▼ A Tʜᴏᴜꜱᴀɴᴅ Wᴏʀᴅꜱ {PAFP} {Aᴅᴠᴀɴᴄᴇᴅ} {Mᴀʟᴇ Nᴇᴇᴅᴇᴅ}

Samoan · Jul 18th 2018

a picture is worth a thousand words...
how much is your life worth?

---

It's 2045 in Richardson, CO and crime rates are up 50%. A state-wide curfew has been set and many rules have been put in place to assure the safety of the law-abiding citizens who call the city home. Tension has been rising for years, but the world finally seemed to break when the 50th president took office. Now, most of the country is in a fit and no one feels safe. No one can trust anyone. Gangs and ruffians run the streets now, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves. Many have lost their lives in the crossfire of these warring factions and the media has done nothing but pour gasoline on the flames. The country is in a panic and there seems to be no hope for a light in the darkness any time soon. What will become of the city? The state? The country? The world?

---

Milogrith Penelope Denise Parker is a 24-year old investigative journalist for the new news forum known as the Line. After having grown up in the large city of Richardson, Milo had seen her fair share of violence and trauma. One of the bombings in the downtown area had taken almost 100 lives, including her father. A drive-by shooting had paralyzed her mother from the waist down. For many years Milo had even feared going to school out of fear of what may happen on the way or during the day. Nowhere was safe. When she graduated top of her class, Milo found herself unable to leave the city she'd grown up in. Her mother needed constant care and Milo couldn't afford to pay someone to take care of the woman while she went to school somewhere out of state. So, the young woman, fresh out of high school, decided to stay home and attend a local college.

At first, Milo wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life. She joined a few clubs but didn't really take an interest in any of them. In her spare time, she would work on one of her true passions in life: photography. She had always loved the feel of having a camera in her hands and as scary as the truth may be, she was always able to capture it in a shot and no one had to get hurt. As she progressed through college, a professor encouraged her to pursue a career in journalism. Hesitant but intrigued, the young college sophomore finally nailed down a degree and within a year and a half later, she graduated with high marks and high hopes.

Entering the work force proved to be the easy part as the media had become a hated messenger of depression and bad news. Starting out low with contentless articles, Milo slowly worked her way up until an opportunity arose for her to actually get out into the field. Grabbing her camera and her notebook, she was off. Things changed from that day on. Milogrith Pendergraph became a name that stood for truth and gumption all over the state. She wasn't afraid to enter the belly of the beast for a story. She knew that the public had a right to know what was going on, even if the rest of the world disagreed. This lifestyle, however, led to many struggles, including rocks through her apartment windows, unlit Molotov cocktails on her car, and more verbal threats than she could count. Throughout all of this, though, the young journalist remained unphased. She was unafraid of the world around her and would do whatever it took to find the real story...

No matter what.

---

Plot:
Your character is a member of the Richardson Police Force that works in the area of the city where Milo does most of her work. They meet when your squad is raiding what you think is the main headquarters for one of the most notorious gangs in Colorado. Milo is trying to get information to include in her next article when some of the gang members catch her. Before anything can happen, though, your character and his men storm the facility and Milo manages to take cover before the firefight starts. Once the bullets stop flying and the battle is over, Milo is taken into custody as well. After twenty-four hours, though, they have nothing to charge her with, meaning nothing but her release back into society.

As you are escorting Milo to the door, she stops and turns to you, informing you that it wasn't the headquarters as your squad thought and that there was more going on that you yet know. She offers to help you solve the case in exchange for access to the same evidence and information as it becomes available. At first, your character refuses, but after a bit of persuading, Milo convinces you and offers to buy you a coffee. Thus the beginning of a partnership, friendship, and relationship is born and the two of you will continue to get into trouble and danger at every turn.

In the end, what will they discover and at what cost?

What happens when two people who think they can't lose anything else, find the one thing they can't live without?

---

Requirements:
- PG 16+
- BE ADVANCED (that means 5 paragraphs minimum with a decent amount of sentences each)
- Warn me of inactivity (I'll be inactive from time to time myself, so I'll understand)
- Have good grammar & spelling
- Try to be active (at least once every day or every two days, please)
- Don't track and abandon
- No explicit sex scenes
- Powerplay is fine with me (if your character attempts to do something to my character, I may just write a different outcome for the situation to keep it flowing)
- For your character I need: Picture, Name, Age, Family, & a little Personality, History is optional, though more of Milo's will be revealed in thread
- You can create and kill off characters as you need to
- I don't cuss, and I would ask (nicely) that you keep the cussing to a minimum if at all

Note:
Thank you for taking interest in this thread, I hope you enjoy it and I can't wait to start roleplaying again :)

Samoan · Jul 25th 2018

Bumper Cars

Would someone be interested if the roles were reversed and I played a male reporter and they played a female cop?

Vibe · Aug 2nd 2018

Hello! If this is still something that you are looking for a response to, I'd be interested in playing the role of the male cop.

I'm trying to get back into things here, so my activity might be a little spotty, but I'm sure I can manage a response at least every other day. ~~ I think I've got everything requested interspersed within the passage below, minus the image so far. Let me know if this is good for you! ^^

Adrian Lee Morrison

27 Years

6e792d8078ffb586aeed0bd7261619fe--scott-eastwood-movies-clint-and-scott-eastwood.jpg

Even at a young age, Adrian knew that he wanted to make a difference. To help and protect innocent people.. even if, as a child, he was not quite sure how to go about accomplishing such a seemingly lofty goal. Witnessing the death of his mother at the age of nine, and subsequently being left with a father who was less than loving or supportive and hardly ever present only furthered this desire as Adrian grew older.

Left with many pent up emotions, including a burdening sense of guilt and angry resentment inside of him for what had happened to his mother, Adrian spent most of his teen years attempting to keep himself busy, as well as away from his father. With greater frequency he would involve himself in situations where he did not belong, in the name of attempting to defend someone, although this would most often result in a less than pleasant outcome. He was never once deterred however, and once he became of age, he sought what seemed to be the perfect way out.

The armed forces. Four years of service utilized the raw emotion Adrian had been harboring to begin molding a man with strength and discipline. Having been privy before to the instability of the world, Adrian found himself in just as many harrowing situations; except he now had a team of people he could count on to have his back.

Four years later, and armed with the training and skills that he hoped would make him useful, Adrian returned to his home in Richardson seeking to become a part of the police force there. Five years of work in his home town has earned him several commendations, a respected position among his peers, and perhaps even something of a reputation with the bad guys. The years of service have not come without consequence, however, as the continued witnessing of violence and the loss of many friends has cost him a large portion of himself.

Samoan · Aug 2nd 2018

Hey! Sounds great to me :)

I'm patient and I totally understand the feeling of getting back into the swing of things so no worries and no pressure to post all the time ^_^

Your form looks great ~ I'd like a picture if you can find one, or at least a detailed description of Adrian, so I can have an image in my mind as I'm writing! As soon as you've got that, you're welcome to start posting :) I'll go ahead and post the first post so we can get started when you're ready!

Samoan · Aug 2nd 2018

*:･ﾟ✧ Milogrith Penelope Denise Parker

ooc;
alrighty, then ^_^ here we go!
{disclaimer. my posts will not always be this long}

ic;
business had been slow for weeks now. a reporter had been killed on the 30th of june while working a case in the southern part of richardson and all the news providers hadn't been jumping to get back into the field. but here they were, half way through july and milo's bosses were still nervous about sending her into the field. the young woman was probably the only person colorado who was itching to get back out there. never in her life had milogrith pendergraph been interested in sitting behind a desk all day. no, she belonged in the field, a fly on the wall in the best way possible. and that was what landed her on the corner of 9th and dardnel on the 24th of july 2045.

checking her phone to make sure she'd read the directions correctly, the young reporter inhaled deeply and brushed a strand of light blonde hair behind her ear. this was the place. if her source was telling the truth - and she had a feeling he was - then a major drugs and weapons deal would be happening into the parking garage to her right around noon. for a moment she stood there and bit her lip, biding her time before entering the facility. was she excited? of course. was she going to let that get her killed? hopefully not today. after a quick glance around to assure she wasn't being followed, milo took one more deep breath before entering the underground.

the parking garage was dark and dank and everything milo had been expecting it to be. pressing on, she lowered herself deeper and deeper until she could hear the sound of voices chattering carelessly up ahead. upon further inspection, the young journalist discovered two people guarding the lower level of the garage. the man stood a bit taller than milo but he was lanky and awkward-looking. the woman across from him was short with dark hair and a tan complexion. milo could tell just by looking at her that she would've been a force to be reckoned with. and here arose the problem. how was she supposed to get through these two? if it had been two men, sure, but even from where she stood, she could tell the two were flirting. she would have to find another way to the next level.

leaning back, the young woman began to think of scenarios that would get her into the lower levels of the garage. unfortunately, every thought that occurred to her had a hopelessly blunt ending. she'd either get herself killed by her own means or she'd be caught and subjected to whatever horrors the gangsters of red could think up. since neither of those things sounded appealing in the slightest, milo knew she'd have to wait for a car or truck to come along and distract the couple at the gate. peaking over the edge of the concrete barrier, she noticed, first, that it was a long drop down that would likely end in many broken bones if not death, and second, that a small ledge was etched into the concrete, a perfect foothold for when her distraction came. if she went at that moment, the risk of the guards seeing her was too high. while waiting was agonizingly boring, she was able to listen in on the conversation of the two thugs around the corner. when they weren't awkwardly flirting, they actually talked a bit about what was going on and while the information wasn't enough to make a story out of, it let milo know she was in the right spot.

soon enough, the sound of a truck engine could be heard coming down the corridor milo had walked about ten minutes before. with a quick glance at her watch, she smirked. right on time. before the car could round the corner and spot her, the young reporter slipped over the edge of the wall, placing her toes on the small ledge that acted as the only thing between her and imminent death. as the vehicle slowed approaching the gate, the blonde shuffled quickly but carefully across the ledge. she would have to scale half of this wall and half of the other wall to resurface where she wouldn't be seen. the concrete was hard on her finger pads, but now wasn't really the time for worries like that. swallowing her nerves, she pressed on, holding her breath when she got close to the two guards, only to slowly release it as she reached the corner. transitioning was tricky, but soon enough, she was on the other side and on her way. during this little excursion, her foot slipped twice, sending adrenaline shooting through her blood stream. at this rate, her speeding heart would surely be audible to the entire garage.

solid ground had never been so welcome. with her feet shakily planted on the concrete floor, milo exhaled the rest of the breath she'd been consistently holding and releasing. with luck, she wouldn't have to do that again. and, as luck would have it, she didn't have to scale the walls anymore. for three more floors down there were no guards and no check stations. the entire thing was almost too quiet. as she reached the bottom floor of the parking garage, she heard voices once again. these were loud and unconcerned. no one could hear them down here... at least that was what they believed. little did they know, a fly had infiltrated their midst.

pressing her back against a wall, milo peaked around the side and took in the layout of the room. there were people everywhere. the truck that had acted as her distraction was open in the back, revealing dozens of guns that were being lazily examined by a tall bald man with tattoos all over his body. on the far side of the garage, she noticed a group of people standing around something she couldn't see. there was something on the ground that seemed to be of relative importance and at least four men were guarding it.

pulling out her camera, milo double checked to make sure the flash and sound were off before squaring up to take pictures. silently, she gathered enough evidence to put each of the criminals behind bars for a good long time. these pictures, combined with the killer article she was going to write up would land a big blow to red. she doubted it would disband the group completely, but the streets would be a little bit safer.

leaning out a little farther to catch a particularly incriminating shot ended up being her downfall. curiosity kills the cat, as they say. as she'd been pulling back, someone had happened to look over at the perfectly wrong time. "hey! someone's here!" the man yelled through a heavy city accent. milo cursed and shoved off the wall, beginning to run back the way she'd come. she could hear them behind her and despite her running shoes and her headstart, they caught up easily. "i suggest you stop..." there was the sound of a gun being loaded and milo knew she was screwed. "who are you?"

pursing her lips, the young reporter raised her hands up in defeat and slowly turned around. "my name is parker," she lied. "penelope parker. i'm a reporter for the sun." there was no sense in sharing her real name or place of work, though one of her middle names had always been a preferred alias. there was no getting around admitting she was a reporter as anything else would likely get her killed faster.

"how did you find this place, ms. parker? don't you know this isn't a safe place for pretty ladies to be wandering on their own?"the man grunted and two other armed men rushed over and pulled her arms roughly behind her back, wrapping something cold and heavy around them to restrain her. "i would hate for something to happen to that... pretty face of yours..." he stared her down for a moment before snapping something at the men in a language that sounded like russian. milo was helpless as she was brought back to the large room with the guns and drugs. coming to a stop abruptly, one of the men shoved her forward. now that she had an audience, the young woman stood straight and unflinching. the man who'd spoken to her in the tunnel approached her slowly. "who sent you here,,,? you said you were a reporter? who gave you the information on where we were?"

"no one gave me the information. your people were sloppy." her voice didn't waver in the slightest as the others watched her carefully. for a moment there was silence before a loud thwack shot pain through the girl's face, sending her staggering. for a moment, her vision was weird as her brain tried to readjust to what had just happened. her face stung where he had backhanded her and she felt the heat already rising. she was definitely screwed.

Vibe · Aug 2nd 2018

~~Cool! I was going to add some extra bits in there but.. I think I'll just let them be revealed as things play out. Anyway, I found an image which is posted above, and I'll have a response for you tonight

Samoan · Aug 2nd 2018

First of all, Scott Eastwood is a babe <3 Love the faceclaim!

Also, everything looks great to me ^_^ I look forward to seeing your response later :)

Vibe · Aug 3rd 2018

((Ahh, glad you like! let's get things underway then, shall we?)

~~~

An old parking garage. A convenient place for a base of operations, for a multitude of reasons. It was out of the way of the general public, and any suspicious activity would be contained within the building itself. With reinforced concrete walls acting as a preliminary shield and guards likely stationed along most of the key entry points, infiltrating the building stealthily hadn’t been an easy task. But it had been made easier thanks to the discovery of old blueprints, allowing Adrian and his team of seven others to slip in and remain thus far undetected.

With the delivery truck having been confirmed as on sight, the remaining forces outside, which would have already begun the process of surrounding and restricting access to the building. Snipers had already been deployed to provide over-watch, while the rest of the team would storm the main entrance. Meanwhile, Adrian and his team would attempt to infiltrate the facility so that they could catch the bad guys in a crossfire. With every bit of evidence pointing to this place as a base of operations, and operating under the assumption that this would not end without a fight, no expense had been spared in outfitting the team with all of the latest equipment.

By all accounts, they should have been an unstoppable force. But there wasn’t any amount of time, people, equipment, or experience that could completely erase the feelings of anxiousness and dread that were present within his mind. With training and determination, emotions were things that could be worked around.. but a person would have to be a fool not to be afraid. He knew, just as well as the rest of his people did, just how dangerous this raid would be; as well as just how brutal those associated with this gang were. Adrian did not doubt that someone he knew would lose their life today. That was just the way things went. And it saddened him that he had come to accept that as reality.

Blinking once, Adrian brought up his rifle once again, peering down the scope to observe, for now. Most of the old parking garage had been empty save for the final floor, where Adrian and his small crew had come across a veritable cache of weapons and drugs. There was more than enough here to put every one of these bastards away for a long time. And that was exactly why he suspected most of them would rather die than spend the rest of their lives locked up.

With darkness concealing them, the team had strategically spaced and positioned themselves at various points along the far end of the wall, allowing them to provide cover for one another, and if his team happened to be discovered in the meantime - spreading their men out it would create the illusion that their little team was larger than it actually was.

Most everything he was witnessing seemed like relatively normal operating procedure. At least until two or three men took off in pursuit of something - more likely someone. Though most of the chase was obscured from his vantage point, it was easy to tell that the men were armed.

These guys weren’t messing around. Ducking behind cover for a moment, Adrian brought a gloved hand up to activate the communications unit built into his helmet. “Heads up team; we’ve got activity at the far end of the building. Does anyone have eyes on what’s going on?”

A moment of silence passed before he received a response. “There’s a woman, sir. They have her restrained and.. appear to be interrogating her. I don’t recognize her as anyone of interest, and I don’t believe we’ve been compromised.”

Contemplating the information he’d received for the moment, Adrian responded. “Alright. Well.. we will try not to hit her, then. You all know what we’re supposed to do. Stay alert. Out.” As much as Adrian despised the notion of anyone innocent being killed.. a hostage, if that was what this woman was, was not their priority. Command had deemed anyone within the premises that was not part of the force to be expendable. Sacrificing one life to save many; at least that was what they liked to believe.

Bringing his rifle back around, he shifted slightly, and for the moment continued to simply observe. His team was doing their part.. for the moment. And unless the situation was compromised, they would not engage until and unless instruction was received.

Samoan · Aug 3rd 2018

*:･ﾟ✧ Milogrith Penelope Denise Parker

ooc;

text here

ic;

Despite having been hit hard, Milo still stood tall, defying the gangster in front of her. She knew better than to show weakness to these people. Staring back at him bravely and spitting to the floor at his feet, the young reporter held his gaze for a moment before the older man laughed and shook his head. "You're either very brave or very stupid, I'll give you that." He chuckled again before turning and jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Victor, Alexander, take her away. Do whatever you want, but don't kill her yet. We may be able to use her before the night's over." The two men who'd grabbed her before roughly shoved her forward and while she fought against them, she was obviously no match for their strength. Making it as hard for them as possible, she struggled as she was led away from the center of the trouble.

Once they were far enough one of the guys gave her an extra hard shove that cast her to the ground roughly. With her hands tied behind her back, there was nothing she could do to catch herself before she hit the ground. Trying her best to buffer the worst of the fall with her shoulder, she hit the ground hard before rolling herself over and trying to scramble back away from the men. "Stay away from me or you'll be sorry." The threat was definitely baseless, but she couldn't help but be a bit afraid of what these oafs might do to her. One of the men laughed as the other popped his knuckles. "The boss said not to kill you... he didn't say we couldn't make you wish you'd never come down here."

Milo didn't like the implications of what the men were saying and when they started moving towards her, she scrambled backwards until her back hit the wall. "No!" she shouted, kicking her long legs violently as they got closer. They held back for a moment before the bigger man with the scar on his face managed to grab her ankle and then the other before pulling on her legs hard and forcing her away from the wall. "Get off of me!" Milo screamed and fought as hard as she could, trying desperately to get away as the man pulled her closer to him. "Hey!" the man shouted angrily as she continued to squirm beneath him. He pulled a knife and pressed the blade up against her jaw, just hard enough to draw a few drops of blood to the surface of her bruising skin. "Shut up or I'll carve up that pretty face of yours." She stared at the knife anxiously, grimacing as he drew blood.

"You'll never get away with this!" she breathed shakily as he put the knife away and began unbuttoning her shirt. His buddy stood back with his arms crossed over his chest, a smug smirk on his face. Milo had been through a lot in her life and this certainly wasn't the first time her life had been threatened, but the fear in her chest was likely readable on her face. Leaning down, the Russian man grinned in her face, his rancid breath making her cringe away. "No one will hear you scream but we'll make sure they find you're body. You won't be recognizable when we're done." He placed a wet kiss on her jaw and she gasped for a moment. As he shifted his weight, she took the opportunity to bring her knee up into his groin. Having been blind-sighted by the surprise attack, the man instantly tensed up and fell off to the side, groaning. Despite not being able to use her hands, Milo immediately started inch-worming her way away from him, trying her best to get away before he could touch her again. The other man stepped forward to cut her off and the man she'd wounded threw a slew of cuss words at her before threatening her again. "I'm gonna kill you!"

Vibe · Aug 4th 2018

Echoes of conversations held between the guards were audible, though most of the words spoken were indistinguishable. All he knew was that nobody sounded terribly panicked, or on alert, which hopefully meant that none of these guys were aware of what was about to happen. With as many people as were sometimes employed by these gangs, great care had needed to be taken in the construction of plans. As few people had been involved in the specifics as possible, with most participants only being briefed as late as this morning.

Adrian had been wondering the entire way here, if perhaps the bad guys would have caught on to what was going on, if they’d have had more sentries present, traps set. But none of that appeared to be the case. All of these guys seemed blissfully unaware of the presence of the eight operatives scattered throughout the expansive area of this parking garage. It was almost too good to be true.

A pair of the guards, it seemed, were still occupied with the girl from earlier. They were moving her, away from the main area of activity and toward a darker, more secluded area of the old parking garage. And closer to his team. He hadn’t been able to track them before, but now he had a clear view of each of the men, as well as the woman, who was definitely restrained. Something about her seemed familiar, and the woman definitely did not appear to be the type who would associate herself in matters such as these. But, appearances could be deceiving, and this wasn’t the time nor place to ponder over that.

The words exchanged between them were also now audible, with the woman remaining defiant in spite of the situation she was in. Her struggle was valiant, as she managed to briefly stun one of her captors, but he knew that it would ultimately prove fruitless. Tightening his grip on the rifle in his hands and sorely tempted to squeeze the trigger, Adrian cursed his present inability to stop any of it. Even with a suppressor, the risk he’d have to take would be much too great. He knew it, and so did the rest of the team.

One life to save many.

Or perhaps it was her lucky day. For the muffled, but still very discernible chatter of gunfire echoed down from somewhere in the floors above, meaning that those few guards who had been stationed there had opted to fight back. The squealing of tires and roar of an engine signaled the approach of an armored van, which meant the first team would come bursting in at any moment. That would be enough to distract the rest of them, surely.

And it would allow him enough time to align the sights of his rifle with the torso of the second man who had stepped forth, and squeeze the trigger. None of these guys were going to kill anyone here today, not if he could help it.

Samoan · Aug 6th 2018

*:･ﾟ✧ Milogrith Penelope Denise Parker

ooc;

Sorry I disappeared! I went out of town for the weekend and had very limited time and internet access!

ic;

Despite her slight head start, Milo didn't make it far before the second man grabbed her and slammed her back hard against the concrete wall. "You alright, Victor?" he asked coolly, identifying himself as Alexander and actually sounding slightly amused by what'd just taken place. Hitting the wall as hard as she had dazed the young reporter, putting her weak escape attempt on hold while her mind and body tried to recover. The meaty hands of Alexander held her firm to the wall as Victor pulled himself of the ground slowly, definitely trying to hold himself normally despite the attack on his privates. When he was finally up, his face was red as a tomato. Under different circumstances, Milo might've laughed, but with his anger focused directly on her, not even a giggle bubbled up in her stomach.

Victor snapped something at Alexander in Russian and Milo felt the larger man's arms shake as he laughed in response. It was times like this she wished she had finished her college Russian course. Of course, she understood the word 'kill,' so maybe she didn't want to know what exactly he was saying. Angrily, he took a limping step towards her and Milo tried to pull herself away as much as she could with Alexander holding onto her. But he apparently had no intention of letting Victor get to get just yet. He held his friend back at arm's length, still keeping the young reporter pinned flat. "Get out of my way, Alek," Victor snarled beady brown eyes glaring straight into her soul. "I'm going to finish what I started and then I'm going to slice her up like the dead meat she is."

Asleep shrugged and pulled away, leaving Milogrith with her back pressed hard against the wall. "Go ahead, my friend. Bang her, slice her up, shoot her in the head for all I care. See how the boss takes that. You won't love long enough to enjoy the satisfaction." Milo was good at hiding her fear in the face of her very possible death, not breaking down and crying or desperately beging them to spare her life. She had to be strong... Had to be.

A small wave of relief washed over her as, after a moment of pause for thought Victor turned away as if admitting defeat. Milo let out a small sigh before he wound back around, smacking her hard across the face again and knocking her to the floor. His ring caught her cheek right under her right eye drawing hot blood down her face, and making her cry out in shock and pain. "I'll take my chances with him... But this little witch isn't getting away with what she did. The boss will understand." Alek simply shook his head and stepped out of the way. Cracking his knuckles, Victor started looming towards her when the first noise of gunshots rang out through the garage. The two men froze, perking up like dogs and listening as the noise lingered for a moment, accompanied by the yells of unidentified people, suddenly went quiet. Milo managed to push herself up so that her back rested against the wall, breathing hard as she looked around for any sign of someone being there to shut this mess down.

In a moment, all Hell broke loose. There was shouting and gunfire from both sides as the police raided the garage and the gangsters fought back to defend themselves and their contraband. Without thinking, Victor grabbed Milo by the hair and forced her to her feet before he and his partner moved quickly towards the noise. She tried to pull out of his grip, but there was no getting out of this. As they got closer, Milo felt a bullet whiz past her and involuntarily flinched before opening her eyes and watching the carnage. As the two men started moving hastily towards their side of the fight, the young reporter was dragged along unceremoniously, being used as a human shield. Unfortunately for them, and more unfortunately for her, Milo doubted the police were as concerned about her life as they were about taking the Red members out. It wasn't that they wanted her to die, it was just that this was the way things were now. People had to do what they had to do to keep the city safe or keep their loved ones out of harm's way. Milo got that, but she still didn't want to get shot. Stopping suddenly, despite the pain in her head, she stomped her foot down hard on Victor's foot, injuring him and shocking him enough to loosen his grip. Once he'd let go, she dove to the ground, unable to catch herself properly, but hoping to get out of the way so the police could take care of everything and she would still be safe. Closing her eyes tight, she waited for the fire fight to end.

Vibe · Aug 7th 2018

The two men that had taken the girl were on the move and now using her as a shield of sorts, meaning the fact that he had missed was probably for the best. They tugged her along as they attempted to make their way through the area that was quickly resembling a warzone. Of course they would, as for most people anymore, there was not any such thing as morals when one’s life was in jeopardy.

It hadn’t taken long for weapons fire to erupt once again as team one began their assault, attempting to gain cover and establish a hold. Both sides began to trade bullets and blood, though the amount of gunfire that rang out couldn’t even compare to the amount of rounds that actually found their targets. In a confined space constructed mostly out of concrete however, the resulting noise was almost deafening.

Adrian was sure he’d be deaf by the time he was forty. If he’d even live that long. The strategy they had put together seemed to have pushed the initial tide of battle in the favor of the police, as they had indeed managed to catch the bad guys in a crossfire, with several targets being neutralized before the others began to figure it out and use cover.

His side was not without their share of casualties, though, from what he could decipher from the flurry of radio transmissions audible in his headset. Most if it went ignored however, as he continued to attempt to track the two men and their hostage.

The woman, in spite of everything she had endured up to this point managed to once again escape her captors, as she stamped her foot down upon that of the man who had restrained her and dove toward the ground. Unwilling to pass such an opening, he flicked the selection switch upon his rifle to automatic, and this time fired off a volley of rounds in the general direction of the two criminals.

Samoan · Aug 7th 2018

*:･ﾟ✧ Milogrith Penelope Denise Parker

ooc;

text here

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Milo would've liked to have covered her head or at least her ears as the explosive sound of gunfire echoed loudly throughout the room around her. It was just the police's luck that they'd raided not only a drug deal, but an arms deal as well. The RPD had the element of surprise, but these guys were armed to the teeth with AKs and automatic rifles designed to mow down anything in their paths. It was a bloodbath on both sides and the young reporter could do nothing to protect herself or even close out the images of what was taking place around her as her hands were still tied helplessly behind her back, leaving her face down on the floor.

Alexander was the first to hit the ground. From the corner of her eye, Milo had seen the shocked look on his face when she escaped Victor's grip again, but nothing compared to the look he gave as a line of holes opened on his chest. His eyes widened in surprise for a moment before he dropped to his knees, blood staining his shirt as he collapsed next to Milo, much too close for comfort. Victor went down as well, though he wasn't killed by the gunfire. Somehow, he'd managed to just get shot in the shoulder, falling him but not doing more than causing extreme pain and a moment of surprise long enough for the police officer to slap on the cuffs or finish the job or whatever.

The carnage continued around them and while Milo couldn't move, she somehow, caught sight of a small group of the bad guys disappearing into a hole in the floor on the opposite side of the garage. When no one followed them or ran to the hole to investigate, Milo knew she was the only one to have witnessed the escape. The police were too busy trying to defend themselves and subdue the dwindling troublemakers to have noticed four men sneaking away to freedom, the duffel bag of drugs disappearing with them. If that was what she thought it was, that would be bad news for the streets of Richardson and the innocent civilians who would get caught up in the consequences.

Not long later, the last bullet flew and the fight was over. All the gangsters who hadn't been killed had been subdued and weapons seized. Milo was beyond relieved that the good guys had won, securing her safety for the time being. Trying to roll herself over so she could maybe try and sit up, Milo found this to be considerably more difficult than she was originally expecting. Her shoulder ached a bit from all the times it had buffeted her fall as well as her head that had taken three too many hits in the past hour. The cut on her cheek had stopped bleeding but the skin under her eye was tight and dry, considering a good deal of the blood had simply dried to her face. Regardless of her condition, though, she was alive and mostly unharmed. That was a win in her book.

Vibe · Aug 8th 2018

This time he hadn’t missed. He was pretty sure he had tagged both of the men that had been tugging the girl along, and one of them probably fatally. The cruel, unforgiving part of his mind hoped that it had been both. Adrian really didn’t feel like hauling anyone out of here. In fact, he believed that it would be better for everyone if they were all dead. Even imprisonment for life was too good for some of these men. But, as crazy as things had become.. there were still laws, codes, rules.. that were to be followed. Not intentionally harming anyone who was unable or unwilling to fight back was one of them.

Utilizing his cover to the fullest extent, Adrian continued to pick his targets and take them down selectively. One person had managed to fire a burst in his direction, showering him with dust, shards of shrapnel and concrete as the bullets impacted the support pillar he’d taken cover behind. A hot piece of something, probably fragmented metal from a jacketed bullet whizzed past and left a small cut on the exposed flesh of his face, but that was as close as anyone got this time around. And that made him a rather fortunate man indeed.

The fighting was over relatively quickly, but it had been brutal. A number of lawmen had been wounded or killed, including two from his team. Not people he had been especially close to - he wasn’t close with very many people anymore, it was safer that way - but something deep inside of him ached regardless, though he did his best to ignore it.

Once the sounds of gunfire had tapered off, paramedics and first responders began to arrive on scene, having already been made aware of what was going on as well. Allowing himself to rise from cover, Adrian allowed himself only a brief moment to survey the scene before making his way forth, weapon raised. Stepping purposefully toward the area where he’d seen the girl earlier. He allowed himself only a cursory glance at one of the men, who was most definitely not coming back.

The second had sustained a shoulder wound, and though it wasn’t threatening, it definitely was painful enough that he didn’t seem too willing to resist being restrained as another officer stepped forth to take him into custody. It was too bad though, that Adrian hadn’t been able to finish the job.

Keeping an eye on the two, he turned then, to examine the girl. Minus a few cuts and bruises, the girl seemed to have come through relatively unscathed. It would be a shame if she turned out to be just someone from a rival gang or something. At very least, she’d have to be detained and probably questioned, considering what she had seen here. But not before her injuries had been looked at, of course.

Flicking the safety of his rifle on, Adrian allowed it to drop and hang loosely from his shoulder. “Can you stand?” He questioned, the words largely void of any sort of concern or emotion.

Samoan · Aug 8th 2018

*:･ﾟ✧ Milogrith Penelope Denise Parker

ooc;

Sorry for a shorter post! It's getting a little late and I've had a busy day ^_^ Will be better next post, promise!

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The cuffs were starting to rub away the skin around Milo's wrists as she laid face down on the concrete floor of the parking garage, helpless to anyone who dared come after her. Luckily, everyone else was too busy trying to kill each other to be bothered by her presence. So, instead of trying to move around a lot and hide herself from the danger, the young woman kept her head down, trying to avoid drawing unwanted attention to herself. She was incredibly grateful when the gunfire stopped, though she figured she'd be hearing ringing in her ears for days. Despite the shallow cut on her jaw, the cut on her cheek from Victor's ring, and the ever darkening bruise on the same cheek, she was surprisingly okay. There was an assortment of other scrapes and bruises covering her body, but she was still kicking and that was enough. She looked a little worse for wear and she'd certainly had better nights, but she was okay.

Moments after the shoot out ceased, Milo heard the sounds of first-responders enter the scene. She stayed very still for a moment before managing to roll onto her back, grimacing at the pain in her hands as she put too much pressure on them before sitting herself up somehow. When she heard his voice, Milo was a bit surprised. Looking up, she saw a police officer standing above her, looking almost put out as he asked if she could stand. "I think so... A little help with this?" The metal chain still hung heavy around her wrists, cutting into her skin. It would be much easier to get to her feet with the use of her hands. She obviously wasn't armed or she would have fought back against her captors and while she doubted the police knew who she was just by looking at her, once they identified her, they'd realize she was no threat to their operation. In fact, she would become more of an asset the sooner they knew what she knew.

"Listen, Officer...?" She looked him over for a name tag before shaking her head and moving on. "During the fight, some of the gangsters managed to slip out of here unnoticed with a duffel full of drugs. If they have what I think they have, you reallydon't want that stuff on the streets. My camera was busted in the mix, but I can help you identify the men who escaped." She pulled uncomfortably against the restraints that held her wrists tight, wishing she was free already. "I will be more than willing to come back to the station and assist in anyway I can." Milo wouldn't be taken advantage of by the police department like she once had, but if it meant bringing these villains to justice for the things they had done, were doing, and were going to do, she was willing to do her part to help. Besides, if it helped save lives and keep the deadly strand of drug off the streets, how could she not help?

Vibe · Aug 8th 2018

His question might not have been full of concern, and he didn’t particularly care at this moment. That was probably understood, as most people were lacking in compassion these days. More-so if most everyone they had ever cared about had died. But at least he had been more considerate towards this woman than he would have any of the gangsters. He’d probably have just dragged her along if she was, regardless of whether or not she could walk. So that had to count for something.

The girl responded to his question in a positive fashion, and was quick to ask for the removal of the restraints that had kept her arms fastened behind her back. Still unsure of her reasoning for being down here in the first place, that was a request that caused him to look a bit skeptical. “Perhaps in a minute,” he spoke, uncertain if that was a request he would be willing to grant.

It wasn’t likely the girl was any sort of threat, but he still had no idea what she’d been doing down here in the first place. Regardless of that he knelt beside the dead man and removed the gloves from his hands before beginning to search the body for a key to the restraints. While his focus was on finding the desired object, he made sure to keep the woman in his peripheral vision as he did so.

The small metal key wasn’t difficult to locate, shoved haphazardly into the dead man’s back pocket. Yanking it out, Adrian returned the entirety of his focus to the woman as she spoke again. And it quickly got his attention. While the statement seemed to reveal her reasons for being down here, as well as pretty much eliminating any chance that she was affiliated with the wrong side of the law, it did manage to put him on edge.

“How?” He inquired, the response an almost instinctive reaction. It was the first thing his mind could come up with to ask in response. The thought of any of these guys escaping was not something he wanted to hear about. Especially not if they had managed to take some serious stuff with them. But the woman claimed she would be able to identify them, which.. seemed plausible, considering her circumstances. If she’d had a camera, that meant she must have been here for the specific purpose of gathering information. For what reason, though? And perhaps some of the data from it could be salvaged, if looked at by the right people? All questions to be asked, and things to be considered in due time.

First things first, though. “Alright. Let’s see those hands,” he spoke, beginning to reach for the restrains with the intention of removing them.

///Short? You've got more words than I do, generally. I find my happy range is around 400-600 words per post.

Samoan · Aug 10th 2018

*:･ﾟ✧ Milogrith Penelope Denise Parker

ooc;

That's good to hear ^_^ I generally write more advanced, but here lately I've found a lot of people to write with who are fantastic and write even more than I do and I guess I've been pushing myself to write more, so my posts are longer ^_^

Also, sorry it's taking me forever to reply! I've been trying to write reply to this all day and keep getting distracted ^_^""

ic;

As she watched him move, it was clear in his body language that the young officer didn't trust her. It made sense that he wouldn't. They'd just broken up a major drugs and arms deal and she was a wild card who wasn't supposed to be there. If the roles were reversed, she'd be concerned as well, doing whatever she had to in order to be cautious. As he finally got to undoing her restraints, though, the young reporter felt a wave of relief. Once her hands were free, she brought them around in front of her, feeling the relief in her sore shoulders as she rubbed the feeling back into her bruised wrists. She had fallen a number of times, or rather had been shoved to the ground, and being unable to catch herself had naturally done a number on her sore shoulder. Milo was tough, but even she had to admit she was in a bit of pain.

Returning her attention to the young officer as he pressed her for further information on the men who'd escaped, she let her fierce blue eyes study him for a moment before answering. He seemed genuine enough and while it was pretty clear he wasn't head-over-heels to help her, he seemed to have a desire to stop these thugs from further poisoning the city they called home. Taking a deep breath, she released it in a long sigh before flicking her gaze back up to him steadily. "They went through a hole in the floor. It was behind one of the pillars on the far wall but I didn't get the best view from where I was hiding before they caught me. I saw their faces, but they had the manhole or whatever it was blocked by the bags of weapons and drugs they managed to sneak out when the raid started." She slowly made her way to her feet before a wave of dizziness washed over the young woman. She stumbled a bit, bringing a hand up to her head, gently touching one of the bruised areas of her face before wincing a little.

"I wouldn't recommend sending your people down there now..." She closed her eyes for a second, trying to get her head to stop swimming. "Members of Red practically live in the sewers. They know the system like the back of their hands and I wouldn't put it past them to set some sort of trap in case they were followed." If they sent people down there now, Milo had a sneaking suspicion more lives would be lost and that was something she genuinely didn't want to see happen. Milo had seen enough suicide missions in her short life and she wasn't interested in being part of more bloodshed tonight.

Turning to face him again, she lowered her hand, her pretty gaze staring into his eyes firmly. "I want to help you get these guys. They need to be stopped before they level the city and the more eyes you have on this thing the better." It was a bold proposition, but Milo didn't have time to waste. If they were going to arrest her and confiscate her camera, she at least wanted them to bring her along so she could properly develop the film and decipher the images. She'd been there. She'd seen everything going down and she knew more than the police did at this point. She was a very valuable witness and there was nothing she wasn't willing to do to put a stop to the violence.

As he stepped forward, Milo obediently raised her hands up to show him her wrists. The discoloration had already set in, bruising her light skin harshly. The dim light of the parking garage only served to make the bruises look worse, but compared to the bruising on her face, these were nothing. One thing was for absolute certain, though, her mother was going to kill her when she saw her like this. Shaking loose strands of hair away from her face as she looked up at the looming officer, she realized an important detail she'd forgotten. "I'm a reporter, by the way. I work for the File and my name isn't Penelope, it's Milogrith. Milogrith Parker, but everyone calls me Milo."

Vibe · Aug 11th 2018

They had disappeared through a hole in the floor. The sewers. Of course they had, it made sense that these people would have some sort of escape plan in case something like this were to happen. Looking toward the area of the parking garage that had been mentioned, he noted rather dismally that nobody had been in a good position to cover that sector of the parking garage. And because of that, a few people had managed to escape, along with some of the very goods that he had been hoping would be confiscated tonight.

“Damn it,” he muttered, hands unconsciously clenching into fists at his sides. That pretty much negated whatever they had been hoping to accomplish with this raid, it seemed. And it made the losses that had been sustained all the more painful.

Rising to her feet now that her wrists had been freed, the woman quickly stated that she was against the idea of sending anyone off in pursuit of the criminals that had escaped, something that Adrian could readily agree with. “Nobody’s going down there, now. Those rats can have the sewers.” The force was in any condition to go chasing after anyone right now, anyway. Her thoughts had mirrored his when she suspected that they might have had a trap waiting. That was an entirely separate issue that would have to be addressed in time.

It was clear that she wanted to see them stopped however, once more stating that she would be happy to help them get the men that were responsible for all of this. And a few moments later, upon offering her name, Adrian realized why she’d seemed to familiar. Recognition flashed across his face for a brief moment, as her presence here suddenly made a whole lot more sense. He’d seen pictures of her floating around from time to time, and had even skimmed a few of her pieces before.

Nodding once, he took a step back. “Well, Miss Parker, that’s good to know. Because once we get back to the station, I’m sure there will be plenty of people waiting to ask you questions. You tell them what you told me, and you shouldn’t have any problems.” The last thing the police department needed another reason for the media to be coming after them by mistreating such a prominent figure, too. He didn’t doubt that she would be fine. “You’ll have an opportunity to get cleaned up too, but I think you should have yourself looked at, first.”

Adrian nodded to some of the medical personnel still lingering around the area, as it seemed most of those who had been critically injured were already being whisked away from the scene. Head injuries, of which it appeared she had sustained a few of, weren’t anything that should be ignored.

///There are definitely a lot of people who have amazing talent here. I've only been active on a site until recently that had preferred shorter posts to advance threads more quickly, so it is kind of nice to be back to writing longer pieces. The only issue I have with super lengthy posts is that it sometimes feels like characters might be carrying on two entirely separate discussions within one reply, and it feels like I have to backtrack a little bit at the start of each post in order to have my character respond or react to things said by the other.. if that makes any sense.

Samoan · Aug 14th 2018

*:･ﾟ✧ Milogrith Penelope Denise Parker

ooc;

Sorry for taking ten years to reply! I've got RA training this week and we're about to get a butt ton of girls moving into the dorm so I've been working to get everything under control before we start getting crazy and I haven't had a ton of time to get on and get things done on here! Things'll get a little better once school starts and we get into a routine, I think ^_^"

But yeah, that makes plenty of sense! I'm writing with someone who likes to write super long replies like that and we tend to have that issue from time to time. Idk, we make it work, though so I guess maybe it just depends on the thread? Either way, I love long replies when I can manage them, so ^_^

ic;

All at once it was like all the fatigue of the night hit her at once and Milo staggered for just a second before catching herself. She wasn't dizzy, really, just exhausted after everything she'd been through. With her nerves on the very edge of their seats for the past however long she'd been down there, it was understandable. On top of everything, her head was aching terribly. If she had to guess, she'd probably say she had suffered a very mild concussion, but the bruising on her face would certainly make it look worse than it was. The bruising was mostly isolated to her right cheek, dark around where Victor's ring had broke skin, getting lighter towards her jaw. A bit of the bruising wrapped up around the outer side of her eye but it wasn't as dark as the rest. The cut on her jaw was surrounded by dry blood now, as well looking painful but not too concerning. Had it not been for the sharpness in her vision, there would've certainly been more call for worry, but she mostly felt fine.

Milo had never been anyone's favorite person, but she had managed to keep a relatively decent relationship with the police department. On occasion she'd send in anonymous tips or evidence to help them clean the streets. Many of them still disliked her, though, simply because she was a reporter if nothing else. It had been a long time since Milo cared what other people thought about her, though, and she had no intention of doing her job by anyone else's rules. People deserved the truth about the city so they could better protect them. What they didn't deserve was what the crooked, quack mayor spewed about how things were getting better and how he was devoting so much time and money to projects to improve the city's worth or whatever. It was all BS and Milo wasn't the only one who knew it. It was a wonder more of an attempt hadn't been made to shut down the File, but no matter how garbage this city was, it was still America. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press and all that.

"I'll let them look at me, but I'm fine," she spoke with her eyes closed, raising a dainty-looking hand to her face to press against her temple for a moment, showing off the bruises on her wrists as well. Opening her startlingly blue eyes, she looked back at him steadily. "I don't believe I caught your name, officer..." She knew he'd dodged her attempt at getting his name before, but maybe now that he didn't think she was about to blow them all away or pull a gun or whatever he would trust her. Despite the trouble she'd been through, she smirked a bit at him. "Don't worry, I won't put your name in the paper." Most people, when they found out who Milo was, were also immediately put off by the idea that they might be thrust into the spotlight in one of her pieces. While this man was one of the people who'd saved her and helped stop the firefight, she wouldn't expose him to the public as the hero he was. Usually, the only reason she used names in her article was to recognize the numerous amount of people killed by the violence in the city. Criminals didn't deserve to have their names put up in lights. People like Dimitri Kuznetsov lived for the attention they got from the horrible things they did and Milo wouldn't give him the satisfaction from her column.

Vibe · Aug 16th 2018

//Aye.. I must apologize too! I had this totally written up two days ago, but forgot to actually post it, and in my mind had been thinking the whole time that I had. But just as a note I may be scarce this upcoming weekend; got a lot going on too and probably not a lot of time to post//

The woman looked incredibly tired, as well, and come to think of it, so was he. Nothing sounded better than a hot shower and a nice soft bed, at the moment, but the likelihood of him getting any sleep tonight was probably next to nothing. But, that was (arguably) better than being put to a permanent rest, as he assumed many of his fellow officers had been here tonight, so he could be thankful for that, at least.

Bringing a hand up to rub his eyes and the bridge of his nose, Adrian then reached back and ripped the helmet from his head off. The thing was bulky and uncomfortable, and he very much doubted its ability to stop a bullet anyway, so there really wasn’t a point to wearing it anymore. He returned his gaze to the woman as she spoke again, agreeing to meet with the medical personnel so they could assess her condition, even though she seemed to believe she was fine.

For one with such an unassuming and unimposing stature, he did have to admit he was impressed by the toughness of this reporter, though that was never something he’d admit to her. It was only then that he’d noticed the blue eyes as well, though the inquiry about his name prevented any further analysis or development along that train of thought.

That perhaps wouldn't have been so bad, if it hadn't been for the little smirk and comment made shortly thereafter. A lot of people had died tonight, and she was.. joking about his name in the paper, as if that was what he cared about most right now? A spark of annoyance flashed through him, and he felt sorely tempted to deliver a less than savory reply, but Adrian forced it back. What had happened tonight wasn't her fault. And that wasn't what bothered him most, anyway.

A name. It was such a simple thing that he should probably not have been so weary of giving out. But after enduring so many losses, sometimes a certain amount of anonymity was preferred. If Adrian didn’t know someone’s name, he wouldn’t feel so bothered by the weight of their death. It was a sad sort of existence, but one that had become more appealing as time had gone on.

He thought about offering up some excuse, or just outright refusing, but nothing quite sounded good enough. And so he took a reluctant breath, preparing to speak.

“Corporal. Glad to see you’re unharmed.” A voice beat him to it, prompting Adrian to turn, resting his eyes upon an older man. While he was perhaps a couple of inches shorter than Adrian, he was a good bit bulkier, though his stony features and grizzly visage a surprisingly welcome sight after all of this.

“Captain,” he responded with a curt nod. “How bad is it?”

The man’s brow furrowed as he thought for a moment, and though it was rare for him to show much emotion at all, Adrian swore he saw something almost sad working its way across the face of his captain. It was gone in an instant, however. “From what we’ve been able to ascertain so far, we’ve ten deaths. Even more wounded.”

Eyes closing for a moment, he nodded in acceptance. “And them?”

“Worse. Those that are left won’t ever get out, either. I know that doesn’t seem like enough, but at least it’s over.” It was clear by the captain’s tone that he shared Adrian’s sentiments. Charging these people just seemed like a waste of time when a bullet was so much cheaper and faster.

True to what Miss Parker had told him, however, the captain had made no mention of anyone escaping. Which meant Adrian would have to be the one to tell him.

“It may not be over, sir. This woman,” he spoke, stepping to the side so his commanding officer could get a clearer view of her, “Miss Milogrith Parker witnessed several men escaping through a manhole at the far end of the room, and they had bags with them. She has offered to help us identify them, and agreed to return to the station to answer any questions just as soon as the medical personnel have seen to her.”

The captain’s eyes narrowed, and he looked more than a little bit irritated by the news - understandably so. He had lost many officers tonight, and yet had still failed to prevent some criminals escaping with contraband. As one man, he could only do so much, and in spite of his gruff outer appearance.. Adrian knew he was bothered by every loss. He was one of the few truly good men left in the city. With little else to go on… it was with a small nod that the captain accepted.

“Thank you, Milogrith. I trust that you will oversee this too, Corporal. Get her back safely. Nobody’s going down there tonight, but maybe we can at least prevent them from coming back up this way.”

Nodding his agreement to this, Adrian returned his attention once more to the woman who’s safety he’d been temporarily entrusted with as the captain turned to begin directing some of the remaining members of his force. “It’s Adrian Morrison.” If he was going to be spending longer than a few minutes in her presence, Milo probably deserved to know that at least. He couldn’t dodge the question forever.