Coming soon.
Trouble is stirring again. Can we say: 'Fight between Ace and Sterling??' Stay tuned.
Trouble is stirring again. Can we say: 'Fight between Ace and Sterling??' Stay tuned.
Jason sat back in his plush, leather, high wingback chair as he flipped a page in a report, to the next one. He usually skimmed through them, but this one in particular, along with the long since memorized one on his desk in front of him, he was taking care to read and memorize each individual word, meaning and even hidden meanings, if there were any. He had pulled these files from Carmon's cabinet, full knowing that she would have his head if she ever found out they were missing. Hence why he hadn't even left the office yet. He had waited until he was the last in the building before taking them to read at his leisure. He would return them before the night was over. He just wanted more clear information about the members of D-0. He had already dug up everything he could find on Ace. He knew the man was ex-mafia, hiding from them. He had broken off at some point, but the reasons why weren't in his file. Maybe Carmon herself didn't know. If they were hunting him, he was a very dangerous liability. Something that Cipher could do without. With Ace, brought Chad. His young, but rather determined cohort. With Chad's report in hand, Jason was learning more and more about the boy. By his age, one would assume he was just a boy with a foul temper (and mouth) that fueled his drive for excitement and chaos. However, with even a glance at the boy's paperwork, it was entirely the opposite. He had the cruelest of events thrown at him in succession, giving the boy no room to even find out what hit him. Jason tsked as he finished reading the information about Diamond's. Rage surged through the swordsman. How could someone do this to a child?! And there was a kicker! It was the same address as the bar he currently lived in!! "To make him live there after what happened..... even if it's been remodeled.... Ace you heartless bastard." He shook his head and sighed. He set the report down for a moment and closed his eyes. The swordsman had to take a moment to gather himself. He had half a mind to disturb that Italian irritant and rip him a new one. Honestly, how could someone be so dense? The boy had been through Hell, just within those walls. How much stress do the memories alone cause the boy? No wonder his temper is so short. Was Ace forcing him to stay there? Was he there willingly? If so, why? How does living there effect him? There had to be repercussions from it. Jason removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes for a few moments, trying to ease his own tension. Replacing them, he picked the folder back up and scanned for his spot. Taking a deep breath, he continued reading. Four hours later, Jason had finished reading everything he had been able to find (with and without Carmon's resources) about the boy. When he was done, Jason sat for several minutes staring at the pile of papers. Had he not read this for himself, there was no way that he would believe that one person could survive so much and still be human. How had Chad not gone insane? Or homicidal? It would be absolutely understandable if he had. No one could have blamed him at all. Though many would still condemn him. He would have to wait for a decent hour before calling the boy and scheduling a meeting with him. There were far too many questions unanswered. Just as many potential risks were viable with such a traumatic past. How unstable was he? Jason would have to find out. He would have to do an analysis on the boy to see where he stood. With his decision made, Jason stood from his chair, replaced all of the paperwork in their respective files and quietly returned them to Carmon's office. With that done, he left Cipher for the night and headed home.
A couple of weeks had crept past since the events took place that brought the gunsmith named Jack into their circles. The copper-haired young man had since then made it an almost daily ritual to stop by the Mockingbird pub for an evening drink. Not only had Chad commissioned Jack to custom-build that tranquilizer-dart modified Mossberg for a pretty penny, but the lanky redhead had also offered to give Ace’s revolver a thorough cleaning and tune-up for no cost. It was for these reasons that a day spent at the Cipher Corps practice range was requested and scheduled. In order to proceed with the creation of Chad’s weapon, Jack needed to observe the youth wielding the model originally designed by Cipher. That way he could calculate exactly how much alteration would have to be made to the design’s body size and weight to fit Chad like a perfectly tailored garment. Also, after having Jack tinker with his rarity of a revolver, Ace wanted to make sure it fired as properly, reliably, and accurately as it should.
Even though Ace was considered to be quite a few different things in and outside of his social circle, the term ‘Morning Person’ definitely didn’t apply to him. However, it was at times like these when the fiery redhead forced himself to leave the comforts of his bedroom before noon. Much like the time when he’d reserved the obstacle training course for the day, just because he had the reservation didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be spectators… and those spectators tended to show up in the afternoon when they had less work to occupy their time. This is what Ace wanted to avoid. Dane had expressed his desire to come along as well, wanting to have a look at what their rifle-range had to offer in terms of sniper practice, but much to his disappointment, Ace instructed the barkeep to stay put at the Pub and keep Vera company for the day. There would be a day when they’d all take a trip to headquarters together, but now was not the proper time for that. Ace just wanted to get there, take care of their business, and get back out.
While he, Chad, and the others sat at the bar waiting for Jack to arrive, he sipped on a cup of black coffee and had a cigarette. The clothes he donned were fairly typical. A pair of dark, distressed denim jeans from the left back-pocket of which dangled the chain of his wallet. Those scuffed, heavy black Harley Davidson boots peeked out from beneath the slightly frayed bottom hems. Under the signature leather jacket, he wore a familiar white button-down and a black wifebeater beneath that. Ace remained fairly quiet over his coffee, almost as though he was tangled up in thoughts. Golden-green eyes kept staring at his own reflection in the nearly black surface of the liquid in the mug. It wasn’t that the redhead was contemplating anything in particular, he simply didn’t enjoy the morning hours… nor did he enjoy the way his jacket felt without the familiar weight of his firearm nestled into the well-concealed, built in holster.
It didn’t take much longer until the sound of Jack’s vintage Vespa could be heard coming from outside before it was parked and shut off. They were all gathered at last. Ace’s mood seemed to perk up almost instantly when the one-eyed gunsmith carefully unwrapped the ex-hitman’s filigree adorned and now highly polished revolver from a microfiber cloth. Ace picked it up, inspected it, then let it vanish between layers of black fabric inside his jacket with a smirk of satisfaction. Shortly thereafter, they took their leave while Dane and Vera stayed behind. It looked like Skylar was hitching a ride with them to headquarters as well… something about a presentation lecture one of the Division 4 researchers was giving on new software development techniques. Not that Ace really cared… but the blue-haired tech-wizard seemed to be spending an awful lot of time at headquarters recently… In fact, that’s always where he could be fund unless he was holed up in his room or trying to unsuccessfully cozy-up to Chad somehow, much to the latter’s disapproval. So all four of them piled into the dark red leather seats of the black classic muscle car and took off across town to the large private military compound that was Cipher Corps headquarters. Traffic was awful, which left Ace clenching his jaws and growling various profanities several times in a row, but at least the weather was nice. The morning air was mild and not a single cloud visible in the sky. Over the course of the day, the temperatures were predicted to rise higher than they had been that year. Summer was definitely well on its way. What was it now… early June? Shit, that meant his birthday was coming up at the end of next month… not that he really cared anyway; just another tally-mark etched into the brickwork of his lifeline… another year for which he could proudly say that he hadn’t manage to get himself killed. To Ace, that was the extent of that specific day’s relevance.
The weather was perfect for the outdoor practice range, which was excellent because it provided a much wider variety in targets than the indoor range… plus they wouldn’t be bitched at by Carmon or Lieutenant cock-monger for smoking. As soon as they got out of the car, Skylar went his separate ways and while the bluenette headed toward the main building, Ace lead Chad and Jack toward the range office, where they would have to check in and pick up the weapon the redhead had specially requested for his young division member. Once Ace had scanned his ID tags, the metal and glass door slid open and they proceeded inside. The ammunition used for the modified Mossberg of course wasn’t live tranquilizer darts for this simple practice procedure. The darts used almost looked a bit similar to throwing darts, but instead of the standard plastic flights found on throwing darts, these were outfitted with a blue tassel attached to the rear end. The middle-aged man in uniform behind the check-in counter looked somewhat skeptically at the redhead, then down to Chad who’s eyes barely managed to peek over the counter. Jack looked completely distracted. Ever since they’d pulled onto the grounds of the compound, the one-eyed redhead had to keep picking his jaw up off the floor. The sheer size of the place, the technology, and the variety of available resources looked to have struck him with awe…right in the manly parts.
“Is that gonna be it for you Division 0 folks? I didn’t know they’d let the freelancers out here to practice…but I guess you all probably need it more than the rest of us.” The guy behind the counter bore a somewhat snide little smile as he focused his attention on Ace. The hot-tempered redhead narrowed lids over fierce summer-meadow hues and took the long gun case from the countertop to hand it to Chad. He must have been a Division 1 member...they were always the quickest to start throwing insults around the room. Did this ass-clown even know who he was talking to?! Probably not, considering the freelancer had put the reservation in as 'Ace' instead of his official name. Regardless, Ace wasn’t about to pull the ‘rank’ card with this guy… hell, he never pulled that sort of crap with anyone because he simply didn’t care enough about his title to exploit it in petty quarrels with those who thought themselves and their division to be better than his own. “No…that’s not it…” He spoke in a harsh growl of a tone. “If you'd been paying more attention to your job instead of trying to talk shit about something you don’t know fuck-all about, then you wouldn’t have to ask me that stupid question. Now give me the case of .454 Casull that I put a request in for yesterday and then mind your own fucking business before you make even more of an ass of yourself." The snide smile faded as the man behind the counter with the short black hair looked something up on his computer. It took a short moment to retrieve the requested box of ammunition, but at last, the trio was ready to set foot onto the outdoor firearms training course. Ace lit up a cigarette while they walked like the three fucking musketeers, wondering all the while if Carmon was up to her pretty blue eyeballs in work today already... and if she'd come to pay them a visit.
Even though Ace was considered to be quite a few different things in and outside of his social circle, the term ‘Morning Person’ definitely didn’t apply to him. However, it was at times like these when the fiery redhead forced himself to leave the comforts of his bedroom before noon. Much like the time when he’d reserved the obstacle training course for the day, just because he had the reservation didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be spectators… and those spectators tended to show up in the afternoon when they had less work to occupy their time. This is what Ace wanted to avoid. Dane had expressed his desire to come along as well, wanting to have a look at what their rifle-range had to offer in terms of sniper practice, but much to his disappointment, Ace instructed the barkeep to stay put at the Pub and keep Vera company for the day. There would be a day when they’d all take a trip to headquarters together, but now was not the proper time for that. Ace just wanted to get there, take care of their business, and get back out.
While he, Chad, and the others sat at the bar waiting for Jack to arrive, he sipped on a cup of black coffee and had a cigarette. The clothes he donned were fairly typical. A pair of dark, distressed denim jeans from the left back-pocket of which dangled the chain of his wallet. Those scuffed, heavy black Harley Davidson boots peeked out from beneath the slightly frayed bottom hems. Under the signature leather jacket, he wore a familiar white button-down and a black wifebeater beneath that. Ace remained fairly quiet over his coffee, almost as though he was tangled up in thoughts. Golden-green eyes kept staring at his own reflection in the nearly black surface of the liquid in the mug. It wasn’t that the redhead was contemplating anything in particular, he simply didn’t enjoy the morning hours… nor did he enjoy the way his jacket felt without the familiar weight of his firearm nestled into the well-concealed, built in holster.
It didn’t take much longer until the sound of Jack’s vintage Vespa could be heard coming from outside before it was parked and shut off. They were all gathered at last. Ace’s mood seemed to perk up almost instantly when the one-eyed gunsmith carefully unwrapped the ex-hitman’s filigree adorned and now highly polished revolver from a microfiber cloth. Ace picked it up, inspected it, then let it vanish between layers of black fabric inside his jacket with a smirk of satisfaction. Shortly thereafter, they took their leave while Dane and Vera stayed behind. It looked like Skylar was hitching a ride with them to headquarters as well… something about a presentation lecture one of the Division 4 researchers was giving on new software development techniques. Not that Ace really cared… but the blue-haired tech-wizard seemed to be spending an awful lot of time at headquarters recently… In fact, that’s always where he could be fund unless he was holed up in his room or trying to unsuccessfully cozy-up to Chad somehow, much to the latter’s disapproval. So all four of them piled into the dark red leather seats of the black classic muscle car and took off across town to the large private military compound that was Cipher Corps headquarters. Traffic was awful, which left Ace clenching his jaws and growling various profanities several times in a row, but at least the weather was nice. The morning air was mild and not a single cloud visible in the sky. Over the course of the day, the temperatures were predicted to rise higher than they had been that year. Summer was definitely well on its way. What was it now… early June? Shit, that meant his birthday was coming up at the end of next month… not that he really cared anyway; just another tally-mark etched into the brickwork of his lifeline… another year for which he could proudly say that he hadn’t manage to get himself killed. To Ace, that was the extent of that specific day’s relevance.
The weather was perfect for the outdoor practice range, which was excellent because it provided a much wider variety in targets than the indoor range… plus they wouldn’t be bitched at by Carmon or Lieutenant cock-monger for smoking. As soon as they got out of the car, Skylar went his separate ways and while the bluenette headed toward the main building, Ace lead Chad and Jack toward the range office, where they would have to check in and pick up the weapon the redhead had specially requested for his young division member. Once Ace had scanned his ID tags, the metal and glass door slid open and they proceeded inside. The ammunition used for the modified Mossberg of course wasn’t live tranquilizer darts for this simple practice procedure. The darts used almost looked a bit similar to throwing darts, but instead of the standard plastic flights found on throwing darts, these were outfitted with a blue tassel attached to the rear end. The middle-aged man in uniform behind the check-in counter looked somewhat skeptically at the redhead, then down to Chad who’s eyes barely managed to peek over the counter. Jack looked completely distracted. Ever since they’d pulled onto the grounds of the compound, the one-eyed redhead had to keep picking his jaw up off the floor. The sheer size of the place, the technology, and the variety of available resources looked to have struck him with awe…right in the manly parts.
“Is that gonna be it for you Division 0 folks? I didn’t know they’d let the freelancers out here to practice…but I guess you all probably need it more than the rest of us.” The guy behind the counter bore a somewhat snide little smile as he focused his attention on Ace. The hot-tempered redhead narrowed lids over fierce summer-meadow hues and took the long gun case from the countertop to hand it to Chad. He must have been a Division 1 member...they were always the quickest to start throwing insults around the room. Did this ass-clown even know who he was talking to?! Probably not, considering the freelancer had put the reservation in as 'Ace' instead of his official name. Regardless, Ace wasn’t about to pull the ‘rank’ card with this guy… hell, he never pulled that sort of crap with anyone because he simply didn’t care enough about his title to exploit it in petty quarrels with those who thought themselves and their division to be better than his own. “No…that’s not it…” He spoke in a harsh growl of a tone. “If you'd been paying more attention to your job instead of trying to talk shit about something you don’t know fuck-all about, then you wouldn’t have to ask me that stupid question. Now give me the case of .454 Casull that I put a request in for yesterday and then mind your own fucking business before you make even more of an ass of yourself." The snide smile faded as the man behind the counter with the short black hair looked something up on his computer. It took a short moment to retrieve the requested box of ammunition, but at last, the trio was ready to set foot onto the outdoor firearms training course. Ace lit up a cigarette while they walked like the three fucking musketeers, wondering all the while if Carmon was up to her pretty blue eyeballs in work today already... and if she'd come to pay them a visit.
Jason sighed tiredly as he leaned his head back against his chair, letting his eyes close for a few moments. The silence in his office was both a blessing and a curse. The quiet was peaceful, but it was also starting to make him sleepy. Having spent the previous night doing background checks, following leads and verifying rumors about the D-0 members. He had found out quite a lot about both Ace and Chad. Though Jason would like nothing more than to go home and sleep, he had far too much work to do and couldn't afford to sleep on the job.
As if the fates agreed with him, the phone sitting on his desk began ringing. Not even bothering to open his eyes, Jason reached out and picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. "First Lieutenant Jason Sterling. " He listened to the voice on the other end, slowly opening his eyes. All tiredness seemed to disappear at the words of the caller. "Sir, Ace and the boy, from Division 0, both entered Cipher grounds twelve minutes ago at 0900 hours. He has the firing range reserved until 1000 hours." Jason sat up in his chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him. "Who authorized this?" Was the first thing that came out of the swordsman's mouth. The response was so fast, that Jason didn't have time to catch himself before asking. He knew it had to be Carmon. She was the only one of Cipher's staff that Ace willingly communicated with... and he was civil... most of the time. Confirming his suspicions, the desk manager told him that it was indeed Carmon who had given that mangy red head access to the gun range.
However, despite the headache that was Ace, this was a good opportunity to speak with Chad. With a sigh and a stretch, the second in command stood from his comfortable winged back chair and headed out of his office. As he left, he told the cadet at his desk to send for an order of his usual coffee and have it brought to the gun range. Leaving the cadet to jump on his new assignment, Jason made his way down to the fields of Cipher's training grounds. It was a rather nice day out and he was glad to have an excuse to get out of his office... even if it meant dealing with that mongrel. Once at the range, the swordsman nodded to the clerk at the desk. He ordered a M-1287 pistol and three magazines before heading inside the range itself.
It wasn't hard to spot the red headed lout along with the boy and a new face. Another red head, though his hair wasn't as vibrant as Ace's. It was almost orange like rust. Hopefully this mean that this one wasn't as crude and obnoxious as Ace. That would be a blessing. The man (if you could call him that) had already corrupted Chad into being as foul and ill mannered as he. "I hope you're not teaching these two your bad habits, Valeri. I would hate to see one of them make the same mistake you did back in the Thailand Trades." A humored smile set onto the swordsman's face as he thought about the red head nearly having his arm blown off in a gun fight. Jason had gotten so much work done without having to fill out paperwork and write apology letters for the red head's idiocy.
A cadet suddenly appeared next to the swordsman. The boy wasn't much older than Chad, maybe a year or so older. He stood at attention while holding a tall, white paper cup. "Sir, I have your coffee." The First Lieutenant turned to the cadet and nodded. He took the cup from the boy and took a sip. It was still hot and it took a smidge more self control than what Jason normally used to keep from flinching. Damn this exhaustion. "Thank you cadet. You may return to your duties." The boy saluted, but only received a nod in return before disappearing again. Taking another sip, albeit more cautiously, Jason let a very faint smile hover as he simply enjoyed his coffee.
Now down to business. Jason turned to Chad, taking his glasses off and staring at him, dead in the eyes. "I have some things I need to speak to you about." His eyes flickered to Ace and back to Chad before continuing. "However, these are private matters and I would prefer it without unwanted company. I'm free until 1630 (4:30pm) today. I have back to back meetings with various officials and suppliers thereafter and won't have time until tomorrow. This is urgent Chad, do not ignore this. Your career at Cipher could very well be at risk." He knew Chad would argue and would question his reasons, so he stayed to allow the boy time to get his answers.
As if the fates agreed with him, the phone sitting on his desk began ringing. Not even bothering to open his eyes, Jason reached out and picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. "First Lieutenant Jason Sterling. " He listened to the voice on the other end, slowly opening his eyes. All tiredness seemed to disappear at the words of the caller. "Sir, Ace and the boy, from Division 0, both entered Cipher grounds twelve minutes ago at 0900 hours. He has the firing range reserved until 1000 hours." Jason sat up in his chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him. "Who authorized this?" Was the first thing that came out of the swordsman's mouth. The response was so fast, that Jason didn't have time to catch himself before asking. He knew it had to be Carmon. She was the only one of Cipher's staff that Ace willingly communicated with... and he was civil... most of the time. Confirming his suspicions, the desk manager told him that it was indeed Carmon who had given that mangy red head access to the gun range.
However, despite the headache that was Ace, this was a good opportunity to speak with Chad. With a sigh and a stretch, the second in command stood from his comfortable winged back chair and headed out of his office. As he left, he told the cadet at his desk to send for an order of his usual coffee and have it brought to the gun range. Leaving the cadet to jump on his new assignment, Jason made his way down to the fields of Cipher's training grounds. It was a rather nice day out and he was glad to have an excuse to get out of his office... even if it meant dealing with that mongrel. Once at the range, the swordsman nodded to the clerk at the desk. He ordered a M-1287 pistol and three magazines before heading inside the range itself.
It wasn't hard to spot the red headed lout along with the boy and a new face. Another red head, though his hair wasn't as vibrant as Ace's. It was almost orange like rust. Hopefully this mean that this one wasn't as crude and obnoxious as Ace. That would be a blessing. The man (if you could call him that) had already corrupted Chad into being as foul and ill mannered as he. "I hope you're not teaching these two your bad habits, Valeri. I would hate to see one of them make the same mistake you did back in the Thailand Trades." A humored smile set onto the swordsman's face as he thought about the red head nearly having his arm blown off in a gun fight. Jason had gotten so much work done without having to fill out paperwork and write apology letters for the red head's idiocy.
A cadet suddenly appeared next to the swordsman. The boy wasn't much older than Chad, maybe a year or so older. He stood at attention while holding a tall, white paper cup. "Sir, I have your coffee." The First Lieutenant turned to the cadet and nodded. He took the cup from the boy and took a sip. It was still hot and it took a smidge more self control than what Jason normally used to keep from flinching. Damn this exhaustion. "Thank you cadet. You may return to your duties." The boy saluted, but only received a nod in return before disappearing again. Taking another sip, albeit more cautiously, Jason let a very faint smile hover as he simply enjoyed his coffee.
Now down to business. Jason turned to Chad, taking his glasses off and staring at him, dead in the eyes. "I have some things I need to speak to you about." His eyes flickered to Ace and back to Chad before continuing. "However, these are private matters and I would prefer it without unwanted company. I'm free until 1630 (4:30pm) today. I have back to back meetings with various officials and suppliers thereafter and won't have time until tomorrow. This is urgent Chad, do not ignore this. Your career at Cipher could very well be at risk." He knew Chad would argue and would question his reasons, so he stayed to allow the boy time to get his answers.