--15th June 2020--
Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) HQ.
The Oldest House,Manhattan, New York, NYC, U.S.A
--F.B.C. U.S.A--
•Executive Sector‐Communications DEPT.[Entrance to the Hotline Chamber]
Bowers,Ellis- ATTENTION, DIRECTOR ON DECK!
Immediately, all soldiers stiffened and made a saluted as a figure walked past them:
It was a tall, slim woman. She wore a dark blue suit and a white shirt, with a pin of the Agency on her left side(An eagle with the Agency's motto:Invenio, investigato, Imperium)Her reddish hair was tied in a bun on the back of her hair with a grey triangle Hair Clipper, and her green eyes stared tiredly at the soldiers.
Jesse Faden, Actual Director of the Bureau, motioned to the men in front of her to stop.
Director Faden-(sigh)At ease, gentlemen. This is not an inspection.
Bowers,Ellis-Yes, ma'am. Sorry.-He and the others eased their hands, holding their rifles again.-What's the motive of your visit today?
Dir. Faden-I'm giving the board my monthly report. Same shit, different day. Something to report, by the way?
Bowers, Ellis-No ma'am. Only a little encounter with some Hiss soldiers, damn things were wandering near the old mail office. Got away, though. We had to retreat due to one of their shots hitting Collin's HRA. Nothing else.
Director Faden-Is Collins is going to be fine?-she asked with concern.
Bowers, Ellis-Yes, we sent him to the infirmary. His HRA got pretty damaged, but the doctor said he's safe from a possible corruption.
Jesse breathed in relief. The Hiss disaster had almost wiped out the Agency in less than 24 hours, and they were still dealing with some remnants of it's essence even after 8 months of recovery.
The New security regulations, issued by Head of Security Simon Arish, wich included the permanent use of an HRA(Hedronic Resonance Amplifier) within the facilities and with the reinforcement personnel sent by the Government the Oldest House had recovered quickly from it's impending doom.
That didn't mean there weren't some of the Hiss's reminiscence still loose inside the building, and even though it couldn't spread anymore it could still prove dangerous without propper measures.
Director Faden-Alright, call in Arish. I want a team to hunt them ASAP. I also want patrols to be careful during their rounds here and handle themselves with extreme care until the threat has been dealt with, clear?
Bowers, Ellis-Yes Ma'am!
Dir. Faden-Dismissed.
After leaving the group, she entered the Hotline Chamber.
It was a little room with glass walls surrounded by an inmense void, making it impossible to see the exact dimensions of the room. Inside was a red couch and a table, on ot layed a Red 60's telephone with a dark knob where the number dial should be.
As she was crossing the bridge, the echo of a ring started ringing.This was one of the points in the oldest house where the connection with the Astral plane was stronger, and thus an obvious choice to place the only O.O.P. (Object of Power)capable of direct communication with its entities, whether local or foreign.
Jesse sat on the couch and grabbed the handle of the earpice, and placed it against her ear. Slowly, she felt her body going numb, her consciousness fading into a place unknown to anyone.And suddenly, there she was, and the board was there as well.
The place was always Shining White when the Board appeared, an inmense and white emptiness. Sans a gigantic Inverted Pitch-Black Pyramid, The signature of the Board and The Bureau's Symbol.
Board-DIRECTOR.YOUR VISIT IS MOSTLY WELCOME/EXPECTED/UNECCESARY
Jesse was speechless, but not in a way of speaking. She couldn't talk in that place, not even a whisper. It was like her voice had been ripped off her body and held it captive to prevent her from saying a word.
Board-THE HISS/SPREAD HAS BEEN CONTAINED SUCCESSFULLY. YOUR DUTY/PUNISHMENT IS PROOVING ITSELF RIGHT/HAZARDOUS
Their 'talks' were mostly one-sided, with Her going there to report to them and hopefully receive either a dead silence or a straight answer.
However, there were those special times when they would call her to inform of a situation that needed her personal intervention. Those usually consisted in dangerous incursions to places where an A.I.(Altered Items)had gone Rouge and was too dangerous for normal measurements. Or, in the worst cases, an A.W.E(Altered world Event) that could threaten reality itself. She still had nightmares with the Clown that was making corpses float like ballons at that Derry town in Maine.
Unfortunately, those cases were very rare, which allowed her to enjoy the "pleasures" of being the Director: Paperwork, Head of DEPT. meetings, paperwork, meetings with government officials, paperwork, answering complaint sheets on why she couldn't tell Ahti to put anything that wasn't Finnish Tango on that radio of his, and paperwork.
GOD, she hated paperwork!
Back to the Hotline chamber after a final spooky "WE'LL BE WATCHING/MONITORING"Jesse stood up and started stretching.Talks like that usually took 2-3 hours in actual time, and it was always a pain in the neck.
•Executive Sector-Central Executive[{REDACTED}]
Jesse reached for the reinforced glass.Behind it, and 3 other walls, was the Beacon that led her to her new life. Her brother, Dylan.
In the center of the container and surrounded by medical equipment lay a young man with messy hair and a fresh beatd resting on a bed while a machine kept his vitals at notice with a constant 'beep-beep'.He was in a comatose state, apparently due to the expulsion of the Hiss in his body. And he's remained like that since then.
Dr. Underhill-(gasp)Well, if it isn't our beloved director. You should've called. I'd have rolled the red carpet just for you.
Dir. Faden-(sigh)Good to see you too, Raya.
Near the door to the cubicle was a woman in her 40s wearing a white lab coat and holding a clipboard on her left arm, her brown hair tied in a bun.
Dr. Underhill-DOCTOR Underhill, if you please.(scoff) One would say you'd have learned that by now, but apparently, that's too much to ask for.
That was the other part of the bargain.
After keeping the Mold Threshold at bay with a guard post (equipped with Flamethrowers issued specifically from Germany, for some reason), Dr. Raya Underhill became insufferable.Apparently, the decision to appoint Emily Pope as head of Research hadn't quite stuck with her, and she started a gull ledged campaign against her claiming "Favoritism, inexperience and despotism" to support it.
That went as well as you'd expect. The Directors directives are definitive, but to quell her, she was named High Research Specialist and given access level 6. That included Dylan, as you'd expect.
Dr. Underhill-And now, if this family meeting's over, I'd like to continue my work. You might disturb the subject with all your squawking.
Dir. Faden-Your "Subject" has a name. His name is Dylan-she growled, folding her arms
Dr.Underhill-Yes Yes, your little brother and all of that. But may I remind you that this man was probably the only person who experienced a lucid possession by the Hiss other than former Director Trench? And seeing how he's dead and you've destroyed the only means of reaching it's origin, this is the only living subject on which we can perform proper tests.
Dir. Faden-My brother is NOT your guinea pig.
Dr. Underhill-As a matter of fact, he is. Until we learn a method to wake him up, this is the most viable way of obtaining information. Or would you rather leave him to rot?-silence-That's what I thought.
Jesse exited the room furious. Underhill always managed to mess with her buttons.
'Right now, I could really use something to keep me busy now.' And so she proceeded to the maintenance sector.
•Maintenance Sector-Janitor's Office.
Ahti-Ah, you arrive again. Is it finally time to help old Ahti with his job?
Jesse grinned. She could always come down here to relax and get away from all that director bullshit.It was a small room, withal a blue couch and a coffee table to the left, the task-board to the right with many sheets pinned on it. The little desk with books and the radio Ahti carries everywhere.
And of course, the janitor himself:Ahti wasn't the most attractive of all; he had many wrinkles, and his grey hair was drawn completely to the top, showing a tilted forehead that made it look like he always had a quirked eye.He wore a blue janitor jumpsuit and held a mop, His mouth that resembled the one of a monkey, and his eyes were tired and still.She valued the old janitor, though.
He was the first person in the Bureau to actually treat her right and had remained friendly since then. He might be a little creepy and that but she didn't care. Here, she could just be Jesse Faden, Janitor Assistant, instead of Director Faden. Besides, Ahti made the best sugar lattes on the entire world.
Jesse-Yeah, I could use some of that.
Ahti-Ah, täydellinen. There's some stains near the reactors' roof, and I've been hearing dog whines in the labyrinth. Clean it up, and then you can come back. You've been slacking off these days, so don't dream with the beer yet. Töihin, odotan sinua right here.
She chuckled slightly and put on her own Jumpsuit, and turned on the yellow casette that lay on her locker. It's time to get her hands dirty.
•Research sector-Ashtray Maze
"TAKE. CONTROL"
Jesse loved that song.
As she entered the maze, she held out her hand. Like form thin air, a bunch of black cubes began assembling in her hand until they took the shape of a pistol. The grip gave way to a round magazine and a short cannon formed entirely by cubes. The service weapon.
Jesse-Let's do this!
"TAKE. CONTROL."
•Unknown Location on the Pacific ocean.
One boat in the middle of the ocean had a good day. Good wind, no problems. Easy and simple.
Fisherman-Alright Lads! Let's pull this up and be done with it.
He pulled the lever, and the gears started pulling the net from the bottom of the ocean until it loomed over the crew, filled with fish and the occasional rabdom trash.Following a little inspection to watch if there are any broken ropes, they moved the net over the cargo bay and then released it all.
Fisherman-There ye go! Let's go home people, Drink's on me!The crew cheered, and all across the ship people prepared themselves to return Home. Whilst unknown to them, a black crystal sphere began to glow with many variants of white, blue, yellow and green. And as it's glow increased, in the depth of the sea apair of glowing eyes stared into the emptiness.
A.N.To begin with, I don't want to get your hopes too high. This is a pilot chapter for a series I'm yet to see if I'll do, cause i have little idea of how to develop some ideas and how to put them through without ripping of my hair(besides, the app is not working very well, making writing and edition hell, and so i apologizeif this turns up with no spaces or all in italics).However, I'm open to suggestions, and I'll be glad to see any constructive criticism you may propose to improve. I hope you guys like it, and we'll see what future departs.Also, before I forget, I neither own Control nor I intend to tell how the Remedyverse should be. I'm just a guy with an idea and little more.