Oof Bad day for Kain.

"Team 1, report."

*...*

"Team 1? Team Two, come in."

*...*

"Somebody acknowledge."

*...*

"What the hell? What the fuck is happening..."

Kain muttered down at his comms unit and shook his head. Forty mercenaries, and none of them were responding? How was that possible? The main sweeping force had gone up the building about ten minutes ago, and Kain, Rock, and two bodyguards were to follow closely behind.

There must be a signal jammer up there. That's the only explanation.

This morning the mercenaries - disguised as four police riot units - would begin clearing Geese tower with the ultimate goal of murdering the King of SouthTown himself. Ideally the dual force of SouthTown PD and Kain's mercenary force would crush all of Howard Connection's defenses until they reached the door of Geese's penthouse.

At that point, Terry Bogard should have already joined their ranks (he was supposed to arrive soon) and he and Rock Howard would defeat - or at least weaken - Geese to the point where the man could be comfortably killed by Kain's own hand. It was exceedingly important that Kain was the one to slay his former boss. He wanted to be the one standing over Geese Howard at the end of this battle. He wanted to see the look of despair on the proud man's face, as he realized after three long years, the one he had wronged so unjustly had finally come for his head.

I'll cut you down, brother...

The first difficulty was to merge Kain's forces with the actual police force. SouthTown PD was supposed to show up shortly afterward the mercenaries went up, and Kain's forces would blend in and continue their operation with Police and Federal support. There was a certain risk to planting their forces in the building before the police arrived. It was impossible to know if the real units would be fooled by a uniform, or if they'd grow suspicious and attempt to oust them. However, the alternative was to climb the tower after the police went in. That meant Kain needed to convince his way past an already established police barrier - which wasn't easy to do given he was a wanted terrorist and had forty vigilantes in tow.

Why aren't they sending people in?

Kain and Rock had just climbed from the second to the third floor, and - from his vantage point - he noted the police line had been established already. All around the perimeter of the building, police cars were set up in a ring. There was caution tape strung about the area, and civilians were disallowed from approaching… so where's the real riot police? Why haven't they arrived yet?

Strange, strange… perhaps they were late? Perhaps they'd run into some complications. Kain absolutely needed SouthTown PD's participation, not so much for the additional firepower (Kain was convinced his forces were enough to handle whatever Geese had in store) but as a retreat strategy. Even if the operation could succeed without the help of the state, how could Kain waltz out of the building and not get immediately arrested unless he had police cover?

A trap? Are they here to catch me? No… nonsense. Blackwell will send troops up eventually… The Wolf should also be here soon. We need to concentrate on going up…

Kain shook the doubts from his mind, and proceeded onwards. He was a leader. He couldn't show doubt. He couldn't show fear. What had he to fear anyway? He has a veritable army of well-armed men at his disposal. He had The Wolf on his side, and The Wolf Cub on a leash. The police were his allies. The American Federal troops were likewise to assist him. Today, he was possibly the most powerful man in all of SouthTown, and certainly more powerful than Geese Howard.

Untouchable. I'm untouchable.

He said it to himself over and over, dearly hoping it was true.

As their small, four man crew, passed the threshold onto the third floor, Kain once again tested his comms, attempting to reestablish communication with his mercenary crew. The lack of success was making him nervous, and there was a certain feel in the air that… that just felt nasty. Kain steeled himself yet again, and noticed that Rock had gotten cold feet. The blonde teenager's steps had shortened to a stop, and he sniffed the air suspiciously.

Kain - cautious as always - likewise checked the air, found nothing strange, and rolled his eyes (Moreso to bouy his own spirits, then to mock his nephew). Rock had been rather enthusiastic to join this particular mission last night - but the boy couldn't be counted on. He had proven emotional and flaky, but had a tremendous amount of useful connections - which Kain had capitalized upon. Kain was tired of coddling his nephew, but knew once this operation was over - Rock would probably face the death penalty for conspiracy and terror. The boy was Kain's scapegoat, a scapegoat which would soon be slain, so the willowy man swallowed his misplaced rage and smiled a gentle smile.

"What now, Rocky-boy?"

"...it smells like ash."

"That's gunpowder. Come along now."

"No, Kain… I know this smell… It's-" Rock hesitated, obviously unable to recall where this particular scent came from. After a moment of deliberation, he concluded with a weak, "It's dangerous here. We need to go back."

There's something in the air… he's right… something bad… but I can't retreat… no… everything is fine. I just need to find my troops...

Kain huffed and narrowed his eyes. The dichotomy between his mind and his senses made him more disturbed than usual. His patience snapped and he motioned for the two accompanying bodyguards to force Rock to follow along. He curled his lip in contempt and turned on his heel to continue down towards the next set of stairs. He spoke aloud in a nervous snarl.

"We don't turn back, Rock. We can't retreat. We have a mission, and we're going to complete it. Don't you know your whole life is riding on this? Let's go."

Rock wasn't convinced. He continued to whine.

"But seriously, something bad is gonna happen if we - ow, let me go. I'll walk on my own, okay?..."

Kain shook his head and strode down the hallways as Rock was dragged behind him. Kain's mind spun. Why weren't the police here? Where were his troops? If there was a signal jammer, wouldn't they have realized it and sent somebody to inform him? Things weren't going according to plan, and although Kain Heinlein could handle a certain amount of chaos, this was so far off the cuff, he couldn't help but become nervous.

And now this little shit wants to go home, because he smelled something? Humph… he deserves the death penalty, or life in prison… whatever they give him.

Ahead was the corridor which - according to floorplans - led to the elevators and the next set of stairwells. Kain steeled himself and as he walked, he also noted the strange smell. The scent was akin to that of wood which had burned for so long, it reduced to nothing but white dust. What could it mean? Wh-

He rounded the corner.

...What?

"You!"

Kain blinked and gaped, pointing an accusatory finger at the man. Kain always made room for odd variables in his plans. Every time he ran an operation, somebody unexpected showed up… but of all the people who might come against them, Iori Yagami - their funding - was person Kain least expected. Kain lost his composure and stuttered in shock.

"Y-you! Why are you here?!"

Iori raised his head to look at them. He was slumped in an office chair and stared expressionlessly through Kain. There was blood splattered on his dress shirt, and all about him, the concrete walls where peppered with bullet holes- the signs of combat. The floor was covered in fine white dust, the origin of the charred smell… wait… did he kill all my men? No… impossible.

Iori hadn't appeared to really notice him. He continued to sit there, listless and unmoving, until Rock was dragged into his line of sight, after which, the red-haired man seemed to come to life. His expression softened, he cracked a grin. His voice doubled over itself, as if they were two people speaking.

"H-hey t-there D-ducky!"

Rock's expression went from indignant to terrified to disgusted.

"Boss?! What happened…" Rock gritted his teeth and hardened his eyes. "What the hell did you do?! All those guys, did you... oh god."

Iori ignored him and stood to his feet, shaking the dust from his shoes. The double voice faded, and the second entity seemed to retreat. His voice was casual and authoritative. He pointed a finger at their bodyguards, and the two men collapsed simultaneously to the floor, blood running from their ears. Kain felt a burst in the back of his neck, but a his own flames flared out to contain it. Iori didn't seem disturbed to find Kain was also a flame user, and simply continued as if it were nothing but a slight delay.

"I'm here to dispose of the trash and take you home. C'mon Howard. Let's go."

Quick note as to why they aren't just running up the stairs- A little excerpt that I cut out:

Kain had insisted on crisscrossing from the North and Southern staircases because the communications were down. Kain didn't want to risk getting ahead of the sweeping force and encountering enemies before the mercenaries did, and - as such - made sure to check each floor to re-unite with his firepower.

Brocky & Kain Vs Yag incoming