RWBY-The Recidivist: Chapter 21 *Rewritten* (Original Version Released 8th of May, 2014)

Reminder: DISCLAIMER/AUTHOR'S NOTES

NOTE: I am aware that the entire series is not finished yet. Due to the huge number of changes in the canon and the other project being done in Japan, this story will be an AU (Alternate Universe) that takes place between Volume 2 and 3, while adopting some actual elements from the canon.

RWBY along with its characters DOESN'T belong to me. The series respectively belongs to RoosterTeeth and its creator, Monty Oum. The plot in this Fan Fiction and some characters you'll know who are OCs (Original Characters) are original from me. If any ideas or characters sound similar to another story written by somebody else, it is purely coincidental. I refuse to blatantly steal somebody's idea and claim that it was mine. If you have any concerns, you are always welcome to message me.

If there is anybody outside of this site posting this Fan Fiction without giving proper credit or impersonating me, please let me know.

Chapter 21: Spilled Blood, Part 2.

The horrors of an atrocity.

-(4 Miles Away from Vale's Stock Exchange Building; Downtown, Vale City)-

(Riley's POV)

7:02 AM…

Another usual morning.

I held my cup of coffee while I remained seated in my car. This was actually my sixth cup because ever since the assassination of Commander Wilkes, our Drahënese Military Advisor, the entirety of Vale's Armed Forces has been on full alert as if security might have been compromised. As in, our military higher-ups might be in danger as there might be more targets for maybe the White Fang to strike on. IF they were involved in this. So far, they're still in our crosshairs. As of right now, we're expecting a replacement. But that would also mean more work for me as I will be handling some of the security details with my COs (Commanding Officers). Military lifestyle can sometimes drag you down.

While still in the parking lot of the coffee shop I stopped to get breakfast, I received a call from my radio. "Drifter 3-1. Go ahead." I responded.

"3-5 to 3-1. Are you by chance near the Vale Stock Exchange Building?" The voice of one of my men asked.

"Negative. I'm maybe around four miles away from that sector. Contact on anything?" I asked.

"We got some guys spread out across the front plaza in hoodies. Currently with some guys in the VPD on the third-floor diner at River Avenue."

"What's so suspicious about them besides what they're wearing?"

"They're all standing in the same spot for quite a while." Drifter 3-5 answered. "Some of their arms aren't swinging whenever they're moving around. Probably carrying something under."

"Roger. I'll make my way down there now. Hang tight. If anything happens, give me an update." I ordered while placing my coffee on the cup holder.

"Hold on. One of them is leading a group closer to the front of the Stock Exchange." Drifter 3-5 relayed. "Corporal, the VPD guys are telling me they're going to investigate. Request permission to accompany them while 3-2 holds to provide overwatch."

If those people wearing the hoodies were a threat, this would be a pretty risky move for the Vale police officers and my men who volunteered to go with them. Not only they would be approaching closer to the potential threat, but they would be also revealing themselves in the open. Another thing worth noting was a lot of innocent lives were around them. Their lives could be in danger if my men and the police weren't able to respond in time. The usual tough decision making for a team leader. After giving it some thought, I had to give my answer quickly. So, I decided to take the risk and comply with his request.

"Drifter. Regroup in front of the Vale Stock Exchange Building with the officers. I'll meet up with you guys there. Over."

"Roger. Heading there now. Out."

With that, I started my car and drove my way towards the Vale Stock Exchange Building where the rest of my team waited. I had to make it quick just in case something was about to happen. Unfortunately, traffic decided to obstruct my progress as it was the busiest time of the morning. In the meantime, I kept my radio connected to them. It took maybe around seventeen minutes to reach a quarter mile near the stock exchange building. And the busy crowd of people and cars didn't seem to get any better. At this point, I was just about to find any spot of public parking so I could just make my way there on foot.

In the end, I decided to remain in the traffic as I didn't want to deal with finding a parking space in the busier parts of Vale City. At first, I started to space out the longer I had to endure it. But then I received a relay from Drifter 3-5.

"Drifter. Go ahead." I answered.

"3-1. Be advised. We just saw a van with heavily tinted windows that surpassed vehicle restrictions. It's heading towards the Stock Exchange Building." He warned. "Hold on. It's heading behind the building now…"

"Copy. Can you intercept?"

"Negative. Too far off. Two of the police officers will go check it out."

"Roger. Update me when something new happens."

"Affirmative."

The light turned green at a perfect time as I proceeded down the busy road. Maybe around five minutes passed as I was now getting closer towards the main road where my team was located. Then, I received a call that was pretty concerning.

"3-1. Something is up. We thought we heard some gunfire coming from inside the building."

My heart dropped upon hearing about this and immediately responded. "Any other units operating in that area? Police? Military?"

"Negative. But we're going to investigate right now."

"Roger. Be careful. I'll relay to any law enforcement or military elements nearby to respond to the situation, just in case you need assistance."

Immediately, I began to text my commanding officer the moment the traffic light turned red. I also went on an open channel between military and law enforcement links to notify the activity my squad notified. And soon when the traffic was green, I proceeded and now saw the Vale Stock Exchange Building from its back. The parking lot was gated and blocked with concrete walls, which means I was unable to verify if the two cops were able to intercept the van earlier. But that didn't matter.

*BOOM!*

An explosion erupted from the inside of the building. It was powerful enough to feel my car vibrate from the shockwave. Smoke and debris puffed out of the small number of windows from the ground floor after glass shattered and spilled across the sidewalk, which would definitely injure others. Traffic stopped completely as my car was trapped with the drivers around me began to exit their vehicles and either start taking photos, calling the officials, or even start fleeing out of fear of more explosions.

"Drifter 3-1 to squad! Status!" I called over the radio to check if my squad was okay.

No response.

My anxiousness increased the moment I started to hear distant popping sounds outside my car. I rolled down the window and could easily confirm they were gunshots. That was when I knew I had to ascertain and intervene with what was going on. Honking my horn to get the other people's attention, they saw me in my uniform and easily knew they had to move their cars out of the way. So, they opened up a path as I began to move forward slowly to prevent hitting any civilians running away from the chaos. Before I could reach the corner towards the front, the path was already blocked completely with cars that were damaged from the explosion and abandoned by their owners. I turned my head to notice that the security gate to the back of the building didn't have any more security on station. This made me suspicious as I decided to go through the back to find any of them. But nobody was there.

"Drifter 3-1 to all Drifter callsigns. I say again. What is your status?" I asked again over the radio, only to be met with silence once again. "Goddamn it!" I cursed and decided to take a risk to search down to the parking garage level beneath the building for any security guards on duty. "3-5. Anyone. If any of you are hearing this, fall back to a safe position and await further orders! I am interior of the Vale Stock Exchange Building. Garage floor."

Finding an open parking spot near the ramp, I parked and went out of my car to begin strapping up my harness and prepping my sidearm. For now, I did a quick and brief sweep across the garage floor to search for anybody. But I came across nobody and didn't find anything suspicious or dangerous like potential explosive devices or weapons. So, I headed to the elevators and saw on the display that one of them was on the way down to the garage floor from the main one.

"Drifter. What is your location? Over." I asked on the radio while my heart rate began to increase, thinking I was about to encounter either someone mortally wounded, or the culprit. No response came and the elevator opened to reveal a unhooded man with a cape concealing his entire body. No signs of damage or injuries, so far, unless he was hiding it beneath his cloak. But if not, that was a red flag. The look in his eyes remained blank, but the feeling of staying near him caused some…disturbance.

That still didn't stop me from asking, "Sir? What are you doing here?" I asked while folding my arms.

The man let out a small chuckle and waved his hand briefly. "I'm glad you're here, sir. I was on the fourth floor before everything went chaotic and came down to find help." He answered.

I heard a few things about the Vale Stock Exchange Building and the strict rules and security measures they follow. When he mentioned being on the fourth floor, that was a red flag. Usually, civilians aren't allowed to have access to the upper floors. Not to mention, the most obvious thing I noticed was the fact that the elevator was displaying to be still on the ground floor before it descended to the garage level. This man was clearly lying. So, I asked, "Fourth floor? Do you work here?"

"Why, yes I do, Mister…"

"Corporal Riley." I answered. "Now then, if you work here, are you aware the fourth floor is restricted to even the employees of this building?"

…

"Is that so…?" He bit his lip a little.

"Yes. Only executive members and a few others are allowed up there." I glared while stepping back, slipping my hand down to grab a hold of my pistol. "Not to mention, the elevator said you were on the main level before you headed down. Not the fourth one."

The man sighed and shook his head. "I suppose there's no use trying to keep it hidden any longer."

As expected, he attempted to pull out a concealed firearm. But I was quick enough to unholster and acknowledge it was indeed a pistol. Firing half my magazine at him, I was taken aback to see he was able to withstand my shots and leaped towards me. The man kept attempting to redirect my shots and disarm me. But the moment I lost my grip on the pistol, I used my knee to kick his stomach, lift him, and sending a punch that sent him to the pavement.

I ran to grab my pistol, which still had a few shots left in the magazine and aimed at him. "Hands up! Now!"

"Time to have some fun. Let's see how long you can survive with your training." The man grinned.

"Hands up! Or you're gonna get sh-"

Suddenly, glass shattered from one of the car windows before he pulled out some sort of wand. It glowed as the broken pieces of glass ascended and were thrown towards me. Seeing this sort of ability being used against me, it was now clear that I was not facing an ordinary foe. He was either a Huntsman, or an equivalent of one that had unlocked his potential abilities like those at Beacon. Because of this, I didn't evade in time as glass scraped my body that was able to slash some parts of my uniform and lacerate any exposed skin.

"Damn it…!" I gritted my teeth in pain while staying behind a pillar towards the corner of the garage. Hearing the sound of his footsteps, I knew I had to make an escape. I reloaded and started firing blindly at him while running towards my car. My shots were blocked by some sort of energy shielding he summoned, but it kept him stationed while I distanced myself.

A few more cars away from mine, I heard him chuckle. "Hiding? Are you really going to play this game?" He scoffed while walking towards the area I was in.

I used the noises from the chaos happening outside as an advantage to try and keep my movement sounds hidden. But I have to remember that this was probably a huntsman I was dealing with. So I had to be silent and swift at the same time before he got the drop on me. Fortunately, I reached my car and tried to silently open the trunk, which contained my standard issue rifle. Grabbing a couple of mag pouches and clipping it to my harness after putting it on, I grabbed my radio and tried to contact anybody for assistance. "This is Corporal Riley! I'm pinned down and need assistance on the east side of the Stock Exchange! Any units available?!" I whispered while keeping myself low to avoid getting spotted.

No response.

Then, the man leaped from above the car behind, ready to put the drop on me. That was when I took the first couple of shots at him. It was a direct hit as he rolled down on the concrete floor while clenching a part of his abdomen. With him in a slightly weakened state, I took this opportunity to grab a couple of grenades I kept in one of the smaller cases next to my rifle's.

"Come out with your hands up, or I'll keep shooting!" I threatened while placing myself behind cover again, aiming center mass.

"Acting so tough when you're this shaken over the lives that don't matter to you. Pathetic." He taunted me while ripping out a car door and charged towards me.

I had no choice and fired a couple of shots, which were ineffective as my bullets didn't seem to penetrate through the car door. Before I could back away to dodge him, he forcefully slammed it on me. I was sent flying to the other side of the parking garage, hitting against the ramp's gate hard enough to keep me down for a good chunk of time. I crawled and ran, soon gritted my teeth to go back in a firing stance to shoot at him, only to keep advancing with his car door. So, I kept retreating up the ramp.

Hearing the sound of him dropping the car door while I ran to reload my rifle, he shouted. "Fighting back is fruitless. I'll give you this rare opportunity to run so I can spare you."

Loaded with a new mag, I fired another few shots to make him take cover. "I'm no coward."

"Indeed. But more of a fool." He taunted while twirling his wand, which started to increase in size and form a spike with a blade. "If you insist on ceasing your arm, then allow me to put it down myself."

I ignored his threat and fired another few shots to try and graze any sort of hit. But the way he twirled his polearm only blocked all my bullets. The moment I saw him start to stance into a running position, then dash towards me, I decided to play it risky and pulled out a grenade. Pulling the pin and dropping the safety lever, I tossed it at him before jumping down to the closest concrete barrier. When it exploded, I peeked over to see him disoriented temporarily from the blast and smoke it caused. I tried to fire my weapon while charging at him to detain him. But I realized I used all my shots and had to reload. But to hell with it. I hit him with the butt of my rifle hard enough to send him down to the ground. Then again, I was countered when he swiped his polearm at me blindly, which resulted in a laceration on my right leg and below my left arm.

Growling while fighting through the pain, I stood back up on my feet to reload a new mag and send another volley. "It's going to take more than that to put me down."

"Persistent little insect." He growled and used whatever strength he had to recover and deflect my shots. But not as effectively as one of my shots hit his shoulder.

I had one more grenade to finally put an end to this bastard. So, I pulled the pin, released the safety lever, then tossed it at him while running for cover. However, another person arrived and caught it before flawlessly tossing it back while it was still hot. Not seeing this coming, I fired some shots at the new arrival, but my shots were blocked by his even thicker blade. And so, my grenade landed back on me while I panickily tried to grab it and toss it away or back at them. But it exploded midair while closer towards me. Shrapnel struck me as I collapsed on the ground.

"Not your day, soldier." The man that arrived said before grabbing me, then tossed me onto a pillar hard enough to shatter it and have pieces of them fall on me.

My body was in so much pain while taking in enough damaging force to the point where I was losing consciousness. The last thing I heard was man I faced first thanking his rescuer.

…

…

…

I don't know how much time has passed. But my eyes cracked open slightly to notice I was completely alone while the sound of gunfire from earlier was now slightly decreased. Either that means the White Fang was losing numbers, or it was law enforcement being the ones losing theirs. If the latter, the military might have to step in if things are going to be this bad. As for myself, there was nothing I could do. I tried to push the debris pinning me down off. But it was no use as my body remained weakened from the fighting.

So, I was thinking this would be it. I either die from my wounds or just remain here defenseless while hearing the battle going on with some occasional screams of the innocent trying to flee. It was frustrating because my job was to make sure I was protecting the people of Vale along with my men. And now, I can only imagine the situation getting worse.

But my loss of hope finally ended as soon as I heard the metal security gate getting forcefully opened by seemingly a few men. But I was wrong. It was just one…

The man was friendly, since he saw me and didn't respond by taking me out of the game. He ran towards me and used an auto-injector on me, which seemed to be working miraculously fast and efficiently enough to stimulate my body while easing the pain.

"You alright?" His stone-cold voice asked me, as if he was unfazed with the horrors of what's around us.

"I'm fine…I think…" I groaned while attempting to push the fallen debris off me. But due to my body temporarily being in shock while weakened from the fighting, I was unable to. On the bright side, there were no other serious injuries on me besides the lacerations and shrapnel wounds, which was already taken care of due to what he injected me with.

The man didn't say anything as he immediately went to help take the piece of column pinning me down…using one arm! Or so I thought it was a regular arm. Turns out, it was prosthetic that was armor plated and had a complex design that didn't seem to configure any Valean technology. Hell, not even Atlas…

"Corporal Riley?" He asked, offering me a hand to get on my feet.

I nodded and grabbed his hand to stand on my feet. "Yes, sir."

"Lt. Commander Gerard Warrington. I was the only one who could respond to your call for backup." He introduced himself briefly.

"Just you? What about the rest of my team?" I asked, concerned.

But my nightmare scenario came true as Gerard just gave me the same cold expression while shaking his head. "The dead can't come to help you." He stated almost without any sort of emotion. "They were killed in front of the building, between the exchange of gunfire. I didn't see all of it, but they clearly didn't make it far."

Deep down, my heart just shattered as I was responsible for putting their lives in danger and getting them killed. People can argue that I didn't know, and it wasn't my fault. But it's a lot more harder to accept your mistakes and forgive yourself with something like this. The men I was in charge of died because of my orders, and there was nothing they and I could do about it.

"Relax." Gerard snapped me out of my state of grief. "I know you've just lost your squad, but we need to focus on not losing any more lives from the White Fang. You good on ammunition?"

"Yeah…" I sighed and looked down at my rifle with the bandolier pouches still containing enough ammo to finish the mission. "What's the overall status around this area?"

"Heavy support is already in bound from both law enforcement and the military guard. As for the situation in front of the building, it's slowly easing down, but not enough to be considered safe."

"Wait, what about that other guy?!" I remembered as I alarmedly scanned the area with my rifle halfway raised.

"Other guy?"

"He's talking about me." The voice I heard before I went unconscious returned. Ahriman, if I recall.

"Crap…"

With that, I clenched onto the grip of my rifle and repeatedly scanned the area until I found him. He stood on top of the security wall with his blade and looked down at me. But then, his eyes shifted to Gerard where his expression intensified. "You again?" Ahriman glared at Gerard while circling around us like we were his prey.

However, Gerard did not seem intimidated in the slightest while he just kept his prosthetic arm down as if he didn't need to be put in any defensive stance. "Ahriman. Not surprised to see you involved in this sort of thing."

"If you're talking about me wanting to spill innocent blood like this, I am not. Seems like things didn't go as planned." He shook his head.

"No matter." Gerard shook his head while his arm formed into a thick sword to properly face off against his. "All the same targets to me."

Ahriman jolted as soon as he saw Gerard just swiftly charge towards him, being able to deflect his first attack almost barely. Before he could counter, Gerard was able to send off another hit as he forcefully deflected Ahriman's blade down to spin around to charge a punch to the side of his head. It happened so fast that I just saw Ahriman fly across towards the other end of the security wall. And it was a rough landing. Then, Gerard's arm formed into a machine gun while he loaded up a magazine hidden in his overcoat. Before I knew it, a barrage of bullets was fired at Ahriman as his stance and body stood firm while absorbing the recoil.

The dust and smoke settled as it was revealed Ahriman barely had a chance to use his blade to protect himself from the shots. A noticeable wound on his lower cheek was seen as one bullet grazed him. "It's not every day seeing you outside of your homeland." Ahriman grunted while wiping the blood off his chin.

"You just need to know where to look." Gerard replied and charged towards him once again to keep up the advantage. With no sign of exhaustion shown.

Ahriman lifted his sword again to deflect an upcoming attack. However, he was then slammed through the wall and sent into the interior of the building. It turns out that Gerard had already switched his arm back into a fist that was able to shatter his defenses. But it didn't stop there. Even during the inside battle, Gerard paid no heed to the number of dead bodies and mainly focused on Ahriman while he was on the defensive. While Ahriman relied on improvising items around him for weapons with his sword, Gerard easily just countered them with his arm.

I tried to join in to assist Gerard, but they were both fighting in close combat and I couldn't risk taking the shot on a friendly. So I waited until Gerard was able to knock him in a further enough distance for me to take some shots. Then again, it was clear the fight was going in favor towards Gerard with Ahriman visibly struggling to keep up with his speed and agile movements in a messy environment.

Gerard clicked his tongue and said, "Tell me. Who the hell was responsible for all this bloodshed? What is there to gain?"

Letting out a cough and aggravated growl, Ahriman looked up at Gerard and said, "When will you learn? It's not always that easy to get the information you want."

"The reason why I'm asking is because I'm giving you a chance to answer, before I turn it bloody."

"Fool."

Then, Gerard was sent back and slammed against the piles of electronics and monitors. When that happened, a blinding blue light flashed across the entire room with the source coming from Ahriman. I fired my shots at Ahriman, but it seemed to be blocked by a pair of dragon-like wings shielding him from any harm. The wings then uncovered him to reveal that he possessed a lantern from under his side cape. It still glowed blue that it was enough to saturate the entire room. Blindly.

"Remember who you're talking to." Ahriman said while a trail of energy flowed to his blade before he swung it, sending a wave of energy to Gerard that was able to slice the monitors and electronics clearly in half.

Gerard, fortunately enough, was able to see this coming as he turned his prosthetic into a new kind of weapon. He pulled out a rocket propelled grenade from somewhere underneath his overcoat and reloaded it, firing a shot at Ahriman that was able to send him back while his "wings" took the blast. "Like I give a shit, fossil man. If this is how you want it to go down, there's no issue or hesitation."

"Ahriman. You there?" A voice from his radio contacted. "If you're hearing this, it's over. This operation is compromised. Head back to the extraction point at once. Forget about the others."

While all three of us heard that, Ahriman began to cautiously scan the entire area of the atrium and went into a greater defensive stance upon noticing Gerard.

"That voice." Gerard commented and began to growl angrily. "I see it now."

"You misunderstand."

"No. I think I understand it all well enough!" He roared and tossed a grenade and shooting it in midair, close enough towards Ahriman.

Thankfully, no shrapnel landed on us due to the distance, or it was a special kind of grenade that had controlled munitions. But when the dust had settled, Ahriman was gone. No sign of any trace.

Gerard clicked his tongue and lowered his arm after fully scanning the area. "Always getting away. Must run in his family." He shrugged and turned around to head towards the elevators. Almost walking off from his injuries so easily. "Corporal. Let's move. We still got more contacts inside the building."

"Y-Yes sir!" I followed him as we reached the elevator. But the moment he turned around to face the closing door, I noticed a patch underneath his coat as if it was intentionally hidden. It was the insignia for the Royal Drahënese Navy. Something I didn't expect. But judging by how technologically advanced his prosthetic arm was compared to Atlas, it began to make sense. I heard rumors that their military was above and beyond something we didn't expect. "You're Drahënese?" I asked.

Gerard gave a nod but went into position towards the door when we reached the third floor. "I am. But we'll talk about other things later. Right now, shoot any White Fang son-of-a-bitch you see that fire back at you. I got you covered."

"Yes, sir." I acknowledged while preparing to breach.

The elevator door opened as Gerard immediately exited and scanned both directions while I followed him out after, aiming down the hallway from the first direction he faced. It was all clear, but there was clear signs of a struggle and fighting going on. Some of the damage was clearly not from the explosions I witnessed when I was still in my car. The walls, doors, and some office partitions were all cluttered around.

It was eerily quiet for a few seconds before there was a sudden violent crash happening in the closest room that had its door closed. Gerard immediately hugged the wall and went into a breaching position while signaling his hand over to me. I went on the opposite side and nodded as a sign I was ready. He prepped a stun grenade from under his coat before I donkey kicked the door open. As soon as the detonation went off from the grenade he tossed inside the room, he took point while I went inside to see what was going on.

There stood a young man holding two swords while wearing specialized armor that would be expected for a Huntsman to wear. But the design looked a bit more foreign. What did stick out the moment we made eye contact was he was wearing an eyepatch on his left. He seemed to looked unfazed from the stun grenade because of it, but the others with him suffered its effects more. It was three men in cloaks that concealed their identity: one in white, the other in blood red, and the last one in dark grey.

The one in the blood red cloak growled and looked at both of us. But he locked his gaze to Gerard and said, "You damn nuisance!"

Suddenly, he tossed his circular blade across the room as it began to bounce off all the walls that created a lethal box for everyone. Taking advantage of the situation while Gerard pushed me down to take cover with him, the three men ran towards one of the windows and jumped out. I fired a few shots, but they didn't react to it either because I missed, or they were unfazed by my shots like that man in the garage earlier.

"Not this time!" The young man growled and ran to the windows to pursue them.

"Wyvern?!" Gerard exclaimed at the young man.

"Secure the building! I'll go after those bastards!" He told him before running to the window to jump out of it to pursue…whoever those three were.

I looked at Gerard and asked, "Who the hell was that kid?!"

"Once again, we'll talk about other things later. Just focus on securing the building." He shrugged off my question and began to cautiously walk around the messy room.

So much is going on all in one location! My mind was throbbing for a moment, but then I soon snapped out of it and focused on following Gerard's orders. However, my mind was numb once again upon witnessing a corpse of a young man. It wasn't the fact that his legs were gone. Because they previously were due to the prosthetics, which were shattered beyond repair. But it was the…bite marks… and wicked slash on his neck and the multiple stab wounds on his abdomen. His face was…contorted with agony until he finally succumbs to his wound and blood loss. I just…couldn't move at that point.

"Corporal. Hey." Gerard grabbed my shoulder and shook it to get me back.

"Sir." I huffed and cringed when I looked down at the corpse again.

Gerard seemingly looked down at the grotesque scene coldly as if he was used to seeing this sort of horror on a daily basis. He kneeled down and shut the young man's eyes and shook his head. "You chose the wrong path, Mercury."

"You know that guy?"

"Not on friendly terms. He was affiliated with the White Fang with a couple of other colleagues of his." He answered and wiped the blood off his prosthetic hand. "Still. He didn't deserve this kind of end by those bastards."

I couldn't last longer staring or being next to the corpse as my stomach wretched to the point where I almost threw up. Luckily, I was not able to spew out anything. The sound of more police sirens from outside the building was what caught my attention out of the gruesome picture. I went to the window and saw the rest of the law enforcement with the company of military police units encircling the plaza and the building. That was when Gerard's radio went off as he received a transmission from someone down there.

"Enforcer Actual. Say your status." His radio contacted.

"On the third floor facing the front windows. Watch your fire." Gerard replied while stepping forward towards the windows to shine a signal using his flashlight on his prosthetic. "Watchman. Expand secure perimeter by twelve blocks. Make sure to keep an eye out for any suspicious individuals. Last known appearance of multiple contacts was black hoodies."

"Ten-four, Enforcer. Be advised. Falcon 1-7 is on station for surveillance overhead. We'll relay you updates on suspected activity. Over."

"Roger. First floor is mostly clear. Send in the sweep teams. Over."

"Understood. Out."

Gerard set his radio down and began to make his way towards the only exit. He looked at briefly and said, "Corporal. Let's head down there." he ordered while he walked past the corpse.

"Yes, sir." I acknowledged and followed closely. Not wanting to look down at the body again…

This chapter was both easy, and tricky to make. Just one more POV switch chapter, and it's all good!

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