Futuristic HOUNDS: An 80s/90s Cyberpunk Inspired RP [CLOSED]

[Worthlessplebian]

The mutant mauler waited for word to arrive, either from the Captain or Headquarters about their next action. What are the chances that their first, rapid deployment involved them going up against former members of their organisation? In this situation, high as La Madrina obviously set this up! Knowing the modus operandi of the group, she knew exactly what incident to cause to lure them out here. The real question is the motive for La Madrina. He speculated whilst pacing back and forth.

He stopped once the bomb squad arrived. Admittedly, the threat of bombing might have been a false flag, but better safe than sorry. Finally, after handing over whatever evidence that he collected, the new briefing about the situation can be heard. After absorbing all the new information and newly minted orders, Wolfgang couldn't help but chuckle slightly. One or two of the on-site officers threw an odd look at the mutant.

"We're playing SWATs and Maniacs, aren't we?" Wolfgang rubbed the exoskeletal plate on his face, in anticipation of the tiredness and hassle that this will bring. "Well, the show must go on, let's get geared up!" He wouldn't lie and say that getting kitted out in heavy-duty gear isn't exciting.

 

[Dmaster]

Shizen was glad that at least one of their superiors was in agreement with his plan of attack, though the justification for bringing in the more militarized officers was sound. He did not like avoiding their leader if they were to encounter them, however. It is always best to cut command off at the head when the opportunity arises, and for that reason if this Edith would be foolish enough to fight them he would take issue following that order. In the end, he could do nothing but follow the orders he had been given, this was a constant within his clan and would likely not change even under these special circumstances.

"If you wish for me to be truly ready, you will return the arsenal that which is rightfully mine." the cyborg stated over the communication channel. His stealth suit and blade were far and away what he needed to be using over this uniform and second-hand sword. "I shall be infinitely more useful to the operation with the kit I have used for countless battles than whatever other hardware you can provide me."

 

[Breadman]

Cynthia felt a shiver as she thought about putting on more of that ugly armor. Why couldn't they just get something good looking? She got back into the picture as she listened in to the conversation. Shizen raised a very good point.

"While on that, can you just quickly unlock my weapons while you're at it? Don't worry about me turning on you, darling. You got my pack of adrenos, so you got my services for as long as it lasts. Cmon, a lethal ninja and a fem fatale with your logo on us, taking down a cartel would look really good in the news." She maintained a calm in her voice, but she was feeling uneasy with the idea of facing the cartel with anything less at full capacity of her arsenal at her disposal.

 

[Infab]

"If you wish for me to be truly ready, you will return the arsenal that which is rightfully mine. I shall be infinitely more useful to the operation with the kit I have used for countless battles than whatever other hardware you can provide me."

"While on that, can you just quickly unlock my weapons while you're at it? Don't worry about me turning on you, darling. You got my pack of adrenos, so you got my services for as long as it lasts. C'mon, a lethal ninja and a fem fatale with your logo on us, taking down a cartel would look really good in the news."

"Trust me, I'd give you your things back under the current circumstances, but the orders to keep you as you are until tomorrow came from higher up the chain of command. Higher than the Chief of Police." responded Jack. "We'll give you what you need to make this work out. Just keep cool, use your heads, and work together. You'll get things done. Come tomorrow, you'll be back to your old selves. Just with a new line of work."

Alice chimed in afterwards, offering support. "I'll look into getting the Commissioner to wave the wait period, given the circumstances. Perhaps they'll bend a little. In the meantime, you'll have to do as the commander says."

 

[joshuadim]

Kane listened to the Tiger's explanation of the down-low on the situation, taking into mind several key details that had been revealed. Steel-jawed bitch, eh? the Aussie thought to himself, I like her already, murking cops and lowlifes alike. Sounds almost like me. He then took into the account the situation of a cartel pushing its way into the city, which to him was rather surprising. Mexican cartels tended to stay in Mexico for their operations, only doing distribution and sale of their products elsewhere. If these new up and comers by the name of 'Las Calaveras' were going full force outside of Mexico, then there might be a bigger reason for it.

Kane scoffed aloud: "Didn't think cartels went out of their way this hard." he commented, scratching the exoskeleton layer around his head. "Must be something fuckin' big to bring them yobbers over..." he then said as he looked about. He saw David briefly poke his head out from around a corner as he was keeping tabs on the situation just in case, but Kane had one more question. "Is the Underground still in business? Bessie serves a mean drink there last I remember."

 

[Dmaster]

Shizen could only shake his head in disagreement for a moment, only to soon voice his distaste. "It is quite asinine to send your soldiers into a combat scenario without them being fully prepared. If this is how your commanders force you to operate - it is no wonder that the mortality rate of this unit is so high." the cyborg voiced over the comms. When Alice states that she would attempt to pull some strings to improve the situation, he nods his head slowly. "Appreciated."

With that he saw nothing else to do for now aside from return to the station as Jack said, and so the shinobi started to walk back to their transport where he took his seat.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

It is no surprise that Wolfgang was an enthusiast when it comes to the Bloodhound operation, however even he must admit the folly of having substandard to standard weaponry with no flexibility to their application. No specialised armour that could be worn to further increase the survivability of the squad. "Ah, the wonderous dance of bureaucracy. You have to just love the corpos politicking their way through this whole ordeal. Wholly disconnected but always influencing." Wolfgang commented. Though no sooner than he did, his mind constructed an addendum. "But what can ya do? That is how life goes." He didn't want to appear to anti-corporation. Who knows if DynaCorp wasn't listening in on this very conversation.

"Thank you for your efforts." Expressing his gratitude towards Alice.

 

[Infab]

"Is the Underground still in business? Bessie serves a mean drink there last I remember."

The Tiger nodded. "They're still around. Moved shop, though. They're in the Undercity, now, up on the north end near Uptown. Easier access to the good shit. Ask around, if you head that way. Someone will point them out to you."

The Tiger then suddenly glanced down, his hand reaching up to his neck. His fingers pressed just beneath his earlobe on his neck, and stayed there for a few moments. Then, he nodded as he lowered his hands. "Gotta move on now. Be seein' you." he said. He then looked to his men and snapped his fingers before strolling off down the sidewalk. The men followed suit. Looked as though it was time for Kane to head back too, as David was poking his head out and waving him over.

​

It wasn't long before everyone was back at the armored truck, climbing into the back to their seats and getting settled in. And several minutes later, they were back at the station. Rook was waiting for them as they climbed out of the truck and moved towards the doors. "Word from Alice is that the Commissioner is allowing you all to get your old gear. With an old Bloodhound in town on the opposite side of things, gotta prepare accordingly. All your gear is downstairs in the armory. I gave it all a once over, and added some simple visual modifications to show you're with law enforcement now." stated Rook, as he spun about and lead the group through the building past the front desk. "SWAT is already geared up and waiting downstairs for the briefing from Jack. That's where you're heading once you get suited up."

Down the group went, traversing floors until they arrived at the armory once more. And there, on various tables, were their original gear and equipment. And just as Rook had said, some had visual modifications. Either tinted a dark navy blue or bearing the emblem of the Bloodhound unit. "Get suited up, and pick some weapons if you need any. If you need body armor, there's plenty on the racks over there." said Rook, pointing at a wall of armor on the right side of the armory before folding his arms.

 

[joshuadim]

Oh thank fuck. Uptown, will have to remember that. Kane thought to himself as the Tigers departed. Shortly after he quickly went over to where David was and rounded to corner to get out of sight of the street. "Well the good news is, my favorite seedy bar of New LA is still is business." Kane spoke to David, "Bad news: city is about to get fucked by a gang war from a Mexican cartel strolling on in like a tank. Some new players apparently and they're out for blood." He then scratched his armpit lazily and shrugged: "Mentioned a 'steel-jawed bitch' leading em, meaning its a cyborg to look out for."

 

[Dmaster]

Shizen hopped out of the truck and raised his brow at the development, genuinely surprised that they were able to pull the strings necessary to allow them their equipment. "How fortuitous," the cyborg comments, nodding his head as they began to walk back into the building. "I have restored faith in our leadership if they agree that it is no longer necessary to limit our combat capabilities. Whatever awaits us now, we shall surely succeed."

It took surprisingly little time for the ninja to locate the kit he had before being imprisoned, noting how now it featured the emblem of his new unit on the shoulder of his outfit's right arm. Given that this suit was not meant to be seen, he was appreciative that the unit had chosen a more subtle expression of his allegiance. Taking the suit in tow it was not very long before Shizen excused himself from the main room in the armory to get himself changed.

When he emerged he was standing in an all-black lightly-armored sneaking suit, featuring rather aggressive looking gauntlets that appeared to have claws and antenna-like extensions out the elbows. His face was now completely hidden by an almost cylindrical helmet with curvaceous respirators protruding out of the sides, the visor a mirror of angular markings that glowed an off-green and looked to be more of a symbol than a viewport. Along his belt was what appeared to be a few smoke or chaff grenades on his right, and beneath a scarf of pure black material he had a sheath for yet another high-frequency blade.

Said weapon was in his hand, the sword angled up at one of the lights as he has powered it on and is no doubt performing cursory checks of its functionality. A far cry from the more traditional looking blade he was holding on their investigative sortie, as this one was lacking a guard and also had serration along the bottom half of the sword's edge. It was also not nearly as curved as a katana, while being a touch shorter. Regardless the ninja seemed to be much more comfortable with this gear and weapon, powering off the blade as only a few more arcing bolts of electricity jumped along the sword before he sheathed it on his back.

Shizen made his way back to the center of the room with the rest of the group, his foot steps now practically silent thanks to the suit he had adorned himself in. Only now that he is finally back he answers Rook's question. "I've all the armor I need," rang out his voice, now slightly garbled thanks to a filter on his helmet. His cybernetic eyes looked through the gleaming heads up display that was linking to those artificial optics once more.

 

[Breadman]

Cynthia felt something in her body click. She stood in place and looked at her hand and flicked her wrist backwards. A small blade shot out. The assassin smirked and then stood on her toes to test the next part out. The bladed stilettos emerged from her heel. She realized it might have been preferable to take off the boots she was given beforehand, but that ugly pair was already ruined. Oh well, armory probably has replacements. Now with the rest of her arsenal unlocked, she went down to replace the suddenly damaged pair of footwear. To her surprise the 'gear' she was wearing before the syndicate went under was kept and had minimal modification. Just the Bloodhound emblem sewn on and some bit of kevlar. Bare minimum but it would do. 'Hope the precinct is ready to spend a lot of money' she thought as she put the jacket on. She didn't need heavy armor, just something light. Its what the implants were for. Get close, use the enemy's weapons against them and finish them off with flair. The ninja likely had the same idea, but maybe far less flashy. She did grab some ammo for her sidearm however just so she would have the range option. Better to have some than none.

Soon enough she was ready and returned to the rest of the group.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

The mutant stepped out of the truck with the rest of the hounds, his steps were light and whimsical. Unlike the rest, Wolfgang did NOT have any specialised equipment—weaponry or bodily armour that isn't his own skin—so for him it would be a great opportunity for him to receive much needed gear that isn't cobbled together from scrap or have a gun that isn't too constrained by ammunition. What amounts to a grin contorted underneath the shell-head. "This is going to be fun!" He commented aloud.

Wolfgang immediately hurried over to the rack of armours, taking the time to properly look them over; his head turned to then looking at the others, their choice of gear specifically. It seemed to Wolfgang that Cynthia and Shizen would be taking the lighter approach. Their preferred style of fighting would be odd but Wolfgang could adapt to their style if need be, however for this situation the son of Lawyers had decided to take a direct decision. Throwing one of the heavier armours provided to the the Bloodhounds. Wolfgang felt out the armour, by moving his limbs. It surprised him how comfortable yet restrained he felt, no loss of movement! Even the ballistic vest did not hamper his torso bending backwards or forwards too much. Though while it was maneuverable, it's weight did not go unnoticed, luckily Wolfgang is one of the stronger uncybernetically augmented individuals.

For the force multipliers, Wolfgang decided to bring along the SWAT unit's standard issue shotgun and the Titan-7 as his sidearm. The mutant decked out in his combat gear, rejoined with the rest and was ready for deployment.

 

[Infab]

"Mentioned a 'steel-jawed bitch' leading em, meaning its a cyborg to look out for."

David nodded, as he waited for Kane to get redressed in his jumpsuit. "Yeah, the others found that out too. Turns out the cyborg woman leading them is a former Bloodhound. Goes by the name 'Edith Cortez'. The cartel is called 'Las Calaveras'. We're going to go raid one of their hang-outs to try and capture one of their known members. 'Juan José Manzanares."

​

A short while later...

The Red Pulse Club
Downtown
New Los Angeles


The area around the club's entrance was packed almost every minute of the day, as the club remained open every single day save for Sundays. Sunday was the day they cleaned up and restocked. If they could, they probably would have worked that day too. Even holidays weren't safe, and often days like Valentine's Day would draw even more customers than normal days. At least the tall and intimidating armored cyborg bouncers at the front door kept most of them out. They, however, wouldn't keep out the mass of SWAT that shoved their way through the crowd to reach the entrance. Elsewhere, such as the back door and adjacent buildings and rooftops, SWAT prepared additional breaching maneuvers to infiltrate the club.

The Bloodhounds, as they arrived via transport, were given several options as to how they wished to enter the building. Head-on, through the front, or attempt to take the Las Calaveras members by surprise through alternate routes. Though, would it really be a surprise? Perhaps they would be waiting for them. Armed to the teeth and ready for a fight. Only time would tell.

"A reminder. We are here to apprehend 'Juan José Manzanares' and any additional Las Calaveras that we can. If unable to arrest, deadly force is authorized, but do not kill Manzanares. If you should encounter Edith Cortez, fall back. She knows us better than anyone, and knows full well how to fight us." stated Jack through the team's comms. David tapped his comms link in acknowledgement, as he dropped down out of the back of the transport. He was geared up quite similarly to the SWAT officers that had arrived, wearing tactical gear and armored plating across most of his body. He lacked a helmet, however, simply choosing to don thick plastic goggles instead to protect his eyes. In his hands, a standard police-issue pump-action shotgun loaded with twelve gauge slugs. Slugs often proved effective against cyborgs, using a solid shaped tungsten-steel core compared to the simpler steel ball bearings that buckshot featured. It lacked the shredding capabilities of buckshot, but packed plenty of power in order to punch large holes in more solid targets. On his hip, his Titan-7 loaded with simple hollow-points.

"I think we should play it smart. Come in through one of the sides, or maybe through the roof if there's a way in and down from there." said David, looking to the others as they emerged from the vehicle. Around them, SWAT were preparing to launch their own invasions of the complex regardless of what they chose, while dozens of civilians gawked and took video and photographs of the situation. Most were young twenty-somethings, dressed in a wide range of garb and accessories. David glanced around at the civilians, cutting some of the ones recording things a look, before looking towards the club. Four floors were supposedly dedicated to the club's activities, while the additional two floors above were for administration purposes. Supposedly, there were two additional floors beneath the ground. Likely a supply or storage floor and a floor for those arriving from the Undercity. The smooth outer face of the building, covered in thick dark glass and steel, was bare save for the stylized emblem of the club itself. Red Pulse, written in fancy script and gleaming a bloody red.

 

[Breadman]

"Taking the roof and working our way down is gonna force a lot of them to run for the exits." Cynthia spoke up "We can set it up so they get caught between us and the cops outside."

 

[Dmaster]

Shizen kept his eyes fixed on the building as they got off of their transport, looking over the various entry points while he listened in to the planning taking place. To him it was foolish to avoid a fight with their leadership due to the danger she apparently posed, yet as ever it was against his nature to go against orders. Only in an outfit such as this had the ninja gained the sense to question protocol openly, as such things were not even tolerated in the elite branch of his syndicate.

"I would prefer to take an entry way to myself. Be it a roof or side entrance as proposed. I will be able to scout ahead and perhaps even find our target if they are isolated," he states, glancing about the others in the group.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Wolfgang kept his shotgun off to the side, while surveying the target building. His mind ran through the multitude of possibilities and taking the others thoughts into account. The helmet of his newly fitted armour from the Hounds, snuggled the chitinous carapace tightly yet comfortably. In the midst of arrogance, Wegener thought it odd that they would advise against encounters with the leader. They are only huma—well... They could be a mutant, android, cyborg... They're still flesh and blood. But orders are orders.

"I say we go through the roof and squash them to the floor. Shizen should go ahead also, but none of that lone wolf stuff. Communicate what you see, maybe create some opportunities if you can."

 

[Dmaster]

Shizen eyed Wolfgang through his helmet when he suggested that he would act rashly, silently turning a response over in his mind before he mustered a reply. "Though I am most efficient when working alone I have conducted missions with backup in the past. I shall be an unseen spearhead, surgical and precise. Relaying what I see is but a simple part of the task before me," the ninja stated.

"Opportunities shall be easy to create. Be it for me or the rest of you."

 

[joshuadim]

Kane yawned as he was audibly bored by the manner of which they were choosing to deal with the situation. "Yobbers inside already know we're coming, look at all this bloody noise." Kane remarked as he waved a hand towards not only the group but also to the SWAT teams. "Just bust the fucking door down and waste any dumb sods that shoot at us, that's police procedure nowadays ain't it?"

 

[Infab]

"Taking the roof and working our way down is gonna force a lot of them to run for the exits. We can set it up so they get caught between us and the cops outside."

"I would prefer to take an entry way to myself. Be it a roof or side entrance as proposed. I will be able to scout ahead and perhaps even find our target if they are isolated."

"I say we go through the roof and squash them to the floor. Shizen should go ahead also, but none of that lone wolf stuff. Communicate what you see, maybe create some opportunities if you can."

"Though I am most efficient when working alone I have conducted missions with backup in the past. I shall be an unseen spearhead, surgical and precise. Relaying what I see is but a simple part of the task before me. Opportunities shall be easy to create. Be it for me or the rest of you."

Daniel spoke up. "Sounds like a plan to me. Do we have a way up to the roof from here?" he said, glancing up towards the roof of the structure. Alice's voice soon flowed through their comms links. "There's an old fire escape in the right side alleyway. Leads all the way up to the roof, but you would be exposing yourselves to whomever is inside thanks to several windows allowing them to see outward." she explained, "There's a building on the left side that is tall enough to allow for a rough jump to the roof, but you'd have to clear a rather wide alleyway. Shouldn't be hard at all for most of you, but Daniel might need a good toss to reach the roof without issue. He's only human, after all."

"On the roof itself is a single exit, leading downward into the structure to a staircase. The staircase descends down to the upper-most administration floor. Thermals indicate a handful of personnel there. Some of them armed. The floor beneath it also has a handful, also armed. There is also a ventilation network that leads down into the complex, and descends all the way down into the sub-basement on the lowest level. It accesses every floor as it goes down, however, and will allow Shizen a rather stealthy approach to things if he can make sure not to make noise. The vents are made of rather thin metal, you see. Your movements might make noise, so take it slow."

"Yobbers inside already know we're coming, look at all this bloody noise. Just bust the fucking door down and waste any dumb sods that shoot at us, that's police procedure nowadays ain't it?"

"We'll let the SWAT teams handle that. Their breaching maneuvers will allow for them to take the brunt of the counter-attack." stated Jack through comms, "You come in from above, and pulverize their reinforcements. But remember, capture Manzanares alive. We managed to secure a photograph of Manzanares from our friends down in the Mexican states. Sending it to your tactical feeds and gauntlets now." A moment later, a face appeared on the heads-up displays of those wearing helmets, and on the tactical screens embedded into the wrist portion of the gauntlets the others had. Daniel glanced down, examining the picture long enough to take it to memory, before looking to the others. "So, fire escape, or we make the jump?"

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Wolfgang smirked at Shizen's response, followed by a roll of his red orbs. "Whatever you say, Shinobi." His words trailed off, not wishing to further engage with the assassin and listening to the tactical provided by Alice over the comms link. The picture appeared in the headsup display of his helmet. He examined it several times to commit it to memory then dismissed it with a gesture. Once all the cards had been laid out, Wolfgang spoke his thoughts aloud. "I don't like the fire escape approach, too exposed. Best bet is the jump to the building, may I also ask if we can have any thermals on the adjacent building? The one we are planning to leap from, if I were a gang leader, I would not confine my operations to just one central building or if I knew an attack was coming, I'd set up some men in nearby buildings as well."

 

[Dmaster]

Shizen gave Wolfgang another silent and invisible look that was only conveyed through the direction of his visor, soon crossing his arms together as their small briefing was given. On his helmet's HUD he would see their target, and it soon moved and faded amidst the various other tactical data that was in his peripheral vision. "I can capture him alive. However, I cannot guarantee that he will not be in a few pieces," the ninja comments. When it comes to the question of their entry method, Shizen looks to Daniel.

"I shall be taking the vent system. I have experience with moving in such a space undetected," he reassures, looking among the group before moving his gaze to Wolfgang. "That is quite possible. Though I suspect that they may only have a few sentries on the roof. If they are preparing for our strike in such a manner, we need only remove those guards before making our jump."

 

[Breadman]

Cynthia stared into the face that was shown on display. There was absolutely no denying it now. This was the same cartel and this was the exact boss she was loaned to. Funny how things work out like that. She wondered if he would recognize her given how little time she spent with higher ups at the time. Didn't matter now, they were going to storm and bring him in.

"Can make the jump no problem. Just get us a running start."

 

[joshuadim]

Under his exoskeleton, Kane rolled his eyes and shrugged without objections to this game plan. He, however, would rather have preferred to have put the least amount of effort as possible in murking some lowlife cartel gangbangers without a second thought but instead now he has to jump through the hoops of doing a rooftop insertion. "Fuck it." he muttered as he moved to follow the other members for their plan of action.

 

[Infab]

"I don't like the fire escape approach, too exposed. Best bet is the jump to the building, may I also ask if we can have any thermals on the adjacent building? The one we are planning to leap from, if I were a gang leader, I would not confine my operations to just one central building or if I knew an attack was coming, I'd set up some men in nearby buildings as well."

It wasn't more than a few seconds before a SWAT officer stepped up to the group and spoke. "Thermals are picking up three tangos in the building adjacent to the club, three on top of the nightclub, and two on the roof of the office building on the far side of the club. Assumed to all be overwatch. So far, they haven't done anything beyond watch us, and make some simple chatter and radio traffic. We're prepared to take them out as soon as you're in position."

"Those last two were likely sent by Edith to observe." said Jack, his voice faint over comms. It seemed their boss was trying to figure out what Edith's game plan was. "...SWAT should focus on the three adjacent from the building, and the three on the club roof. Leave the two on the other roof be. Edith wants a show, so let's oblige. For now. It's something she wouldn't expect." A moment later, his voice was a bit louder. "Proceed into the adjacent building. SWAT snipers will eliminate the three guards there, and the three on the roof. Then, you can make your jump."

Daniel looked to the SWAT officer afterwards, repeating what Jack had stated. "Understood." said the officer, before strolling away as he spoke into his own comms. Daniel then looked to the others. "Let's get to it." he said, before jogging off towards the entrance to the multi-story building next to the club. Once the group was inside, it only took a minute to locate the staircase leading up to the appropriate floor for the jump. As they neared it, climbing the concrete staircase up to a dull grey door, they heard some bullets punching through glass and loud groans. SWAT had made their kill shots.

Now it was just up to them. Daniel reached over and eased the door open. Shotgun propped on his forearm, finger ready in the event he needed to blast something. Or someone. On the other side of the door was a long hallway, which was intersected by two other hallways coming from the left side. A body laid in the middle of the hall, while another was sitting against the wall on the left. They could only assume the third corpse was in one of the hallways. A peek through one of the remaining windows allowed for the group to see down onto the rooftop of the club, where three other bodies now lay.

As they walked, approaching the intersecting hallways, Daniel paused at the body in the hallway. Young man, early twenties. Hispanic. Tattoos on his neck. His gear was mostly casual, with a simple drop bag and some pouches for ammunition for his assault rifle. Daniel's eyes narrowed, before he raised his leg. And a moment later, he delivered a vicious stomp right onto the man's windpipe. If he wasn't already dead, he'd be dead in seconds now. Then, he continued on. "Make sure the other two are dead too." he said, glancing back to the others in the group.

He paused at one of the intersecting halls, before looking out at the roof below. It was going to be a hell of a jump.

 

[joshuadim]

Kane followed as boredom settled in his mind, watching as both SWAT did their job and Daniel finished off one thug with a brutal neck stomp. He didn't need much more prompting from Daniel aside from his simple words as Kane lifted a foot and stomped down onto one thugs head as hard as he could, splattering his brains across the concrete. "Now he's extra dead, copper." Kane cackled aloud. He then looked at the last fallen guy and shrugged, "Anyone want him? Can't be arsed to do the work."