The Suburbs District

[FG Admin]

The high class residential district of Osiris city. This area is located at the North western most part of the city. The luxurious houses line the lake to give the higher paid citizens easy access to the ports so that they can take their yachts out on the water. They drive nice cars, wear nice clothes, and there are almost no side walks in this area because everyone can afford to drive. The people in this area are polite, but expect them to look down on you if you don't make as much money as them. Welcome to the richest area of Osiris...

You may have a taxi or bus take you anywhere in the city. There are pay phones and signs for you to call one.

[FG Admin]

((Location D-6, Lakeside mansion))

The police radio chirped and the dispatcher's voice came on.

"We have received a distress call from 555 Orville drive, in the north east part of the residential district. Reports claim that someone broke into their neighbor's house, we believe they are being held hostage. All available units in the area, please respond..."

The thief had bleach blonde hair and wore a black and white speckled bandana around his mouth. He flipped the dresser over after he searched through all the drawers and scattered the contents onto the bedroom floor.

"I'm not going to ask again old man! I know you have a safe full of money! Where are you hiding it!" He walked over to the grey haired man that owned the house, he had his hands bound behind his back and was sitting on his his. The aggressive thief kicked the owner of the house in the stomach and his wife and child next to him - who were also both bound and on their knees - both let off a terrified scream that was muffled by the gags placed in their mouths.

The older man coughed and gagged and slumped forward onto the floor in pain.

"Okay, one more time..." the thief said.

His partner came into the room, she was also dressed in all black. She had a matching bandana over her mouth, natural long blonde hair, a black skirt with black jeggings underneath, and a long black coat, she was also casually holding a uzi in her hands.

"Maybe you should off the kid first to make him more compliant. Maybe he'll talk then." She suggested.

Her partner nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah... sounds jazzy. Then his wife next." He clicked the safety off his gun and placed the barrel to the little boy's head. The child went white with fear and let off quiet sobs as tears streamed down his cheeks, so terrified that his eyes were bulging with fear and he sat there motionless, he didn't even blink.

"Tell me where the safe is old man!" The male robber yelled.

"Okay! I'll do anything, just don't hurt my family!" The home owner cried.

"It's... in the back of the walk-in closet, tap on the wall and you'll find a hollow point, it is a secret door. Open it and you'll find my vault. Enter the combination 4-4-9-7-3 and it will open... Take whatever you want, just don't hurt my family!"

"Do it! I'll watch them! The cops might show up any minute!" The female thief yelled.

The man nodded his head and walked into the closet. It was just as their captive had said, the wall opened and the safe was revealed. He opened the safe to find a large stash of money tucked in, hundreds of thousands of dollars locked away inside the safe.

"We hit the Jackpot baby!" he yelled. He started stashing the money inside of his duffle bag as fast as he could.

"Okay, I'm almost done! Keep an eye out for the cops, then we jet!"

[Bernard]

Keiko immediately recognized the code regarding the break and enter possible hostage situation. She also recognized that with much of the O.P.D. force engaged in the search involving the disappearing body from the morgue the resources on the streets would be minimal. Especially in this part of town. It would be some time before any official response would arrive. It was far more likely that some gung-ho neighborhood watchman playing hero would respond to the call escalating any gun involved situation.

Orville drive was reasonably close and Keiko realized, even on foot she may be the only prospect of resolving this situation before it resulted in unnecessary bloodshed. She didn’t have any time to waste. The recently disgraced officer of the law slung her HSR-25 over her shoulder and rappelled down the north east corner of the apartment complex. Military training instinctively kicked in and she was off and running to the target area as soon as her feet touched the ground.

The suburban streets were relatively barren of activity during the wee hours of the morning and Keiko did her best to move without drawing unwanted attention. Soon enough the heavily armed crime fighter appeared at the scene of the crime. Taking refuge in some ground shrubbery in a neighboring yard, she paused taking survey of the situation as her heart rate slowly began to return to normal.

The action seemed to be taking place in an upstairs bedroom, most likely the master suit. A lone blonde female suspect in long black trench coat casually sporting an Uzi in her hands. From her vantage point Keiko was unable to confirm the possibility of hostages nor the number present although the suspect seemed to have her attention divided between the window overlooking the street and something within the bedroom.

An accomplice perhaps, but given the location more likely a husband and wife. The chalk etchings in the driveway also hinted a child may be involved. The situation was tenuous at best and Keiko lacked sufficient information. Given the circumstances, protocol would dictate she hold position as not to agitate the situation and endanger the lives any of the innocents present.

Keiko intently listened using her enhanced hearing to pick up any further clues as to what she may be dealing with. She soon embraced the muffled sobs of a small child coming from the gaping opening of the bedroom window. When would people learn that such carelessness was were only inviting trouble into their homes while they sleep?

"We hit the Jackpot baby!" A youthful voice exclaimed.
Confirmed. Second Suspect. Male

”Okay, I'm almost done!” The voice assured. ”Keep an eye out for the cops, then we jet!"

”Patience” Keiko plotted as she monitored female’s activity through the telescopic sight of her high powered rifle.”No need to initiate prematurely. They seem to have what they came for. Take them down as they flee the premises.”

[FG Admin]

((I'm tempted to be really evil here... but I'll leave it up to a flip of the coin. To the dice log!))

The male thief hurriedly stashed cash into his duffle bag until it was overflowing. Physical money was rare, everyone  used credits, but as a result, hacking money was difficult due to the increased cyber security. But every now and then, low level thugs without any tech skills would get lucky and stumble across a careless citizen with a secret stash of cash. 

"I got it, let's get out of here!" he called as he dragged the heavy bag of money out of the closet.

"Wait! If the cops show up we'll be screwed, we should take the kid as a hostage!" The female thug suggested. "We can use him as leverage in case things get hot."

The male thug grimaced.  "We've already done enough, let's just go... We can still get away clean at this point, the kid will only slow us down." He reasoned. 

To his relief, his female partnered shrugged her shoulders. "You're going soft, man. Let's go. You're lucky kid!" She said as she followed her partner out of the bedroom and out of the house. 

The two headed towards a black van where the male thug tossed the bag of cash into the back door. "Alright, we're home free. Still no sign of the cops!"

((Hostage situation. Take a hostage on the run? 50+ yes, 49 or lower no= 43... no hostage.
Not sure what Keiko is planning, she might take the shot or follow them as they make their way to the car. Take your pick!))

[Bernard]

((Keiko ATK- roll = 72 +10 cybernetic strength +20 sneak attack + improvised weapon (club) = promising start))
((Desired effect-Knock out))
((Secondary effect- intimidation))

-----

Keiko followed sticking to the shadows as the two hooligans exited the house and headed quickly towards a black van parked on an adjacent street. From all she witnessed the female seemed to be the more volatile of the pairing. The stealthy Asian enforcer would target her first. Perhaps a quick forceful take down would be intimidating enough for the soft male wall flower to simply wilt and give himself up.

Arriving at the getaway vehicle, the male thug opened the back door of the van, tossing the bag of cash into the cargo space. "Alright, we're home free. Still no sign of the cops!." He commented seemingly unaware of the vigilante’s pursuit as his female partner began to climb into the passenger seat.

It was in that instant that Keiko made her move sprinting forward and slamming the butt of the heavy HSR-25 through the lightly tinted window in an effort to connect with the assailants jaw bone seated in the passenger seat. The intent of the blow was aimed as such to render the victim unconscious. The element of surprise, the sheer weight of the weapon and the strength of the cybernetic arm that swung it all tilted the odds in her favor of instant success should the blow strike home.

[FG Admin]

((Search roll: 77, success! Keiko Detected, evasion roll gained. Evasion roll: 35... failure!))

The male thief was completely oblivious to the vigilante officer's presence as she snuck around to the side of the van to ambush his female counterpart. The female thief pulled her mask down as she climbed into the passenger seat, and that's when she caught movement out of the side of her eye. She turned to see what was rushing her but it was too late, the female vigilante was too fast.

She raised her hands and attempted to flinch out of the way by pure instinct, but wasn't fast enough. The weapon came through the window and slammed straight into the female thug's face, breaking her nose and bloodening her visage from the impact. She let off a startled cry before slumping unconscious in her seat.

The male thug peeped his head around the side of the van to see what the commotion was, and that's when he spot the vigilante. "Oh crap! You're one of those! I can't go back to the joint!" he cried. He quickly opened the van door again, grabbed the duffle bag, and began sprinting in the opposite direction down the street.

((Target flees on foot: 34 - No agility skill))

[Bernard]

((Keiko-Pursuit l- >34 = success roll=42))
((Keiko Takedown- roll = 90 + 30 marksman -10 target leg/foot +10 weapon point blank range-))
Grapple Gun Stats:
ATK: +30 damage.
Point Blank gun range ACY: +10.
Medium gun range and beyond ACY: -40.
Magazine size: 1 shot.


-----
Looking at the bloodied visage of the unconscious female thug slumped in the passenger seat Keiko couldn’t help but think of those hiding behind “the book” looking to have her crimes overlooked for the excessive force exerted bringing her to justice. In that moment, she felt great satisfaction to be unconstrained by the tight knit parameters she faced as an officer exacting the letter of the law. How she was remanded into custody was irrelevant to the punishment of the crime she committed.

The dehumanizing thug would face the consequences she deserved and a lasting memento to remind her of her horrific wrongdoings every time she looked in the mirror.

"Oh crap! You're one of those! I can't go back to the joint!" The male exclaimed as he quickly opened the van door again, grabbed the duffle bag, and ran.

”Why do they always have to run?” Keiko sighed as the heavily encumbered male assailant jack rabbited the best he could in the opposite direction down the street. The sight was almost comical as he stumbled to make headway. If escape was his plan, he would have been much better suited to leave the weighty bag of ill-gotten gains behind.

Keiko calmly opened the passenger side door retrieving the Uzi and cuffing the female’s right wrist to the window frame of the door. With a sigh the costumed do-gooder gave chase. Despite the generous head start, it wasn’t long before the huntress was close on the tails of her quarry. Looking back over his shoulder at the looming silhouette of the approaching tail, only slowed his egress further. Fearing capture, the exhausted out of shape male veered from the street and began making his way through several well-kept grassy plots of suburbia’s finest.

As entertaining as all of this may have been to the average onlooker, Keiko decided it was time to put an end to the poor felon’s futility before he suffered a heart attack at his recent over exertion or the misfortune of running out into the street into oncoming traffic. She didn’t want him dead. The Asian female abruptly halted her chase, reached her right arm toward the assailant’s right leg and fired.

The cybernetic hand was rapidly jettisoned from the wrist actuator by the small explosion. Designed as a thrifty rappelling line in which the propelled hand served as a grappling hook, latching onto its target, Keiko deemed this particular application the long arm of the law. If the finely engineered augmentation struck the intended target it would feel as though he had been struck by a round from a bean bag riot gun before the fingers latched on in a vice-like grip. This would serve to entrap the leg and easily trip up the fleeing assailant using the clumsy victim’s erratic momentum and top heavy encumbrance from the load he cradled in his embrace as she yanked the newly attached cable taut to bring the prize toppling down upon the grassy suburban knoll like a competitive rodeo performer roping a calf.

[FG Admin]

((Evasion 38... Fail!))

The chase didn't last long as the thug began to huff and puff. He stumbled several times as attempted to flee and get away. He didn't make much headway though as the athletic asian vigilante quickly closed the distance and caught up to him. He chanced a look behind him and saw her cybernetic arm take aim, and that's when he realized he was screwed.

"Oh Sh-"
The thug attempted to drop the bag to dodge the grappling arm but he wasn't fast enough. Her hand grappled his right leg and snapped it to a halt. He tripped and fell violently to his face and let off a loud audible scream. He lay on the ground squirming in pain and rolled over to his back to look at his pursuer.

"Okay, I give up! Let's make a deal! Just take the cash and let me go!" He said as he raised his hands.

"The cops will never know! We both win!" He pleaded.

((I think I know how to get the archer involved... I'll leave it here for now though as we wrap this up. I'll introduce the other vigilantes in the next post))

[Bernard]

The entrapped quarry rolled over facing the menacing silhouette of his captor reeling him in closer like a small game fish on a hook.

"Okay, I give up! Let's make a deal! Just take the cash and let me go!" He said as he raised his hands in submission.

"The cops will never know! We both win!" He pleaded as she placed a foot victoriously upon his chest.
”I don’t think you’re in much of a position to bargain at the moment…….”

There was a momentary lapse in the conversation as wiggled her fingers as her hand retracted to its normal position at her wrist.
”…….what’s your name fish?”

”Melvin, Melvin Cross” He stammered fearfully.

”You’re fortunate I haven’t put a bullet in you yet Melvin like you wanted to do with that kid and his family.”She growled as she began to run the name accessing the police data bank through the data link connection in her computerized mind.

Keiko continued.” As little as this gig pays to take that money makes me no more than a a thug like you. No, the contents of that bag is going back to its rightful owner and you’re going to jail. Justice must prevail.”

”I….I can’t go back to the joint.” He whined profusely.”

”I don’t see it ending any other way. Your gal pal will most likely roll on you the minute she wakes up in custody.”

”You have a phone Melvin? Do yourself a favor, make the call. Turn yourself in and come clean. This way you might get ahead of any bargain she hopes to make and get out before you’re forty.”

She allowed the direst of his crimes to sink in.

“It’s the only offer you’re going to get.”.

[FG Admin]

((Perfect set up! You wrote it exactly the way I was hoping... here we go! Marksman 51+20-10 MEdium range=61))

The thug just lay on the ground, paralyzed in fear at the vigilante that towered over him, he realized his begging and bargaining would get him nowhere... but his troubles were about to get far worse. 

The man in the yellow jacket had also intercepted the police radio call, but he had arrived slightly too late. The one the police had uncreatively nicknamed "The Archer", jumped off the rooftop of the mansion across the street on which he was perched, and gracefully landed onto the smaller house next door.

The man with the yellow jacket wore a golden mask, a black tactical body suit, and of course,  a long yellow jacket that resembled that of a hornet. He was armed with a black tactical compound bow, and two lightweight revolving metal cylinders on both sides of his hips that held his arrows. 

He stood on the roof of the house for a brief moment to watch and listen to the conversation happening below him on the street before he readied his bow and nocked an arrow to the string.

"As little as this gig pays to take that money makes me no more than a a thug like you. No, the contents of that bag is going back to its rightful owner and you’re going to jail. Justice must prevail.”

"You call yourself delivering Justice?" The archer interrupted.  

"Don't make me laugh! That is pathetic! True justice comes from finishing what you've started and wiping the corruption out from the source! If you want to deliver Justice, if you want to be Justice, you have to go all the way and see it through to the end!
If you truly want peace, you must wipe out that which disrupts it! You must cull the corrupt from the world, that is true Justice! But I must say, we are in agreement, JUSTICE MUST PREVAIL!"

He relaxed his fingers and let the arrow fly  and soar through the air straight for the thug's chest to plunge into the unsuspecting criminal's heart...