The predominant slogan was 'Husk = Human', and it was not only on the shirts and signs, but on the masks as well. It was also being chanted out loud, and protest leaders who were placed in strategic positions were holding megaphones, absolutely bellowing the slogan out and leading the chants. The SUV had to slowly make its way through the crowd, so as to make sure that they didn't hurt anybody. The actual destination of the car was to the District Hall, where the Head Councilor of the District, and the leader of local government was housed. The protesters sought a dialogue with him, yet he had holed himself in the building – much like the Councilors in all the other zones where the Squads had been assigned. They eventually arrived, and the shackles of the Agents were deactivated, before the Techs spoke.
"Alright Agents, you are permitted to put on your helmets." Thiren said as he confirmed a few things on his tablet.
"Weapon safeties are active; however, the use of non-lethal force is allowed if things go pear shaped." Kriyen confirmed.
The Husks all put their helmets on, which made whirring sounds as they booted and connected.
"Alright, video and audio are operational." Thiren confirmed.
The Agents all stepped out of the back of the SUV only to be met with a massive chorus of boos and jeers. Objects were thrown at them as well, but the protest leaders quickly stopped the protesters from throwing objects, however the did nothing about the boos and hurling of insults and slurs. 'Turncoats', 'traitors', 'puppets', 'scum', were the most common insults, and along with the odd rock, the Agents had no choice but to take them all – which they did with a degree of stoicism. The Squad then formed a Husk barricade, standing shoulder to shoulder at the base of the stairs leading up to the entrance of the District Hall – from which the Councilor quickly emerged, flanked by his security.
"Agents!" He greeted as he spoke to the Techs. "These people must be dealt with. By protesting in such a manner, they are getting in the way of service delivery, and thus, are delinquents – Constitutional delinquents! They must be dealt with!"
The Councilor's stomach jiggled with every exaggerated hand gesture, and the Techs spent most of their time trying to calm the large man down. Meanwhile, somewhere close by, a salvaged digital rifle scope was pointed in the direction of the Hall. The person who was holding it, was clad in head to toe in salvaged Husk armour from the war, painted white with a closed fist insignia on the chest piece.
"The target is here." A male voice said, speaking into a radio. "Commence with the plan."
Back at the Hall, the Councilor was still speaking, becoming ever more animated.
"These Third and Forth Generation Husks are a real nuisance. They seem to think that because they retained more emotions than the First and Second Generations, that it is somehow their duty to fight for the rights of those soulless bastards."
As he got more animated, so too did the Husk Rights Protesters, and as if by some cruel twist of fate, a bunch of vehicles and people arrived and began filling the streets – however they did not look Pro Husk. In fact, they were dressed like those who were already there, only they had 'Fuck Husks' on their clothes and their masks. There was absolutely no talking or communication between the two groups, and a huge clash suddenly popped off, with the two sides not even easing into anything. They shouted their respective slogans as they fought, and as this all happened, the Councilor started screaming and ducked behind his security before barking at the two Techs.
"You there! Agents! Protect me! Get me out of here!"
"That's why we came in the first place, Councilor." Kriyen said with a barely contained roll of the eyes.
The fighting started to get worse as well as spill over and get closer to the steps, and as projectiles were being thrown about, a fire bomb somehow flew over the crowd and landed in front of the Councilor's guards, exploding in a rather impressive blaze. Panic washed over his group, guns were drawn and fired at random. This prompted members from both groups to then pull their own lethal weapons and start to go at each other in earnest with the intent to kill, all the while, the Agents had yet to move a muscle.
"Agents, we will be evacuating the Councilor. Double Six, you will remain and clear a path for us while the rest of you will be with us and the motorcade. The car will stay behind and once you have succeeded in your objective Double Six, you will leave and meet up with us at HQ."
As Kriyen quickly relayed the orders, the other four Agents suddenly sprang to action, leaping up the stairs in one fell swoop and joined the Councilor's guards. Many of the protesters were actually Husks themselves, and it showed. Despite being on the government issued Suppressors that were supposed to neutralize their powers, the little they were able to access was more than enough to fight and cause real damage. Double Six gabbed his pistol and held it down by his side as he watched on in silence. A heads-up display inside the helmet was giving him all kinds of diagnostic information in real time, and as he waited for the signal to act, he looked around as something about all this felt a little off. Before he could ponder further, Thiren spoke through the coms.
"Agent Double Six, we are about to emerge, please clear a bath for us."
The Agent took a few steps forward before leaping up into the air and landing on the car they had all come in. He looked around, surveilling the area until he found what he thought would be the most efficient path for the motorcade to take. He then leapt off of the truck, absolutely flew through the air and landed on the ground with an almighty thud – practically cracking the tarmac below.