Appointments and meetings, despite the way business worked for Rika, she preferred these times and her public appearances more than her private meetings with Legato. Barbaric wasn't even a term that could come close to describing his true nature. He was something much worse. Rika was on her way from a public meeting to a private scheduled one when she was suddenly pulled aside by her personal guards. She wasn't far from the HQ, Legato never let her get that far. She was nothing more than his pet on a leash.
"What's going on?" She said noticing the nervousness in the guard's posture. They said nothing but simply pulled her along back toward the large front doors of HQ. This baffled Rika as Legato was ALL about business and his damn plans. "You're hurting me...what's going on, I'm going to be late for my appointment, and I'd rather not have Legato--"
"It's taken care of...he wants you back now. No questions asked, now move."
She was forced back to HQ as she paused. Were those gunshots and the sound of helicopters she heard in the distance? What was going on. She paused a moment outside the HQ doors wanting to find out what all the ruckus was about, but she was brutally taken by the arm and forced inside the doors. "Unhand me!" she demanded as she pulled herself free from the guard's tight grasp. She was being lead down familiar halls. She knew where she was going, but she didn't know why. It was the WHY part that made her anxious. Something was up, and it was big. She didn't like it.
Once in front of Legato's door, the guards knocked and then quickly cleared out (save for two who stayed to make sure that Rika stayed). Not that she was going anywhere, Legato had eyes on her constantly when she was in HQ. There was a soft click as the door unlocked and the guards took their leave. Rika moved forward and entered into his lair. Per usual it was dimly light and reminded her of a dark cave. Standing behind his desk with his back to her was the beast of the cave. Ready to devour her and leave only her flesh and bones, a chill went down her spine and goosebumps rose on her skin. Her heart pounded as she stopped in the middle of the room, "What is going on?" she said firmly. Legato stood with his feet firmly planted and his hands folded behind his back. He seemed to be staring out at the vast city of Paradisio, but something about him was off. The faint light in the room silhouetted his body giving him even more an intimidating air. Rika wanted to turn and flee, but her determination not to let Legato get the best of her kept her feet somehow planted. He spoke softly and with an overly eerie calm in his voice, but there was just a hint of something else there. Almost as if he were finally breaking, caving a bit under all the pressure.
"Rika, dear, so nice of you to come on such short notice. I hope this isn't burdensome for you."
"What do you want--"
"There is something we must discuss...tell me, are you happy here Rika?"
"If you want me to be, yes, then I am happy I--"
"Oh, good. You always were a smart one...tell me, your brother Vance...have you heard from him lately? I hear he's been a VERY busy man." At this point Legato slowly turned to face her, placing his hands on the desk as he leaned forward to look her over. Only his face was illuminated by the light now, and the look told Rika enough. Danger. Her heart raced as she turned quickly and moved toward the door, but there was an audible buzzard noise as the doors clicked locked. Even knowing this she instinctively pulled at the handles trying to escape. Legato calmly straightened himself, smoothed out his suit, and casually strode toward the frightened Rika.
"Now, now...no need to be afraid, this is just going to be a little...private discussion" That cheshire grin spread across his lips as his hands fell upon Rika's shoulders and turned her around, forcing her into the door behind her. The beast was feral and not in good spirits, but he was bearing it with a grin and a deep hunger. The lights flickered and more of the room became illuminated. It was then that Rika saw the body of Mr. Right. Lifeless and slumped in the corner now. Her eyes widened as she took in breath to scream, but a hand clasped tightly over her mouth and muffled any cries she would make. When Legato was angry he sought his release, and right now his release was going to be on Rika.
As Legato unleashed his fury filled passion, Rika was left numb. At the end she was thrown to the side like a rag doll worth nothing. Her hair was a mess, her clothing destroyed, her body beaten, cut, bruised, bleeding. She was lucky to be alive still at this point. Legato, breathing heavily, but still smiling, fixed his clothing and threw a robe at her as he simply paged the good doctors.
"Come make sure she doesn't continue to bleed on my floor...also we'll need clean-up for Mr. Right...I have business to attend to."
As she slipped into the robe, Legato crouched beside her and brushed a strand of hair from her face
"Nothing personal...just business" he said with that wolf-like grin again. Kissing her on the forehead, Legato left. Rika turned away and simply waited as the good doctors came to fix the broken doll.
Vance watched Owen work with a slight fascination, but his hatred for the man still boiled. The only reason he could pitty the man was that his actions stemmed clearly from something more. Just like Vance, he too had lost something. When the spotlight came on Owen, his guard was down. Vance, luckily, was used to such trivialities and kept watch of Owen's back. He needed the man to get to Rika, after all. Opening fire, he took down two DP who could have sealed Owne's fate. One in the throat the other through the chest.
Vance sighed as he pushed forward toward Owen, using the last of his clips to clear the pathway. Tossing the guns aside, he pulled out his next weapon, a machete. It'd have to do until he found another gun. Grabbing Owen by the arm, he pulled him along, "Come on, snap out of it" he spat at the man, "You got anymore of those smoke doo dads? We can use it for cover and escape to the tunnels. We can get to Legato's HQ faster--"
Well, perhaps the man wasn't as stupid as he seemed. The spotlights continued to shine down on them as Vance began to clear the path again. Though, bullets vs sword...usually the winner is obvious. Bullets flied past them as they prepared for the final assault. Fed up with waiting, Vance simply grabbed for Owen and reached for the nearest bomb-like item he could grasp. Pulling the pin he tossed and pulled Owen along to take cover.
Another plume of noxious white smoke spread out as Vance grabbed Owen again and pulled him along toward the walls. Pulling on a trap door, the two quickly descended a flight of stairs and eventually ended up back in the complex sewer systems. "Come on, this way" Vance said as he limped along. He seemed to know his way well. The DP would be after them again soon enough, but at least this gave them a little more lee-way. With the DP still on their tales, they came out of the tunnel system again 10 mins later, and were nearby the large HQ building of Neocore, just as Vance had said.
DP and Cutters were crawling and patrolling everywhere though. Ducking behind a trashcan, Vance watched the entrance a moment, "Well...how do you suppose we get inside now that we're here?"
