Session 04 (Agent Jude)

I awoke to the semi alarmed whispers of Jason and Jasper, they were moving back towards the car from the back door of the green box.  The padlock that had held it closed was lying coldly on the ground.  Jason opened the rear door of the car and instructed us to get ready, Jasper and Jason had taken the shotguns from the trunk, I was armed with my snub nose 38, my Glock remaining in its shoulder holster under my coat.

Following Jasper, electing to stay on the more useful side of things in a firefight, we breached the door slowly, electing for the sneak rather than the full-on assault, a wiser decision given that we had, one sick, one wounded and two exhausted.

Agent Oscar

Jason took the lead, as soon as he was inside, his voice called out to identify, Jasper and Jagger entered next, Jasper moving to the far side of the loading dock to cover the shadowy figures on the raised platform.  I entered last and joined Jason, my pistol trained on a standing man in a suit talking on a phone, to his left, a slumped and bloody man, hunched against the wall at the top of the loading dock stairs.  The man Identified himself as “Oscar”, Delta agent.  As I saw Jasper and Jason had him covered with the shotguns, I continued my sweep on the ground floor, checking the truck and abandoned car, making sure there were no surprised before re-joining the team.

I looked Oscar over more carefully, he had a large revolver holstered at his side, yet he knew he was outmanned and any movement towards it was going to be his last.

Agent Oswald

Oliver continued to talk, “Oswald” is wounded, gut shot, as he pointed to the Hispanic man in civilian clothing slumped bloodied against the wall.  He also mentioned a woman in the back, also injured and in need of care, Jagger didn’t waste time, moving to Oswald, explaining he was medically trained and able to stabilise him.

As Jagger set out his medical bag, Jason was leaning on the raised wall of the loading dock as Jasper moved wider towards the truck parked close by as this standoff could take time.  Before I could move any closer to Oscar with the intent of disarming him, the back door behind me flung open, a large black man in a hood entered brandishing a semi-automatic SPAS-12 shotgun and jammed it straight into the back of my head.  The jolt of the barrel against my skull forcing my neck forward and the blood in my mouth from the previous night’s events emerging down my chin.

This new man “Oliver”, I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was on the edge.  He had a shotgun trained on him, Oscar had a shotgun strained on him, Oswald was bleeding out and yet he still insisted on us dropping our guns.  Ballsy, yet I was in no position to not comply. I let my pistol fall to the floor, he hadn’t seen my Glock, just in case I had to do something stupid.

Jason took over the negotiations, badly, using the classic “I don’t even like him” routine, part of me felt it was mostly true, I’m sure Jason wouldn’t have cared if my brains were all over the floor.  It was Jasper who showed the level head, he had the best view of Oliver, he lowered his shotgun and was doing his best to defuse everything.  Jagger had patched up Oswald as best he could, Oswald speaking Spanish at how he didn’t want to die.  Clearly the only one who could understand I responded to him, reassuring him that he was in good hands, all in Spanish.

Franchi SPAS-12 

My chest began to burn, having my arms up was stretching the slash marks across me, the staples feeling like they were about to burst.  I was allowed to drop to my knees and relax my arms slightly, the shotgun of Oliver still on me, I would feel it a few millimetres from my head, I didn’t care right now, my chest was a nightmare.

As things began to simmer down slightly, it was the brit who made the mistake, Jagger decided to pull a gun, Oswald’s gun.  Oliver saw it, his boot across my back, flattening me on the floor, face down, his foot coming to rest on my spine, his shotgun wedged against my neck, I could barely breathe.

Everything fired up again, the gun pointing, the yelling, the distinctive cocking noise of pump actions going to work, the only relief, no shots fired.

After a few minutes of listening to Jason try to control the situation, only to be met by Oliver’s crazed yelling made me think that this was the end, death by asshole, just what every man dreams of.

A few more minutes passed without everything going black for me, Jagger was to accompany Oscar to the back where the woman was, Ophelia he called her.  Jagger then disappeared having dosed Oswald with enough morphine to keep him out of the fight.  Jason in his divine wisdom thought it would be a good idea to keep at Oliver, all this was achieving was the grinding of a book in my back, blood now seeping through my bandages.  If I survived this, I was going to break that old jaw of his, I would sleep better knowing he wasn’t able to run his mouth for a week or two.

Again, Jasper was my saviour in disguise, his calm tone keeping Jason in cheque.  Jagger and Oscar eventually returned, Jagger clearly not coping well, his face a shade of green I hadn’t seen since the Chinese restaurant.  Something about a pregnant woman and the fact that she wasn’t pregnant yesterday, yeah, that sounds good.

Agent Oliver

Another heated exchange between Jason and Oscar, all about guns down and if he wants the use of our doctor, Oliver was going to have to get off me.  After a moment, Oscar came over to Oliver and took the shotgun from him, thank God.  I got up, looked in the eyes of my potential murderer, his eyes were everywhere, I had seen this before, on addicts and junkies, this guy was losing it, I was lucky to still be breathing.  This guy was huge, 6’5 at least, built like a guy who lives at the gym, no wonder his boot hurt so much.  I looked him eye to eye, or more like eye to chin, I couldn’t help myself, I gave him a wink for good measure.

Jason and Oscar got back into their discussion, the woman, Ophelia was in the first office through the meeting room, she was not doing well, the panic in Oscar’s eyes suggested something more, perhaps a personal connection of some kind.

The conversation shifted, Jason became edgy, looking to Jagger with all seriousness, it was decided, Jason, Jagger and Oscar would go and check on Ophelia, the noises she was making from the back rooms now sounded like violent vomiting.  Jasper and I were to stay with Oliver and the unconscious Oswald.  Before moving up to the offices however, Jason looked at both Jasper and me, nodding with serious eyes, we both returned the nod, if this went bad, it was going to go bad in a hurry.  Oscar returned Oliver’s shotgun to him before following Jason, Oliver however held it by the barrel, not on the grip, giving us time to act before he got a shot off if anything took a bad turn.

Arguing could be heard emanating from the office area, Jason, Oscar, Jagger, all talking in loud and aggressive tones.  Jasper and I both looked at each other and began our plans to distract Oliver, mentioning that we should really go up there for a closer look.  Oliver wasn’t moving, he was losing it, he didn’t want to go up there, not under any circumstances.

A shotgun blast filled the air, as we knew Jason was the only one carrying a shotgun, it was clear to us what was happening.  Jasper pulled the trigger of his revolver, firing at Oliver from inside his pocket as the giant fumbled his shotgun for a wayward return of fire.  We scattered across the loading dock, drawing my Glock from my holster I took position by the door, no one was getting out of here without going through me.  Jasper leapt up the loading dock, taking cover behind one of the stone pillars supporting the roof.  Oliver dashed away behind the truck parked on the lower level.  Jasper was his target, letting fly a series of blast in his direction, Jasper returned fire, narrowly missing Oliver, the dust kicking off the walls right behind him.  I let loose too, my first shot catching Oliver somewhere in the stomach, his muffled gasp revealing to me two things, he was angry, and he was wearing body armour.

More gunfire erupted from the area of the offices, taking my attention of Oliver briefly, only to see the flickering lights flash brighter with every blast of shotgun fire.  Returning my attention to Oliver, I fired again, this time slamming lead into the rear of the truck a mere inch from his face, causing him to recoil slightly out of view.  Jasper did the same, send another two shots dangerously close the Oliver, enough to make sure he kept himself well hidden.

Jasper opened the chamber of his revolver, sending brass to the floor, calling out to Oliver as he reloaded, something along the lines of us all being on the same team.  Oliver’s response was another shotgun blast, only retorted by my own shots back at him to no avail.

Jagger suddenly appeared, running for his life, across the loading dock and straight for the door where I was standing.  He didn’t seem to care that he was running through a gunfight, he just wanted out, as he got closer, his eyes were not right, like Oliver, he was losing it, if not had already lost it.  What was going on up there.  As I glanced up to the offices, another violent flash and roar of a shotgun could be seen, Jason was still going, he was still alive.  Jagger ran to the door, extending my arm to him, I yanked him out of the way as soon as possible to keep my eyes on Oliver.

Looking to Jasper, I motioned to him to try and get behind the truck, at the base of the stairs next to him, Jasper had an easy path to flank Oliver, as long as nothing went wrong.  I gave Jasper the count and unleashed a hail of bullets all around Oliver as Jasper moved down the stairs.  I moved back into cover only to see Jasper however had stumbled, scaping himself on his hands and knees into the cover of the truck, not quickly enough however to avoid the attention of Oliver who was still firing his shotgun at Jasper.

I checked my magazine before firing my next volley at Oliver, three in the mag, one in the chamber, three rounds, I could reload, can’t waste the rounds, not now.

Looking back towards the offices to see if Jason would emerge, all I could see was Oswald, he was conscious, lying on his side, his arm raised shakily, a pistol pointed at me.  He was begging me to stop, lay my gun down, I couldn’t, his eyes met mine, he knew I wasn’t going to stop, he fired at me, his shot slamming into the top of the door frame above me.  Without thinking, as if on impulse, I spun my arms to his direction.  I fired once.  Once was all it took, his spine blowing out the back of his neck as my shot had hit him square in the chin.  The Threat was down, back to Oliver.

Jasper moved quickly once he had steadied himself, disappearing around the front of the truck as I raised my pistol back towards where Oliver had been visible.  A short burst of pistol fire erupted sending Oliver into my view, raising his shotgun, Oliver let go a blast that made Jasper grunt, followed by another pistol blast, he had emptied his revolver as Oliver stumbled further into my view.  Two shots, both slamming into Oliver’s side, his damn armour the only thing between my 9mm and his life.

Oliver suddenly dropped the shotgun and let out a crazed scream, turning his attention from Jasper to the doorway I was standing in.  He ran at me, he was crazed, like a mad dog, he was coming fast.  Without thinking, I squeezed the trigger again, Oliver falling a foot from my feet, the small hole in his forehead giving way to the blown-out section of the back of his skull.

I stared at Oliver, was he coming for me? or was he just trying to get out? had he had enough?  was this the last straw for him?

I looked up from the lifeless body to see Jasper walking towards me, Oliver’s shotgun in hand, a nice flesh wound evident on his shoulder from where Oliver had tagged him.  We seemed to both come to the realisation together, the offices were quiet.

We moved quickly through the dock, picking up my 38 from the floor as I ran past.  At the entrance to the meeting room, all the doors where open, ahead of us, at the entrance to the first office, Jason was down.

I reloaded my Glock and began moving with Jasper towards Jason, around his body, his shotgun, Jagger’s flash light and pistol.  What had happened here?

Asking Jasper to Cover me, I grabbed Jason by the arm, dragging him back towards the meeting room, clear of the office entrance, a large, black wound on his left shoulder revealed itself in the flickering light, as if he had been gnawed at by something.  As I did, a strange sound, something like the slurping of a semi empty milkshake through a child’s straw, only not, something grotesque, something sinister.  As I pulled Jason into the meeting room, Jasper between us and the office, I raised my eyes at the sound of his exacerbation.  A massive, almost human size Spider like creature.  It was a fucking Spider! Emerged from the office.  Jasper met it with a blast from the shotgun, sending it back slightly.  The creature charged, I loosened my grip from Jason to support my gun hand, Jasper was in the way, there was no clean shot.

The Spider launched as Jasper, its long legs swiping violently, but to no effect in this confined space, it made a horrible noise, like the screams of Lobsters in boiling water, only louder, and darker.  It launched at Jasper again, this time with its mouth.  Teeth, not pincers, teeth, almost human teeth, the flickering light catching them glistening with blood and pus.  Jasper struck back, swinging the shotgun full force at the face of this monster, this guy would have made a hell of a ball player, his swing connecting perfectly with the side of the beast’s head.  That was my queue.  I squeezed the trigger again, sending a bullet straight through on the eight eyes on this monster, again, almost human eyes.  The creature dropped, slumped to the ground, its legs curling, as most spiders do in the throes of death.

Jasper and I looked at each other, both of our expressions telling the same story, what the hell was that!

Jasper then withdrew to Jason, also observing the strange wound, he began to drag Jason back towards the loading dock.  I on the other hand stayed, walking slowly up to the beast in front of me.  Looking at it more closely, Jason had done well, at least three chunks had come of this Spider due to buckshot, unlucky that he didn’t put it down with that, this thing must have been tough.  Jasper and I must have only got the last piece.  I took aim again at the monster’s face, its lifeless eyes enough to still give me chills, I emptied my magazine into its head, whatever this thing was, it wasn’t getting back up.

Turning to Jason and Jasper, I was amazed to see Jagger standing there too, he had shaken off whatever had made him turn and run, although after the last few minutes, I can hardly blame him.  They were inspecting the wound on Jason’s shoulder, Jasper was talking about the potential risks and what Jason himself had told us to do in that situation, I pulled the hammer back on my 38, just in case they didn’t have the stomach.  Jagger was to make the call, he volunteered to call A-Cell, his conversation was brief, yet informative, he gave all the details of O-Cell, Jason’s injury and requested instructions.  All they apparently said was ‘continue’.

To our amazement, Jason stirred, Jagger’s cleaning and prepping of the wound causing him enough discomfort to wake him.  His only words were to ascertain if the monster was dead, once relieved, Jasper and I left Jagger to his work and decided to sweep the rest of the building.

Moving back to the office where all the trouble had started, I picked up Jagger’s flashlight and pistol as Jasper jammed a few more shells into his newly acquired shotgun.  Scanning the room in front of me, it was dark, the lights were out, the flickering florescence of the hallway offering little aid.  Scanning the room with the flashlight, my Jagger’s pistol raised, I stepped into the office.  In front of me, Oscar’s body, shotgun blast to the chest, Jason had dropped him, he was dead before he hit the floor.  I scanned his body with the light, his eyes were missing, bloody holes with slightly black scorching around the lids, not unlike the wound on Jason.  Dropping to my haunches, illuminating his eyes, there was nothing behind them, just an empty skull.  The sickening feeling of the slurping sound came back in my ears, had that monster sucked out the contents?

Colt Python 357

Patting down Oscar, his Colt Python 357 was still in his holster, in the small of his back, another revolver, a Smith and Wesson model 60, not unlike my 38 tucked away out of sight.  I relieved him of them both, clearly, he had no need for them anymore.

Smith and Wesson Model 60

I continued my sweep of the room, Jasper constantly on guard with his shotgun, his arm however causing his weapon to shake, Jagger really needed to look at it.  In the centre of the room, what can only be described as skin covered in blood, bile and muck, a pile of it lay splattered on the concrete floor.  The only indication that this was once a woman, the long dark hair attached to parts of what used to be a scalp.  I felt the vomit in my throat, this was truly horrific.   Satisfied that the room was clear, we moved to the rest of the Green Box with rather uneventful results, all clear.

Returning the Jagger and Jason, who was already on his feet and looking at the shrivelling remains of the monster that had attacked him, we began tearing the green box apart for fuel, it was time to burn this place down.  Jason dispatched Jagger in search of O-Cell’s vehicle, if nothing else, they may have some gas.  The car and truck both had empty fuel tanks, it was Jasper who suggested the Russian Surplus grenade, something to really destroy this monster properly.

After about an hour of reliving the events in our heads, Jagger returned in a mid-sized white van, I opened the back to see four ‘Go-Bags’, each containing the credentials of O-Cell.  Two were Philly FBI, Oscar and Ophelia, this only confirmed my suspicions that they were in some form of relationship, Oswald, Border Patrol and Oliver, NYPD.  Next to the bags was a second SPAS-12 shotgun, these guys were prepared.  Prompting my memory, I moved to the washroom, removing both mine and Jagger’s ID’s, I wanted to see who he was, but left the bag sealed, it was not my place to question the man who had patched us all up.

Jagger emerged carrying two can of fuel, Jasper and Jason begun their sweep of the building, removing anything of use from the shelving used by Delta Green, books, maps, anything useful.  Jasper pulled the Russian grenade from the shelf and jammed it under the monster, when this place burnt, that was going to blow.  We moved O-Cell rather unceremoniously into the truck, using one of the gas cans to get it running.  As we exited the Green Box, now void of anything Delta Green related, we lit the fire.

We drew out a plan, Jagger and I were to drive the truck, Jasper in the van and Jason leading in his car.  We were headed somewhere to remove the evidence of the bodies.  Something we were all not too comfortable doing.  There was a lake, a deep lake, not too far from Albany, I was too tired to notice the name, I had popped several staples from my chest, only evident to me know that my adrenaline levels had returned to normal.  We drove to the edge of the water, all of us keeping a watchful eye for any signs of life.  Weighting the gas pedal, we sent the truck into the water, the light of dawn creeping over the trees as the 1 tonne truck disappeared beneath the icy water.

Jason’s suggestion, we would create our own green box, we certainly had enough to do so, I had in my possession now half a dozen handguns, as a group, four shotguns and a pile of books and miscellaneous Delta Green material, we couldn’t carry it with us, we needed somewhere to stash it.  Everything went in the trunk of Jason’s car, O-Cell go bags, all our equipment, everything, he told us he would take care of it.

The Airport couldn’t come soon enough, at the terminal, Jagger made his way off to his gate, I did the same, however it was Jasper who drew the short straw, Jason had requested a fishing trip.  Looking at Jasper as the least likely to act without reason, Jason needed someone to watch over him for a week or so, he needed to know he would be alright after the attack of whatever it was that bit him.  Merry Christmas Jasper.

How was I going to explain this, last time I went home, I had a bruise the size of a watermelon on my chest.  This time, my chest has been cut to ribbons, hey Charlie, I heard chicks dig scars.