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Outside Hark's room, people were talking. He understood all of what they were saying, but nothing of what they meant. Still a bit shaken up from the men who'd come barging in, demanding that he put his hands in the air, he shuffled closer to one end of his cage and wrapped his talon-like hands around the bars, peering his wide-eyes through as if he could sense what was going on in the other room. The loud noises, the screams, the gunshots, all lasted for little more than fifteen or twenty minutes. And shortly thereafter, all was plunged into an anxious quiet. He heard footsteps. More voices, but he couldn't discern anything from them. And a strange feeling of curiosity began to mix in with his fear. Like reading the scary parts to a book, Hark knew that what he was going to find out next would haunt him for the next week, but at the same time, there was a need to know. A need to know exactly what was going on, who these people were, and what they wanted.

But most of all, Hark wanted to know what was going to happen to HIM. If these people could overrun the facility in less than half an hour, with guns and demands and hostility in their minds, what made them any better than the scientists of Altexicon, with their srynges, heavy machinery, and scalpels? Scampering back to the back of his cage, Hark picked up his copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and resumed to reading the words with an empty mind. He had to force himself to calm down or he'd be shot... or worse, stuck in this cage for more study.

All that registered in Hark birdbrain was that he had to escape. Somehow. Some way. As his wide, glimmering eyes trailed along the words of his story, he slowly began to draw his plans.

Daniels gritted his teeth as he heard Carly's officer down report. The others on their own comm links assured Carly that local EMTs were on their way. However, knowing that the closest hospital to this place, in the capital of Maine, Augusta, was easily twenty miles away or more, he acted quickly. "Pierre," he said, "Help the HRT get the suspects to transports, and help Agent Freeman with his injuries until the EMTs get here. Call for backup if you run out of room in the transports. I gotta help Agent Carly." (OOC: Agent Freeman was the HRT member that was shot in the shoulder, earlier. Although he was fine, he needs the bullet dislodged from his shoulder.) With the explanation, Daniels exited the building and went out to find Carly. As he did so, he radioed in to get the rest of the crew in to prepare extract the test subjects once he was finished helping Carly.

With a bit of searching, and a lot of asking for whereabouts, Agent Daniels finally managed to find Carly limping in an area not too far from the compound, staggering a walk with a bullet wound to the shoulder. He rushed over to her. "Carly, what happened?" He asked, as he lifted her good arm over his shoulders and began to help her over towards the vehicles.

Agent Jordan Daniels took the vials, and looked at them closely. However, unable to make out what they might be, he put them in a small ziploc bag in his pocket, which was marked "Evidence." "This," Jordan said, is going to the crime lab. We'll see what they make of it. As to the raid," he continued, "It went well; two injuries, including you, no deaths on our side. So far, I've counted seven suspects killed, and at least ten arrests. There's probably more, but we did find a lot of test subjects with what look to be very weird mutations. You're going to help me, once you've got your arm fixed up when the EMTs get here, are going to help me extract the test subjects from the facility. We're going to take them to a cordoned-off medical facility to check up on them, and then try to find out what exactly we're going to do with them. They're not exactly the kinds of people we can just let go on the streets, really... but we gotta do something with them."

Just then, as they reached the road where the armored vans were parked, ambulances arrived on the scene. "C'mon," he said, "let's get that arm of yours fixed up."

(( Hai, guise! Breach & Clear, yo!

Name: Alex Soosdon (codename: Flux)

Age: 31

Gender: Male

Species: Human

Allegiance: Mercenary hired by Altexicon

Rank: n/a

Physical appearance: This man is rather slender for his age (although muscles can be seen), fairly tall. He walks and stands in a very casual manner and he does seem fairly athletic. His face is a little rough, but otherwise seems pretty young, except for the beard growing there (which is well-trimmed anyway). He is also rarely seen without a cigarette in his mouth. His hair is brown and short and his eyes carry an unmistakeable tint of brown.

Clothing: Wears a gray shirt, white and gray denim pants, black gloves, black leather boots. On top of that he carries a black leather jacket which is long enough to pass his knee level. It is also usually closed around his chest, making it easier to hide stuff in there.
He carries a necklace made of silver, resembling a large X in the middle of a circle. In the middle of the X is a small gemstone.

Personality: Rough'n'tough. This guy lacks a lot of morality (it's what earns him a lot of cash) and prefers action over words. Those who know him will probably not feel very connected to him, but he actually does care a lot for his friends...even though he would refuse to admit it.

Equipment: Carries two Colt guns which he dual-wields. When holstered, they are hidden underneath his jacket. He also carries two, fairly long daggers which are sheathed on each side of his jacket's inners, allowing him to easily swap between guns and daggers.

))

((8D hey luxxy >w<))

We're going to take them to a cordoned-off medical facility to check up on them, and then try to find out what exactly we're going to do with them. They're not exactly the kinds of people we can just let go on the streets, really... but we gotta do something with them."

"Hmm.." She trailed of decently as she wondered what would become of the test subjects. If life for normal humans was already harder what would become of the creatures. A soft sigh left her lips as she looked back from the EMT vehicle to Daniels. "Thanks" She mumbled softly as they made their way towards the truck but her mind was still with what remained inside the raided building. She bit her bottom lip as she sat on the stretcher and waited to be assisted,

Taking a glance back to her wound she examined the blood that was now dark and dry against her vest and shirt. A gentle huff left her lips as she looked to Agent Daniels. "My first shot... wasn't so bad huh?" She asked with a forced chuckle as she kept the pain hidden from the tone of her voice. The breeze lightly leveled out various strands of her hair from across her cheek.

-

Her eyes darted along the corners of her cage with a whimper. Her fingers grasped along her thigh as she clutched her tail tightly as she shut her eyes tightly with a grunt. It seemed like eternity before she heard clamors and gunshots died down. Re-opening her eyes slowly. Her vision drew normal as she slowly and cautiously edged closer to the side of the cage were one of the two avion spliced tests were located in, better know as William.

She shook softly as she pressed herself against the bars, her nimble arm reaching through the bars into his cage to light grasp one of his wings. That was the only thing that calmed her, hence they would know. Her fingers smoothly touched the soft pillow-like feathers as a weak breath left her lips as she looked to him, always feeling some sort of protection that emited from him when she was near. ".. W-w.. What's going to happen to us?" She asked, almost in a shakily manner as her eyes ran along the corridor then back to him.

(Welcome, Lux!)

"For your first shot," Jordan replied as the paramedics tended to her wound, "it was exceptional. Most don't hit the right place, since they're more used to the targets at the training course. You, however, fared well!"

A paramedic interrupted, "Sir," he said, "we're going to have to take her into surgery to remove the bullet safely."

Jordan gritted his teeth in frustration. He wanted to take Carly through this rare incident of extracting hostages held in the way they were held in this facility. It would be helpful for her to know how to do this situation so she would know how to handle a hostage situation on her own, in the future. "Can it wait a couple hours?" he asked.

The paramedic sighed. "We'll put it in a sling, but that will only ease the pain. Her risk of an infection wouldn't go away, but one extra hour won't kill her."

"Just do that. We're heading to a hospital, anyway, once this is over."

"Yes, sir," the paramedic replied, and immediately began to fix up a splint and a sling for Carly's arm.

"As soon as they're done," he told Carly, "meet me over at the main entrance," he gestured towards the breached door, where the HRT and other agents were already walking out the handcuffed suspects, and other paramedics were carrying out the bodies of the killed suspects on stretchers, with the bodies draped with white sheets.

--------

William looked over towards Genesis as her hand went over his wings. It caused him to shiver slightly, as he was still on-edge from the sudden invasion that they had both witnessed. "I don't know," he said, "I'm hoping that these guys have come to set us free, but I'm not sure..."

William trailed off and sat down in the corner of his cage nearest to her. "I've been hoping for so long that sooner or later, I'd have a chance to get out of here," he said, and then, turned to her, looking her in the eyes, continued, "I think this is our best shot at getting out of here," he concluded, grasping her hand in his, "Let's just hope for the best... for now, at least."

He took a deep breath, inhaling the smoke produced by his lit cigarette, observing the scene from the rooftop. At the moment, he carried a mobile surveillance device fitted to his left wrist. The screen displayed what was going on inside, thanks to a series of hidden cameras and microphones.
"Heh..." he grunted. "They'd better hope they pay me right for this."
He glanced quickly toward the air vent to his left as he drew one of his guns. The vent, he had rigged himself - with sleep-inducing toxins, ready to distribute around the building if necessary.
Of course, only if it would be really. He didn't want to fall asleep as well.

He moved himself toward the back of the building and slid down his rope there. After landing on the ground, he took a moment to peek around the corner.
"Grah..." he mumbled. "Too darn many of them."
The figure checked his mobile surveillance monitor again.
Some of the freaks in there were stirring, some of them anxious apparently. He grunted; but then he discovered a power cable, going through the wall. Thinking that if he followed it he could try to find an entrypoint, he hit some commands on the monitor, changing cameras as he followed it. The cable went through three roombs before stopping at one which had a storm window.

That was what he needed.
He carefully manoeuvred to the window and slammed the hilt of his drawn gun into it, breaking it. Quickly after, he fired several gunshots into the room, hitting a small gas tank while he was at it, making pretty darn much noise. He scurried back to his hiding place and crouched, observing the camera overlooking the entryway. He would only have one shot at getting inside.


(( If you're wondering why this extra equipment isn't mentioned, it's because he will only have them in this scene. ))

Agent Daniels spun around, shocked, and drew his pistol. Comm. chatter erupted on his comm. link, mostly orders from his superiors to target the gunshots and explosion that wracked through the building. Other agents and HRT members formed up behind him, but he turned around, managing to tell Carly to stay inside the ambulance until it was safe, and handed her the vials in the sealed "Evidence" bag, saying "Guard these. They may be the one thing we can use to bring Altexicon to justice," and then turned back and rushed towards the front door.

Daniels spoke into his comm. link to Carly, "We're going to have to get the hostages outta here quickly! It seems as though they set this place up to destroy all the evidence!"

Jordan put away his comm. link and held his pistol out in front of him at the ready. He, three other agents, and eleven HRT members headed towards where most of the sentient experiments were waiting. Immediately, agents and HRTs began picking the locks to the cages, not wanting to risk harming the hostages with breaching charges. Once they were opened, the HRTs began urging them all out of the cages to follow them out. However, Daniels, one other agent, and three HRTs went to the room of the massive falcon-spliced human. "Listen," Daniels said as he holstered his pistol and began to pick the lock to the cage, noting that the creature still appeared frightened, "we're here to help. Although we may have come across as frightening the first time you saw us, and perhaps we still do, but were here to get you outta this place. We only ever use our guns to protect ourselves and the innocent who are put in harm's way," Daniels explained as he finished picking the lock, "I promise, we're here to protect you. There will be no more crazy, painful, unnecessary testing for you or for any of your friends, here. Right now, you're in danger. You heard the explosions, and we're going to get you out of here, out of danger," Daniels finished as he opened the door to the cage, "You can even bring your books with you, if you so wish. Do we understand each other?" he concluded, giving off a friendly smile.

-----

Will stood up as soon as the explosion happened, looking around frantically for the gun that fired upon it. None of the black-suited or black-vested men were in sight until afterward. The men in all black began picking the lock to his cage, that of Genesis and the others. "Come on," they told him, "we're getting you out of here. No more experimentation, no more unnecessary pain, none of that! We'll protect you on the way out, too!"

Will stood up. The sound of what they were saying sounded sincere, and was what he hoped for the entire time he was here. He looked to Genesis, and then back to the black-clad gunmen. "We'll go," he said, "but can she and I be together?" he asked.

"We can do that, but we need to hurry!" one of them exclaimed, looking around the area, gun raised, in a defensive position.

Will looked to Genesis. "Come on," he said, "this could be our only way out of here."

"we're going to have to take her into surgery to remove the bullet safely."

She almost snapped at the man but kept her thoughts inward, biting her tongue. `im just fine!` she wanted to yell at the EMT but shut one of her eyes.
She winced a bit as she watched the paramedic with a funny face. `Bet he's going to send me off, and not let me do anything` She said to herself, knowing just how over protective he could be. Her mind was busy that she almost missed what Daniels said next.

"Can it wait a couple hours?"

Her jaw almost dropped as she heard him say those words. `wh-what?` Her mind asked herself as she tilted her head just a bit before a smile creased her lips. She figured a bullet wound made her more grown in the views of others, and most importantly, Agent Daniels. Her face beamed proudly as she listened to the paramedic grumble before casting a sling along her should and side. She was about to jump down from the stretcher as she heard a show, followed by an explosion.
Her eyes ran to Daniel as he passed her the vials. She held them firmly, backing up before climbing into the ambulance, near the door set ajar and watched worriedly as the crew moved in.

-

"I've been hoping for so long that sooner or later, I'd have a chance to get out of here,"

Her eyes glossened over in tears that dared to trail down her cheeks but she managed to hold them in as she felt his warm touch on her hand. She lifted her chin a bit as she felt his eyes locked on hers. Her optics were bright enough for William to see his reflection trapped in her irises before she blinked, looking downward
with a timid smile. The traces of a blush touched along her cheeks, before the explosion made her look back abruptly. Her shoulders lowered in a more defensive motion, feeling her left hip against the side bars of her cage.

Her fangs clenched as she looked around, trying to find the source but didn't have time as the men in black soon came in. They were worried and strangely enough, unlocking the bolts on the cages. She slipped her hand from his grasp, regretting it, but slowly leaned on her left foot, as her right knee pushed against the floor.
She hissed as her cage door was slammed opened, the slamming of metallic poles against another cage ringing into her tender ears, forcing her to back away again, eyes narrowed as her optics shimmered ferally. Looking to the door then to William for direction.

"this could be our only way out of here."

She quickly followed after him. Leaning downward as she stood up, her frame somewhat hidden against his as they followed the crew line, back out to the main entrance. Her hands were clasped onto her chest as her eyes kept traveling along the array of doors and walls she hadn't seen before.

[It's okay... your character can withdraw from the story a little while we wait for her to recover at the hospital anyway. ^^]

Hark scrunched closer to the corner of his cage as Daniels spoke to him while trying to pick the lock. His book was still clutched tightly in his talon-like hands, but his eyes were fixed on the man who was trying to get him out. His words registered, but Hark didn't know what to think; often, the scientists of Altexicon would entice him with similar words and seemingly kind gestures just to get him to cooperate... what did he think all these books were for in the first place?

His eyes fell upon Daniels’ weapon holstered at his side. The feeling of danger still lingered thick in the air. So thick, in fact, he could almost smell it. By the way the man's hands fumbled with the lock, his eyes scrutinizingly swishing from side to side, and the droplets of sweat beading at his brow. He could tell there was more behind the words he was speaking to him; and whether or not he meant it was something too heavy for Hark's birdbrain to weigh.

The door swung open and the agent was now trying to coerce him out. "You can even bring your books with you, if you so wish. Do we understand each other?"

Hark's wide eyes locked on the agent. Suddenly, a primordial sense of fight or flight overcame him. He was terrified, and fear, he knew, tended to cloud whatever human-like judgments he was capable of. The agent coerced him with a smile. And in return, Hark released a high-pitched siren loud and piercing enough to echo throughout the whole complex. He spread his wings as wide as they could, slamming against the walls of his cage. It was the first sound he'd made is ages. The agent's countenance twisted into one of shock and horror as Hark kicked off the floor of his cage and launched himself at the open door. Before the agent could put a hand on his weapon, Hark's massive shoulders rammed into him, throwing him back a good five feet as he burst out of his cage and stood as upright as he could, opening his span to their full extent. He spun around, and his wings clouted the other agent and an HRT with such dynamic force, they were flung back and hit opposite walls before slumping to the floor. The remaining HRT reached to his side. Instantly, Hark gathered him up under a wing and twirled around in rapid circles before butting his face flat into the solid floor.

He then turned back to Daniels. Man and creature locked eyes once more, and a quick though entered Hark's mind to fall upon the agent and tear at him with his talons. But the fight sooner gave way to flight as his mind began to jumble in his own fear and dread. Already, he could hear footsteps coming to see what the piercing noise came from. Shuffling his wings over his back, he turned around, fell on all fours, and dashed out of the room. He burst through doors, throwing back a few more agents that were about to enter.

Hark didn't have the slightest clue where he was going, but his mind kept repeating to him; run, escape! run, run, escape! The floors were slippery, and his talons raked across the tile surface as he abrupty stopped when three agents suddenly blocked his way, all pointing their weapons at him. He knew they were going to fire.

Just as their fingers were about to squeeze the trigger, Hark jumped off to the side and crashed forcefully into a nearby window. He heard gunshots over the sound of shattering glass, and Hark suddenly found himself plummeting a good distance down to the concrete ground below. Through the static of his head, he had just enough sense in him to open his wings and flap madly for all he felt his life was worth. The wind screamed in his ear as his wings straightened, and he felt his descent slow. Another tilt of his wings, and Hark managed to pull up a mere three feet from the ground. His mind raced as he quickly gained altitude again and he was lifted some thirty feet in the air.

Hark opened his eyes, for he'd been unaware that he had them closed. The sight that greeted him almost froze him again in panic as he realized that he was so high up in the air... but at the same time, something in the back of his scrambled thoughts told him that this was natural. This was where he belonged. As he put distance between him and the complex, the fear gradually began to dissolve as he flapped his wings again and raced to get as far away from that awful place as he could.

His massive wingspan churned the air as the faint traces of a smile crept on Hark's face for what seemed like the first time. He was free. He was finally free...

...or was he?

(Awesome! I'll post my reply immediately!)

As the screech echoed throughout the room, and probably the rest of the surrounding area, too, Jordan immediately covered his ears, which were in pain, as did everyone else in the room. Some of their ears began to bleed, it was so loud. While screaming in pain, the noise suddenly ceased, only to leave everyone in the room with throbbing eardrums and a lot of disorientation. Chaos ensued; Jordan was knocked to the ground, the other agent and two HRTs were thrown against the wall, and the last HRT standing was face-planted to the floor in a spectacular fashion.

Within seconds, he again found himself face-to-face with the massive creature. Eye-to-eye, and unable to draw his weapon, he suddenly felt as if this was the end for him, that he would be ripped to shreads by this hulking falcon/human hybrid that so easily and swiftly dealt massive damage to his teammates. Right as Jordan held his breath and prepared to be ousted from life as he knew it, there was suddenly a loud click-clacking heading the opposite direction from the door, away from him, and, as Jordan opened his eyes, towards the window, which he crashed through and immediately began to start flying. The two HRTs thrown against the wall, more protected from the hit by their heavier armor, had managed to get up and open fire upon the fleeing beast, but by the time they began to do so, he was getting out of range. "Hold your fire..." Jordan croaked, "conserve your ammo... we'll..." Jordan winced as he got up, feeling a sharp pain in his back, "...we'll need it in case there's anyone we missed in here," Jordan managed to straighten his back and took a look at the fallen HRT who was face-planted to the floor. The other two got down and flipped him over to his back, and the first thing noticeable was that there was a good deal of blood on the inside of the clear plastic blast shield of his helmet that protected his face. One of them checked his pulse.

"He's alive, but he'll need an ambulance!" he exclaimed.

"Then get him outta here," Jordan replied as the other agent managed to get to his feet, "I'll help," he finished, heading over towards the fallen teammate and grabbing his shoulders. With all of his gear on, the HRT was a lot heavier than anyone else he'd had to carry, but with the help of one of the other HRTs lifting him up by the legs, it was easier.

"C'mon, let's move!" commanded the other agent, drawing his pistol and leading the others out. The remaining HRT brought up the rear, and they all bypassed the scene around the three cages and headed towards the front door. Jogging as fast as they could with over fifty pounds of excess weight on the 160-pound body, they reached the same ambulance where Carly was waiting.

Quickly but tenderly, Jordan and the other HRT set down the body of the wounded HRT on the stretcher in the back of the ambulance. The other agent got in the front seat and urged the driver to get going, which he did without question just as the rest of the team came out, surrounding three of the experiments and heading towards the multitude of vans, while the others who were waiting outside guns pointed at the compound, prepared to make leave for the same hospital, next to which the FBI was to set up a temporary command post until they could get them back to Washington, D.C.

--

Will and Genesis were circled by a few of the black-clad men who, he hoped, were doing that more for their protection than herding them to wherever. They were soon rushed out the doors, where an almost blinding burst of light and color met his eyes. Having never been outside the lab before, it immediately felt a lot hotter, and his eyes were hurting immensely. He could only barely manage to keep his eyes open, just enough to at least follow the men in black into vehicles. Apparently, the choices for seating in these vehicles were either in the back doors, which fitted about six, or in either door on the front-end sides, which fit one per door. He, Genesis, and four of the black-clad men went in the back doors, while two more, one of them with only black vest, went to either front door.

As soon as all six got into the back of the vehicle, the doors were shut behind them, and everything darkened just enough so that William could open his eyes fully and not have to squint. Light came in from the front and side windows, and from windows that he did not notice while outside of the van. He was still breathing heavily, and sweating a bit from the running, the intensity of the situation, and the heat of outside, but he was also nervous. He subtly grasped Genisis' hand, looked up to the black-clad man in front of him, asking, "What was that all about? I mean... thanks for getting us out of there, but... why did you get us out of there?"

"Those guys in there," the man explained, taking off his helmet, pulling down the black cloth that covered his mouth and lifting off his goggles and wiping sweat from his brow with his sleeve, "broke a whole bunch of laws doing what they did in there."

"Plus," added another, "it's our job to save the innocent from those who hold them captive. You can imagine, then, that being locked in a cage meets our definition of a captive. Hence why we went in to get you out of there."

Will, understanding, nodded. "Well... thanks," he said.

The man next to him patted him on the back. "No problem," he said, smiling under his half-mask.