JULY 9, 2014.
Post by Dante Florencia on Feb 25, 2014 7:14:53 GMT -5
 † DANTE FLORENCIA † The whir of the Chinook transport helicopter’s high-powered rotor blades faded out into the distance, leaving behind a single figure in a fully-functional Type 1 Hazardous Material suit on the ruins of what used to be a National Guard machinery base before they were forced to abandon it when the New York incident approached its destructive climax. While similarly disturbed as the rest of the surrounding structures, it was the only place where something as big as a military transport helicopter could safely land long enough for its passenger to alight. With much of the roadway cracked and the buildings dangerously close to collapse, it was the safest and most logical spot to land in. “Checking data uplink status,” the man exclaimed into his earpiece to the reply of his logistical support crew who verified that the data feed was secure and up to date. He smiled, thankful that he had such a competent team to watch over his progress, as the man took out his matte-black military-grade tablet and turned it on. Instantly, streams of information in the form of telemetric displays, three-dimensional maps, and other sorts of useful applications greeted him and told him that the area he was standing on was a ‘Category 1’ site – a place safe enough to conduct his initial sweep over the no man’s land that was New York City. “Vergil, I am going to begin my sweep of the area to look for the objective; Dante out.” The Italian arms dealer wasted no time in wandering the premises of the deserted military depot to nurse his ritualistic desire to examine every nook and cranny of a place of significant interest to him. The hazy early morning sun reflected off the broken windows of the buildings that were once bustling with military personnel and played upon the cracked concrete slabs where pieces of debris and mangled machinery replaced the parked military vehicles and various other contraptions that assisted in the repair and maintenance of such. As Dante walked further into the area, he was surprised to see that there was some power left in the form of several lights illuminating one of the few remaining structures: a tumble-down garage packed with several crates of unopened mechanical parts. It might have something to do with the solar panel installation right beside it. Back when it was still a base, Dante remembered this had been featured in a Time magazine article about a partially self-sufficient military installation which marked the US military’s sojourn into making use of sustainable energy to cut costs and improve the military’s image with environmentalists everywhere. Now it was nothing more than a testament to that endeavor before its days as a pioneer in militarizing the use of clean energy was tragically cut short by the tragedy that was New York. “What a waste,” commented the young Italian with an audible sigh and continued with his round until he decided to move onto the next area on his list. "Secrecy is its own security." |
