Somewhere near Clear Lake Oregon, United States, 2 figures emerge from the forest treading South to what seems to be an endless forest.
Yet, they keep walking as if this was a normal thing in their line of work. Well, in fact it is, as their work place is hidden within the forests.
Avelyne, along with her co-worker, Luke, follows a faint path through the dense foliage, dodging twigs and branches hanging off trees.
"We should be close" Avelyne calls out
"Yeah, I can tell" Luke replies "I already counted 3 Cameras on the way here"
"Wait, 3? I only counted 2" Avelyne exclaims
"Well what can I say? I've always been the better man" Luke jests with a prideful tone in his voice
Avelyne groans but doesn't give a reply, instead keeping her thoughts to herself.
Eventually, after that brief exchange, they finally made it to a small clearing.
Tree stumps dot the plain area, yet there, at the middle stands a small shack. It seemed run-down, with holes in the roof and a nasty leak on its wall.
"I guess we're here" Avelyne says "Been awhile since I got back to the Facility" She adds as she opens the door to the shack, revealing a hidden trap door. Its outline is barely visible to those who pay not much attention to it.
Avelyne slips a finger to a small slit disguised as a dent on the ground and lifts the door open.
"Pussies first" she smirks
"Says the idiot who got lunged by a human" Luke rolls his eyes as climbs down
Avelyne pouts at the comment and follows him down the ladder, closing the door above her.
Climbing down to what seems to be a 9 meter drop, she eventually makes contact with the solid cement surface.
Looking down at the corridor, a fluorescent lightbulb illuminates the circular hallway. At the end of it, she could see Luke swiping a card to a terminal right next to an Iron Door.
A beep echoes through the hallway, followed by a green flash of light from the terminal as the Iron Door Unlocks.
"Short Blondies first" he smirks
Avelyne does the same expression Luke did awhile ago as he climbed down the Trap Door, although she doesn't comment on it.
Entering the door, she finds herself in a rectangular concrete room with an Iron, more heavily fortified door on the end and a window on the top right of where she is looking.
The window had see-through glass, and through it she could make out the figures of Facility Members behind a Computer looking down on her.
She takes out her wallet and pulls out a Foundation ID, followed by Luke.
Upon seeing the Cards, a member pushes a button which slides a tray from the Wall.
"None Foundation Digital-Electronics please. Phones, Laptops, GPS and such" A Facility member announces through a microphone.
The duo follows their instructions and drop some of their Gadgets. Luke, dropping his phone, as well as Avelyne who drops her bag carrying a laptop and her other electronics.
The Facility Members nod and opens another door in front of them, to which they follow, with guards scanning them for electronics in the process.
Now officially inside the facility, none of them seemed happy to be there. To be fair, it was underground and barely anything to do other than chores and watch television. Devices that are not provided by the Foundation are prohibited for security reasons.
"Well, off to meet the Handler then" Luke says as he walks pass Avelyne
"Yeah, I'm guessing Nelson is already with him" Avelyne replies as she follows Luke
"Pretty much. After all, he did capture that Skinwalker bitch" Luke curses "Like... how the hell did she even end up this far north"
"I'm guessing she's migrating to a more 'natural' environment" Avelyne shrugs
Luke sighs as he opens the door to the Handler's room "Luke Vincent and Avelyne Bristol reporting sir!" he announces as he enters the room in a professional manner
"Oh hey you're finally here" The Handler replies, hidden behind the shadows of his dark room, with his necktie and the table he's leaning on the only thing visible as the light beams outside from the closing door to his position
The two of them stand in attention before the Handler.
The handler stands, and yet, despite the shadow hiding his face, they could tell his expression was not pleasant.
"You incompetent mutants. First you failed to capture the Anomaly 3 times, but from what I've heard, the local Police was also alerted to your presence!" He scowls, gesturing towards another figure in the room "If it weren't for Nelson here, that thing could've killed that Officer you met a few nights back!"
"Look, sir..." Luke tries to explain "That Officer... We had no idea he was even there in the first place..."
"Implying you didn't do a perimeter check before approaching the Anomaly!?" his tone gets even angrier "I swear, I'd have you all transferred to Antarctica if Nelson here hadn't discovered another case to be solved."
Avelyne quietly shrieks in fear at the mention of Antarctica. That's by far the most labor intensive facility in the Foundation, and the Coldest. She hates the Cold, and prefers a more Tropical Climate.
Luke gulps in fear before asking "So what's the Objective... Sir..."
The Handler sighs before Nelson steps up, his Red hair and freckled face barely visible from the light outside
"Turns out, that Skinwal- I mean... Anomaly was under someone's control. Possibly another Anomaly." He says "Basically, our mission would be to find the Puppet Master and figure out if he's been responsible for several murders in the town of Nova Monarchia"
"That place again? Are there any ideas on why he specifically chose that place as his killing ground?" Avelyne questions
"Not exactly... Although..." Nelson ponders over it, his Brown Eyes glimmering in the dark from the faint lights outside "There might be someone we can rely on." He points out
"Another Task Force I assume?" Luke guesses
"Not exactly. Remember that Detective you guys met back?" Nelson grins towards Avelyne
"Oh no..." Avelyne's face falls to despair
"Oh yes" Nelson's grins wider "He's been after the Anomaly we were chasing, although the clues he found led him to a different suspect" He pulls out a card and hands it to Avelyne "That's Detective Felix Lyfeld from the New Monarchia Police Department. Looked into him when I got back. Ex-Military, fought in Taiwan, discharged after his first tour, joined the Police and somehow got promoted to Detective"
"So our mission is to go in and try establish contact with the Detective, Capture the puppet master and hope it goes well?" Luke asks
"No, not your mission. Her mission" The Handler specifies, implying that Avelyne has to go in alone for this one
"Eh? Me? Alone?" Avelyne stutters as she tries to come up with an excuse
"Luke and Nelson are needed elsewhere. Task Force Charlie lost 2 Operatives trying to capture an Anomaly near Hamilton Creek and needs temporary replacements. Seeing as how Delta are the only ones that aren't on a high risk Operation, I'm dispatching 2 of your teammates"
Avelyne frowns at the news, but accepts. She'd rather risk another mission here than get sent straight to Antarctica. "Very well sir, I'll do my best"
"Also, if he does cooperate with you, give him this" The Handler tosses a small object towards her, to which she catches mid air "It's a Foundation Pin. If there are other Operatives in your Area of Operation, tell him to show it to them"
Avelyne nods in agreement
"Operation starts tomorrow. From now on, you'll be temporarily be recognized as Task Force Epsilon. If you have no other questions Avelyne, head to the Depot and grab what you need."
"Yes Sir. Farewell Sir." she about faces and leaves the room in a stiff manner
"Also, don't forget." She stops and turns to listen "Foundation Procedures for Containment." The Handler stiffens himself "No Witnesses, and if he ever gets any suspicions on anything... Anomalous" He chuckles "You know what to do"
Closing the door, she lets out a deep breath before exclaiming to herself
How the hell am I gonna pull this off!? Working with a human on capturing an anomaly without letting him know anything about Anomalies!?
Again, she lets out a sigh, and leaves for the Depot, with the hopes she can secure some Tools for the Job.
"Stun Guns... Stun Grenades... Anti-Tank Grenades?"
"The hell are you gonna need those for?" The Logistics Officer questions, a familiar person Avelyne is well aquatinted with
"Tough Job ahead. Going solo this time unfortunately"
"You, going solo? That's unheard of" The Logistics Officer giggles
"Shouldn't you be working, Cris?" Avelyne glares at him
"I am, and that's why I'm here" Cris replies with a smirk
Avelyne rolls her eyes as she looks over the list on what she can bring. Thinking she's waited long enough, she decided to go with her usual kit. Several Stun Grenades, a handful of Chem lights, Electric Capture Nets and several personal kits like first aid kits. Plus, her pocket money of a couple hundred dollars.
Standing on top of a bag full of supplies, one couldn't help but notice the frown on her face as she begins to realize how much she relied on her teammates to finish her missions.
Can I really do this?
She begins to doubt her success for this Operation.
The Next Day, Inside the Police Station back in Nova Monarchia
"Wait so there are other Agencies Involved?" Mark questions me
"No" I sigh is frustration "I'm Asking if there are other Agencies involved in this whole thing. You know... The murder?"
"Well, not one I can think of" Mark replies "Why ask?"
I thought about it for a second. Maybe she was just some thief? I ponder over it, but decided leaving a question unanswered for too long would make Mark suspicious.
"Don't worry about it. I just thought about it"
Mark narrows his eyes at me "Right..."
"Anyways, I'll go over my evidences in my office. See you around" I wave my hand as I leave for the opposite corridor of where we were walking.
Entering my office made me at ease. So far no one really bothers checking up on me during work. It's not like I'm always in a case, although I find myself lonely at times.
Sitting down on my office chair, I lay down a document I took out from my business bag and arranged them in their timeline.
Yet, despite all the clues I have gathered, it all seemed to lead to nothing other than the Doctor at the hospital. So far, only he knew of her address, and was murdered right after the interview. So far, she was heading straight home after her meeting with the doctor, and no other witnesses were present at the time.
I sigh, and write my report on my laptop. Hopefully this all ends well for me.
Midway through writing my report, someone knocks on my door.
"Come in" I call out
To my surprise, it was the Police Chief
"Detective Felix" He looks down on me, standing up "Seems like you're still busy. How's the investigation going?"
I stand in greeting him and offer a handshake. He's still slightly taller than me, being around 5'8 while I'm around 5'6. An average height for me atleast. We shook hands and I return seated
"All clues lead to someone" I reply to his question "Can't say I'm too sure about this one"
He raises an eyebrow "Who is it?"
"Doctor Horton from the New Monarchia Hospital. People say he's a creepy guy and I can confirm..."
"So you're gonna issue an investigation?" He asks
"Probably for the best. Don't know where else to look to be honest"
"Well about that" He pulls out a piece of paper from a document he was holding on to "We might have some back up for that, although it's up to you if you want it. After all, you've basically reached the end of your search"
I stared at the paper for a second and pulled it from his grasp. Looking to its contents, it states that a Government Agency known as 'The Foundation' is willing to expend some of its resources to aid the search for the murder of Maurice Connor.
"To be honest chief" I comment "I don't like shady governments" I return the paper "But I won't exactly deny their help either. I accept the offer"
The Chief smiles "Alright, but even if you denied it, I doubt they'd take 'no' as an answer. I'll be back in a bit to give you your briefing." he says before closing the door behind him, leaving me alone in my room again.
Well, time to leave this as a draft then I thought to myself
"I guess a little bit of videogames wouldn't hurt" I whisper to myself before closing the document app and opening an online game