WELCOME!

[Adrian Shephard]

Adrian just sat on the hood of an abandoned ford that was in the middle of central park, his whole squad was there. They completed they're patrol, and they hadn't received any further orders, so they were just going to sit and wait for any other orders. This was the few moments of peace where they actually could take a bathroom break or grab a bit to eat. But mostly it was a time to just unwind and talk. Adrian couldn't bring any kind of alcohol, he would lost his job and probably his life if he was drunk on patrol. But the one thing that the military was actually able to provide for him was cigarettes. He pulled out his lighter and flicked the thing a few times before a small flame appeared, he lit his cigarette and put the lighter back. He barely took a single breath before a voice rang out over to where he was, it was one of his squad mates, Brian Hawes, "Adrian... I thought you said you'd quit smoking." Adrian just took the cigarette out of his mouth. "I've been saying that for three years... I just need something to calm me down" Hawes just shook his head and continued what he was saying to the group, Adrian listened in...

"As I was saying... the military doesn't have it's priorities straight, why the hell do they force each of us to carry a LAW around, are mutant teenagers going to be having light tanks any time soon? I'm telling you it's all a show for the cameras." Adrian just smiled then yelled over, making sure to get they're attention, "Hawes... remember when we first got deployed here... we had to wear MOPP 4, in the middle of the summer." MOPP 4 stood for mission oriented protective posture, and it was without a doubt the one thing that soldiers hated the most. It was a bulky suit worn over the standard BDU. It was meant for a hazardous or biochemical environment, but it was hard to move, see, and it was hot as hell. Adrian thanked the lord that command eventually refused to make the seekers wear it. One of the soldiers cut in, "Didn't they say that it was because of radiation?" Hawes just laughed a bit, "Bull shit, we went all over that town and our Geiger counter didn't even twitch... plus they never even protected the reporters following us around. I could solve this mutant problem in three days, a week max." Adrian just shook his head and cut in, "Bull shit," Hawes just smiled, and motioned over twoards Adrian, "Trust me, take the marines, army, national guard or even the police, they've always had a surplus ever since this place was evacuated. Give em' all riot gear, and pull a clean sweep, instead of all this seeker bull shit they got set up." The sergeant just cut in, he had a look of doubt on his face, "If you're plan is all so perfect then why are we here?" Hawes got that cocky smile on his face again before speaking, "Just about to get to that, think about it, years of brushfire wishy washy war. What does the president want, a common evil that all of America hates. Any time the president's approval rating has dropped... from something like not investing in alternate energy or something like that, he just increases seeker quotas and sends more of them over here and his approval rating is right back up. That's the secret, give them a common foe to unite against, and the public has been eating it up. What did world war two do for our country, brought back our economy, made heroes, made us a world super power. What was one thing that America hated during world war two and years after, Nazi's. "

Adrian just cut him off again, "Please don't tell me you're going to compare the Nazi party, to mutants. These are just teenagers that got spooked once we said that we're coming for them, please don't tell me that you buy into all that "purity of our gene pool" bull crap that's been filling our media." Adrian just stuck his cigarette back in his mouth as Hawes replied, "Teenagers or not... do you know that many of them consider this place a new country? That means that they are trying to split off from the US, It's like the civil war dude, Adrian just looked the other way, shaking his head. Hawes just yelled at him, "I know that you'd like to go and give all the mutants in this city a big nice hug... but I'm sure they'd rather set you on fire. Come on Adrian, how many times you've been shot at by one of them or just flat out attacked, they're mentally unstable, they believe that they can actually win and somehow you believe that too." Adrian just flipped off Hawes.

Adrian stood up from the hood of the car and turned to the group,"I'm going to just go and think to myself, I'd like to continue you're little lecture but I'm going to go smoke in peace." He started to walk away from the group, he heard Hawes talking, "Probably going to go visit his girlfriend... I saw how he talked to that one girl... HEY ADRIAN WHAT WAS HER NAME... ALYSSA?" Adrian tensed his fists as he heard the laughter. He just kept on walking, he still had his gun, he would be suicidal not to have it. He eventually was out of sight and earshot of his squad, he didn't care, he always had his radio. He flicked off his helmet cam as he muttered to himself, "Why the hell am I the black sheep just for actually caring." the last thing he wanted was for them making more jokes about him talking to himself. He just sat there on a piece of rubble, with a cigarette in his hand, just trying uselessly to sort out the mess that was his life...

[jay amelia harte.]

Great. This was just great.

Jay was one very pissed off mutant at the moment, as she'd done one of the stupidest things known to man. Hidden in an overturned Hummer in the middle of the park, she'd been running from a Seeker squad a few blocks away when she stumbled upon yet ANOTHER squad in the middle of central park. At the last minute, she'd thrown herself into the huge ugly car that people seemed to like so much and crouched down to where she was unseen. She was close enough to the men to hear nearly everything that was said, particularly interested in one of them - the one they seemed to be teasing.

"I know that you'd like to go and give all the mutants in this city a big nice hug... but I'm sure they'd rather set you on fire. Come on Adrian, how many times you've been shot at by one of them or just flat out attacked, they're mentally unstable, they believe that they can actually win and somehow you believe that too."

She was really beginning to dislike this arrogant prude. Mentally unstable? Well, fine, let's see how mentally stable you are after being hunted down, forced to migrate, and fearing every day that you'd be taken to the facility to get dissected or something. At least there was still technology, so the mutants were pretty well off. Money and everything was provided - they weren't bloody cavemen. Jay glared at them, resisting the urge to throw rocks at them. Big ones. Yes, she'd been working on the lifting strength of her mind. She stifled a laugh as the other man flipped the nasty one off. Boy, was that funny.

"Probably going to go visit his girlfriend... I saw how he talked to that one girl... HEY ADRIAN WHAT WAS HER NAME... ALYSSA?"

Apparently the Seekers still couldn't shut up about the fact that one of the mutants - Alyssa, a pyrokinetic fifteen year old - that had gotten away free. The girl couldn't stop telling her friends how the Seeker had spared her - she'd felt she would be crated for sure. And Jay had a feeling that this guy might have been the one. She didn't even come close to trusting him, but...what if he were the one Alyssa talked about a lot? Jay watched him as he sat wearily on a pile of rubble near her hiding spot. Feeling adventurous, she raised her arm and rolled a few small rocks his way. Once they were near him, she didn't stop rolling them around in circles, so he wouldn't think it was the wind or something.

We'll see how trustworthy you are...

[Adrian Shephard]

Adrian was really glad that he was alone. He was out of sight and out of earshot of his comrades. He never stopped being teased and looked down upon for simply trying to care. He just kept smoking, just thinking of what the hell he was going to do. He was simply humming the tune to "someday" by Paul McCartney, it always seemed to calm him down thinking about some classic rock. That was one of the things he missed, his music, a decent drink, and people actually shutting up despite his viewpoint. He still couldn't shake the feeling that Hawes was right, that this whole thing was just a proxy war meant to boost US public approval. Hawes was a paranoid asshole, but even people like him could make sense sometimes. Adrian just wanted to make sense of everything. He sometimes felt as if he was wrong, as if his points of view were wrong and the world was trying to make it right. He always felt a bit jumbled up whenever he got his beliefs challenged.

He still wanted to go and level Hawes for being such an ass. He hated his job, but he signed his life away for 4 years, he barely got through one and a half before the marines were called to start paroling New York. He sees his service in the US marines as a god given duty, but he hates what he has to do. Adrian has seen the tent camp with his eyes, and he doesn't want to imagine what horrors are happening in the facility. He was glad that the civil protection doesn't drag away every mutant they see. Adrian always thought that he would drink himself to death before he could come to terms with something like that.

Adrian had that creepy feeling that someone was watching him. He had come to rely upon that feeling more than once. If it wasn't for his gut his leg would be a blood stump taken off by a Claymore anti personnel mine that some mutant managed to get his hands on. Apparently some arms dealer, blackwidow, was selling weapons to these mutants. Adrian just shook his head, he knew that giving the teenagers firearms would only fuel the flames of this conflict

He grabbed his rifle and looked around. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone. He checked the map on his HUD, all the squad members were still where Adrian left them. He looked around, nothing but dense overgrown trees, a dirty unattended lake, old statues, and an overturned hummer. He slowly got up, keeping his cigarette in his mouth. He wasn't aiming his rifle, but he could bring it to bear if anyone tried to kill him. He heard something, it was the slightest sound, barely audible over the wind. But it felt almost like rocks grinding together. He looked around, checking his flanks and his rear. He didn't know what the hell that was coming from, but he really wasn't in the mood. He looked down to see several rocks circling around, almost in perfect unison. Adrian knew that this wasn't normal and knew that there must be a teenager around here. He yelled our, he didn't want to seem threatening, "Anyone there? I'm not here to fight." He knew that being a seeker and in full military gear didn't help much, but there was always a chance...

[jay amelia harte.]

"Anyone there? I'm not here to fight."

Jay knew better than to trust this statement; usually whoever did got captured. It wasn't an infrequent occurrence. "You're not here to fight," she said tersely, from the Hummer, "and you carry a rifle. How quaint." She made sure he could hear her but not see her. Back at home, respecting your elders was a big thing, but here? Screw manners. Here it was eat or be eaten, and manners would just get you killed. Jay had never really been known to respect authority in the first place, so this all came natural to her, but the rebel would be cautious as well as curious around this particular Seeker. Usually they'd pull out the gun and start gunning everything in sight if they saw rocks moving like that. Jay smirked and flicked a bug off her forearm.

"I'm guessing you're the one who met Alyssa?" she said casually, reclining a bit where she was hiding. The Hummer, especially with the comfortable parts above her instead of beneath her, Therefore parts of it made her bum ache, but she didn't want to show herself yet. She mentally reached for the inner being of his headset, trying to see what kind of technology had been used in it. Hmm. A common sort, obviously not tinkered with since it left the other states. She began to play with it a little, not enough to break anything, but enough to generate quite a lot of static in the hearing part. "Not all of us really believe that you let her go. What, did you threaten her not to tell us about anything you did to her?" She let her voice take on a slight menacing tone.

[Adrian Shephard]

Adrian didn't expect anyone to answer him. He knew he was scary to the mutants, he was in full combat gear, holding an assault rifle. But he heard a girl's voice reply, "You're not here to fight, and you carry a rifle. How quaint." he looked around, keeping his rifle braced now since he knew that this mutant didn't like the idea of him actually caring. She just spoke again, "I'm guessing you're the one who met Alyssa?" Now Adrian was really confused. Apparently this girl knew of Alyssa. She didn't sound too convinced, the story of civil protection was a bit hard to comprehend for them. Seekers that DIDN'T imprison every mutant they saw. Adrian knew that they're orders were only to show to reporters. They were bringing in the dangerous ones instead of every single mutant in sight simply to put on a show for the cameras and to silence and pro mutant activists... what little they're were. Adrian was always pissed off when some kind of "crusading journalist" was always wanting to go into the zone with them. Adrian has seen several of they're reports. Everyone was trying to put they're own dramatic spin on the situation. Little of it was actual facts.

Adrian paused in confusion just before everything turned to static in his right ear. He quickly fumbled for his earpiece, It was ridiculously loud that it couldn't be natural. The Land Warrior system never seemed to pick up any static or interference. It had to have come from the mutant. He couldn't hear anything that he knew that it could be used as an opportunity to attack. His ear was still ringing after he finally got the thing out. Adrian was really getting tested by what she did. Chances are she would simply toy with his systems all the more. Adrian just wanted to find her simply to get her to cut it out, he didn't like being messed with.

He just heard the girl speaking again, she was really starting to piss Adrian off, "Not all of us really believe that you let her go. What, did you threaten her not to tell us about anything you did to her?" He walked slowly, keeping his rifle braced. He spoke to her again, "So apparently you can mess with technology... is they're any way you can look at a recording. Because if you want proof about Alyssa, I didn't erase the footage from my helmet camera... you can see the whole conversation with Alyssa... hell I don't know if she faked her name." He knew that she would be screwing with his systems as he spoke. Adrian just took out his clip and changed it with gel rounds. Since apparently he was facing a teenage girl he didn't want to go for a kill. Adrian could just leave her if he knocked the girl out, his camera was off, and he didn't have to do anything related to standard orders. He could talk to mutants, he could deny to bring one in, he just hoped that she wouldn't want to try and kill him, because he had non lethal rounds and sometimes they took awhile to knock someone out...

[jay amelia harte.]

From the momentary silence that followed after she tweaked his headset a little, Jay knew he was obviously trying to stop it. She didn't want to deafen him though; just enough so he knew she wasn't one you should underestimate. After a few seconds, she turned off the static, stopping it as quickly as she had started it. All right, no more toying with the Seeker. Every mutant knew you shouldn't do that for too long. It was time for some real information, and Jay wanted it immediately. She was safe for the time being, but she didn't know how long it'd be before he found her in the Hummer. His next words, however, startled her momentarily.

"So apparently you can mess with technology... is they're any way you can look at a recording. Because if you want proof about Alyssa, I didn't erase the footage from my helmet camera... you can see the whole conversation with Alyssa... hell I don't know if she faked her name."

A recording? Of the whole Alyssa encounter? Secretly, Jay was getting a little tired of the whole thing and wished she could just get the truth from some worthy source. Gossip wasn't really helping anyone. Neither was running for your life most of the day, but that's the way the wheel turns. All mutants had learned that, no matter who came to the city, they couldn't be trusted. And Jay wasn't going to sit on a damn operating table, legs and arms akimbo, waiting to be cut open or drugged or something.

"Sure, I can do that." Jay leaned back comfortably in the car, shutting her eyes. She again reached for the helmet - it definitely had some sort of recording device in it. All he had to do was activate it and she'd be able to trace it. "All right, I'm ready. This had better not be a trick. And no, she did not fake her name, which I think she should have." Jay pursed her lips. The younger girl needed to think sometimes.

[Adrian Shephard]

Adrian was a bit worried that his offer to literally show her what happened wouldn't work. There was a bit of a pause, he really didn't want to have to bring someone in today. He hated going through all the trouble of restraining one, nonetheless all the paperwork that's involved. Command wanted detailed files on any power that manifested within a mutant, and that usually took hours of filling out forms and getting questioned. It would only be more hell because Adrian didn't have his camera recording because he didn't want his squad watching his actions. If it was on the second the girl spoke to him they would have charged over here and done a sweep. The last thing he needed was being called a mutant lover again, just because he didn't want to engage a teenage girl, nor fill out the paperwork describing the engagement in as much detail as possible. Plus the thought of what they did to these teenagers kind of creeped him out, Adrian has seen the obstacle courses and the proxy engagements they force them into, just to test they're powers. But there were always rumors of other things, them brainwashing teenagers into new loyalists, or starving them until they agree to comply. Adrian didn't want to do that to any innocent... he even got a bitter feeling at the thought of doing it to someone whose hostile.

He heard the girl yell out, he tried to find where the voice was yelling from but to no success, he doubted that she was invisible. His infrared would have picked something up. But he just listened, "Sure, I can do that." Adrian breathed a sigh of relief when she was actually willing to listen. There was a brief pause before she spoke again, "All right, I'm ready. This had better not be a trick. And no, she did not fake her name, which I think she should have." Adrian knew that if she tried to fake her name then she would have run the risk of picking up the name of someone on the list. Then Adrian would have to act, she actually saved herself by using her real name. Adrian looked at his watch trying to remember what time it was when he cleared that building. When he finally thought he got it he pulled out a controller. He fumbled with it reversing his archived footage to that day and around that time. He didn't' want to risk losing it so he played it from the closest he could get. It was right when the squad was storming the building, slowly working through the darkness. He let it play through, watching himself slowly open the door and find the girl in the corner. Adrian's voice played over, it was a little hazy, the mike on the camcorder was built for durability and cost effectiveness, audio quality was second, [
"Hey... hey don't be scared, I'm not a seeker..."
"GO AWAY!"
The room lit up as her hand was covered in fire, Adrian remembered choking up a bit, he never liked trying to bring down a pyrokenetic, whenever he tried to apprehend one he would just get set on fire.
"No no, I'm not going to take you away, I'm just here to look for the bad people"
"Why do you have a gun then, you're lying, you're going to take me to the research base, I'm not going to be a lab rat.
The view shifted from the girl to Adrian's rifle as he took out the clip, he was thankful that he actually looked at his weapon as he did that. He hoped that the girl watching would notice the blue tipped gel rounds rather than the usual hollow point rounds issued to seekers. Hollow points either melted or shattered upon entry, making them more effective for shredding lightly armored targets. They proved to be brutally effective against hostiles. The recording continued to play
"See... I don't want to hurt you. Let me see you're face, then I can go away"
Adrian watched the girl stand up and actually trust him slightly, he was still amazed that the girl actually cooperated. He knew that his squad were repeating the process with any of the other inhabitants, but they usually forced the checks upon them. Adrian had watched those recordings, they weren't nearly as harmless. The camera picked up Adrian muttering, "Caucasian, female." And start to check her, unlike his squad mates that either threatened they're subjects into getting checked or just stayed stone faced Adrian actually talked to the girl,
"So, what's you're name"
"Alyssa, Alyssa Wilson,"
"Well Alyssa, my name's Adrian, where'd you live before here.
"Washington,"
"Well nice to know that, I'm from California,See, that's not that bad is it?"
Once the recording got to the part where Adrian left the room he stopped it. Chances are the girl thinks that he's a seeker. He just assumed that Alyssa thought that he was a seeker and for come reason spared her and whoever was in the building. Adrian just waited a moment before yelling out, "I'm not a seeker... I'm part of the US marines, civil protection. I bring in only mutants deemed criminals, people like hostile gang leaders, militants, arms dealers. I get paid a crappy $1200 a month to simply be here... not by the body count like those dipshit mercs that you know as seekers. If I bring you in the only thing I get is two hours of paper work. There's no reason for me to actually capture you... I don't give a flying shit about research for the betterment of human kind by butchering mutants. I think it's all lies." He hopped that that would get the point across that he really didn't have any reason to bring her in. Now that he think of it... they probably had a lot in common when it came to feelings about the government and the seekers...

[jay amelia harte.]

Jay kept quiet and watched the video recording with her eyes still shut. She smirked a bit as Alyssa came close to charbroiling him - quite nicely, in fact. The room was ablaze in seconds, and stayed that way for awhile. Alyssa had never struck Jay or any of the others as an aggressive girl, but she knew how to defend herself. Her only problem might have been overreacting at times, but other than that she was a good fighter. Jay took her mind off of the video for a second to quickly listen for anyone coming, but there was no one. So far, so good. She might make it out of here in one piece.

Her interest piqued when Alyssa stood up, cautiously but obediently. Personally, Jay sensed no particular threat herself from this particular Seeker, but one couldn't be sure. Her lip was drawn into her mouth as the video concluded, and Jay disconnected herself. So maybe he was right...he wasn't trying to hurt her. Stubbornly, the girl refused to give in just yet.

"I'm not a seeker... I'm part of the US marines, civil protection. I bring in only mutants deemed criminals, people like hostile gang leaders, militants, arms dealers. I get paid a crappy $1200 a month to simply be here... not by the body count like those dipshit mercs that you know as seekers. If I bring you in the only thing I get is two hours of paper work. There's no reason for me to actually capture you... I don't give a flying shit about research for the betterment of human kind by butchering mutants. I think it's all lies."

After this informative albeit long tirade, Jay said nothing for awhile. He was saying things no one had said before. Usually they were taunted or teased before being captured or chased, and some of the mutants fell prey to traps. The disguising-as-a-teen thing had worked for a good three days, but that had been useless. Her decision made, Jay crawled out of the Hummer and stood before the man, her straight hair a bit tangled and whipping about her shoulders.

"You're sure about the non-seeker part?

[Adrian Shephard]

Adrian just shouldered his rifle, chances are if he wanted the girl to come out he would not have to look like he would kill her. He just waited for a bit before he heard a voice behind him, "You're sure about the non-seeker part? Adrian turned to see a girl with black hair, It was a bit hard to see through his goggles but he didn't want to take them off, the dust getting whipped up always pissed him off. He just guessed that the mutants just got used to it. She was young that was for sure, he still wasn't too sure what her powers were to his rifle was within easy reach, he would be able to pull it out if the girl just tried to trick him in order to get revenge for some friend that was taken. Even loyalists hated him, just because he sighned up for the military at the wrong time. Everyone was afraid of him just because Adrian carried a gun and had something to do with the seekers. He didn't like the seekers, not one bit. They were always bragging about something or another even though most of them made they're ridiculous salaries by preying on unarmed and unaware girls. Adrian knew that most of the crated mutants were girls, he always got angry when he thought of it, but it probably had to do with the seekers feeling less threatened by a woman. That was the thin lie Adrian always told himself when he thought of that... he knew the real reasons that the girls were preyed on...

He just shook his head, "I don't know any other seeker that drinks himself half to death when coming to terms with what he has to do to other humans all day." Adrian made sure to emphasis the word humans, it would probably reassure the girl a bit. So far most of the mutants he's seen were more concerned with probing that they were still human rather than splitting off from the United States, unlike all the anti mutant propaganda spread out all over the airwaves. Adrian was amazed by how much crap he received whenever he accidentally referred to a mutant as human. But he truly believed that they were still human... different yes, misguided maybe... but they were still human in his eyes. But with all the commercials and propaganda about how mutants are dangerous. Adrian never quite found out why he never believed them. He just didn't like the idea of the government making someone seem less than human, it wasn't right in his eyes.

Adrian's anger with the seekers just returned as his expression turned bitter,"Trust me I probably hate seekers just as much as you... I've never met one I liked. I can go on for hours about how they're overpaid simply to prey on teenage girls." Chances are the mutant before him knew that fact too. Adrian pulled out a new cigarette and a lighter. He flicked it for a moment before he realised that it was probably out of fuel, he looked up from the cigarette to the girl, "You got a light?" He originally came here because he just wanted to smoke in peace without getting called a mutant lover OR a seeker. He didn't want to have a coax a mutant to trust him, but Adrian didn't know what would have happened if he didn't gain her trust, limited as it is.

[jay amelia harte.]

"I don't know any other seeker that drinks himself half to death when coming to terms with what he has to do to other humans all day."

Jay nodded slowly, regarding him with sudden interest. He wasn't a seeker, then? That was some comfort, but not much, since the mutants had always been taught not to trust anyone. Jay was no exception. She might not even trust her own parents if they came - she knew of a few mutants who had traveled back home, and then had had to return to the ruins of New York because their loved ones, however friendly and trusting, tried to exploit them. 'Oooh, look at the kid who can fly! We gotta put it on the news!!" Fame wasn't what these mutants wanted. They wanted to be loved like everyone else. Perhaps that was why Jay herself was a bit of a loner...but her feelings didn't matter now.

"Trust me I probably hate seekers just as much as you... I've never met one I liked. I can go on for hours about how they're overpaid simply to prey on teenage girls."

"That's an understatement." Jay frowned slightly. She didn't like that the seekers got a little...bored on duty, and liked to capture the girls especially for a bit of sport. It was sickening. "Fortunately they haven't gotten me yet. I don't exactly give in willingly." She wasn't bragging...of course she'd come near enough to getting herself captured quite a few times. In fact, she'd barely escaped. But her friends usually helped to get her out in time.

The word 'trust' was a little frivolous at the moment when it came to Jay's new understanding of this guy, but she was willing to give him a chance. A small one. He'd definitely be told about and watched like a hawk. "I'm not sure if you're not trying to pull a fast one on me," she said quietly, "but I won't attack you this time. The others are going to know about you, though." She didn't sound gruff and menacing anymore - it was exhausting.

"You got a light?"

"I have a light of sorts." Turning the small dial on the side of her watch, she smirked as a tiny flame emerged from the opposite end of it. "This good?" Handy that she'd thought of building a lighter into the thing...

[Adrian Shephard]

It just felt... awkward, that was probably the best word to describe the situation. Adrian thought about it for a moment, he was civil protection, he was supposed to be hunting down mutants and questioning if not crating them. He was supposed to be feared because of the actions of his government and others that he calls comrades, Adrian was supposed to be shooting at this girl, not simply talking with her. But Adrian wasn't a regular seeker, he didn't believe a word of the "gene pool purity" or the "prevention of human devolution." There were so many snot nosed scientists and "crusading" journalists all trying to put they're own spin on what was already a botched situation. There were always images of intense firefights posted on the news, the most horrible looking mutants with cruel and horrible powers at they're finger tips. Adrian knew that the footage shown on the news was only meant for ratings, firefights were far and few and committed by gang members trying to lash out, and most of the footage of the tent camp or the mutants was simply left on the cutting room floor. They didn't show the human side of this crisis, because humans didn't produce ratings and they didn't produce public approval. Adrian hated the system that formed the twisted coiling monster that was this whole damn place.

The girl simply answered his question, Adrian noticed that there was a bit less of a pause or undercurrent of shyness in her voice, "I have a light of sorts." She fiddled with her watch until a small flame was produced, "This good?" Adrian just shrugged, "It'll do... toss it over, I'm sure you still don't want me getting too close, I understand. But I don't plan on turning on you," Adrian cracked a smile before speaking again. He knew that the girl was still not too sure, he knew all the dirty tricks that the seekers used to lure mutants into trusting them, Adrian wasn't that kind of person. If he needed to take someone in he would only feel worse if he used underhanded tricks. He just spoke again, "hell if my squad sees me I'll just shoot a few gel rounds into the air and make it look like you slipped away. Trust me, not matter what I do I get made fun of." He hated that, if a mutant got away, he was blamed for "letting them go" even though they were on the list. Adrian felt sympathy for the mutants in this city, mainly because they were made into one of the biggest enemies of the US public almost overnight, but because they don't really deserve to be treated like they are. Of course if someone's on the list they need to be taken in, maybe they still don't deserve the fate brought by the facility... but Adrian tried not to think of it like that. He learned to ignore a lot of things nowadays.

[jay amelia harte.]

"It'll do... toss it over, I'm sure you still don't want me getting too close, I understand. But I don't plan on turning on you,"

She nodded quickly, though reluctantly. Jay was not willing to give up her beloved watch; she still wasn't feeling the warm fuzzies for him, and she probably wouldn't be for awhile. All she knew was that he wasn't like the others. Raising her eyebrows thoughtfully, she unstrapped the watch (which was a bit heavy, due to the amount of technology in it) and let it float in the air, towards the gentleman with the cigarette, lighter still on. She was ready to snatch it back in an instant if he tried to make off with it or anything, however. The watch was pretty much her baby, and she'd kill anyone who tried to damage it. It wasn't alive...but to a technopath, it felt like something was kicking in there.

"hell if my squad sees me I'll just shoot a few gel rounds into the air and make it look like you slipped away. Trust me, not matter what I do I get made fun of."

"You get made fun of?" Jay frowned, thinking of the men she'd just overheard. They were an irritation, and not just to escape from. Let's just say bored, tired squad members and innocent mutant girls running around didn't mix well. Not well at all. She pictured what had happened to Alyssa not too long ago and smirked to think of what would be left of this odd Seeker-like person if he'd tried that with her. Little more than ash, she thought. "Why don't you just quit then? If something's bothering you, you're supposed to do something about it."

Just like the rest of us do...

ooc: sorry, this one's horrible. >_< I'm really tired but I didn't want to keep you waiting, haha...

[Adrian Shephard]

Adrian raised an eyebrow at the girl's watch floated over. Adrian knew that some of the mutants had some kind of connection with technology. Chances are if the US actually embraced mutants instead of trying to cover up they're mistake the US would be able to finish half of the projects that were started because of this "war" suddenly jump started the war economy. It all made sense to Adrian, even without Hawes ranting on it every time they stop for a break. Having a war puts soldiers in the field, this increases demand for supplies, food, weapons, ammunition, and every company that produces these things gets a bit jumpstart. It was this war for the wrong reason that brought america's stockmarket back up. But Adrian still didn't see it as right, it was still odd to him that he was just chatting with the mutant rather than performing his duity. If there was one of those reporters there it would probably make for some powerful footage. But then Adrian remembered the media riding the whole "evil mutants" fad that was going on. All it would serve to do was to start up a argument that the army isn't competent enough to handle this. With congressmen being bought off and mercenaries already being employed that would just mean privatizing the efforts, then all hell would break loose. This whole conflict was one tangled mess that just got worse and worse as time went on.

Adrian lit his cigarette on the tiny flame, he didn't even touch it. Most technomancers as the seekers called them were very protective of they're toys. He simply let the watch float back as the girl spoke, "You get made fun of?" Adrian cracked an awkward smile. Adrian's changed to show that he was dead serious, "Yea." He was the brunt of almost every joke in his unit and the barracks. Him simply doing his duty and actually not scaring or hurting a mutant still got him made fun of, The girl just spoke her mind. At least she didn't seem as nervous around Adrian, "Why don't you just quit then? If something's bothering you, you're supposed to do something about it." Adrian just took the cigarette out of his mouth before speaking. He just stared at the ground, it was almost like confessing in a church, "If only it were that simple right? quitting... wouldn't that be great. I signed my contract before this whole mess started with the seekers and that shit." Adrian winced at the memory. He often recalls it as the worst day of his life, "Once I signed that paper I was US marine's property, you don't know how the military works do you? I can't get out, I still have my tour of duty to fill before I can even apply for a discharge."

Adrian had long accepted that his fate was pretty much sealed. He just slowly shook his head. He pretty much had to serve and do his crappy disturbing job for his crappy pay. But all of that was going into a fund. Adrian had always thought of what he would do with all that money. He never could spend it, not like there was an ATM or a 7 eleven to spend his earned cash on. He was in what the military considered to be a war zone, the military clothed him, fed him and gave him a roof to sleep under, no matter how crappy it is. Every cent of that 1200 a month was going into a bank account. Adrian had set his mind on actually leaving the US months ago. He would probally try and find a home in Europe, a seas away from all this anti mutant bull crap that now saturated almost every TV program, newscast, and radio broadcast. To Adrian a chance to get away from that sounded like he would come to enjoy every cent of that money. He just took a breath of his cigarette then spoke again, "Trust me, on the outside no matter where you are, saying something as simple as "they're still human" gets you made fun of, yelled at, slandered. Just leaving still wouldn't end it for me. The first amendment protects me from the government doing anything... but that also protects those that hate me for it right? Trust me the pro mutant activists are probably one of the most hated groups of Americans right now." Adrian thought about Europe for a moment. Adrian bet he could give up alcohol or smoking two weeks after arriving there. But for several more years Adrian would have to deal with the US and Newyork's daily trials.

[jay amelia harte.]

"If only it were that simple right? quitting... wouldn't that be great. I signed my contract before this whole mess started with the seekers and that shit. Once I signed that paper I was US marine's property, you don't know how the military works do you? I can't get out, I still have my tour of duty to fill before I can even apply for a discharge."

Hmph. So that was why he was still here...another stupid rule of the government. Jay figured that it wasn't his fault, really...he hadn't signed up for this, and he'd been forced into it like the mutants had been forced into hiding. The idea of it annoyed her slightly; had it been her, she might have just ripped up the contract and walked away. She did not like being forced into doing things she hated, and while she didn't mind living alone with no one to order her about, it was still a sad existence. "Hah," she muttered, poking thoughtfully at her watch, "That's the fairest thing I've ever heard of." The sarcasm dripped from her voice like water.

"Trust me, on the outside no matter where you are, saying something as simple as "they're still human" gets you made fun of, yelled at, slandered. Just leaving still wouldn't end it for me. The first amendment protects me from the government doing anything... but that also protects those that hate me for it right? Trust me the pro mutant activists are probably one of the most hated groups of Americans right now."

"That's not hard to believe." Jay could imagine it, a bunch of people banding together to help the mutants. Some even wanted them to return. Sadly, that couldn't happen - they'd all be captured and taken to the facility, and the pro mutant activists arrested. It was like scooping water out of a sinkhole - it filled up with problems as you dug it out. They'd never see their friends again unless the government relented. "But I don't see why they have to like, study us," she said, suddenly irritated. "You don't learn from something by torturing it. It didn't work for animal testing."

[Adrian Shephard]

Adrian just laid down where he was sitting, since apparently this mutant was actually quite casual with him. He still couldn't believe that he was sitting here chatting with a mutant about how screwed up this whole country was. Adrian knew that technically he could be shot for treason, but that was if his officers were really fanatical. He had see seeker officers yell at they're charges for simply talking to mutants, even threatening to shoot them. Adrian just muttered under his breath, he doubted that this one had some kind of enhanced hearing, "What the hell is this world coming too." Adrian just listened to this girl speak, while he laid his rifle down it was within easy reach, should she actually turn on him, "That's not hard to believe. But I don't see why they have to like, study us, You don't learn from something by torturing it. It didn't work for animal testing." Adrian just pulled the cigarette from his mouth as he let her words sink in. They weren't the best words to describe it, but yet again he was speaking to a teenager not someone like Hawes. Adrian had head that that guy had a degree in law before he joined in the marines, just to get into New York. That's why that guy always seemed to have the reason why the government acted like it did. Even though Hawes never seemed to touch on the other topics, such as the military and seekers relying more and more on extermination teams. Those guys just gave Adrian the creeps, they looked like seekers, but you could always tell which ones were them by the smell of burnt human flesh, it clung to them all the time. They were manics that the seekers armed with fire retardant trench coats and other clothing, a gas mask, and a high pressure flamethrower. The seekers just airlifted them into an appartment block or gang redoubt that was deemed "too risky" to do a standard search and clear operation. and the extermination squads would just burn everything they saw to ashes. They were only used when there were no confirmed psychokinetic on site, but even then they always had a standard pistol if they're flamethrowers didnt' do the job. What disgusted Adrian the most was that infantry command was being more and more willing to use them...

knew that there was a whole political mess at capital hill, "economic and logistics factors" to quote they're words. But the facts are what chilled Adrian the most, now the reasons behind them that Hawes always seemed to know how the break down. Adrian just looked at the girl, she seemed like a picture perfect image of innocence against the grim skies of New York. Chances are she's never experienced the horrors that Adrian had seen with his eyes. The girl mentioned the experiments, but Adrian had seen footage of a few, and those were the ones that the facility was willing to release to military eyes. Everything about this whole mess of an operation seemed to make Adrian lose faith in the good of humanity, If people only knew what Adrian had seen they would know why he drank so much. He just spoke as he closed his eyes for a moment, just to get the memories out of his head, as he talked his tone reflecting the grim thoughts, "I don't even know... I wish I could tell you but I just don't know. This whole freaking operation, it's just getting worse and worse. The seekers are using flamethrowers, napalm, stuff we had put away since Vietnam... did you know that capital hills actually debating whether to allow use of biological and chemical strikes. This whole war turned America's morals inside out." Adrian just shook his head. It was the flamethrowers that disturbed him the most. He had seen the extermination squads do they're brutal work once, Adrian's squad leader had called them in and that meant that Adrian's squad had to make sure no one got out of the building. Adrian could still hear the horrible screams of women and children in his nightmares. They were caught between the fires surrounding them and the waiting guns of Adrian's squads. Adrian remembered losing the last piece of faith that this was a just cause....

Seconds after speaking Adrian drifted into a light sleep he could hear the crackle and heat from the flames, and the horrible screams of a little girl, couldn't have been older then 12, she screamed form someone to help her, and Adrian swore he heard his name being yelled, begged for safety from the flames. Adrian's eyes snapped open as it stopped. Adrian just sat up, and decided to get his mind off of that day. Adrian noticed that he was twitching a bit and beads of sweat had gathered on his forehead from the memory. It wasn't a pleasant one. It was pretty apparent that he was disturbed by something. A slight electronic chirp sounded, before a voice could be heard in his radio, it was Hawes, "This is delta two... Adiran everything alright, you've been awfully quiet." Adrian looked at the girl and motioned for her to remain quiet. He spoke into his mouthpiece, his tone still a bit shaky from his bad dream, "Ya everything's fine here... just catching a bit of shuteye. Are we moving out?" There was a brief pause before Hawes spoke again, "Negative... just checkin', Everything alright out there Adrian? You sound a bit disturbed." Adrian just shook his head for a moment, before looking at the girl. Adrian just took a deep breath before speaking, trying to calm himself down, that whole thing was just in the past and he had to put it behind him... or at least for now, "Just a bad dream." Hawes immediately responded... his tone sounded a bit more grim than usual, "Extermination squads again?" Adrian slowly nodded as he spoke... he knew that Hawes couldn't see it but Adrian did it anyways, "Yea." Hawes for once sounded sympathetic, "You gotta suck it up man, I swear every time one of them gets mentioned you can't sleep... they were just some mutants." Adrain looked at the girl as Hawes said this, chances are with her technopathy she could have heard that clear as day.