Yuma knocked on the car door and said, "Sir, its time."
Eric stepped out into the still somewhat dark park. It would be a while still until any sunlight penetrated the buildings around the area. He started out, and Yuma followed suit. Ava stumbled and caught up quickly. The three came to the center of the park, were only a single street lamp was lit. Eric stopped and Yuma stood by his side, it took Ava a moment to realize she should be at Eric's other side and she hurried into place.
Four figures stood on the other side of the light. A man stood flanked by two women, a large figure behind them. The mans voice rang out in the empty park, "Eric! Its been so long, how have you been?" He moved forward into the light and Eric met him.
Eric shook the mans hand, "Roberto!" he exclaimed, "You clever bastard! Last I heard you were behind a major fire in Miami. Don't tell me you were the one who made my job harder and made Miami's military stumble and give up ground to Chicago."
Roberto laughed heartily at Eric then said, "Yeah, that was my group. Wouldn't have pulled it off without the twins here." He thumbed to the two Arabic women keeping to the shadows. "It was a fun little project though. Took the Elite right off their feet I tell you. Anyway," Roberto waved to the dark figure, which quietly whirred to life. "I have a gift for you Eric. A little something I found in that fire."
Roberto's giant robot dropped a tremendous metal chest in front of the trio. "You'll like whats in there and so will your top mechanic."
"I see," Eric said, "Well, we'll most certainly have trouble transporting it. We lack a machine of that caliber. Anyway, I have a question. Are you ready to instigate our special project." Roberto nodded in reply, "Good," Eric said, "Because we start today. Do you know if our peers are ready in New York?"
Roberto thought for a moment before he replied. "I believe so. Last I heard we had managed to get quite a number of people into place"
Eric nodded back, "Thats what I was informed of as well. We'll need to get them into place in the next 8 months at most. 7 would be best but 8 will do."
The two continued talking for quite a while, the sun quietly rising as plans unfolded.
Gruff walked up to the table where several of Eric's candidates had gathered. Though they weren't all there. The time had come and those who had been late had not made the cut. Quicker than anyone could see, the disk a man named Raymond had thrown onto the table had been snatched up. "I'll be taking that." Gruff said, "You all work for me now. So if you'll follow me, I'll be taking you to your staging areas."
He turned on his heels and hurried away, forcing the rest of the group to get up and hurry after him. He rushed down a flight of stairs that seemed nigh endless, and he moved strangely fast for someone of his age. The came to a guarded room deep underground. The guards moved aside and opened a pair of heavy steel doors. Inside were two women, one with a clipboard on which she scribbled furiously, the other sat in automatic wheelchair. She smiled as all the members entered.
"Hi there!" She exclaimed, "I'm Stephanie, the man who led you down here is Gruff, and the other woman is Kate." Kate grunted a reply. "This is your first staging area for your first missions. You have a selection of various arms to your left. Nothing too big as we believe its for the best that you're not carrying around large weapons. We also have other various combat equipment that you could make use of." Stephanie did a quick head count and tutted. "It seems a few of your teams will come up short. Talitha and Joshua, you're short a man and if you'd like Gruff could accompany you."
Gruffs Jaw dropped, "Hey now!" he yelled, "Nobody said I was going-" He was cut off by a warm smile from Stephanie and a glare from Kate.
"You know thats what Eric wanted, Gruff." Stephanie said evenly. "You knew he'd send you along on one of the missions if we came up short." She paused for a moment as the small group dispersed around the room to equip themselves appropriately. "Damien and Raymond, It would appear your team is short a man as well. However, we don't have anyone else to go with you. Eric anticipated this as well and it shouldn't matter much. You're task is better suited to smaller groups." Stephanie spun her chair around and called over a member from each group, "Joshua Murray, Alexis Gates, and Damien and Raymond, please come to the table."
The members gathered and Stephanie gave maps and hand radios to Joshua and Alexis. "You two will act as team leaders for your respective groups. Remember you're auditioning for your spots in Alpha but Eric's research reveals you two quite fit to lead. However, Joshua, since Gruff is accompanying you, you will default to him if he feels the need." She then turned to Damien and Raymond, "There are police uniforms equipped with small built in radios. You have a map of the city line and sewer system around the Police Station, as well as a small portable computer for your task. Yours has the potential to go very wrong. Please don't fail."
She turned back to the room. "Alright everyone, once you're equipped you may head out and start your tasks. You'll find lifts to the surface at the back of the room. However they have been rigged to only go one way. Please, be sure to have everything you need before you go."
With that, she and Kate walked into one of the four lifts and left the room.
