading in a bad direction.
"Oh? And what are you gonna do about it, Park? Still on my ladys trail after all these years? It's been over a decade now, give it a rest you lousy fucking bag of shit" said the assailant, enraging Tae Joon. Before he could act however, he was suddenly kicked over the balcony by the assailant, causing the M.R.V.N. demonstration to uproar in panic. The noise began to overwhelm Natalie, who had a strong but fading grip on her weapon. She couldn't focus on Tae Joon. The mission was all that mattered. Having spent the last year and a half being trained and mentally examined personally by Chief Blasey, she was ready. She had to be.
"You're telling me where Heiress is and you'll come with me, now" said Natalie, her eyes narrowing down the cold iron sights of her magnum.
"Haahaha, let me tell you something Ms. Paquette, our lady has a great interest in that magnum you're holding. I'm sure you know that she is in possession of its twin, hm? Only two of those weapons exist, and while they use a common caliber bullet that any old magnum can use, what makes the Wingman so special is- ah, I may be spilling too much here! I'm sorry, I do tend to get ahead of myself!"
"WHERE'S HEIRESS?!" Screamed Natalie, her voice barely audible over the screaming below her.
"I Can't tell you! Heehee!" the voice from behind the veil said, giggling with excitement. "I tell you one thing though Ms. Paquette, it must be awful to have lost your father like that! Having my lady tear through his flesh and blood like the queen of this world she is, oh how delightful it must have be-"
"...shut up…"
"-to see all that swift movement and dancing around her opponent with grace and elegance as you watched your father fall before your very ey-"
Natalie finally snapped. Her vision turned red, and she began to feel something change inside her in a way she had never felt before.
"SHUT UUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPP!" Her eyes widened and breathing focused firmly, she fired four shots, each lined up perfectly in the same wound on her target's temple, swiftly reloading the Wingman's found round chamber in a snap. It took a second for Natalie to realise what she had done and what was going on around her.
"What...the...did I do this?" said Natalie, looking down at her Wingman's smoking barrel. She had taken her first life, and she was no closer to finding Heiress. Before she could really take in what had happened, she needed to tend to Tae Joon. Heiress could wait until another day. For now, she needed to get Tae Joon out of the Grand Tower and to a nearby hospital.
Heiress...I'll get you if it's the last thing I do thought Natalie, now with even more questions running through her mind about the power of the weapon she was entrusted with by her father.