Patriotic [OPEN]

[Seishin Akanami]

February 20
9:30 AM
Undisclosed location, District of Columbia

Seishin hadn't been to the Unitd states in over twenty years. Going through the airport made him realize how updated the security got. Guess 9/11 scared everyone to death. It was understandable. Seishin had been frisked before hand, and the metal detector had set off his augment on his back, the beeping alerting the detector. Seishin didn't have his weapons on him either, less he explained it to the authorities. Seishin had to convince the TSA that the augment on his back was a medical device that kept him alive. And they had fallen for it. Thank the lord

Seishin had taken a ride in an all black escalade with bullet proof paneling and windows. The windows were deeply tinted, and he rode in the back. He was accompanied by three templar agents, each armed and highly trained. He really didn't need the manpower, but they would lead him to one of the many Templar Headquarters, and it was normal for a paladin to be protected. He wore a black pair of khakis and a white button down, wih his hair held back with a headband. As they rode through the bustling capital, he kept his gaze out the window. Seishin's reason for visiting the land of the free was simple; The United States boasted the most refined technology in the world for almost a century, and the grants for another experimental augment was being tested just for him. He could only speculate what it was, but it would probably be something extraordinary. Seishin remained quiet, his thoughts kept to his head.

His travel only took an hour. The beltways around D.C. were usually hassle free around the mornings. Most people had already made their way to work. As he opened his eyes from his brief little nap, he noticed the car was being parked outside of a large complex. The building was only a few stories high, and had no indication of what the building was used for. It was hidden. Stepping outside, Seishin followed the lead of the men, as they went around the back of the building.

Inside was no different from the lobby of an accounting firm. Th secretary had a painting of Jesus with the cross on his back. She gave a quick glance as Seishin returned the gaze for a quick second. She then looked back down suddenly. Seishin just kept walking. As Seishin was led down a corridor to a part of the building that seemed to be renovated, Seishin continued to walk by a few construction workers. Some of them he noted were familiar. An effective disguise, and a good deterrent. Giving a nod, one of the men in black pulled the lever of a junction box, yet the power remained on. Instead, a small little pad came out and he pressed his hand to it for the floor to split apart to stairs. Taking their lead, Seishin went down the stairs.

In the chamber, there were men and women in lab coats, and armed guards with full body armor at every turn. A lot of the people noticed him, some continued working. Seishin kept his eyes ahead as he came to a conference room. He took a seat at the end of the long table, as he faced the door. He stretched a little and closed his eyes. Two templar men took post inside the room as he lounged in his chair some. Who would greet him? That wasn't for him to say..

[Merlin Pryce]

His first business trip with the Templars. Needless to say, when he had been informed of his impending trip, he felt a small shiver of excitement. Where would they be sending him? He spent most of his time in a lab, analyzing samples brought in by various people. He didn't expect to be sent out to get any samples from demons or hunters, so it was all an air of mystery. The mystery dissipated though when he found himself on the economy section of a plane bound for Washington D.C. Not an exotic locale with beaches and tanned, beautiful women. Damn. Instead he was headed to some Templar station that specialized in various weaponry. He was there to gather some samples collected there and to help with the making of a new weapon. He had been attempting to create a solution that was poison to certain levels of demons. Pulling an Underworld concept, the bullets would be fatal to those demons as it was true to their weakness. Merlin was never super keen on the idea, but he was being paid a bunch of money and frankly... demons sounded worse than terrorists.

At the airport he was found by a man in a black suit and sunglasses. That kind of made Merlin look useless who, as usual, was dressed like the average 20-something. His denim jeans were dark wash and held up by a beige belt. His sneakers were the oversized skate shoes he enjoyed on occasion and gray in color. His t-shirt was dark blue, with white lines forming a rather popular phone box. Over that was a black hoodie, the hood pulled up to obscure his eyepatch from view. He had a backpack tossed over one shoulder and was rolling a small bag behind him. The Templars had ensured that his suitcase was never checked, which was good, considering the amount of blood and poison in there. The man in the suit took Merlin out to a car and drove him outside D.C. to a warehouse in all appearances. Until, of course, he went in and was led down to the secret hideout portion of the building. Definitely NOT a warehouse.

He was left on his own after that, as whoever he was supposed to be meeting had not arrived yet or something. He wasn't sure. The Templars were somewhat closed-mouth, only being directed to wait in a conference room. So he wandered and observed until he was stopped by two men outside the door. They both frowned at his approach. He gave them both a fierce grin and waved his badge in their faces. “Science Department, dudes. I need to hang out here.” Not really waiting for a response he turned the knob of the door and went inside. He left his suitcase just inside the door and rested his backpack on top of it. He then threw himself into one of the rolling chairs, rolling out enough to put his feet up on the table. As he tugged his hood down and turned his head to the left, he finally noticed the room's other occupant. “Yo.”

[Matthias Hildebrand]

The United States of America! Land of the free, home of the Whopper.

Or something along those lines.

Matthias had only been to the capital of the world superpower a grand total of one other time, when he was first inducted into the Templars as an acolyte and given special privilege to access equipment stores reserved exclusively for the Order. It was in Washington D.C. where he acquired Claudius, his ultra-rare Walther WA2000 sniper rifle, and it was here that the initial schematics for what is now his signature Cross Coat, the red duster he dons upon crossing into Inferis, were devised and planned before they were sent to the Vatican, where it would be fabricated. It had been nearly two years since he first stepped foot on American soil, and it was a feeling that brought back plenty of good memories.

Alas, it seemed as though the War on Terrorism still had the Transportation Security Administration on red alert, even though the attack on the World Trade Center happened twelve years ago. And in the same light as a certain Paladin that had arrived hours earlier, Matthias was given the run around by airport security due to his cybernetic arms and legs and the neural chips implanted into his brain, which were inserted to help him control these limbs; he'd have sworn the metal detector could have up and just fell apart of its own accord, were he sporting any more artificial enhancements. Fortunately, he was able to avoid a fiasco after several Templar agents intervened for him, and the rest that followed was history. He retrieved his bags—one of which was jammed to the brim with comic books and graphic novels—and was promptly escorted to an armored vehicle, the driver of which was ordered to take Matthias to a secret Templar base.

The ride to his destination was smooth and seamless, yet the company Matthias was provided with—the two agents that helped him back at the airport—were less than talkative. They had behaved almost mechanically, and seemed put off by the blond man's enthusiastic comments about the sights and sounds of the American capital. Frankly, if he were allowed to roam around and explore the district, there were good chances that the citizens would have mistaken him for a tourist, in spite of his rather fashionable apparel. Matthias chose to dress snappy for today's ordeal and picked out an expensive Giorgio Armani suit to wear, black in its color, with a white shirt tucked neatly inside of his slacks and accenting the blazer above it, which was paired with a dark red tie and adorned with a small emerald pin. He was forced to wear a pair of matching leather gloves to avoid exposing his mechanical hands to the eyes of the public.

Upon arriving to a large-looking warehouse, Matthias Hildebrand was quick to find out that it was anything but one as soon as he made his way inside. It was as if he had entered a ritzy law firm instead of a warehouse; it was illuminated above adequacy and predominantly displayed various tones of grays and whites, giving the place a rather sterile ambiance. A few minutes of walking about and he would finally find himself standing before a door, guarded by two unfriendly-looking men. Despite their lack of cordiality, Matthias flashed a sunny grin. "Hallo! I've come here for ze veaponz tezting." The well-dressed guys looked at each other, then opened the door for the cheerful Templar to enter, which he did, until it closed behind him.

Whistling a ditty, he plopped down onto one of the chairs and patiently waited until the time he would be called in to perform that which he had been summoned here for. The United States was a place with access to some of the greatest weapons technology on the planet, and as a soldier who was able to make excellent use of such technology, they were likely in need of someone capable of testing it; someone as skilled as the Scarlet Trigger. "Yo." Matthias blinked, somewhat surprised that another person was in the same room as him. Turning in the direction of the voice, a figure entered his sights.

A male, just like the blond man, except he wore a hooded sweater with the hood portion of it concealing much of his features, which looked sort of effeminate from this angle. Gray skater shoes, darkly colored denim jeans, a normal-looking backpack. He radiated a civilian air about him, yet if this person was inside the room, there was no doubt that he belonged to the Templar Order. Matthias beamed and waved at the young-looking man. "Guten Tag!"

[Seishin Akanami]

Seishin leaned forward some in his seat. On the table before him was a black suitcase. Nothing out of the ordinary. Reaching his hands out he unlatched the case with a pop, lifting the lid to examine to contents. There were a few manilla folders, each labeled as classified, as he sifted through the stack to find the ones he wanted. He was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Peering up, he found a man in a hoodie and an eyepatch grace his vision. The man appeared young, older than 20, but younger than 30 at least. This man had an air of reclusiveness around him, and seemed distant. Looking back to the suitcase, he found the folder which he wanted. As he picked it up and examined it, he was spoken to by the gentleman. "Yo"? Blinking some in a slight confusion as to the informality, he made eye contact with the fellow.

He was young alright. Too young to have an eyepatch, that is for sure. "Morning. I'm glad you could have joined me today. If you need anything please, let me know. My name is Seishin Akanami, but please just call me Seishin." Giving a reassuring smile, Seishin looked back at the folder and stood up, opening its contents. Inside were the specifications of a new augment being tested for himself, a dossier for the man before him, and vietnam-era reports and research notes on his current augmentations. He first focused on the dossier for one "Merlin Pryce".

Turning his head back at the young man, he tilted his head some. "You are one gifted person, Mr. Pryce. Excelling in the sciences, mostly biology, chemistry, and physics. Men like you are a needle in a hay stack." Flipping one of the pages in the folder, his eyes narrowed at the file as he let out a sigh, closing his eyes."In the late 80's, the United States and United Kingdom worked on a collaboration project. An augment, if you will. This augment was the first of its kind, but had a slight, but debilitating problem." Looking at the man, he turned his gaze to the door, noticing the other male enter. This was probably the one he requested. The Scarlet Trigger. Smiling back at the gentleman, he nodded. "Hello, Mr. Hildebrand. My name is Seishin Akanami. Please join us." Seishin could feel the warm and pleasant emotions off the newcomer. He was kind, and that was a good thing in this bleak organization.

Looking back at the hooded man, he scratched his head while placing the file before the one known as Merlin. "As I was saying, this augment had the nasty side effect of being rejected by the body and killing the host. I managed to survive out of five participants, and the procedure require a special serum, if you will, to negate the side effects. However, the information on the serum has been lost." Sitting down in the chair on the otherside  of the table, he rested his arms on the table and laced his fingers together, looking at the man with the single eye."We have some of this compound but not enough. I've been told this is sort of your specialty. If you could aid us in this research, win or lose, a large sum of funds would be to your use."The challenge bestowed to this man was large. He didn't blame him if he declined. Hopefully his talents could help better the templars, and Seishin's own safety with his new augment.

[Merlin Pryce]

"Morning. I'm glad you could have joined me today. If you need anything please, let me know. My name is Seishin Akanami, but please just call me Seishin." Merlin nodded at Seishin, only mildly curious. The name may or may not have rung a bell, but he honestly couldn't care. He wasn't sure if this man had anything to do with the two reasons that he had been brought here. He knew about the weapon that was being worked on, yes, but the other samples were a mystery.

"You are one gifted person, Mr. Pryce. Excelling in the sciences, mostly biology, chemistry, and physics. Men like you are a needle in a hay stack." Merlin frowned slightly at this. He'd been unable to introduce himself before the guy named him. Wtf, yo. Clearly one of the files Seishin had been messing with was about him. He shouldn't be all that surprised, honestly. Of course the Templars would have a file on him. It's not like it wasn't his first. Military records, citizen records, permanent record from high school. You know... the usual. But there was a certain niceity that was usually followed when you met someone for the first time, even if you already knew their name. Whatever. "In the late 80's, the United States and United Kingdom worked on a collaboration project. An augment, if you will. This augment was the first of its kind, but had a slight, but debilitating problem." Augment was, to Merlin, a relatively new word in his vocabulary. At least in the Templar sense. He was going to ask for more details before the door opened. A new man entered, blonde-haired and very cheerful. He looked at Merlin with a smile: "Guten Tag!" Not to be outdone with foreign languages, Merlin responded with an amused “Hola!”

"Hello, Mr. Hildebrand. My name is Seishin Akanami. Please join us." Man, seriously?! Another introduction, useless. At least with Hildebrand-dude didn't know his name yet. There was still hope. Not that Merlin cared. He just felt like being affronted today. Made things more interesting. Not that he really showed it, of course. His face was a mask of casual boredom, his resting face. He turned his gaze back to Seishin as he continued to speak.

"As I was saying, this augment had the nasty side effect of being rejected by the body and killing the host. I managed to survive out of five participants, and the procedure require a special serum, if you will, to negate the side effects. However, the information on the serum has been lost." Merlin lifted up the file and rested it against his legs, flipping it open. It took his eye a moment to adjust; reading could sometimes be a challenge now. Had to turn his head more. Oh, the neck pain! Merlin internally snorted. He was on a roll of humor, but no one knew it but him. "We have some of this compound but not enough. I've been told this is sort of your specialty. If you could aid us in this research, win or lose, a large sum of funds would be to your use." Merlin remained silent for another moment or two after Seishin finished speaking, reviewing the rest of the file. So. This was the other samples that he had been sent for. It was a challenge. Actually no, challenge was an understatement. This was like a quest for the Holy Grail. It was going to be hard. Months of research. He would have to analyze the components of the compound in order to replicate, but he couldn't diminsh the available resources any further. Merlin closed the file and looked up at Seishin.

“Call me Merlin, man.” He glanced over at Mr. Hildebrand with a small nod, so he could realize that the first name was also slightly for his benefit, besides Merlin preferred choice of name-usage. “As for this little compound, I can't give you a clear 'due date.' I'll have to break down the compound first and figure out what's in it and how best to replicate it. So if y'all are fine with that, then I'll take the compound and the other samples I came for and get to work when I'm back in London.” He needed his lab. Actually, he'd probably need more than his lab. ...Upgrade! “And I'll need someone to be in touch with in case I need to use said funds to acquire specific equipment.”

[Matthias Hildebrand]

The young man in street clothes never hesitated to respond to Matthias' chipper greeting with a salutation of his own, spoken in a foreign language just like the blond had done, before he returned his attentions to the other man in the room: a clearly Asian man with a rather large build, wild-looking hair pulled back by a lone headband while the rest of himself was dressed in a white button-up and khakis; a rather casual look compared to the Scarlet Trigger's expensive business wear, but still dressier than the other man. Quickly introducing himself as Seishin Akanami, he never gave Matthias the chance to reciprocate before he immediately went down to business with the other fellow.

The conversation only took several minutes at the most, but everything that had been discussed between the other two gentlemen left the Knight-Templar rather baffled. Killing the host? Not enough of what compound? Research? Matthias blinked, vibrant green eyes full of as much confusion as the rest of his expression had been. Had he entered the wrong debriefing?

As soon as the other man in the room finished his discussion with the nappy-haired man in the black khakis, Matthias meekly rose a pointer finger like the shy kid in the back of the classroom. "Ah, kveshton..." he spoke up, eyes darting back and forth between the two guys from behind his glasses, the lenses of which had shifted to a translucent orange because of how bright the room was. "Am I in ze wrong room? I vas told zis vud be ze veaponz tezting uhzignment I vas given back at headkwarterz." Man, did he feel like he had egg on his face...

[Seishin Akanami]

Seishin quickly nodded to Pryce, as he gave him what he needed. "You will have unlimited funding to do with as you wish. Thank you for your time." Seishin shifted his attention to the German.

So this was the Scarlett Trigger? He was tall. He also had an upbeat personality to match. A nicer face in the order of Templars. Sitting down, he looked at the man. "You have experience in weapon design, yes?" leaning back in his chair, he took a glance at the folder near his hand. It was a basic file for this man. He didn't look at it. When he did, it was just to skim. He didn't like to prod at people's past lives. For one, he wouldn't want a mysterious man to sift through his life. And second, his personal life wasn't important right now. Looking back at the man, he peered straight into the orange shades."It is simple. I want you to be the man that supervises each and every special piece of equipment that I have commissioned, either for myself or others. You will still be a warrior, through and through, for this organization." He leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table. He gave a friendly smile to the man. "I am just making sure each and every single person's talents in this order are fully tapped. The first prototype I have commissioned is already complete, but still not ready to be examined. I will let you know when, because the last thing I want is you to be stuck in a lab and not out in Inferis."

Seishin leaned back in his chair, awaiting a response. This man's arsenal was surely a spectacle, and if each and every templar had similar access to firepower, the Templars would be a force to reckon with.

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