07-16-2016, 11:50 PM
End of Round 7
With his injuries slowing him down, Red let Christa help him as he pulled away the furniture concealing the trapdoor. The sniper crouched down and threw open the unlocked hatch, and although she initially recoiled for fear that something might come erupting up from the opening, nothing arose to assault the three. Once those first few moments had passed, Christa leaned forward and stared down into the area underneath the structure.
“There’s light down there,” she spoke softly. “I’m going to go look.” Just like that, Christa was swinging around to grab onto the ladder, but she quickly noticed her hobbled feline companion moving to join her. “Stay up here. If I get in any danger, Took can jump down and have my back.”
Nanaki didn’t look like he was buying it, but he could see in the woman’s eyes that she wasn’t going to yield on the fact. “Be safe,” he muttered as Christa soundlessly descended the metal ladder and stepped down onto the corrugated metal floor. She was standing at the rear of a short hallway that was amply illuminated by florescent tubes running the length of the room. At the other end, a metal door was slightly ajar, allowing her to see the glow of LCD screens and hear the sound of someone banging away at a keyboard.
Stalking down the corridor, Christa tried to crane her neck to see around the doorway, but the crack was too small to give her the proper angle. By the time she got close enough to place a hand on the door, she heard the typing come to an abrupt stop.
“You’re pretty loud for a sniper,” a snide voice shouted from the other side of the metal door, prompting Christa to shove it open to reveal a scowling Karl Jak sitting before a collection of computer monitors. Three of the four screens were black, and a fourth was filled with static and spewing out low-volume white noise from a nearby speaker. Despite all the blackness and static, a box above the doorway had a light that was giving off a soft green glow.
“Karl.” Christa felt her blood pressure rise as she glanced at all the equipment that filled the little space. Aside from the monitors, it looked like the rest of the stuff was part of a large computer of some sort. If it wasn’t a computer, it was possible that the array was some type of overgrown communication station.
“It took you long enough. I’m glad the dog got the device to you… is he still alive? He’s not a coat, is he?”
“He’s fine.”
“Wonderful,” Karl replied with a dubious smile. “What wonderful news,” he added with a little more blatant sarcasm as he turned to the keyboard and tapped out a quick keystroke. When nothing changed on the monitors, the executive cursed softly and ran a hand through his hair, which had long ago lost its usual shape due to dried out hair product.
“What are you planning down here?” Christa asked. Although she couldn’t stand the man sitting in front of her, the soldier knew that there had to be some bigger play at hand.
“Didn’t I tell you earlier?” Karl asked as he turned back around to look up at the standing woman. “Production bunkers. All my islands have these bunkers on them. They allow producers to monitor the events on the island to make sure that nobody does anything stupid. In the event of a catastrophe or shit hitting the fan, these places are hardwired to Headquarters. I should be able to hail them from this station, but the lines are dead.”
“It happens.”
Karl chuckled softly before shaking his head. “Hardwired.” He tapped on the console. “There’s a cable that literally connects this down a thousand feet to a network that goes all the way back to headquarters. These buildings are designed with seismic shields so that even an earthquake couldn’t knock it offline.”
“Why’s this light green?” Christa inquired, failing to buy into what the man was selling her.
“That means that the island is online. It means that its broadcasting and transmitting from here.”
At that, Christa realized what was happening. With a snarl, she stepped forward and wrapped her bloodied hands around Karl’s diry lapels. In a swift motion, she jerked the man up to his feet, spun him, and slammed him against the wall of the bunker. “This was just one of your fucking little games, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t play games.” Karl grunted. “Someone or something activated the equipment.”
“Bullshit.” Christa shouted as she smacked the man back against the wall. “Why should I believe any of the shit that comes out of your mouth?” Before she got a clear response, Christa was cracked in the mouth with Karl’s forehead, stunning her long enough for him to slip from her grasp and drive a pair of knuckles up into her chin.
The impact shattered the sniper’s equilibrium, and she fell back into Karl’s chair. Her vision was blurred, and by the time it had recovered, the man in the frayed purple suit was sitting on her lap with a knife pressed against her throat.
“Look at me,” Karl rasped. When the woman failed to, he pressed the knife against her skin, drawing a faint line of red across her skin. “Look. At me.” Christa lifted her rage-laced eyes. “You fucking think I want to be here? Mucking about on some damn island with a bunch of stooges? You think I wasted two jets? Or two hundred secondaries? Why would I waste all that omnilium… my omnilium?” Karl laughed—not his normal, tittering laugh but something a little more manic. “You think I’m some kind of sociopath or some bullshit? You think I’m a killer? I could slit your throat and watch your bleed out like a stuck pig, but you know why I don’t? Do ya?” Before he answered, the man pulled back and smacked the woman in the face. Christa fell from the chair and cracked her head on the console, causing her to land painfully on her shoulder. A beat later, she felt Karl’s breath on the back of her neck.
“Because it would be beneath me.” He took that moment to stomp the small of her back. “Just remember that I hate doing this thug bullshit. You couldn't just hold a snarky, passive-aggressive conversation like a normal person, could you?” Karl spat. Christa opened her mouth to speak, but she was driven into blackness when the metal base of the office chair was brought crashing down against her skull.
[center]***[/center]
Nanaki and Took heard the commotion down in the underground, but before either of them could react, they heard someone climbing the ladder. Instead of Christa, a disheveled-looking Karl Jak emerged.
“Where’s Christa!”
“Downstairs,” Karl replied bluntly as he wiped his bloodied knuckles on the side of his marred suit. “She attacked me, and I gave up being a little bitch long before I entered the television business.” Before either of the two could respond, Karl held out his other hand as he fished for something in his coat. He produced a simple key that he set on the ground between himself and the cat. “She’ll be upset when she wakes up. We shared some harsh language. Tell her to take the key into town. There’s a library with a box inside that matches that key.”
“Is this a trap?”
Karl shrugged his shoulders. “I think the only reason you haven’t tried to jump me is because you look like something yourself dragged in… Tell Christa that, despite our grievious differences, the box will have what she needs to trust me. Once she does, find me again and we can try and get out of this place.”
“But what’s in the box?”
“Just tell her it’s about her sister.”
Red had more than a few questions, but Karl was already gone.
With his injuries slowing him down, Red let Christa help him as he pulled away the furniture concealing the trapdoor. The sniper crouched down and threw open the unlocked hatch, and although she initially recoiled for fear that something might come erupting up from the opening, nothing arose to assault the three. Once those first few moments had passed, Christa leaned forward and stared down into the area underneath the structure.
“There’s light down there,” she spoke softly. “I’m going to go look.” Just like that, Christa was swinging around to grab onto the ladder, but she quickly noticed her hobbled feline companion moving to join her. “Stay up here. If I get in any danger, Took can jump down and have my back.”
Nanaki didn’t look like he was buying it, but he could see in the woman’s eyes that she wasn’t going to yield on the fact. “Be safe,” he muttered as Christa soundlessly descended the metal ladder and stepped down onto the corrugated metal floor. She was standing at the rear of a short hallway that was amply illuminated by florescent tubes running the length of the room. At the other end, a metal door was slightly ajar, allowing her to see the glow of LCD screens and hear the sound of someone banging away at a keyboard.
Stalking down the corridor, Christa tried to crane her neck to see around the doorway, but the crack was too small to give her the proper angle. By the time she got close enough to place a hand on the door, she heard the typing come to an abrupt stop.
“You’re pretty loud for a sniper,” a snide voice shouted from the other side of the metal door, prompting Christa to shove it open to reveal a scowling Karl Jak sitting before a collection of computer monitors. Three of the four screens were black, and a fourth was filled with static and spewing out low-volume white noise from a nearby speaker. Despite all the blackness and static, a box above the doorway had a light that was giving off a soft green glow.
“Karl.” Christa felt her blood pressure rise as she glanced at all the equipment that filled the little space. Aside from the monitors, it looked like the rest of the stuff was part of a large computer of some sort. If it wasn’t a computer, it was possible that the array was some type of overgrown communication station.
“It took you long enough. I’m glad the dog got the device to you… is he still alive? He’s not a coat, is he?”
“He’s fine.”
“Wonderful,” Karl replied with a dubious smile. “What wonderful news,” he added with a little more blatant sarcasm as he turned to the keyboard and tapped out a quick keystroke. When nothing changed on the monitors, the executive cursed softly and ran a hand through his hair, which had long ago lost its usual shape due to dried out hair product.
“What are you planning down here?” Christa asked. Although she couldn’t stand the man sitting in front of her, the soldier knew that there had to be some bigger play at hand.
“Didn’t I tell you earlier?” Karl asked as he turned back around to look up at the standing woman. “Production bunkers. All my islands have these bunkers on them. They allow producers to monitor the events on the island to make sure that nobody does anything stupid. In the event of a catastrophe or shit hitting the fan, these places are hardwired to Headquarters. I should be able to hail them from this station, but the lines are dead.”
“It happens.”
Karl chuckled softly before shaking his head. “Hardwired.” He tapped on the console. “There’s a cable that literally connects this down a thousand feet to a network that goes all the way back to headquarters. These buildings are designed with seismic shields so that even an earthquake couldn’t knock it offline.”
“Why’s this light green?” Christa inquired, failing to buy into what the man was selling her.
“That means that the island is online. It means that its broadcasting and transmitting from here.”
At that, Christa realized what was happening. With a snarl, she stepped forward and wrapped her bloodied hands around Karl’s diry lapels. In a swift motion, she jerked the man up to his feet, spun him, and slammed him against the wall of the bunker. “This was just one of your fucking little games, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t play games.” Karl grunted. “Someone or something activated the equipment.”
“Bullshit.” Christa shouted as she smacked the man back against the wall. “Why should I believe any of the shit that comes out of your mouth?” Before she got a clear response, Christa was cracked in the mouth with Karl’s forehead, stunning her long enough for him to slip from her grasp and drive a pair of knuckles up into her chin.
The impact shattered the sniper’s equilibrium, and she fell back into Karl’s chair. Her vision was blurred, and by the time it had recovered, the man in the frayed purple suit was sitting on her lap with a knife pressed against her throat.
“Look at me,” Karl rasped. When the woman failed to, he pressed the knife against her skin, drawing a faint line of red across her skin. “Look. At me.” Christa lifted her rage-laced eyes. “You fucking think I want to be here? Mucking about on some damn island with a bunch of stooges? You think I wasted two jets? Or two hundred secondaries? Why would I waste all that omnilium… my omnilium?” Karl laughed—not his normal, tittering laugh but something a little more manic. “You think I’m some kind of sociopath or some bullshit? You think I’m a killer? I could slit your throat and watch your bleed out like a stuck pig, but you know why I don’t? Do ya?” Before he answered, the man pulled back and smacked the woman in the face. Christa fell from the chair and cracked her head on the console, causing her to land painfully on her shoulder. A beat later, she felt Karl’s breath on the back of her neck.
“Because it would be beneath me.” He took that moment to stomp the small of her back. “Just remember that I hate doing this thug bullshit. You couldn't just hold a snarky, passive-aggressive conversation like a normal person, could you?” Karl spat. Christa opened her mouth to speak, but she was driven into blackness when the metal base of the office chair was brought crashing down against her skull.
[center]***[/center]
Nanaki and Took heard the commotion down in the underground, but before either of them could react, they heard someone climbing the ladder. Instead of Christa, a disheveled-looking Karl Jak emerged.
“Where’s Christa!”
“Downstairs,” Karl replied bluntly as he wiped his bloodied knuckles on the side of his marred suit. “She attacked me, and I gave up being a little bitch long before I entered the television business.” Before either of the two could respond, Karl held out his other hand as he fished for something in his coat. He produced a simple key that he set on the ground between himself and the cat. “She’ll be upset when she wakes up. We shared some harsh language. Tell her to take the key into town. There’s a library with a box inside that matches that key.”
“Is this a trap?”
Karl shrugged his shoulders. “I think the only reason you haven’t tried to jump me is because you look like something yourself dragged in… Tell Christa that, despite our grievious differences, the box will have what she needs to trust me. Once she does, find me again and we can try and get out of this place.”
“But what’s in the box?”
“Just tell her it’s about her sister.”
Red had more than a few questions, but Karl was already gone.
![[Image: KarlSig.jpg]](http://omniverse-rpg.com/images/KarlSig.jpg)