It had only been 2 weeks since Agent Christopher Cage and his "Animals", as they had taken to calling themselves, arrived in Washington, D.C. following the SHD distress signal sent out from the White House. In just 2 weeks, the Outcasts had been almost liquidated, save for the big bad wolf herself, Emeline Shaw, an asymptomatic carrier of the virus. She was all that stood in the way of the defeat of an organized Outcast threat. The Animals were making quick work of all of her forces. But as is the norm of the post-outbreak world, when one problem is solved, another always seems to rise up and take its place.
After rescuing a JTF person of interest from the Federal Emergency Bunker in the northwestern part of the city, the Animals were on there way back to the rendezvous point at the Lincoln Memorial. It was getting late, as the sun had already set and the denizens of the night started roaming about. One thing that Cage and his men could all agree on was that they didn't want to be anywhere near any sewer entrances. The Underground, as everybody had taken to calling them, were a frightening bunch. Rumors swirled around that they were even cannibals!
After having heard that particular thing about those who dwelled below, Cage and his men made sure to shoot on sight. They were a nasty bunch of savages after all. As if the absence of their morality wasn't bad enough, their smell was just downright intoxicating. The only pro to that massive con was that whenever the smell was picked up, it proved that the Underground was nearby.
However, fate would have it that the men didn't smell them quick enough, because before they all knew it, they had been flanked and tackled by a large group of the bastards. They were sorely outnumbered, and Cage knew it. He looked at his men, James, Jared, and Cody; he had failed them terribly. He only hoped that for all of their sakes, their death would be a quick one. As they were being held down and restrained, a huge brute of a man with a chain saw came forward slowly, moving in and most likely savoring the moment. Judging from the splatter of blood all over his attire, this was not an uncommon thing that he did.
Just as he began to rev up his chain saw and move in on James, a nearby flash followed by a loud bang took out the street light above them, blanketing the surrounding area in complete darkness. Then, one of the Underground let out a pained grunt, followed by an example. A sound that only resembled flesh being torn into followed after that, and Christopher could just barely make out what appeared to be the shape of a human head rolling on the ground, the body it was attached to slumped over the metal carcass of a suburban. Noting that their captors were distracted by this new enemy, Cage took advantage of the situation, ripped one of his hands free, grabbing for his sidearm, and blew a tangerine sized hole through the head of one of the savages.
The hulking brute with the chain saw forgot about James and advanced on a figure clad in black armor, his weapon raised. The chain saw came into contact with something- wait was that an axe? The shower of sparks that followed the two weapons clashing gave the Division agents a brief glimpse at who their supposed savior was, and they immediately became even more frightened of the situation. Standing before them was a figure clad in black armor, wearing a ballistic mask with a pair of night vision goggles and a large x across the front of it.
Emanating only a grunt, the figure parried the chain saw, kicked it out of his assailant's grasp, then proceeded to bring his axe down upon the brute's neck, severing his head from his body. The brute fell with a large thud and all other Underground who weren't already fleeing from the scene left after the big guy was eliminated. The large figure then turned towards the group of agents, axe at his side, dripping fresh blood. As he turned towards him, a bunch of orange lights lit up along his chest and shoulders, revealing what could only be agent wristwatches.
"High-threat hostile, in proximity," ISAC rang throughout the agents' earpieces. Cage finally realized who they were up against. This was one of the infamous Hunters, a group of homicidal Division agent killers. Nobody knew who these guys were, except for the fact that they were a dangerous bunch of elite killers. James, being the voice of reason in this moment, chose to say, "Oh shit, run!" Needless to say, the whole team didn't need to be told twice, as they took off, with their predator closing in on them. Cody tried to set up his flame turret, only for it to be shut down in a blaze of sparks; the Hunter had sabotaged the SHD signal. Whatever tools they had at their disposal, this Hunter had made sure to eliminate all of the threats posed to him.
With it being dark, visibility was low, and as the team opened fire, their shots were quickly evaded by the Hunter. Jared brought out his LMG and lit up the alley way, but by then it was too late; the Hunter had ran in a zig-zag pattern, swinging his axe down upon the LMG once he was within swinging range. The force of the blow had not only knocked the gun out of Jared's hands, but had also knocked him to the ground. The Hunter then brought a foot down on his chest, quickly knocking the air out of him. He then proceeded to turn around and shoot Cody in the leg with his rifle. James picked this moment to rush him, only for his jab forward with his machete to be sidestepped by the Hunter; the man brought the pommel of the weapon upon the back of James' head, knocking him out cold.
He then turned back to Jared, preparing to bring the axe down whenever he realized that there were four agents and he had only disarmed three. Just as the axe was coming down, Christopher had picked up James' machete, bringing it up in a upward slice that completely severed the hand which had the axe in it. Roaring in pain, the hunter took a knee, clutching the bloody stump that used to be his hand. Taking advantage of the situation, Christopher quickly picked up the Hunter's axe, and in one quick motion, sliced the machete and axe in an x-like motion, decapitating the Hunter.
Coming down from the adrenaline high, Christopher dropped both weapons and rushed towards Cody, who had already begun to wrap his wounded up with the gauze and bandages that he'd had in his pack. Jared was beginning to get up from his position on the ground, having finally caught his breath again, then rushed over to James, who was still out. The man had probably sustained a concussion in his attempt to rush the hunter, as he'd been hit right on the back of his head with the pommel of the axe.
Being fortunate that he could still walk a little bit on his leg, Cody used a nearby branch broken off from a tree as a form of support for him to walk with, whereas Christopher and Jared helped carry James between the two of them. They moved inside to a nearby office building, going up the stairs and getting on the rooftops. It was once they got to the roof that they realized James had not only sustained a head injury but was bleeding from it.
Cody went into medic mode, applying gauze and bandages to the wound to keep it from bleeding further. Odds are, the pommel of the axe had a skull crusher on the bottom of it, and that was what caused the severe injury. Jared then radioed back to the Base of Operations that a medevac was needed for a Division agent, and that the extraction sight would be north of the Lincoln Memorial, marked with green flares.
Within 20 minutes, the rooftop they were on had multiple green flares on it, marking their location to the approaching chopper. Once on board, Christopher couldn't help but feel a deep sense of fear in the pit of his stomach. That was just one Hunter, one man that not only easily dispatched a group of Underground savages but managed to disarm and nearly eliminate an entire group of Division agents. How many more of those guys could there possibly be in this city?
He would find out soon enough. For now though, he just wanted to get his team back to the White House, get rested up, and be prepared for whatever it was that the next day would bring.