And in the Red corner, weighing an even 220 lbs and standing a more even 6', we have the wRHG of Alphaeus, Altaer!
As always, please vote squarely and fairly after reading BOTH stories, CnC is appreciated, and most of all, enjoy!
Spoiler (Click to Show)
The cities up in Vermont weren’t all that big either, they were actually quite rural in their appearance and calm in the people’s demeanor.
Now, strolling down the streets of LA, with thousands of people and cars milling about, as well as the unrelenting sun beating down on his head so hard he thought he would collapse from exhaustion, Riley couldn’t help but grin.
Levi Strider, who walked next to him, saw his smirk and looked over, “What’s up?” He asked, flicking some hair out of his eyes.
The former CIA took off his ball-cap and waved some air into his face, trying to stay cool. He shook his head in dismay, “Really hot.”
The Hunter tilted his, “Why should that be a problem?” He said, looking confused.
Riley slapped the cap back onto his scalp and shaded his eyes, looking up at the intense sun through his shades. “I grew up in Vermont, on the East Coast, where there was way less sun and way more snow. I’m not exactly used to this type of heat 24/7.”
Levi shrugged, “Well I guess that makes sense, I grew up the West Coast, but it was outside of somewhere rainy, Portland I think? It’s been awhile since I last thought it over.”
The Operative shrugged and continued strolling along, the two of them having stopped to look into a store window. Riley whistled as the duo walked away, “Whoo! You see the price tag on that duster back there?” He asked, looking over his back at the outlet again.
Levi scratched his chin, which had grown a bit of stubble over the last month or so, then shook his head, “Not really no. How much was it?”
The larger of the two smiled a baffled smile, “Five hundred and twenty dollars! That’s crazy for just a jacket!” He exclaimed, eyes wide behind his sunglasses. He tugged his cap over his forehead a little further, shading his face a bit more, and sighed.
“I wish I could go shopping with my family.” He stated, more to himself than anyone else, “I don’t want to be a fugitive.”
Levi nodded towards him, seeming sympathetic, “I know the feeling pal, I wish I could go back to my family, but doing that would be a mistake.”
Riley looked over at him, raising an eyebrow, “How’s that?” He questioned, curious.
As the Hunter prepared his response, Riley did a quick scan over the once immature and cocky young man that had since become a friend, and one of his only trusted allies. When he had first met Levi that night, down in that underground boxing ring, he knew something was special about the kid.
For one, he could fight, that much was clear as soon as Levi’s first blow connected with Riley’s ribcage. It hurt. A lot more than the Operative was used to, and considering how scrawny Levi was compared to himself, Riley knew he couldn’t have been entirely human.
The situation took off from there, with Levi meeting up with the Agent every week or so to have a cup of coffee as he explained his story.
Back then Riley saw him as nothing more than an adolescent kid with revenge issues. He didn’t realize how wrong he was until he actually did some digging and found out what he was being told was true. That didn’t really jar him, just opened his eyes was all. Once he realized he was already knee deep in with Levi’s current position, he knew there was no way back.
That had been a long time ago, exactly how long, Riley didn’t keep track. He just knew it had to have been at least a year ago that he’d met Levi.
These thoughts were interrupted as his friend spoke up, having finally found his words, “By going back to the future, I would basically be giving up on my family. The Precursors would get their way, and I can’t allow them to have it.” He answered, lifting a hand and flexing its fingers.
Riley thought it over, then nodded to him, “I guess you’re correct on that matter. We’re both out for vengeance, right?”
Levi grinned up at him, “Right!”
***
David MacBeth sat behind his desk, ruffling through a stack of papers.
The room he resided in was small, unlike his usual office back at the Clinic. This new branch of the Coils, located precariously in the middle of Los Angeles, gave him doubts.
He had been asked to come check up on some things at the designated sector, and he’d happily obliged, but as soon as he got there with Altaer, he’d found this tiny, ancient brick building that stood out like a sore thumb in the steel jungle of other buildings.
As he ran the thoughts over in his head, a sudden creak made him jump in his seat. Looking up, he spied Altaer struggling to open the door.
“Speak of the Devil…” He muttered, slamming the papers back down onto the desk.
“What was that?” Altaer asked, running a hand through his shaggy black hair.
He was wearing one of his more common outfits consisting of canvas pants, a cream, fitted v-neck and a pair of knee high combat boots. He was a bit sweaty, suggesting he had been working out.
David threw a hand up into the air, “Oh, nothing, don’t worry about it pal. What do you need?” He bellowed back, glancing down at his papers again.
The Fixer, MacBeth’s longtime friend and ally, trudged to the back right corner of the room and leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “If you say so.” He ran a hand over his jawbone as he glanced at the pile of papers on David’s desk, “Your work going well?” He asked.
The Doctor sighed and shook his head, “Not very, I can’t focus in this tiny place. I work better back at the normal Clinic.”
Altaer nodded, “I hear you. I miss the Clinic too. This town is disgusting too, it hasn’t been making a good impression on me.”
David laughed outright. “Too true. America’s cities aren’t too concerned with their cleanliness, only one of several problems plaguing the country.”
Altaer shrugged, “Whatever you say Doc, I’m just gonna hang out around the facility for a while so… Call if you need me alright?” He replied, preparing to exit.
As he reached for the knob, the door was thrown open, hitting him in the face and sending him stumbling into the wall.
A young man of around twenty came rushing into the office holding a small file tightly in his grip. Altaer came out from behind the door, holding his bruised forehead, “What the heck man!? That hurt!” He exclaimed, groaning.
The intruder paid him no mind as he marched right up to David’s desk and thrust the file up under his nose. “Sir! Sir!” He yelled, sounding ecstatic, “We found him!”
The Doctor snatched the file away from him and thumped the man on the chin, “Alright, thank you, you may leave now...” He muttered, waving Altaer over.
After he was gone, the two of them gathered behind David’s desk as he opened the file. Altaer stood over him as a single packet of paper and photo fell onto the wooden top. He picked up the photo as David picked up the parchments and looked them over.
“What’s it say?” The Fixer asked, leaning down for a closer look. Inscribed on the pieces were a mess of words, jumbled together in indecipherable bunches that made almost no sense to Altaer.
Almost…
He managed to make out four words at the top, seemingly the title of the document.
“The Dead Man Walking?” He said aloud, “What’s that?”
David held up a palm, silently asking for the photo, to which Altaer quickly set the picture into his friend’s hand and let him look it over. Now, gazing at it in more detail, the Fixer noticed a thick black outline highlighting a pair of men walking down the street.
One had to be six foot three, the other four inches shorter than that. The tall one had short, perhaps two inches, of neatly trimmed, sand colored hair. The former wore his blonde hair long, falling to just over his hairline.
The tall one seemed to be raising a cap to his head, and his face was covered with a pair of sunglasses. He wore a black long coat, keeping the collar up high. It was buttoned up as well, concealing his other garments underneath the coat.
The shorter one wore a long sleeve, light blue shirt along with a pair of brown jeans. His eyes were a vibrant, almost sky-like blue, and he had a stupid-happy looking grin plastered on his face.
David pointed to the larger of the two, “That… Is the Dead Man Walking.” He declared, his finger creasing the photo.
Altaer tilted his head, “So? Why is he important?”
The Doctor abruptly stood from the desk, causing his friend to stand away quickly. He strode over to a small filing cabinet tucked away in the right corner opposite of them.
He flung open a drawer, beginning to flip through files until he came upon a thick piece of paper, cut from a newspaper. David pulled it out and brought it back to the desk, setting it carefully on the wooden top.
Altaer went behind the desk and sat down, snatched up the paper and kicked back, resting his boots’ heels on the wooden frame. The Doctor looked down at his shoes with distaste, “Please, my friend, careful on the desk, this place may not be as well suited for us as the Clinic, but it is still not the bottom of the barrel.” He announced, interlacing his fingers.
Altaer nodded respectfully and pulled his feet from their resting place, letting them fall onto the floor with a distinctive clomp. He read the title of the paper slowly and clearly as to let David hear it as well. “CIA Warrants Arrest for Middle Aged Fugitive, Reward for Civilian Who Finds Him.”
The Doctor listened silently while he paced the room, then came to a halt when Altaer stopped, “Well? Continue on…”
He nodded again, “Riley Adam Sanders, formerly CIA, has gone AWOL from the organization and is currently in hiding. It is believed that he fled with classified information and is going to sell this information to enemies of the United States. He is highly trained, and therefore dangerous. He was last seen in the Seattle Metropolitan Area, but has probably since moved on. A reward is being offered for his current whereabouts.”
The room fell silent once again, and David strode over and picked up the article, Altaer now being finished. The Fixer shrugged as his friend took the paper away from him, “I’ll say again, so what? Why should we care about him?” He asked, holding a hand up for pause.
The Doctor looked down at him and smacked the paper down, causing Altaer to flinch in his seat. David took out the photo, which he’d been keeping in his pocket, and pointed back at Riley, “This picture... Was taken today in downtown Los Angeles. At most three blocks away from our current residence in this Clinic.”
Altaer's eyes widened at the explanation, “You don’t think…”
David interrupted him swiftly, “Yes, I believe he intends to seek us out and request our aid.”
The Fixer shook his head, “But, he couldn’t know about us! Not even the CIA could... Right?”
David shrugged helplessly, “I do not know my friend, I only have a suspicion of his intentions as of right now. If he should happen to show up on our doorstep, we will deal with it then. For now, we should focus on more important matters.”
Altaer, still incredulous, nodded silently, “Alright…”
***
The sun, now beginning to set over the Los Angeles skyline, cast a warm orange glow onto the sidewalks and trees. Riley and Levi stood side by side in front of a small, brick building, one story high, with twin glass doors as an entrance.
The latter looked at his bulky companion, “Uh… Is this the right place then?” He asked, glancing back at the building.
Riley shrugged, “Dunno, the files the group had on MacBeth can’t be wrong.” His right eye flashed red and brought up the said document in his HUD. “It says…” He began, “He never actually lived in a housing complex of any kind, rather a set of facilities positioned all over the country where he did his work.”
Levi tilted his head at him, “Really? Seems like a stressful way to live, moving around all the time.” He stated, grimacing, Riley shrugged again with indifference.
“I don’t really see anything wrong with it, I moved around the place all the time when I was with the CIA.” He thought for a moment, “I guess I still do, considering we’re on the run from the government.”
The Hunter grinned slightly, “That’s how I lived for three years while I hunted down the Precursors…”
Riley looked over at him, “In the future?” He asked, Levi nodded, and the Operative rubbed his chin, “Welp, let’s hope MacBeth will sympathize with us, could sure use the help.”
They strolled forward and pushed open the doors, striding, with confidence, and a slight hint of tension, into the building. Their first steps were met by the the blue, soft mats covering the floor. Riley took a glance around, finding a neatly kept and simple dojo, with the previously mentioned mats covering the entire floor space, along with stark white walls coming up into a vaulted ceiling.
Tucked into the back right corner sat a small office, painted the same bright white as the rest of the building, that took up a space of around fifteen by ten feet.
Riley took a chance and called, “Hello?”
The two stood silent for a few moments, waiting, before the door to the office opened and a man, appearing to be in his early twenties, stepped into the main room.
This man was tall, not as tall as Riley persay, but at least two inches taller than Levi, around six foot one. His skin was darker than the Dead Man Walking’s, Arabian perhaps, with long black hair tied into a tight bun. He was handsome, with a rather regal face, including a soft smile, brilliantly white teeth, and strangely luminous, gold colored eyes. He looked to be around twenty-two physically, rather young.
The first words that came to Riley’s mind were ‘Prince of Persia’, and his face certainly fit the bill, but not his current location or clothes. A combination of flip-flops, shorts, and a striped t-shirt, along with the dojo, he concluded, didn’t fit this man. He looked like he belonged in a throne room in Arabia, not this backwater building outside of LA.
The man, who Riley immediately began running a facial scan on, looked them over with his eerie irises and smiled a bit wider. “Yes? May I help you?” He asked.
Levi stepped forward, putting himself between the two of them and smiled back, tugging down on two of his belt loops. “Uh, we’re looking for someone, we found out he lives on this street… If I may ask, what’s your name?” He questioned, keeping a warm grin.
The man looked around, then back to the two and raised an eyebrow, “Al-Abbas, you can me Al if you want. Now… If I may have a question... Who is it you’re looking for?” He asked, a slight Arabic accent coming through.
Riley, his facial scan now coming up with results, kept the surprising find to himself as he answered, “A guy by the name of David MacBeth.”
Abbas shrugged, “Sorry, can’t help you there, haven’t heard of him.” He replied, looking genuinely sorry as he frowned. Levi shrugged back, looking disappointed but otherwise content.
“Alright then, thanks for the help, we’ll let ourselves out. C’mon Riley.” The Hunter started back towards the door, but the Operative kept a sharp gaze towards Abbas, almost boring through his lanky but muscular form.
Eventually he left to go after Levi, catching up to him in a few brisk strides. “I got a hit on facial recognition with that guy…” He said quickly, turning slightly pale.
The Hunter looked up at him and adopted a serious attitude, “Yeah? What about him?”
Riley breathed heavily for a few moments, then continued, “No Al-Abbas came up in the CIA’s data banks, so I went into the Precursor’s files… And guess what I found?”
Levi scr