Stryph

Part 1: The Maw
[Time: 18:51:12 ; Date: February 10 / Location: Montreal, Quebec / Weather: 12c ; Chill Factor of: -15]

"They say when you're plotting revenge you dig two graves. One for your enemy and one for yourself. All I can tell you right now... is that two just aint going to be enough."

"And where will that end Shepard?! Don't do this. Don't go down that path, I'm begging you. Let the wolf hibernate, until we can bring down the ones truly responsible without the unnecessary blood shed of those having nothing to do with what happened a little over a year ago."


"Matt..." Whispered a soft feminine voice.

His eyelids shifted a bit, body bounced in the confines of the passenger seat. Finally as he opened his eyes he saw glimpses of the city for the first time since landing in the airport. The moment he met his 'taxi' and jumped in, he passed out for what left like a nights-worth but was maybe only an hour. Snow kicked up obscuring most of the view at long distances, blizzards weren't uncommon this time of year but likely the inside of the car was warm enough to make everything seem peaceful. Shifting in his seat, he sat strait up raising to a fully upright position while propping his right elbow into the passenger door's window frame which then he rested his cheek into his corresponding hand.

Vanessa laughed softly, "It's pitch black with two feet of snows-worth, which is still going, and you wear shades."

"I wear my sunglasses at night, so I can, so I can keep track of visions with my eyes..." whispered Matt in a truly polite charming voice with a deep sinister tone hidden behind those words.

She sighed, "You'll have to forgive me, but I've done exactly what you asked Mark to tell me to do. I don't know why you want to get into Jason's Estate but..."

"Ahhh." Matt sighed, "Don't worry about it. I told you, it's an investigation. Jason is trafficking illegal weapons and the NSA requested that I be aided in this operation, you saw the report right?" He turned his head slightly to see her nod while she remained focused ahead on the road. Of course the same report was a fake, he had an alternative reason for being there but simply stating that fact would likely get him kicked to the curb out in the frigid weather.

"Right, well. It just seems... He's given so much for charity foundations, for people in need when leaving their countries and coming here with nothing. How can such a guy become so cruel behind closed doors."

"He's also a former CIA with a history of money laundering, ties of conspiracy, and one hell of a penchant for covering up his tracks." Matt added turning his head fully to her to catch her glimpsing back to him. She shifted, giving her comfortability away. That much wasn't a lie, the man was a former CIA and for the most part hadn't been fired nor retarded; this Johnathon was still in active duty.

The brunette woman took in a deep breath, nodded, and sighed as she shifted in her seat again by wiggling into the cushion of her own seat. Matt was treated to a pleasant display that complimented the woman's lean and slender curves. 'Not half bad at all,' Thought Matt glancing from the corner of his eyes and observing her performance, 'I give it an hour. Mess around and then we'll get to work.'.

Matt's lips parted as his jaws gaped open as he exhaled a large volume of carbon out at the passenger window. Fog blotted a fair bit of area on the window before slowly washing away. He remained incognito while beneath the shades of gray, olive green eyes observed the scenery with what little could be seen. Looming buildings stacked on either ends of the road with the blizzard was flowing on and off, snow clustered in gusts and blew out in a rolled up fist smashing into the car harmlessly. Most of the structures were only housing but occasionally a block would come along with a liquor store and pub, or back-end of a super market. Another five minutes after passing through the housing blocks and they began to enter the market and financial districts.

"There's my apartment." Vanessa said as she drew away her left hand from the wheel and pointed off to his right.

Looking over, Matt brought his head up a little to get a view just before the car pulled into the underground parking garage.

"I'll leave the luggage. Besides, I like this jacket." He tugged at the collar of his black jean jacket.

"I still think you should of brought a tux instead. They're not going to let you just wander around when you don't express the same level of class as the rest of those who will be there." She spoke in trying to be as politely critical on his choice of attire.

"Ch'." Grunted Matt, "Who do you think I am? MI6?" He subsequently placed on a pair of fingerless SWAT gloves just to keep his palms and the back of his hands warm, brushing his pants off as a gust of wind brought in snow from the outside.

"I hate the cold. Ya'know, I really don't enjoy this. You're talking to a guy who deals with average lows of being 60 degrees... sorry 'Fahrenheit'." Matt snickered, "So this drastic change in weather is not a good sense of feel for me." As he shook his head he patted himself off one more final time before giving it a rest and placing both hands into the pockets of his jacket. With Vanessa leading the way, the two headed up into the building.

'And we fade to black...'


Matt followed closely behind the 5'7" woman, maintaining some distance but it didn't take a rocket scientist for her to find out where his mind was wandering. After all he was getting a good view regardless and part of that was her fault to begin with. She wasn't trying to hide anything and she was even caught red-handed in the act of trying to flaunt it off. Of course maintaining some class mannerisms, he had to stow the dessert for later. First things first was the setup, then would come 'playtime'.



[ ...About two hours later / Time: 20:42:07 ]

The den was quiet and dark lit save for the one corner Matt was busy keeping illuminated with the help of the computer screen that had gained his attention for the past ten minutes. Vanessa was in the bathroom constantly rushing between there and her bedroom as she shuffled through clothes and her makeup or jewelery. A change in dress was much needed, for more than just wrinkles. Meanwhile Matt continued to research both Jason Dean and his estate, the possible patrons. The lists were nothing secrete but Vanessa also wasn't lying on the guests dressing for the occasion. This party was for the rich people, probably housing auctions and stock shares.

"You'll have to be my body guard." Vanessa stumbled out of the bathroom attempting to place a pair of high heels onto the soles of her feet.

A few mouse clicks followed and Matt spoke softly, "That's the idea."

"Just... please don't get into any trouble."



[cue: Across the Line ]

She couldn't see his smirk, "Wont make any promises..." And he didn't have to look to her to catch the sense of discomfort that washed over her. "And maybe you were right, a tux would of been nice. Ahhh frack it." Shutting the laptop closed it automatically shut itself down at that point and immediately he went for his own cellphone stowed away into his pant pocket. Time, date, GPS, and battery life were all accounted for. As soon as the cellphone was slide back out of sight, he drew out his sidearm pulling the slide back while simultaneously flicking it's safety to prime the gun. This action alone made Vanessa worried, Matt looked over and canted his head into a shrug, "Don't worry, everything will be fine." Another lie, oh hell would be looking forward to this ones soul.

Matt tucked the FN Five-Seven into a holster under his left arm and out of sight. Of course, security details at the estate were also taken into account. But that's what his research was for, layout of the entire foundation could provide some interesting means of operation while remaining, for the most part, unnoticed.

The two made their way back down into the garage and just like that the car was started and they were back on the road again. With twenty minutes at the least to go, Matt found himself preoccupied with his cellphone once more as he withdrew it and held it out in front of him. The ride was relatively quiet as they headed further North, but that didn't seem to bother Matt so much; he found silence rather soothing... as long as he remained focused and concentrated on a particular task.

Once upon reaching their destination, their car fell in line behind five others. All waiting to pass the checkpoint and find their parking.

"How long have you been working for Mark?" Asked Matt finally breaking the silence as he tucked his phone away.

"Only five years, he's my uncle of course." She replied spotting an understanding nod assuring her that he as well knew this detail. "And as his friend, you can trust me."

He nodded again but drew his attention ahead. 'Lets hope so.', The thought was slightly unnerving.

"Anyways, here we are." Vanessa cleared her throat as the car pulled up to the booth and they were greeted by a man dressed in a full black and thick sweater with a beanie over his head. "Vanessa Cole Madison, and this is my body guard Agent Shepard."

"Sir?"

Every bit of detail was taken into account. Including the amount of 'luggage' they were packing. 'MP5Ks, G36c's... so it's not just some fancy painting collection... not with that kind of eight.' Matt nodded, "Matt Shepard, by the request of the lady here."

"Yes, you're..." He took a second look at the man by ducking low and tilting his head, "Well you'll have to wait in the lobby like the others. We assure you, she will be fine."

Protocol? Or were they expecting her let alone him? Objecting here and now would ruin everything, he would have to find another way. Matt's eyes followed the guard's jutting direction of his chin towards a thick shack with windows but some distance from the entrance to the house. It was still cold but the blizzard had died down, the air becoming motionless. Luckily Matt could already assume and guess the extent of his conditioning due to his experience and training years back.

"Understood." Spoke Matt finally, those eyes ever so deceiving under the pair of gray tinted shades. Vanessa pulled the car forward towards a parking space they were directed to. "Don't worry, I'll just make use of my free time... that's all."

"That's what I'm afraid of, you have a gun and your reason for being here." Vanessa sighed speaking coldly as if expecting the worst.

Reaching over Matt lightly patted her on the thigh once. "You can never be sure how far people are willing to go to keep a secrete." He said in monotone, "And they're fitted to take the Whitehouse, if there's one thing I've learned in my experiences... If you're prepared for war, your not the victim... you're the precursor."

Vanessa was silent and then slowly nodded, "I'm going to go in and set my introductions in order. Try not to draw attention."

Matt smirked but said nothing more than, "I'll behave."



The two exited the vehicle and parted ways shortly after embracing for a friendly gestured hug. What she didn't know is that his hand slipped into her coat's jacket where the keys were and unlocked the vehicle. With the sound of cars passing by, she missed the unlocking the vehicle. The two drew away and separated, both of them were met by escorts while Matt's side of things was less welcoming.

"Follow me sir." Said the gruff male guard, waving his hand in the direction to the shack. "I'll need your weapon." Extending a hand, Matt reluctantly handed over his sidearm staring at it longingly before sighing comically. The guard let out a soft chuckle, "You get it back when you leave."

Showing no resistance, Matt rose his hands up as he moved forward and tugged and straitened the cuffs of his jacket's sleeves. Nodding, "Thank you," He said as the door was opened as he was allowed to walk in at his own accord. Inside, surprisingly enough, the room was warm and cozy. Kind of bright as well due to all the white interior with little black surrounding save for the floor which was in gray tiles. The television's frame was white and there was even a microwave which had black interior. Everything else was white. Couches, sink, probably even the bathroom which was outside and around the corner. He wasn't the only one here as another guard monitoring a set of small televisions stacked onto each other was busy watching the camera feed. But the man who brought Matt in, was the radio correspondent and was taking patrol-duty.

With the television blaring, ten minutes passed. Matt looked from his left and right, taking not of the window shades and judging how much could be seen from outside. Once satisfied he began to make a move, slowly approaching the man sitting down and wrapping one arm around his neck, squeezing tightly to knock the man unconscious. As he struggled for air, Matt watched outside closely from the little cracks in the window blinds. No one's peripheral view crossed their general location. Seeping under the window, Matt pulled the guard back and then used his own belt once unconscious to restrain his hands followed by removing the man's tie to restrain his feet. Last, Matt removed the man's right shoe and sock placing the sock into the man's mouth.

"Pleasant dreams." Muttered Matt, disgusted with the scene of the man in a fetal-like position sleeping. Finally Matt patted the man down and found the keys, cycling through each individual key upon the keyring. Standing up, the composed man made his way to the exit.

He stood there, in the door way and pulled the door closed behind him. Sparring a glance at the door's key cylinder allowed him to narrow down at least one of the three on the keyring. Holding the handle behind him, he noticed one of the guards was beginning to make a pass and possibly looping around. The rest were scattered but all assuming their post with little interest for security detail of the lobby. Controlled breathing prevented him from rushing, he took in a deep breath and exhaled softly. Large volumes of mist exited his mouth appearing as a plume of smoke. One key down and the second went in, met with a satisfied click as he turned the key and then removed it. With fluid action, Matt tossed the key up and over the lobby's roofing before pulling his hand back down and clasping them together in front of his mouth. He blew warm breaths into his hands just as the patrolling guard looked in his direction.

Next was to be expected, the guard walked steadily fast in his direction. Matt tried to look as inconspicuous as possible. With the guard nearing however, this could cause a problem if he tried to go in and reprimand the man on duty. So, Matt took the initiative. Making his way over and stopping before the guard about half way of the parking lot's distance.

"Heh'eh, hey how's it going?" Matt tried to act as cool and friendly as possible. The guard showed little alert but over all didn't seem to mind, despite being curious. "Listen, I'm wondering if you have a smoke. The guy inside..."

"Benjamin, yeah he doesn't smoke. That's why he's inside, he doesn't need to go out. Ha." Pausing the guard took a long look at Matt. Was his guise working? But shortly after the guard dipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a pack which he then released one cig.

Matt nodded, "Much appreciated, thank you." Trying to play out the part as the security guard drew his hands away too soon, Matt proceeded to pat him down and then let out a rather convincing groan. "Ahhh, frack. Left the lighter in the car."

The guard laughed, "Women and expensive cars. If they don't belong to them, they want it. And if it's their own, they don't want 'anybody' touching it." Met with another nod by Matt, the gruff middle aged male patted his own self down and searched for the lighter.


[cue theme: The Bunker]

Just as Matt predicted. The man, out of common courtesy, held out the lighter and shielded any breeze that may distort and kill the flame while he waited for Matt to put the cig's end over the lite. Matt played the part only to quickly swoop a leg over, wrap his left arm and squeeze over both of the guard's forearms, effectively roping around his limbs. And as soon as his elbow locked, his right elbow came up and around smacking the guard in the back of the neck effectively knocking the man out cold.

"Today was the worst day to be a smoker, you should of quit." Matt whispered and then patted him down quickly reaching for his sidearm. "I'm taking my gun back too, thank you very much....." Matt slid the gun behind him into the confines of his belt buckle that held it in place looking back down and added, "Dick."

Deep intake of breath and a controlled exhale, Matt looked around from side to side to see if anyone noticed. They were still in the open so he had to get this next man out of sight as quickly as possible. Matt wrapped both hands under the unconscious guard's arm pits and pulled, sliding the limp body out of sight and into a corner near Vanessa's card. This had to be fast, Matt opened the driver door and popped the trunk and then went around to pull out his belongings before placing the body into it and slamming the truck door down. Now out of sight, Matt held in front of him a suitcase which he quickly opened to reveal it's contents.

Bullet proof vest, a set of sonar goggles, pair of jagged curved knives, and a few extra magazines. Then he proceeded to remove his jacket and replace it with the vest only to throw the jacket back on. A over the shoulder small back-pack came on next which he took the cellphone from his jacket's pocket and stored it into a little clear plastic compartment over his right pectoral muscle. The two blades were placed into sheaths from the small-pack now resting against the small of his back. He was ready to move, popping the trunk open again to stow the empty brief case inside before closing the trunk once more; maintaining relative quiet actions by lightly shutting the trunk rather than slamming it.

He moved, quickly and quietly out of sight. Fixing his sonar goggles, two ocular lenses were weaved around with the turn of his head. Matt's primary goal was to get out of the snow since black things tended to stand out over white surfaces. From his perspective, objects blipped and emerged into view as a single frequency sound wave spread out from the goggle's vicinity, effective echo location. Once the frequency found an object and bounced back, it developed the image of whatever was within his peripheral view. Fairly new technology but a practice as old as the first ecosystem established.

Matt remained out of sight for the most part, using every bit of cover to hide his presence from patrolling guards still active and operating on a circuit. Staying low and crouched, the black wolf prowled the early night with plenty of time to 'play'. Drawing out his sidearm, he pulled the slide back after clicking the safety to see the red button at the back of the weapon telling him the weapon was ready for fire.

One guard made a pass too close for comfort and Matt moved quick to 'remove' the stranger. Slamming his elbow into the man's neck ensured that he had no way to call for help, only to be met with a concussive blow to the back of the head with a full fisted back hand. Removing him only paved the way for the next unfortunate soul, which Matt could actually use.

Prowling foward and creeping up to the next guard, as he stowed his sidearm away bellow his left arm, Matt reached up and grabbed the man's left hand holding it out in front of him and twisting it to the verge of snapping. Just before the man could muster enough courage to scream for help, a sharp blade lightly poked at his jugular. "Tell me what I need to know and I'll let you live."

The guard coughed to clear his fear filled throat, "O-ok."

"Jason is inside, I need details on the type of escort he's having eating out of the palm of his hands."

"T-they're tough guys, bunch of them. Five or six of them. Special Agents, not like us former bouncers who managed to ace target practice. P-pretty freaky dudes if you ask me but n-nothing terribly secrete about them. J-just a bunch of mercenaries who know how to fight and are payed well to watch his back."

"So then he doesn't actually get to the floor."

"N-no, he doesn't. R-rarely does he meet with associates unless if it's in his office."

"Thank you for your time. Sleep tight."

"W-wha-wait!"

The man was immediately choked unconscious as Matt stepped about and repositioned the crook of his arm completely around his neck, squeezing just enough to refrain from dislocating the vertebra but blocking off sufficient amount of air intake to render the body limp. Matt tucked the body out of sight behind a planter and continued to move, stowing his knife away and withdrawing his pistol again.

'Bunch of mercs huh? Can't be Malta, not directly. That would run the risk of exposure too quickly, but they could be on their payroll. Either way, I got you now Jason.' His thoughts were bitter, borderline feral and deranged. He was actually growling as he thought the words. But he moved forward still, rolling and trudging through snow yards while trying to maintain being unseen. The actual building was up ahead with most of the outside having been done was just the 'kiddy-park'. The only way to go now was up, as he was on the outside parameter. One level up would get him to a window he could slip in from and then maybe sneak his way to the elevator to raise up the next set of ten floors. Or the stairs, in the event the former was compromised.

The building itself was squared while multiple sections gave way for roof patrols on various floors exposed to the outside. Jason's floor was a floor above the last remaining balcony. No doubt the presidential suit was at the top, that's instinctively where he had to go.

Matt climbed up, using a planter as a stepping stool and then a pipe that he could climb. Wrapping both hands around the circumference of the pipe, he could feel his finger tips developing a tingly sensation. Maybe thirty minutes and frost bite would set in, as long as he got inside and stayed warm he could build enough tolerance for when he had to go out again. Continuing to rise up, Matt hoisted himself up with one pull of an arm at a time while pressing the soles of his feet into the rough exterior of the wall. The window was just a foot away and once he got up high enough he reached over and gently push at the window but just as it clicked and the glass began to slide, the flash of a light beamed on the surface.

"Thought I heard something."

The voice was soft, muffled by the surface area of the walls that helped trap the noise from inside. The over abundance of music beat within the walls, Matt could feel it in his toe tips.

A moment passed and the window slid open, Matt made an effort to lower himself just to keep him strait out of the patrolling guard's sight as the man looked out the window. As soon as the guard's attention span was momentarily disturbed, Matt reached up grabbed the guard by the collar and pulled. The guard was removed from the floor and tossed over possibly falling to his death, simultaneously Matt hoisted himself over and into the building shutting the window as quietly as he could. As he entered Matt immediately rolled to the nearest light switch and flicked it off so that darkness befell the small room he got into.

The former guard's radio was ripped off during the tussle and slipped to the floor, one amazing factor of Matt's constant stroke of luck. Lady Death was having fun with him, enjoying the tenacity and letting him catch a break. It was just enough for Matt to hear the transmission of the former guard's partner drawing concern.

"John. Yo John, pick up." The door immediately swung open in a controlled and slow fashion as the next guard quickly spotted the detached radio by the window seal. This time Matt got a good look at the attire, merc was definitely right for these guys. They were not citizens and a familiar symbol that Matt recognized was patched on the man's shoulder. They weren't Malta, but a splinter group. "What the fu..." Matt moved out from his cover of shadow slammed the barrel of his Five-Seven into the neck of of the guard, firing the trigger simultaneously and caused the guard to fall to his knees in shock. There was relatively no loud bang, just a muffled slam of a hammer to a round. Matt slid out and closed the door behind him, crouching low as soon as he entered the next room and moved forward. Couches, vase platforms, chairs, and various other structures dotted the center of every room which provided ample cover to hide from the unsuspecting.


END of Part 1


((I want to write more but want to conserve that energy for later as it'll get probably progressively more confusing due to lack of understanding on the character and who he is, why he does what he does, and what all happened. Much will hopefully be explained next without giving too much away, he's meant to be a well guarded and mysterious individual anyways ))

Whistles and wades around in some loose tux-outfit with a pan in hand and a set of drinks on top of that.

I think the eyes is a mix of the viper-mask (or whatever snake design is) and goggles but not totally sure. Boots are the Overguard boots.

If any of that helps, again the face has me stumped as well but I assume it's the above.

So kind of like Jesse James, I suppose I'd believe it. That's how Romanticism works after all, one's actions seemingly stand out or are interpreted in a different manner that makes up for who the person really was.

Still a good movie though. Hugo Weaving being the vigilante was a pretty cool idea.