Aftermath(Saber)

[Mani4c]

It had been a week and a half since Frank Jameson sacrificed his life to try and stop an assassin sent by the mega corporations, and his death was still affecting several of the NY-NPD net ops members. Kate hadn't returned from her leave of absence, and despite her protests, Sam still payed Kate while she was off duty. Saying that "You've got enough to worry about, paying for your food and bills isn't going to be one of them." Alexi was still suspended, while Viral and Mani4c helped Sam with the daily runnings of the station. Viral had decided to include Sam in their small group of officers that knew about who had sent the cyborg that killed Frank, wanting to keep her in the loop in case something similar happened again. Because of this, Mary gave Sam access to her anti-synthetic ammunition, on the condition that it stayed off the books, needless to say Sam agreed wholeheartedly.

But one person was still heavily affected by Frank's death. Erika Matsumoto, she had slipped into another bout of depression in the wake of Frank's passing, and seemed to be spiraling out of control. She had started drinking heavily and was suffering from severe nightmares, and now she was heading towards Kate's apartment, but she wasn't the only person heading there. Onimaru had seen how Erika was spiraling out of control, and had sped towards Baretta's Terminal in a desperate attempt to not only warn Kate that Erika had become unstable, but to beg her for help. Luckily, he had reached her first.

Onimaru burst into Baretta's terminal, breathing heavily and on the verge of panic. "BARETTA!!! Where are you!? Please I need your help, Erika's life depends on it!"

[Saber]

Baretta was sorting through security feed in the city, trying to find some way of tracking the assassin down or finding some sign of where its hideout could be. She found bits and pieces of what looked to be the assassin's armored silhouette, but not enough for a solid lead yet. She was just about to start sifting through another batch of video recordings when Onimaru forced himself into her terminal, and extremely panicked. Curious, and more than a little concerned, she turned her attention to the worried avatar.

"What's going on, Onimaru? Why is Erika's life in danger?"

[Mani4c]

Onimaru tried to keep himself from panicking, but it wasn't managing too well. "Erika...she-she's having a massive depression episode. She drank herself stupid last night, and she's been having nightmares since Frank died, and now she's speeding here with a pistol!" Onimaru was nearly crying, his voice was frantic and he was shaking. "I'm a failure as a guardian! I can't keep her safe, she's becoming suicidal, I don't know what to do!" The oni avatar grabbed Baretta's shoulders and finally broke down and began to sob, "Mary's on her way here too, but she might be too late, and I can't stop her. Please, help her, have Kate talk to her. Just don't let her die, please! I know that I'm a pain, and I know that I can be impulsive, but I'm begging you...save her, I...I've known her since she was a little girl, I can't lose her."

Meanwhile, Erika had reached Kate's apartment, one of the tenants was leaving and held the door open so she wouldn't have to wait to be buzzed in. Erika nodded thank you and began to head up the stairs to Kate's apartment.

[Saber]

Baretta's eyes opened wide when Onimaru told her that Erika was heading for Kate's apartment with a pistol, placing a hand on his shoulder "If there's anything you can do to try and talk her down from this before she reaches the apartment, do it. I'll inform Miss Bale about this, so she'll be prepared for it. I'm also sending a message out to all patrol officers now to try and give Mary a clear path to this complex, and a police escort if necessary. She'll be crucial for this if we can't calm her down. Go! hurry!"

After sending out the message to the traffic patrol, she immediately switched to speaker on the terminal <Kathryn, we have an emergency situation, and it's coming your way.>

Kate was doing some sit-ups in her office room floor when her terminal beeped, Baretta informing her of an incoming emergency situation. She immediately sat up and toweled off, picking up her handheld "I'm off-duty right now, what kind of situation is it? <It's Erika. Onimaru informed me that she's heading this way with a pistol, he believes she may be suicidal.>

Kate's eyes softened when she heard Erika might be suicidal, and coming here with a gun. She knew Erika was taking things incredibly hard, especially after she had been talking with Mary to try and calm herself down when she was in deep states of depression, but she never expected her to go this far. "Is Mary on her way?" <I have a police escort speeding up her arrival, but she may not make it in time. Kathryn, you have to try and keep her stable until Mary can arrive and help calm her down.> "...Understood..."

[Mani4c]

Onimaru nodded. "Hai, and Baretta, thank you." Onimaru logged out to try and talk Erika down, but she was already at Kate's apartment. <Erika, please think about this! What happened to Frank wasn't your fault, he wouldn't want you to do this!> Erika was silent for a moment, but finally answered Onimaru. She didn't sound sad, mad or even upset. She sounded exhausted, drained emotionally and physically, and that terrified Onimaru all the more. "I know he wouldn't Onimaru, Frank was always the nicest guy I ever knew...but it's got to be done, I'm sick of watching people be hurt and die because of me, First Alexi and now Frank. and if nobody else will punish me...than I'll do it myself." <But Frank didn't die because of you, he-> Erika exploded in anger, but it was aimed at herself and not Onimaru. "HE DIED TO KEEP THAT ASSASSIN FROM KILLING US ALL, THAT MAKES IT MY FAULT!" Erika's voice cracked sharply, and tears had started to flow down her face. "I had a perfect shot, I could have blown that Cyborg bastard's brains out, I had a fucking shot...but I didn't take it, and now Frank's gone." Erika then switched off the speakers on her terminal, muting Onimaru's protests. She knocked on Kate's door and announced herself. "K-Kate, it's Erika, I...I need to say something."

Meanwhile, Mary was speeding towards Kate's apartment, nearly hitting 90 miles an hour. "Fuck fuck fuck! Damn it all to hell, why is this happening!?" Totenkopf tried to calm Mary down, to keep her focused. <We couldn't have known what would happen, she had suffered from depression before and she didn't become suicidal, and you took precautions-> "AND WHAT IF SHE TOOK THE TIME TO GET AROUND THEM!? She'd...god damn it Erika, you'd better be okay!"

[Saber]

Kate turned her head toward the apartment entrance when Erika knocked on the door and was speaking a bit shakily. Slipping some cuffs on her waistband behind her, she walked over to the door and opened it slowly. "I wasn't expecting company today. Come in, Erika." She stepped aside and let Erika walk in, giving her plenty of space. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

[Mani4c]

Erika walked in and noticed that Kate was being rather cautious around her, keeping her distance. She laughed dejectedly, "You don't need to play keep away with me Kate, I'm not here to hurt you. Honestly my failings have hurt you enough." Erika sat on a chair in Kate's living room, staring at the wall for a moment. "I know that you're aware of my real reason for being here. But I'm also here to apologize." Erika's voice had begun to tremble again, and her hands were shaking. "I-I'm sorry for what happened to Frank. I had a damn shot, I could have ended it right there!" Erika slammed her fist against the arm of her chair. "But I went with Jake's plan, and now Frank's..." Erika began to sob, "He's gone! He's dead and it's my fault! I didn't have the sense to put a bullet in that bastard's head and Frank paid for it, just like Alexi did! I should have spoken up, told him that it was too dangerous, but I didn't and now Alexi's missing an arm and an eye!" Erika began crying again putting her head in her hands and sobbing. "It should have been me...I deserve it, I can't protect my friends, I don't deserve to live. I'm USELESS!" Erika slammed her fist into the arm of her chair again, and kept slamming it until her hand until her hand was reddened and sore.

Mary was less than 5 minutes away from Kate's now, and had a fleet of police cars with sirens blaring, including Sam's. "Almost there, almost...god damn it I can't go any faster without getting myself killed, but I'm not going fast enough!" Totenkopf still spoke in his best attempt at a comforting tone, which given the cold and detached tone that it possessed was more than a bit off-putting.((If you're familiar with the voice of Death in Darksiders II than that's the voice Totenkopf has.)) <Mary, if you're distraught when you have to help Erika, she'll just blame herself for that as well. You need to keep your wits about you, not just for your own sake but Erika's as well. Take a breath and keep as calm as possible.> Mary sucked in a breath and exhaled through her teeth, "Alright, I'm still freaking out but I have to think about Erika at the moment." <That's right, focus on saving her, that's what's most important right now.>

[Saber]

Kate listened to Erika as she basically called her bluff, and started expressing her feelings about what happened at Mary's garage with the assassin. She was blaming herself for what happened with Frank's death, and even started throwing in the explosion incident that cost Alexi an arm and one eye, calling herself useless. Kate walked over and took a seat beside Erika, not directly facing her just yet, but facing the same wall as her

"When I was beside Frank's body after the fight, I was doing the exact same thing, thinking I should have been the one to die that day...I kept blaming myself over and over, thinking that if I wasn't so stubborn and didn't try to go against a pack of economical giants, no one would have to die...But then I remembered why we became officers in the first place; to protect the lives of others, even at the cost of our own..." She turned her head to finally face Erika, placing her hand on the Japanese woman's self-injured one "Erika, I've gone through that scenario multiple times in my head, and I do agree that we could have done things differently. But don't be self destructive and put all of this on you. None of this wouldn't have even happened if whoever wanted me dead didn't send that killer, whoever's responsible for the hit placed on me is the one to blame...Not me, and certainly not you..."

Her face softened somewhat as well, as she got up and walked over to kneel in front of Erika now, and looking up at her with a reassuring expression "And do you really think that Alexi is mad at you for making a mistake? Mistakes are what make us human. Regardless of what we could have done, we cannot change the past. And we cannot cling so tightly to the mistakes we have made either, because that only leads to self destruction, like you're doing now. But if you killing yourself is the answer, you're wrong. It will be harder for everyone to handle than Frank's decision to sacrifice himself for our safety...There's nothing to gain from ending your own life for foolish reasons."

She took a deep breath, trying not to get emotional herself as she was trying to comfort Erika, but held her hand up like she was asking for something "No one blames you for what happened, and neither should you. So please, Erika...Give me the gun...If not for me, then for Mary, because I know she'd never be able to live without you."

[Mani4c]

Erika listened to Kate as she told her that she had felt the same as her on the night that Frank died, she also told her that if she wanted to blame anyone, that she should blame the people who sent the assassin instead of herself. "But-" Kate got up and knelt in front of her, saying that Alexi didn't blame her for what happened, and that while she had made a mistake she couldn't go back and change the past. She also said that she couldn't cling to her mistakes and that her killing herself would only be harder on the rest of her friends because of why she had died. "I-but I..." Erika's resolve was dwindling fast, she was honestly afraid of dying, but she just wanted the pain and the nightmares to stop.

The final nail in the coffin was when Kate held out her hand and asked her for the gun, saying that nobody blamed her for Frank's death, and her death would destroy Mary emotionally. When she heard that an image appeared in her head, it was of Mary and her friends standing over her grave, with Mary sobbing hysterically as she was buried. "I...I..." Erika's eyes started to water again, and she broke down, taking out the gun and tossing it across the room where it landed with a clatter. she grabbed Kate and sobbed into her shoulder, whimpering "I'm sorry" over and over again as she did.

Mary slammed on her breaks as she reached Kate's apartment complex, she practically flew out of her car and sprinted up the steps with Sam and Alex not far behind her. When she reached the door and couldn't open it, she simply kicked it in, smashing the glass and running up the steps to Kate's apartment. She barged into the apartment and began whipping her head around, looking for Erika. "Erika!" She ran into the living room and saw Erika sobbing into Kate's shoulder, the gun that she took in the opposite corner of the room, she walked over and checked the pistol. The gun was a prototype that she had been working on, it used a palm-print scanner that Mary had ripped out of an old safe to lock the hammer, trigger, and magazine of the pistol in place. She gripped the pistol and let it scan her hand, there was a light clicking noise as the locks deactivated. She hastily pulled out the magazine and breathed a sigh of relief, the magazine was empty, in her distraught state, Erika hadn't thought to check if the gun was loaded. Mary slid the magazine back into the pistol and locked it again. stuffing it inside of her jacket. "Thank god."

She walked over to Erika and pried her off of Kate, letting the Police Captain get out of her uncomfortable crouching position. Erika clung to Mary like she would vanish any moment, still crying her eyes out. "Mary, Mary I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Mary pulled her into a hug and gave her a pat on the back, muttering into Erika's ear in a soothing tone. "Shh, shh, it's okay baby. I'm here, it's okay, just let it out." Mary looked at Kate, nearly crying herself. "Thank you so much Kathryn, if something happened to her I'd...She's my whole world, I couldn't live without her." Sam stepped into Kate's apartment and saw that Kate had managed to defuse the situation, she signaled Alexi that everything was alright. "You're a fucking miracle worker Kate, thank you." Onimaru spoke over the speaker in Kate's terminal, evidently having gone back inside there to inform Baretta that Erika was alright. <Yes, thank you Kathryn-sama, you've saved my oldest friend...I am forever in your debt. Me and Erika both.>

[Saber]

Kate held Erika as she tossed the gun away, and let her get it out of her system, rubbing her back softly and helping calm her down. "It's alright, Erika, just let it out." When MAry barged into her apartment looking for Erika, she let Mary pull Erika off, finally getting to her feet and sitting down in a chair.

When Mary thanked her, even going so far as to address her by her full name, she smiled. "Anything for a friend, Mary." When Alex complimented her on her skills at diffusing dangerous situations, her smile turned to a sly smirk "Part of my career was handling domestic disputes, Sergeant, this just proves I haven't lost my touch."

Baretta had been watching from the security cameras in the room, as well as the webcam from the terminal, glad that everything was alright. Though, when Onimaru barged in again to inform her of the situation, she merely sighed "I was keeping watch over everything Onimaru, this wasn't necessary. Now would you stop barging into this terminal without permission?"

Kate got up and walked into the kitchen "I think some food will help with calming everyone down, wouldn't you agree?"

[Mani4c]

Mary nodded, "Heh, can't argue with that Cap." Erika nodded in a agreement, but still looked uncomfortable. "Thank you Kate, and I'm sorr-" Mary lightly pressed a finger to Erika's lips silencing her apology. "We're just glad that you're all right Erika, so stop apologizing alright? We don't blame you for anything." Sam nodded in agreement, and Alex piped up as well. "Yeah kid, you're alright and among friends, that's all that matters right now." Erika nodded and put her head back in the crook of Mary's neck, looking drained. "Thank you everyone...and Mary?" "Yeah?" Erika smiled a bit, "I love you." Mary gave Erika a pat on the back and hugged her tighter. "I love you too Erika, now come on, let's get some food in you. Then we can head home and we can both get some rest." Erika stiffened slightly, "But, those nightmares..." Mary chuckled, "Do you really thing those nightmares'd screw with me? I'll keep 'em away." Erika let out a small laugh. "Thanks Mary, I can always count on you." Mary helped Erika up and sat her down at the small table in Kate's kitchen. "I'm gonna go help Kate make some food for us, what would you like?" Erika thought for a moment before answering. "Just a PB&J, I'd fall sleep before finishing anything else." Mary nodded, "Got it, I'll be right back." Mary walked into the kitchen to help Kate prepare the food.

Meanwhile, Viral and Lilith had just finished the last of Sam's paperwork for the day, they were preparing for two new arrivals from the NPD's Great Britain division. One was a veteran Net-Ops operative with 5 years experience, and the other was a "Prodigy" according to the head of the British NPD, having a great degree of skill in a multitude of fields. "Tch, yeah right, the British NPD is militarized; why would they send us someone so important?" Viral was referring to the fact that the NPD was considered a division of the British Military's Police forces, this gave them a much greater degree of flexibility and access to higher grade equipment. Many branches had become militarized in recent years, mostly the European branches and several Asian branches as well, this didn't stop them from solving civilian crimes; they were simply considered military assets due to the importance of national security on the digital front. "Well, you know that militaries around the world have think tanks and stuff like that, maybe this guy's one of those people."

Viral scoffed, sorting through Sam's paperwork to make sure that they didn't miss anything, when a piece of paper caught his eye. It was the arrest record for the rogue cop and his avatar, they were being let go. "What!?" Viral wasn't around for the events that transpired in the evidence vault, but Mani4c was, and he had access to Mani4c's memories. "How, why!?" An attachment outlined that due to "A lack of irrefutable evidence." was the reason for their release, it was signed by Anthony Deluca, the head of Internal Affairs. "That son of a..." Lilith was livid, "Bullshit! they had the helmet, and there was video for Christ's sake! I cataloged that shit last week!" Viral scowled, "It says here that 'No video documentation or records of an outgoing transmission were found.' How convenient." Viral threw the paper down and stormed out of the room while Lilith contacted Sam to alert her on the situation, she also alerted Baretta, the look on Viral's face made it clear that either she or Rotor were the only one's who could tame him at the moment. Viral stormed towards the holding cells in a blind rage, those dirty cops had started this whole disaster, and now they were going to get off scott-free. "Frank's dead because of these bastards, and if the courts won't punish them, I will." 

[Saber]

"Well, I feel like having some breakfast for lunch, let's get some BLTs cooking." <Kathryn, I hate to break up this moment, but I just got an emergency alert from Lilith.> "I'm off duty, Baretta, what could be so much of an emergency that we would need to be informed?" <...Well, I had some back and forth with her about it. She was helping Viral with sorting through Commissioner Burns' paperwork when Viral found a release form for the officer that was being detained for trying to steal Mark Solaris' neuro-virtualization helmet.>

Kate froze in mid carving of a head of lettuce when Baretta informed her about the rogue officer being released, a look of shock and pure disbelief plastered on her face "...That's impossible! we had that case locked down tight, and he confessed to what he did. Why is he being released? And who signed off on that?!" <...Anthony Deluca signed the form, the reason behind the release being a lack of evidence. And Viral is taking it extremely harshly.>

Kate sliced through the rest of the lettuce like she was trying to cut off someone's head, her shock turned to anger the instant Deluca's name was mentioned "...That crooked son of a bitch! He has to be tampering with evidence archives to pull this shit off." She set the knife down, rather roughly, and started walking towards her bedroom. "Food will have to wait. Sergeant, inform the commissioner that we are on our way to the precinct...I want to have a few words with Tony. Baretta, make your way to the precinct and make sure that Viral doesn't do anything foolish." <Understood, transferring now.>

[Mani4c]

Alex nodded, "Aye Ma'am. I'll stay here with Erika-" Erika stood up, "I'm coming with you, I want a crack at him myself." Mary looked at Erika with a worried expression, "Are you sure?" The Japanese woman nodded, "He tried to fuck with our relationship, then he tried to fuck with Viral's, and now he's helping those corporate bastards...I want him gone. Onimaru, inform Alexi, I want all of us there." <Hai Erika-sama. Please be careful.> Erika smirked, "Oh I will, don't worry." Alex was silent for a moment, "Alright, Sam's probably halfway there by now, I'll raise her on the horn and have her wait for you." Mary looked at Erika and handed her the ID locked pistol, taking a spare magazine of 9mm ammo and slotting it into the pistol and handing it to Erika. "You know that Deluca's probably going to try and blow us away if he is crooked right?" Erika's smirk became decidedly sinister, it wouldn't have looked out of place on Viral when he was in one of his "moods". "Oh...I'm hoping that he does, then he'll be quiet for once." Erika walked out of Kate's apartment and headed to Mary's car, getting into the passenger seat and waiting for Kate and Mary to come down.

Meanwhile, Viral was on the warpath. He had requested entrance to the holding cells, when the officer in charge tried to protest Viral threatened him with his pistols until the officer let him in. He stalked through the cells, various criminal avatars were hooting and hollering, throwing insults at Viral as he past by. His target was in the last cell, when he approached the avatar simply looked up expectantly. "Deluca says that you're free to go..." Viral pretended to punch in a passcode for the cell's containment field, in reality he was overloading the cell's emitters, causing them to burn out and deactivate. The officer stood up and stepped out of the cell, "Finally, I can't wait to-" ((Music Link)) He was silenced by Viral's hand grabbing him by the throat and throwing him clear across the cellblock, the avatar looked across the cellblock and saw Viral in his formal attire, he was slowly advancing towards the terrified avatar with a deranged grin on his face. "You said I was free to go!" Viral cackled insanely "No, no, no! I said that Deluca said you could go, but you and your operator are the reason Frank Jameson is dead, and I'm not happy about that." Viral flicked his wrist and produced a curved butterfly knife, he brought the blade to his mouth and licked it before cackling again. "So I'm going to exact my own little revenge on you, and when I'm done with you, you're operator's next..." The avatar screamed in terror and ran out the door, sprinting into the main precinct as Viral stalked after him. "Heheheh! Franky, if you're up there in the big hotel in the sky...this one's for you!" Viral broke into a sprint and followed after the avatar, cackling like a slasher villain the entire time.

[Saber]

Kate had everything prepped for the trip back to HQ, her nightstick, her pistol, taser gun, and mace, as well as a set of cuffs. She wasn't going to take any chances. If Deluca was intact a crooked cop, she had to make sure she was prepared if he became hostile. Once she was in some more street-appropriate attire, she walked out and grabbed her coat, which she had managed to get back from Reggie's place after she had calmed down from the initial shock of the assassination incident. Once outside, she walked towards the SWAT car, taking the passenger side.

"I'm riding with you, Alex. Mary, you follow behind us. We're going to confront Deluca and find out just how far this manipulation of the system has gone."

Baretta had managed to reach the precinct, and had managed to track down Viral's whereabouts after getting in touch with Lilith. She was hurrying as quickly as she could to the holding cells for the convicted avatars when she heard Viral's deranged laughter. Stopping in her tracks, she pinpointed where he was before changing direction and sprinting after him. She moved as quickly as she could, but she just hoped she wasn't too late.

[Mani4c]

Mary nodded and ran to her car. She started the engine and followed Alex and Kate, "Any word from Alexi?" Erika nodded, "Yeah, he's waiting at the precinct with Sam...according to him she's so pissed that she's liable to star spitting fire." Mary nodded, "Can't blame her, she's the commissioner of the whole precinct and this shit's been happening right under her nose. I'd be livid too." Alex was trying to think how far the corruption ran, Deluca had a lot of friends in IA, mostly because he hand picked half of the department, he wouldn't be surprised if Sam was planning on canning every officer chosen by Deluca and removing their pension. "Sam's going to freaking gut IA when this is over. On the plus side, you've got an ally on the administrative side of things, she's been talking to me about giving Net-Ops more leeway in response to the Attempt on your life...she never was one to abide by the rules and regs, guess that's why Mary and her get along so well, two loose cannon cops."

Viral was chasing after the fleeing avatar, laughing like a madman, "You can run but you can't hide you slime ball!" Viral pulled his pistol out of his suit jacket and took careful aim, he pulled the trigger and shot one round through the avatar's ankle, blowing it apart and making him scream in agony. "BOOM! BULL'S EYE!" Viral stowed his gun and walked towards the screaming avatar. "Does it hurt? well, DOES IT!?" Viral stomped on the avatar's ruined leg, making him scream even louder, at this point most of the precinct was looking on in horror at what Viral was doing, but they were too afraid to stop him. Viral dragged the avatar up by the collar of his jacket and began to stab him in the shoulders and upper torso, being careful not to aim for anything too vital. "That's it, cry, scream, beg for mercy you squirming maggot!" Viral kept stabbing the avatar in a frenzy, twisting the blade as he pulled it out. "GYAHAHAHA! THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO TRAITORS! AND IF YOU THINK THIS IS BAD, WAIT UNTIL I GET TO YOUR OPERATOR! I'LL CARVE HIS FACE LIKE A TURKEY, RIP OUT HIS INNARDS AND STRING THEM UP LIKE DECORATIONS, AND WHEN I'M DONE DOING THAT I'LL CHOP OF HIS MANGLED HEAD AND MAIL IT TO HIS WIFE AND LITTLE BRAT! I'LL EVEN PACK HIS BADGE AND A NEW SONIC GAME IN WITH HIS SEVERED HEAD, AFTER ALL, THAT'S WHY HE DID THIS RIGHT!? FOR A FUCKING GAME ABOUT A BLUE RODENT FOR HIS LITTLE ACCIDENT, MAYBE I'LL PAY THEM A VISIT AS WELL!" Viral tossed the avatar to the ground, staring at his handiwork. He was still for a moment, and then he began to stomp on the avatar with his enhanced strength, smashing his chest and arms. "Did you think it was over!? Who said I'm done huh!? H'ragh!" Viral renewed his stomping with greater furor, his face was lit up with a sadistic grin that could put Halberd's to shame. "Dance! Weep! Suffer! Let me hear you sing you little bitch! The party's just getting started, Hyahahahahahaha!" Viral's stomping increased in brutality as the avatar continued to scream in pain, even worse, he'd hacked the precinct's security feeds and was broadcasting the torture to everyone in the server. Lilith was trying to get through to stop him, but someone had activated a security lockout that could only be bypassed by a ranking officer. "Baretta, where are you?"

[Saber]

"Yes, well put all three of us in one room with someone we all have on our shit-lists. Trust me, it won't be pretty when we're through with him...Kick in the sirens, there's no way I'm wasting anymore time while Deluca is destroying the reputation of my precinct."

Baretta was sprinting as fast as she could, following the sound of Viral's taunting and narrowing her eyes when he started threatening to take action against the avatar's operator. Activating her armor, she "Kathryn, Viral's out of control and is . I need the riot shield." <Uploading. Get Rotor in there if you have to, but get him under control! I'm also loading burst shot, in case he won't listen to reason.>

Baretta drew her pistol, positioned the shield in front of her, and bull-rushed Viral while he was so focused on the avatar he was torturing, using everything she had to knock him away before pointing her gun at Viral, the barrel hot and ready to fire "ENOUGH! You have made your point, Viral. Now either reign in your temper, or put Mani4c in control. I get that your furious with what happened to Frank, but I will not have anyone in this precinct acting like complete savages while the captain is on temporary leave!" She nodded her head toward the tortured avatar "Find Rotor and have him carry this avatar to R&D." "But, Captain, isn't that a bit unnecessary? We can take him there." "You have your orders, and I am not in the mood to argue. Find Rotor and get him here. Now!"

"Y-Yes ma'am!." Two of the police avatars rushed out of the room, scanning the server for Rotor's whereabouts, while Baretta stood between Viral and his target like a wall "The others are on their way to handle this, and your out of control temper is going to do nothing but cloud your judgement. So I'm going to give you a choice, Viral. Stand down, or give control back to Mani4c until you are able to act civilly again. Because right now you're almost relapsing to when you first became sentient, and I am not going to have that while I am still a part of this force."

[Mani4c]

Viral glared at Baretta. "If you want to shoot me then go ahead, I'm not letting those pieces of shit walk." Viral began to walk back and forth keeping his gaze on Baretta. "Oh but you NPD officers are so willing to defend this precious law of yours. You know, the law that let's the big 4 run free, the law that let's assholes like Deluca manipulate and abuse it, oh and the law that says I'm the bad guy for making sure that traitorous scum like them pay for what they did!" Viral's tone was more infuriated than insane now, completely filled with vitriol and hatred. "But of course, I can't blame you, You're a slave to your programming, and no matter how much you try, you'll always be a slave...Heh, it's kind of funny really, I'm actually starting to see Noxus' point about humanity now..."

Viral stopped pacing and stared at Baretta, "They're pathetic, Hypocritical fools who only care about how something effects them, Frank was the only worthwhile human I've ever met. He died to save his friends, and how is he repaid, how do his allies rush to defend his legacy? With betrayal to his memory, and when I seek justice I get blocked by the ones in charge, you and Kate." Viral's hands were crackling with viral data, "Laws, rules, all they exist to do is to get in the way of what's right. I can't kill him? I'm a savage? Fuck you, you act like you have any right to judge me, You know NOTHING! All you do is fear me, not what I can be, what I am. Frank gave his life to save your operator, and you protect the ones that brought his killer down on our doorstep, you should be helping me."

Viral's temper was boiling over now, and it was palpable. "But no, no instead you cling to the same chains that bind you, Rotor's lost his fucking BROTHER! A friend that was always there for him, and he was always there for me when you couldn't be, and now I can repay his kindness in the only way I can...with revenge, I shall avenge Frank's death, and all the other people who've been maimed and ruined by those bastards!" Viral activated his armor and summoned his claws, but made no move to attack Baretta. "And if anyone get's in my way, I'll kill them too, so make your choice Barreta." Viral held his hands out to his sides. "Shoot me if you want, but I'm done sitting around waiting for my friends to die...I'd do the same for you, Lilith, or any of my friends."

Alex and Kate reached the precinct, followed closely by Erika and Mary, as Alex got out of the car his voiced his opinion on the situation unfolding with Viral. "You know, I understand your point about how Viral's acting, but I'd do the same thing." Alex's voice was matter-of-fact, showing no real emotion on the subject. "Those bastards started this whole thing, and without any evidence, even if we get Deluca they'll walk free." Mary and Erika got Alexi up to speed on the Viral situation, his simply grunted in response and muttered in Russian about "The difference between legality and what's right." Alex continued his mini-tirade. "I'm all for the letter of the law, but when the law fails sometimes the proper response isn't going to be pleasant."

[Saber]

Baretta's expression turned from stern, to one of fury as Viral actually started quoting Noxus and ridiculing humanity, to disappointment when he insisted that the only way to avenge Frank and make sure his death wasn't for nothing was to kill everyone responsible for the incident. But before she could do anything or say anything, Rotor was the first one to speak up

"Captain, I think I should be the one handling this. You take the avatar to R&D for repair." Baretta looked over as Rotor stepped forward and got between Viral and herself. She was about to protest, until she realized why Rotor was choosing to do this. Picking the avatar up, she walked away, making her way towards R&D. While Baretta walked away, Rotor crossed his arms, staring Viral down calmly.

"Believe me, Viral, I want nothing more than to see the men who killed my partner taken down...But I'm going to have to side with Baretta on this. Frank was as by the book as they came, but as much as he followed the rules and regulations of the law, even he understood the difference between killing out of necessity, and killing out of sheer hatred and rage. The fact that you want to target not just the officer responsible, but his family as well, who were guilty of nothing? This is murder, plain and simple, and that isn't something that Frank would want."

He uncrossed his bulky arms, letting his hands shift into long, spiky drills that revved up and braced himself for combat "I will dedicate my entire career to bringing the ones who did this to justice, but not your justice. So if you insist on proceeding, then you're going to have to delete me first, Viral!"

Kate led the pack as she burst through the double doors of the precinct, her stern glare back as if nothing had happened "Spread out, find him, and drag him to interrogation. He's going to answer for his crimes, and he's going to tell me everything I want to know...Baretta, what's the status on Viral?"" <...Rotor is handling Viral while I take the injured avatar to Bit for repair...I can't reason with him anymore...> "...You did everything you could...Finish what you're doing, then get into the security feed and help us track down Deluca. I'll send a message out to Jake and Saber. If Rotor can't handle Viral alone, he's going to need some backup." <...Yes, Kathryn...>

[Prythian]

"Please.. stop."

Mirror walked into the room from the same door the police had just run out of. Her arms were crossed as she walked between Viral and Rotor, her eyes solemn. She turned to face Viral. "...do you know why I ended up coming here? It wasn't just because I had no home... it was because I happened to be there when someone was doing something wrong, and stepped in to help Saber. I..." Her lips trembled. "...I am the last person to talk to about following the law instead of doing what is right. I have a desire... no... a need to do what is right."

She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing, before stepping forward and looking straight at him, tears now streaming down her face. "And you know this isn't right! I heard you threatening Baretta..." She flung one hand behind her. "If you deleted her... if either of you deleted each other..." She glanced back at Rotor, making it clear she was talking just as much to him. "Wouldn't I then have to do the same to you?! If you think that's what's right, then we'd all have to kill those we care about! And what you did..." She looked down as she remembered Baretta with the tortured avatar. "...that would never be right... that's not justice... it's taking out your own pain on someone else... it's just... wrong."

Mirror wiped away some of the tears from her face, darkening some of her golden hair to orange. "If you do this... none of us will be able to forgive it. And the people who said Mani4c and you should never have been allowed here? You'll have proved them right." She glanced at Rotor as one of her hands clenched into a fist. "And you might even believe they were right." She turned back to Mani4c as she stared at him, tears still dripping to the floor. "But I will never allow either of you to go that far. If you want to finish each other..." She blinked back more tears angrily, looking at both of them. "...Then here I am." She turned into Rotor with a small burst of light. "To destroy each other..." And in a flash, there was another Viral standing there, spreading out their arms to each side. She shuddered for a moment, almost falling over. Mirror felt worse than sick... she felt like she was going to be torn apart. But waveringly, she stood back up, covering up the rage she was picking up from Viral with her own sorrow. "...No matter how much it hurts me... I'll show you that you'll be destroying yourselves."

[Mani4c]

Viral was silent as Both Rotor and Mirror said their piece, both asking him to stop. When Mirror transformed into Viral he instinctively stepped forward, he and Mani4c BOTH knew what Viral data did to Mirror. 'Dude, this has gone far enough, you know what Saber-' Viral cut Mani4c off and hissed in anger. "I know what he said! we share a brain you idiot! But I still have to-" Mani4c finally put his foot down, 'NO! I AM SICK OF GIVING YOU FREE REIGN, THIS IS MY body you thick headed fool, not yours! Now swap out with me or so help me I'll seal your ass away forever! Which means bye-bye freedom and bye-bye Lilith.' Viral's aura flared angrily, still arguing out loud with his more balanced half. "Don't you bring her into this you little troll! You'd be dead if it wasn't for me!" 'I've got a terminal bitch, you don't, now tow the line or else...' Viral deactivated his armor, he was clenching his teeth angrily, silently fuming at being told off. "I can't let this happen! Frank..." 'Frank would understand the difference between might for right and might makes right, and right now you don't...' Viral snarled angrily, "FINE..." His body was covered in the grey tendrils that marked his switch with Mani4c, who was in his 1.0 form at the moment. "That's better..."

Mani4c walked over to Mirror and hugged her, "Thanks kid, you gave me the kick in the ass that I needed. Now get out of that form will ya? I prefer the cute you to Viral's ugly mug." Mani4c had a tired smile on his face and gave Mirror a pat on the head as he looked at Rotor, "I'm sorry about this...Viral knew what Frank was like, he's just hurting right now, he can't show sadness because he think's it's a sign of weakness. So he just turns it into rage instead." Mani4c gave Rotor a pat on the shoulder, "If you need to vent at all, please come to me, I'll always be here for you man. Come hell or high water."

Meanwhile, Kate's group was converging on Deluca's office. The IA officer was aware that he had been found out, with Viral's outburst it was obvious, he had his pistol dimantled on the table, along with his badge and everything else. <Are you sure that this is wise Tony?> Deluca's avatar was wringing it's hands nervously, compressing all of their data for delivery to the Big 4. "They'd love to have an excuse to shoot me dead, I'm not giving them one. As for the data, use the ruckus with Viral to slip out undetected. I can cool my heels for a bit." The avatar nodded and winked out of existence, taking the data and trying to sneak out of the server. Unfortunately he was headed right for Lilith and Saber.

Alexi kicked in the door to Deluca's office and stormed towards the IA commander, grabbing him by the collar and hauling him over his desk and onto the floor. "You've got some balls you slimy fuck."  Alexi and the rest of the NPD officers were standing over Deluca, who had a passive expression on his face. "Let me guess, I'm under arrest for tampering with evidence and being on the take." Deluca stood up and held out his hands. "I know when I'm cornered, cuff me and let's get this over with."