"I say we pick it up on the way out, personally"

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg #90):

Clarke listened when the recce team called in and reported their findings.  She marked the route and the intelligence on a map she had spread out for that purpose.  It was marked in red with Cyrus' route while the route of the recce was marked on black.

Since you have to go back for 173's ride as it is, recce part of W. Pender on the way.  That's the route the target takes.  As you are going back, when you hit the V intersection on W. George veer left instead of right and you will be on Pender. Head back after you secure the vehicle.

In reply to Andrea Clarke-Sullivan (msg #91):

"Green six, green one copies, wilco, out."

Andy checked the route and nodded, as the little convoy moved out he kept a careful watch for danger from his window seat.

Kelsey drives slowly with the little convoy, taking the route the boss wanted checked, watching, being careful in this rain, wipers keeping time with a ticker in her head.

"Mac, keep some grenades handy and in mind, good shit against packs of bikes" Another few moments  "Holy.. is that a cat?"  she slows a moment then keeps moving, with one more glance in the rear view mirror.  So surreal, this semi abandoned downtown by heavy rain, cloaking it and washing it.  "Ever feel like you are a minor character in a cheap dime novel?"  She muses.

The little convoy managed to get turned around in short order, then go back the way they came along W. Georgia to take the left along W. Pender. This area was mainly office blocks with some commercial spaces.

They noticed that Major throughfares like W. Georgia, W. Pender, Denman, and so on were all cleared, at least for 1 but usually the 2 centre lanes. The other streets were choked with abandoned vehicles (many with their hoods still up, and some haphazardly stripped of tires or engine parts) making passage for anything larger than bikes or ATVs difficult. Otherwise there was little actual rubble. A very few buildings had been burned, but damage was mainly limited to broken windows and forced doors.

It became apparent that Cyrus chose this route to bike to the whorehouse because it was on a relatively flat grade. The middle of the downtown was on a slightly hilly peninsula, and W. Georgia actually sloped up all the way to the Art Gallery.

Thus they successfully completed the preliminary object of the recce, scouting out Cyrus' route. They had gone most of the way to the northernmost approach to the park, but the other approaches were still to be recced.

Soon they turned left on Howe, crossing Hastings, then approached the underground parkade ramp to Sinclair Centre. The old building was made of solid dressed stone, built decades earlier before WWII.

The police car in front stopped outside the entrance, presumably to let Tyler dismount and retrieve his ATV.

In reply to helbent4 (msg #95):

As the recce reported their results back, Clarke marked the map back at HQ.  Once Tyler had his vehicle they should be headed back to the base.

Waiting while Tyler steeled himself to go out in the rain again, Kelsey heard a transmission on the Angels' frequency. It was fairly strong, indicating it originated within a few kilometres, and the azimuth was about 95 degrees, almost due east.

"Ah, hey Driver, this is Peters. Driver, wake up, you stupid fuck!"

After a few seconds was a reply. The signal was a little further away, coming from the SE (azimuth approx 140 degrees).

"Yeah, you asshole, whaddaya want?"

"I just got in to the clubhouse with Bear. There's pigs in the downtown. Mounties. Nosing around. Better tell Brownstone."

"Shit. I guess so. He's not going to be happy about those pigs in the downtown. That's his turf, so he says."

"Who cares, longs as he's not unhappy with us?"

"Dude, that's one scary motherfucker. I wouldn't want him pissed at me, know what I mean?"

"You know it brother."

"Hey, I seen that blonde cunt again. I see her again, I'm gonna grab her. Me and her, we're gonna party, then I'll take care of business, know what I mean?"

The other man laughed, a mean greedy sound.

"I hear you! If you do, save a piece for me. See you later tonight."

"Right on, hope the beer's cold."

"It is, brother, it is."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:30, Tue 09 Sept 2008.

In reply to helbent4 (msg #97):

*Kelsey records the transmission with a hard look on her face.. this will be turned in to Clarke as soon as they get back*

"Hard evidence that they kidnap women, rape them, and kill them."

She looks.. angry, come to think of it.  Not an expression normally seen on her face, so it took a little for others to decipher.

"Green six, this is Green one." Break  "Green One requests permission to extract Alpha Sierra Alpha Papa"  Break  "Our cover is blown, per intercepted transmission.  You will want to hear this Green Six."  Break   "Over."

"Green one, this is Green Six.  Permission to extract granted.  Do you need backup? Over."

This time, Clarke decided not to wait for confirmation.  She could always recall the team if need be.  She had Taras contact Lee to scramble the standby, giving the location of the recce team.  She told him to keep Lee on the line for updates on the situation with the recce team while the backup was in route.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:13, Wed 10 Sept 2008.

In reply to Andrea Clarke-Sullivan (msg #99):

"Wilco Green six, Green one out"

Kelsey looks around

"You hear the woman, out of here post haste.  You good with that Mac?  Tyler, you want to ride with us or grab your vehicle and either convoy with or take your own route?"
This message was last edited by the player at 11:53, Wed 10 Sept 2008.

"I'm good to go," Mac muttered. The transmission had left him angry. Even when faced with such an enormous loss of life that every human left alive should be a precious miracle, some scum valued human life at zero. He tried not to grind his teth in frustration. Soon it would be time to work these emotions out, you didn't go into battle angry, and in a way, this helped, when he engaged the HAs, he wouldn't so much be killing people as exterminating bugs.

"We've got a lot of planning ahead of us."

Kelsey looks at Mac a moment, then nods.

"Yeah Mac, yeah."

"Be right back. Keep the meter running."

Slinging his CAR-15 Tyler dismounted into the rain. The downpour was lightening up into merely a heavy rain.

Checking for booby-traps he made his way down the ramp and into into the shadowed recess where he left his ATV. Stopping in a covered position to let his eyes adjust to the gloom, he saw that there were footprints in the think layer of concrete dust that carpeted the floor.

Tyler radioed a quick SITREP so that the others would know there was something odd and to expect a slight delay, not to worry.

Kneeling cautiously, he determined that the prints were of a woman in a hiking boot, around 110 lbs. She had entered via the ramp, ranged a bit back and forth, then gone over to his ATV and then... sat down on the hood of a car across the aisle? Sure enough, there was the imprint of a fairly shapely butt on the grimy metal, and it was even still faintly warm. By sniffing he could detect the faint odor of cigarette smoke.

He looked around and saw that she would have had a good view of the entrance, his ATV, and a clear path to the stairwell exit door, which was indeed where her footprints led.

After checking his ATV and determining that it wasn't trapped, he decided that, whoever she was, while she probably only had a few minutes head start on him there was little point in trying to follow her into the large forboding granite building above. Thinking a little more he recalled that Elise, the young blonde woman who'd been with keeping watch with Nathaniel in the other building, had also worn hiking boots. Either way, there was no real way to tell at the moment and his escort was bugging out.

Stowing his weapon and donning his rain gear and unlocking the wheels, Tyler mounted up and hit the ATV's starter switch. The Honda's engine quickly caught and he rode back it up the ramp and into the watery sunlight.


OOC: This character was NPCd to move the story along a little.

In reply to Tyler Gabriel Hope (msg #103):

OOC: I don't recall which of the bridges are good, or if the groups have to go to Quebec Street to go around and head back to UBC.  Tony, please update as appropriate.

"Green One this is Green Six.  Green 23 has been scrambled.  Leave cautiously but not hasty.  We don't want them to know we picked up their transmissions.

She quickly had Taras relay to Lee the frequencies Kelsey was using.  "Tell Lee to put the hammer down until she reaches the area of Charleson Park, then get a SITREP from Kelsey.  If the bikers don't interfere with the recce patrol, then take a parallel route to theirs back to UBC and stay in constant contact.  If the HAs make a move, stomp on them hard.  We will monitor transmissions from here."

Once Taras had passed on the orders, Clarke explained.  "If the HAs haven't already caught on that we are monitoring their signals, we can set up listening gear and continue to monitor them.  Who knows what else we will pick up?"

"Roger Green six, thank you.  Keeping it slow"

*The team waits on the ATV to come back out into the rain with them, then they will proceed in an orderly manner to the designated rendezvous point*

The team did not know the conditions of the bridges.

That was, in fact, the point of a recce: to determine the conditions of transport corridors.

However, Belanger was able to confirm that all the bridges across False Creek to the downtown were sill standing and were cleared (1 or 2 lanes per usual). Therefore, the quickest route out of downtown was the Burrard St. Bridge.

To avoid back-tracking, Lee immediately changed her destination so that her element was waiting for them on the far (south) side of the bridge, near Vanier Park in a little mini-mall with a few empty stores, restaurants and a Starbucks.

As the team crossed the art-deco bridge they passed the Molson's brewery buildings at the far end, and beside it sat the armoury for the Seaforth Highlander Regiment (another "Scottish" militia infantry unit). Both sets of buildings seemed intact, although the armoury was likely emptied of any weapons and munitions.

There was no sign of pursuit and the team returned to UBC around 1400. The rain had slacked off a little, but it was still drizzling out.

Tyler was impressed by the University's outer security perimeter (double chain-linked fencing with a road between them, patrolled by sentries with dogs). Barricades in the street channeled vehicles into a single line and slowed them down, bunkers covered the crossing area in a crossfire. He thought he could see at least one GPMG inside the fighting positions. Although signs asked for people entering the secure area to surrender all firearms he was exempt, being escorted by the local security forces.

In reply to helbent4 (msg #106):

Clarke was waiting when the Recce team returned.  "OK, everyone, I've got lunch laid out, including some hot drinks to warm you up.  We'll debrief there.  I want to hear about everything you have seen and heard, from all of you.  She gave Tyler a look that indicated he was included in "all of you."

"Good job getting them out of a tight spot, Andy.  That kind of negotiating is ticklish to say the least.  Kelsey, I don't know what you picked up out there, but I'm eager to hear it.  Must be pretty serious for a seasoned vet like you to want to pull up stakes that quickly."  She spoke as she was hustling the team to the conference room.

"Mr. Hope, good to see you again.  Will you join us?  You look like you could use a spot of warming up as well."

Kelsey nodded to Clarke when she arrived, pulling herself out of some wet and picking up a cup of hot tea, holding it in both hands as she sipped, warming up a little, soon following it with a sandwich in small bites as she talked

"You judge, but it suddenly occurred to me we truly were in enemy territory, Clarke, and we seriously need to reevaluate the situation"

She puts a digital recorder on the tabletop and presses play.




Kelsey reaches up and stops the recording.

"I recommend we consider that area occupied territory by a hostile enemy force.  I further recommend that We consider dealing with them before worrying about the park.  I see now why the leader from the park feels comfortable going out into town, those bikers would gladly shoot someone down rather than look at them, we got lucky once, I don't think we should push our luck.  I want to put a retrans down in there to pick up their transmissions, we can do it on a early morning creep, two, three man team.  This is not anything we want to rush."

She looks a little worn, runs a hand through her hair, pulling out her scrunchie and letting her hair fall around her face and shoulders.

"Those bikers don't deserve much more than extermination, they have whoever is still alive down there like captive animals to toy with."

On the drive to the campus through the perimeter Tyler noted that a determined assault of at least a battle-group sized unit (a battalion plus support) would likely breach the defenses, although it would certainly take some casualties doing so. He noted fall-back positions behind the perimeter defenses inside the thick woods that surrounded the university campus. Mostly the defenses seemed geared towards preventing smash-and-grab raids by looters, criminals and so on. It would certainly be impossible for mounted raiders like bikers to use their mobility to sweep through the area with ease.

They soon passed through the small forest, then just past a sign for the TRIUMF Meson particle accelerator facility, the view opened up into sports fields and probably golf courses, gardens and landscaping all re-planted for crops. There were some livestock like pigs, chickens and even cows and horses. In the middle of the campus were many low and high-rise campus buildings, all undamaged and normal-looking. The few people out and about in the rain were a mixture of ages and sexes, with at least half being asian and almost no black faces. The streets were mostly empty of gas or alcohol-powered automobiles and trucks, although there was a few horse carts, many bicycles and pedestrians. As well he could see more than a few windmills for generating power, and there was smoke coming from what looked like a power-plant, probably the Uni's emall emergency generating plant.

The team's HQ seemed to be a well-kept residence, long and 3-story with antennas planted on top. The construction was wood and brick in a style reminiscent of urban Japan, and the "res" was named "Retsumikan House". Tyler was given his own room with electricity, a TV (showing taped reruns at the moment) and VCR, and hot and cold running water.

Once the various personnel changed out of the while HAZMAT coveralls into their normal work dress (aka "combats") it was obvious that at least a couple personnel (Andy/M. CPL McRae and SGT Fox) were airborne like him. The older fireplug of a man who was "University Provost" and head of campus security, Alain Belanger, also wore the faded red airborne beret (and could also show the same tattoo if asked, although a lot more faded than Andy's or Fox's).

Tyler related the people he met (Nathaniel and Elise, plus other nameless "Undergrounders"), in one of the underground shopping malls in the downtown. Also, the "blonde" that the bikers had been talking about might have been the girl, Elise, and that she may have been keeping watch over his ATV for some reason while he was riding with the team.

He also said he would pass along to his father, Ed, the instructions to trade some sabotaged gas masks, and that if they could get him some plastique like C4 he was more than capable of rigging his own booby-traps.

Tyler had been quite aloof since getting to UBC.  Something was bothering him.  Something he hadn't done.  People he hadn't seen.  Hadn't met.  The MREs he hadn't given to Nathaniel and the girl Elise.  The shape of the butt, and the footprints.

Who was that?

Thoughts crossed through his mind as he sat on a bench in a quad area of UBC, his blouse off and next to him, his other gear put away in a spot set aside for him.  He had locked away his CAR15, and switched it out for the beloved M1 Garand, a slew of loaded 8 round enblocs in a cargo pocket of his BDU pants, a canteen in the other.  The well built man continued sitting there, topless, thinking hard about the day's anti climactic events, and the people he hadn't met, nor the things he had seen.

He took off his maroon beret, and put it on his thigh before putting his chin into his hands, elbows on his knees; he closed his eyes, and continued to ponder.

Belanger pulled out his pipe and lit it, thinking.

"Treating the downtown as hostile territory is certainly within the Rules of Engagement. Bear in mind we still don't know where the loyaties of the Undergrounders lie, if anywhere. If they have a choice!"

He shook his head in caution.

"My recommendation wouldn't be to go after the Angels first. Stick with the current plan and keep on the Stickmen.

"We have hard intelligence that the Stickmen are going to take aggressive action against us, and soon. We've barely shown up on the HA's radar, so to speak.

"Dealing with the Stickmen will allow us to secure the park and the bridge to the North Shore. That will allow us to bring in the reinforcements from there, including Bulat's crew, and put us on 3 sides of the downtown: north, south and west (from the water).  They would be left with basically the east, and we can control that access by controlling the Dunsmuir and Georgia viaducts, Pacific Boulevard and West Hastintgs."

"The trade off being that once we secure the park, the Angels will be tipped off we're aiming to secure the whole area."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:51, Thu 11 Sept 2008.

*Kelsey nods, looking over the map and getting it in her head*
"Right, I see it now.  I worry about those civilians.. it's more territory occupied by a hostile force.  Our territory, damnit.  Let's get the stickmen down then A S A P then.

The news for Taras were disheartening. The perception of the recce team was, exaggerated or not, quite negative. He referred to Belanger but in a speech level enough to be heard by the rest of the crew present at that tiome:

... A group of bikers lightly armed and with dubious discipline in the demanding art of urban warfare could represent a clear and present danger to a disguised scientific expedition but they are not a match to a full frontal military parade towards the park with a 17 tons LAV III popping around 25 mike-mikes, 7,62 rainbows and all the rest salt-peppered with 40 mm grenades, smoke and gas canisters, etc.

For better or for worst, ex Lt. Shevchenko, combat engineer in the Red Army, was well aware of the danger of facing a first rate NATO country. He was feeling confident, the bandits were not regular army with first rate training, discipline and equipment:

Those thugs didn't find their match yet. I believe we can use the better weapon that we have to prevail over the pests that inhabit the Park and downtown: Our brains.

A pause came in. He did want to sink the words to accentuate their value:

The operation to take over the stickmen in the Stanley Park will be conducted from 4 different approaches. Using unity of command, speed, surprise, overwhelming presence of force and extreming security measures for our men.

Only the Southern approach could be probably threaten by the Hell's Amgels and this is where we are going to move our bigger assault element including our Queen : the LAV III and probably hundred troops or so including RCMP and militia.

Once the Park is secured the Hell's Angels will have a few options. For once they will discover the amount of force that the government can and does deploy. They will be almost surrounded. Some of them will have doubts and even change their minds. We will leave one door open, the "East" or Georgia viaduct and give them the opportunity to move out. We are not prepared for a downtown battle yet with entrenched enemies fighting to the last. ( ...Which Sun Tzu's "Art of War" was that...?)Let the mouse get out the hole. The whole idea is to win the territory and its population and not to confront any enemy if possible.

Finally the bear will come down knocking the door. When the time comes we have to be ready and have the upper hand in any possible negotiation. After their reign in downtown is finished they will be willing to continue business somewhere else, unmolested. They will be probably willing to pay a price, even. But first we have to show them who is running the show here.

After the speech Taras immediately change his line of thought and started thinking about mounting directional mines in the sides of the LAV III to prevent any swarming of bikers...

Belanger laughed.

"Cyrus is crazy, but he's dangerous because he's training his people and is willing to take offensive action."

"The Angels are more like rats. They are strong when no one opposes them, they prey on the weak. If we corner them downtown they will fight."

"Perhaps like rats, they will also flee when confronted with superiour force, if we give them an escape route. We can follow them, find out where they hide, monitor their panicked cries over the radio."

"I like it! I will assign some teams to follow them."

"In the mean time, we should continue on with our plans. See what Josh, our mole, says what's going on in the Stickmen camp. Tomorrow we spy on Cyrus as he takes his trip to the whorehouse."