Description: Captain William Guile is doing an investigation on the attack of Metro City, and finds one of the two people who repelled the attack. Conversation ensues!
It's been less than a week since Chinese/Shadaloo forces attempted to storm Metro City. It's been less than a week since that division of soldiers, easily thousands of soldiers, were turned back by two people. One of them was Maki Genryuusai, a native and known protector of Metro City. The other was one Zach Glen, currently of the United States Marine Corps. Zach would tell you it was strictly temp work.
At least... that was the deal, anyway.
Currently, Zach Glen is working in a refugee camp in Metro Square. The defense was a successful one, but not without cost. The property damage was estimated in the tens of thousands, the clean-up work from the destroyed vehicles used in the assault easily matching that.
Zach's defensive efforts were, perhaps, a bit too enthusiatic. Some of the damage was a result of his actions. Then again, those large-scale displays of power were why he was press-ganged to begin with. Currently, the psion is working to help the wounded civilians. There is something about the work that appeals to the young man. Perhaps he can mend things instead of destroying them. He would much prefer it that way.
Being on another side of the world when the attack occured, Captain William Guile of the United States Air Force has recently landed in Metro City to investigate the attack and the various factors leading up to the attack.
Arriving in the refugee camp by way of Air Force vehicle, Guile steps out of the vehicle in Air Force Class B's, his hair pulled back to tuck under his cover. He takes a long look around from behind the aviator sunglasses he wears, and begins walking into the refugee camp. The words he shares with people are few, and he eventually looks towards Zach. Turning, Guile begins walking over towards the other fighter, clearing his throat a bit of distance away.
His voice is deep and gruff when he speaks to the man, not disrespectful, but certainly firm, "Excuse me. Are you one of the fighters who turned away the Shadoloo assault?"
Zach glances up at Guile as he approaches, but does not immediately rise when the larger man stops. He has a gentle hand on the upper arm of someone who is clearly injured, a large gash in the arm no doubt caused by a bullet. A moment passes, and Guile may catch a warm, golden glow around the spot where Zach is touching the man. Zach takes a slow breath, and pulls away from the contact, a few motes of light trailing from his hand.
"One of, yes," Zach says politely as he reaches for a towel to clean the blood from his hand. The injured person looks significantly less injured, the bullet wound looking more like a scratch. The smaller man wipes his hand clean before properly sizing Guile up.
Zach's expression becomes guarded. The last few run-ins with men in uniform landed Zach in his current mess. He's not so sure this won't follow the same lines. "I'm not sure where Maki ran off to," he says in a tone that suggests that he doesn't really care, either, so long as she's not /here/.
Narrowing his eyes, and furrowing his strong brow, Guile nods his head, "Maki Genryuusai. We have assets working on locating her now." He reaches up, removing the sunglasses and looking down at them for a moment. He looks towards Zach's patient, raising an eyebrow slightly at the now-cured person. He seems to file this for later as he hangs his glasses on the second button of his shirt, "You're a person of interest in my investigation as well." He tilts his head slightly to the side, "Can I call you Zach?"
For his part, Guile moves his hand to his back pocket. He holds up an ID card holder and flips it down, "Captain William Guile, US JSOC."
Just as quickly, the holder is closed and returned to his back pocket.
Zach notes the reaction to the healed patient. Hardly surprising, given it's a technique he figured out only recently. "Sure," Zach says to answer the Captain's question. The JSOC ID sets off a flag in Zach's mind. Second Vanguard falls somewhere under the Joint Special Operations Command's influence, and an Air Force Captain outranks a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines. "Sir," he adds as a suddenly remembered afterthought.
"May I ask what it is you are investigating, if I'm a person of interest in it, sir?" Zach asks respectfully. He's playing this cautiously.
Brushing his hand across the air dismissively, Guile replies, "It's the usual 'Someone Upstairs Wants To Know How This Happened' investigation. Primarily, I'm working on how so many Shadoloo operatives made landfall onto U.S. soil to mount this attack, why none of our defenses intercepted them, and why a city as big as Metro City was left in the capable hands of two very talented fighters."
"Most specifically, I wanted to talk to you about the last when you get some time. I see there's wounded here, and the response seems adequate, so we know Metro City is taken care of for the moment."
Guile takes a glance around, then looks down towards that most previously healed someone, "I'm tasked with developing plans and protocols designed to make sure something like this doesn't happen so easily again."
Guile chews his lower lip for a moment, studying Zach, "Are you military, Zach?"
"Strictly temp work," Zach replies, "But I've got a commission and everything." Something in his tone strongly suggests that he's not happy with how that came about. "As for why I, specifically, am here," he continues, "I was sent here by General Robert Taggart, of the Second Vanguard." Zach's gaze flicks left, then back to Guile, thinking things over.
"He wasn't too happy with how I handled things while on assignment in Mongolia, sir," he finally says. "I get the feeling he was trying to recruit a bomb," he points towards a building that has a chunk carved out of it. If it were not for the sheer /scale/ of it, Guile might be reminded of some kind of cut.
"...that's not who I want to be. Sir."
With a hmm, Guile nods his head, "I see." He looks around, gesturing with a finger towards a less crowded area of the refugee camp, "Let's go talk in hushed voices over there."
Guile turns, stepping off with his left foot towards the open area. As he walks, he talks, "I hope you take your temp work seriously. A comissioning is a serious thing. It means you are equipped and required to lead soldiers into the fight. They have a responsibility to follow your orders, and you have a responsibility to them to feel the weight of their lives on your shoulders. Handle it with dignity."
It doesn't take the Air Force officer long to find a suitable location to continue speaking. He turns back towards Zach and continues to speak, "General Officers are always looking for the best and brightest person to mindlessly do what they say. You're governed by the UCMJ, and are required to follow his lawful orders, but there's the catch. Make sure they're lawful. You'll be fine if you stay smart about where you are and what you're doing at any given time."
Zach considers that as he follows. "The op in Mongolia was a solo operation. They wanted me to disrupt the Chinese forces there." Zach considers that Guile may not know anything about his fighting career. "In my early fighting days, I had... still have a reputation for a highly explosive power output. I can, have actually, levelled small buildings with only a few moments of concentration." Zach frowns.
"I never wanted that," Zach says. "My whole 'fighting career' was... I guess the closest thing would be a training journey," Guile /has/ to be familiar with those. "Trying to learn how to control all of that energy. There... were a few accidents." Zach looks around, staring at that scarred building with regret.
"I went into Mongolia, and found out that the people there were working willingly with China. The commander there told me that the people were afraid of people like us," Zach vaguely recalls Guile having a few professional fights under his belt. "I didn't blow anything up, not directly," Zach says. "There were some rockets fired at me. But I took down what had to be a whole company's worth of troops. By myself. And I kept the colateral damage to a minimum..." Zach looks down at the ground, a mixture of haunting and shame on his face. "I think they had every right to fear fighters."
With a glance up towards the building, Guile comments, "I'll believe it when I see it." He then adds, "Look, you don't have to tell me. Iron sharpens iron. Your gift is particular, and it's only by surrounding yourself with others that have that particular gift that you can grow and attain a better understanding of what you do."
He looks back towards the building, measuring it out and then looking back to Zack, "At least you only caused a couple million dollars in collateral damage. One day, I might just tell you about a certain Second Lieutenant in the Air Force that blew up a billion dollar plane."
He the nods his head slowly, "I'm guessing General Taggert wanted his damage a little more widespread than strategic. There's a time and a place for that. That was it." He frowns, "You were brought into this unwillingly, right? So you don't have the benefit of an education in a host of subjects all revolving around fighting wars. It's alright. I'll carpet bomb the area later." He waves a hand, "Anyway, chin up. As much as they have to fear from fighters, good, hardworking American people have all of that and more to fear from Vega and the Chinese. In neglecting to hit them hard, you failed to show them why they shouldn't be alongside Vega and China against the U.S. and its allies. It's ok, though. You did what you were really sent to do."
He gestures out abroad, "What do you think of this? How do you think Shadaloo got soldiers onto American soil?"
"They had me over a legal barrel, sir," Zach says. "Help with the war effort in exchange for a repreive." Zach digests Guile's comments. "Well, I don't know about here, but in Mongolia, there were some..." Zach scowls, trying to think of the right words. "At first I thought that the group was Chinese. Then I found out they were Chinese and Mongolians." Zach stops, looking around for a moment. "It wasn't until I was face-to-face with the Mongolian commander that I found out that there was a... third faction I guess?" Zach seems uncertain of this, "Mixed in with the regulars. They were ready to shoot the commander when he seemed willing to talk things over." Zach smiles faintly. "They didn't succeed at that."
"I get the impression," Zach says now that he is saying it out loud to someone, "That perhaps Vega's got some strings in more than just the Chinese government." Zach gestures quickly, palms towards Guile, "I don't mean that he's got people in our government for sure, because I can't say for certain. But it seems reasonable. I mean, the Chinese ban on fighters left him, or anyone with such designs, a clear playing field to gain control."
With a grunt, Guile nods and replies sarcastically, "Legal barrels. Love those things." He then shrugs, "All told, it sounds like a good enough deal. Stay out of prison and keep doing what you're doing anyway, only for the good ol' U.S. of A.
"A third faction?" Guile raises an eyebrow and asks, "Were they Shadaloo mercenaries?"
Guile narrows his eyes, staring at Zach for a long moment before he continues, "I've hunted Vega for some time, now. He's always managed to stay ahead of me and every other agency I work with. Some of those include our own Three-Letter Agencies. You and I would both be fools to think Vega doesn't have anyone keeping tabs for him in our government."
"And get to stay alive," Zach replies, "That was a very valid concern when I made the original agreement with SouthTown Police. A group out to kill me was what landed me in the mess in the first place." The psion considers Guile's question. "It is entirely possible the third group was working for Vega. And yeah, I don't doubt at all that he's got people working for him here in the States. Money gives you a pretty long arm, and from what I understand, he can twist someone's brain around."
Zach considers that last sentence for a moment before speaking softly, "Which makes sense, if he has what I've heard he has."
Guile nods his head solemnly, "He has what you've heard he has, and more. His powers are unequaled by any single fighter on the planet, and he has the ego to turn them lose for the destruction of all that stands in the way of his goals."
"Point of advice?" Guile continues, "If you face someone in league with Vega, do everything in your power to show them why it doesn't pay to ally with Shadaloo. You'll be doing the world a lot of good."
"So he's a psychic too, sir," Zach asks. He'd heard it first from Ingrid. If Guile confirms it... well, it'd be information at any rate. Of course, in asking the way he did, Zach just tipped his hand to Guile.
Oh well, he thinks a second later. I'm tired of being all secretive about it.
"Psychic too, huh? That makes sense. You really don't heal with chi..." The Air Force officer then continues, "At any rate, I've never stopped and asked him about it, but everything seems to confirm that Vega is a psychic, yes."
"Given that you two share a common source of power, what is your take on Vega?"
"He scares the shit out of me," Zach answers promptly, "Sir." Zach considers for a moment. "Though I wonder if it's how he's gotten Chun-Li to fight for him." Zach is silent for another moment. "And if he had, then I wonder if I can somehow... undo it. I managed to help someone back from that insanity that surrounded King of Fighters. But in the most important ways, he did most of the work."
"That's a smart answer." Guile then nods his head, "From what I know of Chun-Li, she would never knowingly fight on Vega's side."
A phone rings a moment later, and the Air Force officer reaches into his pocket and removes it. Pulling it open, he lifts it to his ear, "Yes?" There's a moment of hesitation, "I'm on my way."
He closes the phone and places it back in his pocket, "Zach, I'm going to have to get back to you on this. Stay in touch..." He turns without further preamble, walking back towards his car.
Zach snaps a quick salute, then heads back to the refugee camp. He still has a goodly amount of work to do, and healing can get exhausting with frightening speed.
"Good luck, Captain Guile," Zach says by way of farewell.
Log created on 16:43:00 03/03/2012 by Zach, and last modified on 20:38:30 03/03/2012.