The Division | Mao Mao & Andreyic

[Mao Mao]

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"When society falls, we rise."​

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LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS​

When it was announced that New York City was going to be under lockdown, thousands of people packed their belongings and tried to flee via the bridges and tunnels. One of the busiest tunnels was the Lincoln Tunnel, and it got bad enough that people ditched their cars to walk. The problem was that the tunnel was the primary supply line for food, medicines, and supplies from the outside world. So when the military had to turn away desperate people, a massive riot engulfed and overwhelmed the forces. It was one of the first cases where military personnel opened fire upon people, killing six.​

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Then, it became a frequent target for raids to obtain any remaining supplies. And once trade ceased for good, the Joint Task Force abandoned the checkpoint and retreated further into the city. Now, it was a reminder of their failure and of the past.​

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A lone soul exited out of the dark tunnel and quickly embraced the clear skies with a long breath. He was dressed like a soldier ready for a fight, carrying around his SCAR-L. But, he wasn't a soldier. Instead, Nathan Bates was an agent of the newly formed Strategic Homeland Division (SHD), and he came to the Big Apple with orders: scout out the Lincoln Tunnel checkpoint and retake it. It was significant from the SHD to maintain it if the city was to survive another day.​

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Unsurprisingly, there was no resistance or signs of anyone recently living in the area. Agent Bates felt relieved and disappointed that no one was in the area; but, the nearby building had one of its garage doors lifted slightly. He pulled out his pistol and a flashlight before carefully entering inside. There still was nothing to indicate trouble. And when he got in the empty office space, Bates put away the pistol and began his hunt for clues as to the whereabouts of the JTF. So far, it was picked clean; yet, there was a security camera above. It meant that ECHO could be able to provide valuable intel.​

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Agent Bates activated the system, and it started to download the cloud data and then surveillance data before analyzing it. Reconstruction was done in a matter of seconds. Bates was still impressed with how much-advanced tech the SHD had in their arsenal. From the seekers to ECHO and ISAC, they were prepared for every single scenario imaginable. But, there wasn't time to wonder. Bates had to complete his objective, and he only needed to sit back and watch the holograms in action:​

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There were two JTF soldiers in the office space. One of them was sitting in front of a computer while the other was on their phone. They were keeping to themselves until an alarm went off, causing them to stop in place. Then, a JTF officer ran in and yelled out. "Gather your things, we are leaving!"​

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"Leaving?!" one of the soldiers stood up from the chair and looked at the officer. "Where in the world are we going?"​

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"Regrouping with the remaining JTF forces at the James A. Farley Building." the officer answered while gathering some papers on a desk. "Destroy anything crucial to the JFT if it can't be taken. Another squad will come to help us with the generator in fifteen.​

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Once the officer left the room, both soldiers stopped what they were doing and made their way towards the barracks. But, one of the soldiers stopped in place, looked at the computer, and ran back towards it. The other soldier looked in disbelief and bluntly asked. "What the hell are you doing?!"​

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The soldier quickly typed something, sent it, and turned off the computer. "Saying goodbye."​

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Bates finished writing down the name of the building onto a torn piece of paper and shoved it into his pocket. It was good to know that JTF was still fighting tooth and nail for this city. Hopefully, they were still around at the postal service building. He stood up and looked around for any other clues, but anything useful was either taken or destroyed. Like what the officer wanted. So with nothing else, it was time for Bates to get in contact with Overlord about his findings.​

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"Overload, this is Firefly. Standby for report. Over." Bates grabbed ahold of the radio from his holster. There was a moment of silence before Overload responded.​

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"Firefly, send your traffic. Over."​

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"JTF forces regrouped at the James A. Farley Building. Lincoln checkpoint was left abandoned with no signs of life. Do you copy?"​

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"Solid copy, Firefly." Overload answered before going silent for a moment. "Firefly, standby at current location. Badger is making their way towards you. Over."​

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"Copy, Overload. Standing by for Bader. Over." Bates responded and shoved the radio back into its holster. He took a seat on a nearby desk, facing towards the entrance. Now, he needed to only wait.​

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[Mao Mao]

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HUDSON YARDS

Click. Click. Click. Click. Don knew for a fact he wasn't crazy. Having served he knew many a former brother in arms that lost it after a tour of duty and blew their brains out... or somebody else's if that was their fancy. But he knew he wasn't one of them. The former serviceman felt completely lucid, the flicking of his rifle's select-fire the only real oddity about him. This wasn't some sort of manic episode, this was the call of duty. He didn't remember getting those orders jammed into his head but that didn't matter. Everything around him and the more recent communication with command was a-posteriori proof that he was doing the right thing. It was easy for him really, just dig up the guns and then connect all his armour and gadgets to his carrier rig and backpack. It must have been quite different for more grounded people with families. Yeah, all the people selected for the Division would have had their loved ones know who they were with and would by now be used to them going off to fight. But this wasn't the ordinary serviceman experience. This was a threat at home, rather than overseas. Depending on how long all this shit went on, Don reckoned that this would sooner or later become a liability. Even the most devout of servicemen would have trouble fighting in these stone jungles with little to show for it when their very own families would almost certainly be under some sort of danger. For now there were far more pressing issues though.

For now Donald kept himself in civilian clothing, for now quite sure this was the right idea. Yes, it meant that hypothetical comrades might mistake him for a looter and marauder. But it also meant that he was beneath notice for many people. He had his M4 of course, but the plate carrier and all else was hidden beneath his clothes to make sure he wouldn't be a juicy target for the vast majority of this new world's ne'erdowells. Besides, his M4 was furnished to look like a rather simple civilian AR rather than the high end piece of military equipment that it was. If all the sent orders were right, they'd know it was him coming rather than some random scavenger and wouldn't blow his brains out. Approaching the building Badger put away his rifle and drew his pistol for the tight indoor confines. That said he kept the safety on for now, more or less confident that his fellow Agent would have cleared any threats that the building might have housed, it was simply that a bit of caution never hurt; better safe than sorry, the saying goes. As Donald cleared the rooms and walkways of the building he felt somewhat sickened. The place was ransacked, every single thing that was A) not too heavy to carry away and B) possible to pawn off for a few bucks was gone. As a sort of experiment he opened a cupboard, and he growled faintly as it seemed someone had even taken the stationery. He knew now wasn't the time to dwell on hatred for the scum of the world like some discount vigilante, he had a job to do. Sighing he made his way over to Firefly, nodding respectfully to his counterpart. Don went through the same routine his counterpart had, introducing himself meanwhile. "Its good to see you Agent. I'm Badger. Ready to move?"

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[Mao Mao]

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LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS​

Bates took a moment to scan Badger as a way to make sure that he was the one command sent. The smartwatch was a safe bet that he was indeed a Division agent. While the civilian clothing was a questionable choice, there weren't many options that SHD had given the world is still on fire. Bates got up from the desk and responded, "Nice to see you, Badger. I am Firefly."​

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After the introductions, Bates got into contact with command to confirm the meetup and started heading outside. There were a few seconds of silence before Overload told both him and Badger their new objective. "Head for the Post Office and search for any remaining JTF survivors. If there are none, attempt to find out what happened. Over."​

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"Over." Bates answered before asking a question. "What about the checkpoint? Over."​

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"Another team is on route to get it back online. Focus on the new objectives. Over." Overload went dark shortly after giving the answer, leaving the pair on their own. Once outside, Bates pulled up the map to check out their current position. It was going to take them fifteen minutes of walking to get there, but there weren't any other alternatives. He noticed that the nearby bus terminal was safe to enter, while several adjacent buildings were marked as contamination zones (meaning they were infected with Green Flu). Bates took a moment to calibrate a route in his head and turned towards Badger.​

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"The best option is if we went on Forty Street and walked straight down Eighth Avenue to the post office. If we need to rest, the ideal places are either the bus terminal nearby or one of the buildings along the avenue. Just tell me whenever and we can visit there." Bates said to his new partner while the map disappeared and then started walking towards their destination. But, they were in for a wakeup call once they finally exited out of Interstate 495. Hundreds of vehicles were left abandoned by their owners as several dozen nearby buildings, including a church, were marked as contaminated with Dollar Flu.​

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However, the Port Authority Bus Terminal became one of many quarantine zones. Even then, it seemed like the truth was hidden from everyone, including the Division agents. Bates was horrified to see the city that he often visited in such disrepair. It was difficult to react to his first time seeing New York City in person other than video. He was about to say something when gunshots rang out and forced Bates to find cover behind a taxi. Several citizens were fleeing from the terminal as the gunshots kept ongoing for ten seconds. Two more (both men) ran out of the building, but they were gunned down.​

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One of them was dying on top of a car hood while the other tried to crawl towards him. But, two NYPD officers came outside and approached him. The man on the hood attempted to get up but was swiftly executed by one of the officers. The other cried out and desperately tried to escape for them; however, the officer placed his foot on his back. "We are going to ask the last time. Where are your friends hiding?"​

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"I won't want to upset Officer Mckinney, dude." the other officer said while searching the citizen's body for something. "She's a bitch if you go against her."​

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"Go.. to hell." the civilian mumbled and then spat on the officer. He received the boot to the face, breaking some of his teeth and nose.​

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"Well, it seems like you earned a spot in my to-kill list." Bates was still surprised to see the brutality of those officers. Even if they were in the right (which appeared to not be the case), they were breaking the oath made to protect and serve the city. He wasn't going to stand around and let them kill an incident. So, he came out of hiding and called out the NYPD officers. Both of them were quick to aim their pistols towards him.​

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"Freeze!"​

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Bates paused and slowly put his hands up as a sign of trust. "Listen, I am Agent Nathan Bates of the Strategic Homeland Division. I want to talk to you, but you have to leave the citizen alone."​

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The officers looked at each other and then started laughing. Mckinney avoided the offer and started arresting the citizen. She took a quick glance at Bates and said in a dismissive tone, "Pal, I have heard dozens of people calming to be in the military. You aren't the first. Now, leave us be, or you'll regret it."​

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[Andreyic]

LINCOLN TUNNEL // HUDSON YARDS
Badger didn't waste any time following Firefly outside. He winced a few tears from his eyes as the sun momentarily blinded him, but just as quickly as he adjusted to the darker interior he adjusted to the outdoor lighting. Listening to the orders from command Don nodded, taking out his M4 now that they were outside and flicking it to single fire. The announcement that another team being sent to take care of the checkpoint mollified the only concern that Don had, and so he nodded with renewed dedication to this new objective.

With the map Bates pulled out Don knew that the man had a head start on figuring out a path and so he didn't really bother trying to do likewise, instead kneeling down and taking a look at the scene through the optics of his rifle. He hadn't seen anybody on the way here, but he never heard of anybody dying of caution. Dying to people you didn't know were there because you forgot to do a second sweep of a place happened very often, on the other hand. When his counterpart came up with a route Hayes simply nodded and stood up. "I'm easy, and I already had a long rest before I made my way here I'm good to go. Lead the way." he said, gesturing with his left hand.

Donald kept quiet on the way through the highway, and although he wasn't quite expecting what he came upon with his comrade it wasn't particularly surprising either. This line of thought was very quickly interrupted when the distinct report of firearms was heard, and much like his partner the warrior went for cover. Experience from SWAT told the man that most civilian cars were unreliable cover with most rifle and even a good chunk of pistol bullets easily going through their doors and trunks, and so instead a heavier truck was sought out. Peeking out revealed that these men were just police officers with service pistols however, which cars would more or less stop, not to mention the plate carriers of the duo. The rifles of the agents however would more than readily go through any civilian cars, which in addition to the other advantages of the agents made any sort of confrontation a done deal more or less.

These were cops though, and they weren't even SWAT officers. Blasting random people wasn't their duty, however this wasn't the time and the place to be confronting them, and Don started to say "wait" but he was too late. "Fuck." was all he could say, rubbing his forehead wearily. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." he muttered again, the expletives somehow calming. It was rather suspicious that a man in actual military gear was not believed when he said he was military, though. Something was really fishy here and quite frankly Don was suspecting these people were only impersonating law enforcement officers — the only evidence to the contrary was that they used the term "officer" between each other before they knew the SHD Agents were present.

"Hold on, I'll flank them, I'll let you know when I'm in position. Tell me if you think it's going to shit, over." Don communicated, before crouching down and doing the closest thing he could to a run whilst keeping his head below the level of the cars. Ideally he wanted to make it behind the two NYPD Officers but even being at the side to insure he had the drop on them with his rifle would really be enough given it seemed these were the only two present. He just hoped Firefly would be able to diffuse the situation, or at least keep the cops talking long enough for him to be in position to take them out with two quick taps on the trigger. He'd probably aim for their thighs or stomach depending the urgency of the situation, neither shot instantly lethal allowing for a quick questioning of the men but the latter being eventually mortal as blood loss, shock, and other complications soon got to you. Well, at least this was a heroic story he'd be able to tell the grandkids, of how he saved some poor citizen from being executed by rogue police officers in this trying time. With the way things were going Badger reckoned there'd be quite a lot more before things got better though, and he really didn't believe this little act of heroism would pay off when there was a more urgent objective. He'd have to raise his concerns with Bates when they were out of a volatile scenario later.