Leonard was making his way back to the estate, his business with the Bloodhounds being complete. While he did have a meeting with John's boss in the evening, there was still some time until he needed to get ready for that.
He didn’t know who he’d be meeting, or how important they would be, however it was a step in the right direction. He hoped anyway. The further he could get into the Bloodhounds inner circle the more chances he had of securing some proof of their connection to the Condor Kingdom and pass it along to Bulwark who could actually do something about it.
While Leonard wanted to dismantle them himself, he was one man against a massive organisation backed by a powerful nation. He couldn’t do it by himself. That's where his new name, Jared Hagoth, would come in, he didn’t want the questions brought about by using his own name.
Although the thought of being able to take them out himself still persisted, the want to form a group himself that could act on his knowledge from the future without having to jump through these hoops. He had gotten this idea a few days ago and it had been brewing in his mind. Though he didn’t know if the idea came from him as he was now, or the presence in his head from the future.
Either way the idea was there, and he could see the benefits it could create.
“It’d be good if I could get into contact with Willam, if he’s as good at business as my memories say he would be incredibly helpful.” Leonard mumbled to himself as he lazily leaned back and watched the city fly by out the window of his air taxi.
And as if on cue, his comm unit buzzed, a video call from Anna coming through.
“Speak of the devil,” Leonard quipped before accepting the call. Her face quickly popped up on his screen, behind her a mass of people moving about.
“Leonard..” She began, unsure whether or not to trust him. “You said you were looking for my brother right? I need your help, but I'm not sure whether I can trust you.”
“Of course you can,” he smiled. “If I wanted to do anything bad I wouldn’t have given you my real name and number would I?”
She looked unconvinced, however she had little other options.
“I think Will has been captured by some group called the White Skulls.” She said in a panic, still looking around the terminal in hopes he’d show up. “We were being chased by them but split up, I haven't seen him since.”
“Where are you now?” Leonard leaned forward, grasping the seriousness of the situation.
“Citadel University, eastern terminal. He told me to go to a safehouse of some kind if we got split up, but I can't just leave him here.”
“Then go,” Leonards voice was firm, if the White Skulls were still in the area she was of little help. If she got captured as well it would make his life much harder. “I’ll look for Will, you said eastern terminal? I’ll look around and see what I can find.”
“No. The police have the entire area locked down, you won't be able to get in.”
Leonard frowned, if the police had formed a blockade he indeed wouldn’t be able to get through. However if Willam was caught he the White Skulls would have left already, he wouldn’t find anything by trying to sneak through. And if he wasn’t captured he’d make his way to this safehouse anyway, it would be best if Anna was there to let him know if he arrived.
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out,” he reassured her. “Go to this safehouse of yours, call me if Willam shows up.”
“Ok then,” she didn’t look pleased with having to leave, but understood that she wouldn’t be of much help. “Let me know if you find him.”
“Will do,” he said as he ended the call. Searching through his contacts he found John, even though he had just left his office he would have to talk with him again.
“Leonard,” the man in question popped up on his screen, confusion visible in his eyes despite his constant smile. “A pleasure as always, did we forget something in our meeting?”
“Something just came up,” he said, voice laced with urgency. “I need a favour, someone I know may have just been picked up by the White Skulls. I need to know any bases they have near the Citadel University.”
John paused, considering for a moment. “Favours such as these are expensive.” His voice was slow, calculating each word. “The Bloodhounds have a good relationship with the White Skulls, it wouldn't do if someone we do business with starts busting into their locations.”
“I’ll be stubble” Leonard tried to convince him over. “You know I'm a trained soldier, I’ll be in and out with no bodies left behind.”
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“We both know how messy such things can turn out,” John began. “Besides, your association with us-”
“Have you forgotten about this?” Leonard lifted his briefcase containing his new advanced disguise. John hummed in understanding, stroking his chin as he thought over the request.
“Who is it that you're looking for, we do have access to their internal servers. Perhaps I can find your man rather than let you stomp around blindly?”
“Willam Solace, if he was picked up it would be less than an hour ago.”
John was silent for a moment, Leonard couldn’t see much of the office from the camera’s angle, however by the faint tapping noise he could pick up he assumed John was searching. It took a couple moments for any results to be found, John replacing his camera with a mirror of his tablet screen. On it Leonard saw a screenshot of a grainy security camera, zoomed in on one man being dragged into a warehouse by two men. Leonard didn’t know what Willam looked like, however he had a feeling this was him. Lately he had been learning to trust his gut instincts, and right now they told him this was his man.
“This was taken ten minutes ago in a smaller White Skull warehouse just outside downtown, I’ll forward you the address.” John made quick work and Leonard forwarded the address to the automated flight systems of his air taxi, the car making a sharp U turn and heading back towards the city. “I shouldn’t have to tell you but do be careful Leonard, and try your best not to make a scene.
John ended the call after he left his warning. According to the flight system it would take Leonard 20 minutes to reach his target location. He made a couple changes to the landing location, instead of landing right outside the front door he directed the taxi to land one block away, hopefully letting him sneak over an exterior wall into the warehouse unnoticed.
He clicked open the latches to his briefcase, slipping the faceplate and wig on and transforming into a completely different person. His hand reached down and checked his gun, it was loaded with six projectile rounds, however he hadn’t brought any spare ammunition thinking he’d only be out briefly.
He did intend to do his best not to kill anyone, but one could never be too safe. He would leave the gun for a last resort, but he would still make sure to aim for limbs and other non vital body positions.
Traffic was high as he entered the city, the commotion at the university causing many more cars to be in the skies. However Leonards air taxi didn’t need to go through the city centre, instead turning of and heading for an industrial district much more lively and busy than the rundown district on the outer edge of the city the Bloodhounds used.
The taxi touched down on a street corner and Leonard paid some extra money for it to stay put for a quick extraction once he was done. The street was busy, large cargo haulers constantly driving past and further up ahead Leonard could see his target. The warehouse wasn’t the largest, however what made it stand out was the large brick exterior fence with the top being lined with viscous looking barbed wire.
It was a bit taller than Leonard imagined and with the barbed wire on top he didn’t fancy his chances trying to climb over top. The main entrance on the other hand looked doable but still tricky. The large metal gate was pulled open, however Leonard could see security guards milling about in the two booths sat on either side of the one road in.
He could try and bluff his way in, however he was no actor. And trying to rush through would simply cause the alarm to trigger, and his only advantage, the element of surprise to vanish alongside it.
“Guess that only leaves one option,” Leonard made his way to a neighbouring building, it was very close to the White Skulls warehouse wall and its roof was a tad bit higher. Leonard made his way onto the complex, without a wall border fence it was little hassle, only having to jump a small wire fence no taller than him.
He crouched down and moved quickly, keeping out of sight as he moved around to the side of the building, an exterior ladder used in emergencies running all the way to the roof. He had to jump to reach its lower rungs, pulling his body up before climbing the ladder with great speed.
The roof was large but flat, only a small lip around the outside letting him crouch low and remain unseen. The jump wasn’t very long, he could easily clear the fence, however as he looked down it was the height that was a bit much. Only hardened dirt to break his fall. However his viewpoint let him see a few security cameras dotted around the outside, he kept low as he snuck across the roof, stopping when he had reached a part the cameras didn’t cover. At least the cameras he saw.
The fall here was much worse than before, replacing the dirt was a pile of scrap metal and big bags of rubbish with large metal rods sticking out menacingly.
However there was a small section of a paved walkway on the other side, a bit farther than he would have liked to jump, however the landing, while hard, would be much better than risking getting impaled.
He took a few steps back, eyes locked on the edge of the roof in front of him while leaning low, hands on the cold hard surface ready to help spring him forward.
He took a few deep breaths, steadying himself, before he burst forward. Reaching the edge in three long strides he leaped over the side, soaring through the air in a long arch.
“Oof.” He hit the ground hard, luckily landing on the hard paved path, dropping into a forward roll to help break his momentum. His body hurt a fair amount from the rough landing, however he had felt worse, and quickly got back to his feet, crouching low against the warehouse wall.
He made his way towards a small door, hugging the warehouse face as close he could to try and stay out of sight.
Leonard pressed down on its small handle, and his luck seemed to return, the door opening with no issues. It swung inward, letting Leonard get a view of the warehouse inside, or rather come face to face with a towering industrial shelf lined with crates. They stretched far down the warehouse length, the right side leading right up to a flat wall, however the left lead back to the entrance, with a large and busy loading dock transporting goods in and out.
Leonard dashed across the gap and squeezed between two crates and onto the shelf, working his way to the otherside only to be met with much the same. Another wide and open path into another fully stocked shelf.
It looked like it might take a while for him to find his target.