"Not the creature before you, this little guys just a messanger. One that can't be hacked, just incase this whole shindig isn't what it seems to be. If we are going to work together we're going to communicate through this little bugger until I know I can trust you. If you want a name I can't give you my real one as of yet, but if you want you can call me Doctor Splicer. I deal in Biogenetics, people pay me to splice their DNA to give them powers and the like, and I do on occasion hire myself out as hired killer at times as well seeing as I've given myself the better powers. As for you ghost, I have a front door. Knock. I expect the repairs for my window to be a part of my payment."

*Good. When it is time for my payment I will send another creature here who can actually pick things up to obtain it. If any of my creatures are destroyed intentionally by any of your actions, or if my sensors detect that you have sent me a bomb rather than cash our business will be done, and you will have gained an enemy. Now that that's out of the way, what next?"

"So you want bodies for your soldiers? I can do that..."

"Good, once we find this artifact I'm going to need a list of powers they would like and, if you have them, references of what they looked like in life. Anything else?"

"Very well..." the eyeball crawls down from the wall it was on and scuttles away

A sultry female voice would be heard behind Sin, along as the unsheathing and twirling of a throwing knife. Looking behind him, he would see Talon perched upon a low rafter, sitting in a relaxed position, threading her blade in between her fingers as she muses....

"Consider me interested...and may I recommend better security...I would hope your little band of GI Noes down there is capable...I'm Talon, and that's all you need to know right now..."

((Noted))

Smirking at the crew before her, she would suddenly leap down from the rafters above, landing before them gracefully, despite the height, as she continues...

"It sounds like we'll be working together then, it is nice to meet the Shadow Assassin in person...I look forward to our operation together...feel free to invite me your organization's gathering afterward, you have my contact info"

When they look back towards her direction, she is gone...

The sound of metallic heals behind them would be heard, looking back, they would see Talon holding the head of the said drone they dispatched at her, tossing it towards them as she curtly replies...

"It burst a hole through my new penthouse....we had a disagreement, guess who lost...I recommend a proper email next time?"

Talon's partially masked face would quiver not in sadness, but anger as he mentions the Contessa...

"News reports state at least 13 confirmed dead...their calling it 'The Bloodied Pier'....glorifying it...we will make sure this Contessa pays for her crimes...but who is she...I couldn't find ANY info on her, besides numerous attacks like these detailing her sightings...dating back 70 years..."

Blinking, Talon would take a second to interject....

"She wanted our team to find the orb before she struck on the pier....she waited until we believed we had it....but why....what could you sense from her....why would she back off?"

CRASH!

One of Ghost's probes came flying through one of the windows. Embedded in it's chassis were three throwing knives. The knives appeared to have been thrown with impeccable precision, as they'd taken out the propulsion system, the camera, and the CPU.

From the shadows near the broken window came a voice. Though it was a pleasant-sounding British accent, the tone was anything but friendly. "That invaded my home. Smashed through a window and two walls before I destroyed it. Terrified the hell out of my house-guest in the process. I expect either recompense or a job offer."

The speaker stepped into the light, revealing a woman in customized combat armor. The armor was festooned with weapons including a broadsword, a row of throwing knives, her two pistols, and a bandolier of grenades. On her head was a vaguely skull-shaped combat mask.

"Hang on... Sin? Talon? What's going on here?"

Talon would smile at Nightstrike's arrival, offering an apologetic smile towards her and the bot before teasing...

"Drone interrupt you too...?...And we were discussing our plan of attack upon the Contessa...what did you notice tactically about her Nightstrike...I saw someone who had an objective, the orb, but also was out to cause fear, strife...chaos...your thoughts?"

Talon would shudder at the mention of her own fight, but speaks regardless...

"The canines were viscous and bred to kill, they contained an unearthly vigor and endurance, not to mention their mere presence made me want to give into defeat...their claws went through two of my swords after repeated blows, as well as their teeth...I recommend attacks on the neck for a most efficient kill..."

"The humans wielded scythes with incredible precision, and they moved with inhuman speed...it seems that the do not register large amounts of pain to shut down the body like normal humans, so I suggest a strike on key nerve pads, or upon the spinal cord or heart, they also exhibited the same aura of despair that the hellhounds gave...you lose focus for a second against these....things and you'll be bisected before you can blink..."

She would pause before adding...

"The Contessa herself also exuded an aura like this...and I wasn't even close to her...that's what I noted, you guys...?"

Talon would nod...

"The Hellhounds I can agree with...the 'humans' might be simply...corrupted...augmented somehow...your take?"

"Very well then. I'll be right back." She put her helmet back on and disappeared back into the shadows.

A few minutes later, she returned with a large rolled -up satchel on her back.
[img]http://www.artsee1.com/Images/Mummy%20Gang%20At%20DC%202005%20For%20Web/Pack%20Side%20closed%20copy.jpg[/img]

She set it down on the table and undid the straps, then pushed on one end, unrolling it across the table. (Like this, but bigger, in black, and with more modern materials and weapons.)
[img]http://www.artsee1.com/Images/Mummy%20Gang%20At%20DC%202005%20For%20Web/Gun%20Pack%20CU%20copy.jpg[/img]

It was packed with every kind of man-portable weapon imaginable. Revolvers, automatic pistols, shotguns, an SMG, a LAW (Light Anti-tank Weapon), grenades, mines, brass knuckles, knives, and a short sword, plus ammo and accessories for all of the guns. "And, of course, my standard kit." she added, indicating the weapons on her person.

"Who's a lady got to screw to get these blessed?"

((For those familiar with the character, Nightstrike is basically a less amoral / evil version of DC Comics Deathstroke the Terminator.))

"Better safe than sorry." Nightstrike said in response to Sin's comment about the power levels of the creatures.

She removed all the weapons she was wearing except her broadsword and moved off to an empty space. She drew the sword and began practicing, displaying a fast, fluid, and powerful fighting style. It quickly became obvious that the sword was not her only offensive weapon as she used a mixture of kicks, punches, sweeps, and backhands in addition to the slices and cuts of the broadsword.

Talon, after having her katanas and knives blessed, would suddenly vault onto an open space near Nightstrike, but far enough to where she was safe from the reach of her blade. Once there, she would unsheathe and begin to perform fluid strikes with her blade, her display an acrobatic and alluring flurry of movements, all the while she would smile towards the others...

~I suppose you want me to impress you by making a showy entrance, ~ the silky voice purred into Sin Reaper’s mind. An image of dark whiskers and burning pale green cat eyes drifted through the thought stream. There was no one else present, beyond those already gathered, but the mindspeech felt close, nearby, as if a lover was whispering in his ear. ~I’m not usually that obliging. I will do what I do do, and there’s no doing anything about it.~

~But, if you are the one seeking assassins to further your glory, I can be available. For the right price and the right job.~ The thought stream carried the image of a short and slim female form with dark tabby markings to her fur twining her tail about Sin’s legs as she mentally circled him. She was dressed in a black leather breastplate in Roman style with gold accents and a matching skirt.

~Especially so if you want me to play with my prey before destroying it.~ The mental tone was positively predatory. She drew out the words in a sultry purr, ~What say you, Sssinnn Rrreaperrr?~

~A witch?~ the mental voice purred with an edge of curiosity. ~That should be worthwhile, then, if the pay is suitable. As a professional mage, I enjoy putting down that sort of unsophisticated rabble.~

There was a pause, about the right length for someone to glance about the room. ~You are accompanied by others, at the moment. Do you wish to meet now, or at a different time and place?~

Having finished her practice, Nightstrike walked over to the table and laid the sword in front of Sin Reaper. He had finished with all of her other weapons, so she began packing them back up or returning them to their respective holsters and sheaths on her armor.

"Are these blessings permanent?" she asked, looking over at him.

The familiar sound of the decapitated head of a drone skittering toward him would be heard as Talon dryly states as she walks forward into his field of vision...

"I'm almost used to these things breaking into my operations...on the plus side it's helping me practice my cyborg combat tactics..." Muses before asking curtly...

"What do you want? I'm on a timetable here, and no, your not privy to it"

She blinks, honestly surprised that he handed it over, taking it gingerly within her gloved hands, as she whispers...

"If he gets all of these orbs...what could happen?"

She blinks, listening to Sin's words intently, before speaking slowly...

"I'm a thief, assassin, but I'm no genocidist..." She eyes the orb...

"Jutan will NOT get his hand on this...Sin, I thank you for this" She sighs...

"There's something I have to do..." When he looks back, he would find nothing but empty air in her wake, she's gone...

Ron and Sin would both be met with the distinct sound of Talon's heel's echoing atop the roof of the building, before they are met with the sight of Talon rappelling to the ground before them, her first words curt and swift...

"Are you girls done complaining, or can we get this done? And Sin, you recall I have to deliver this to Jutan to dissuade his ire?"

Talon nods, before sighing...

"I'm going to need a a flow chart for you both..." To Sin and Shepard, before stating...

"Regardless, I trust this meeting will be kept clandestine?"

"The one with the cool hair is Sin. The other likes glasses. Yah ya know me Talon I'm only one step on the right side of the tracks given ya worked for me once. So what is this about and lets get inside don't want some stray cape thinking this is a drug deal or something." Rotten headed for the door and looked at Sin "Ya got this place set up to keep others out or can I just walk in?"

Once he had the coordinates, Permafrost first sent in the Raven to do a few orbits. It scanned the target building and all surrounding buildings with starlight, infrared, radar, lidar, and back-scatter. No large concentrations of troops or heavy vehicles/technology were detected, so it seemed fairly safe. It did zoom in briefly on a singular infrared signature standing in front of the target building. This infrared did not show up on visual scans, however. He smirked and set the drone to ping him if anything changed.

Permafrost casually approached the abandoned church and as he neared Talon's position, he slowed and whispered. "Good t' n't see yeh, Talon. I've got it fr'm 'ere if yeh want to head f'r yer stakeout spot. Fanks for yer 'elp."

With that, he spend his walk back up and strode up to the immense doors and thumped on the right one three times.