Fyre quickly reported "Room clear. Squad 19, proceed to the next room."
The squad quickly, yet still quietly, got back into Formation 11-7. Once Fyre saw that her squad was back into proper formation she gave a hand sign to proceed. And proceed they did, albeit rather slowly.
You might think they are going slow to reduce noise and to be able to keep better attention on their surroundings. You would be wrong. Those are just happy coincidences. The truth is, a majority of the squad believes they get paid hourly. They, in fact, do not.
Fyre opened the door, ready for action. The rest of the squad was prepared as well. As the door slowly opened, everyone held their breaths. What unimaginable horrors lay behind this door?
Not much. Just a rather large storage room. One filled with various types of printing paper. A few boxes labeled "Evidence to be smoked."
Patty-Cakes quietly said "These were good people. May their souls find peace in whatever they believed in."
Happee also quietly adds "May they smoke as much Mary Jane as they can in the great big paradise in the sky."
Brooks mumbles out "Amen."
Butter-boy looks at his squad mates with a rather dry look. 'Weren't the cops meant to destroy this stuff or something? Why are they praying for the cops' souls simply due to the fact they are illegally consuming the "evidence".' he thought.
They quickly left the storage room and rapidly began searching the other two rooms in the "decorated" hallway.
One of the rooms was a darkroom that obviously hasn't been used since the 1900s became the 2000s. While the other room was oddly empty. Unnervingly so.
It was as if time itself had not entered the room. There was no dust. No scrapes. No sign of anything ever existing within this tiled room with pale blue walls.
Brooks randomly said "How peculiar. These tiles are rather rare. Last time I saw them was back in 83' when my 3rd Ex-Wife attempted to steal one of them."
Before any of the squad could say anything Jared quickly asked "How rare?"
Brooks replied "Rare enough that even in 83' only the rich would use them rather sparingly. Made of some sort of rare rock composite."
Fyre then added "None of the other rooms had them."
The tiles in question were of a seafoam green color with small specks of red and a darker, shinier red. They were rather smooth and polished. If one stared at it too long it would seem as if the specks of red and dark red were moving. This was due to an odd optical illusion with how the specks appeared in the green.
Happee thinking she realized something asked Jared "Are these tiles anomalous?"
Jared was thinking the same thing and had already figured out the answer to that question.
"Interestingly enough, no. Continue the mission."
Happee wanted to know more but decided to ask after the mission.
They left the untainted room with even more questions. But as Fyre would say "Asking questions is for the scientists. We just have to do what we're told."
They made it to the lobby. Which was also decorated but oddly enough someone carved several symbols. MTF Symbols. These symbols are often carved or "painted" onto places to tell other MTF what has happened or what might happen.
Fyre saw that the symbols used were 'Do not follow the little girl', 'You are being watched', and 'Unsafe place'.
"Command, do you see this?" Fyre asked.
"Affirmative. Other squads are on the way. Proceed with extreme caution. The mutated 008 victims might not be the only threat here."
The squad practically gulped all at once. 'What could the other threat be?' they all thought with various levels of variation.
Only Fyre and Brooks managed to think 'The people behind the mutation are still active in this area.'
Fyre thought this less because she actually used the required brain power to do so and more due to the fact her instincts were practically screeching at her that this was the case.
Brooks, however, thought this due to his past experience of working for the Foundation for as long as he has. Even if it was mainly only the grunt work.
They maintained Formation 11-7 while searching around the lobby. The police station had three floors and no basement. Its overall color scheme was black and light gray tiles in the same pattern as a chess board. The walls were painted with a pale blue paint that has been evenly applied throughout the whole building.
The lobby had a main desk which behind it was a wall with a door leading into the station proper. The desk protected by a bulletproof glass. Next to the main desk was a door that also lead to the station proper. This door had a rather modern card scanner. The door itself was surprisingly not ripped off its hinges. It durable. Very durable. The squad could notice that there were scratches and hammered indents in the door.
Jared noted this all down. Everything he saw he wrote down. He was very busy right now. Although his supervisors and their supervisors were also watching what he was watching he was still rather busy. These people didn't know his squad. His people. Jared knew that they most likely didn't even see Squad 19 as people. Just variables in a problem they have to solve.
As such he needed to make sure he saw it all. Expected it all. All the scenarios played in his head. Every possible one. And the more he watched the more detailed and precise these theoretical scenarios became. Due to this he noticed first before anyone else that one of the ceiling lights in the lobby area flickered twice.
Something changed. He could feel it. 'Should he warn them?' he thought. 'No, not yet. I'm not even sure what has changed.'
On the left and right of the lobby were more hallways with even more doors. Each hallway had six doors. Three on each side. At one end of the hallway were two disabled cameras.
They could tell it was disabled due to them just slightly drooping. Though they were facing different angles while they were slight tilted downwards.
Fyre noticing the two hallways and starting to feel uneasy said "Formation 9-7."
Formation 9-7 was similar to Formation 11-7, but had 2 members slightly turned the opposite way so that their peripheral vision could notice any movement occurring behind the Squad.
Squad 19 began to go down the left hallway. Which was only slightly "decorated." The first door of this hallway was some sort of waiting room. The squad quickly noticed the odd painting. Which showcased a naked man kowtowing to a great being that seemed to symbolize the very essence of existence.
Or at least all those who saw it felt that. If one were to be immune to the being's grandeur they would notice the being seemed to be made of shadows and lights. The being appeared to be in the shape of a human but with elongated arms.
Jared noted it down and interestingly enough all the scientists there wrote it down as well. They were obviously of the same opinion of Jared.
One of the more less field experienced scientists stated "Shouldn't they bag it up?
Everyone else there knew that as of right now, the priority is figuring out what is going on. Collecting possible anomalies is very far down the list of priorities at this point.
The squad steadily went through all the rooms in the left hallway. Nothing was of much interest in this hallway besides the room with the odd painting. As such the squad began to leave the left hallway.
The right hallway, unlike the left one, was heavily "decorated." The squad believed this meant that behind these doors lied unknowable and unthinkable horrors beyond. But interestingly enough, the first five rooms were rather boring besides the fact they were all "decorated."
However the last room was much more interesting. The squad quickly noticed that its door was as durable as the one to get into the station proper. It was chained shut and boarded with a bunch of stuff. Carved onto a heavy looking wooden table was the MTF Symbol of 'Danger on the other side.'
Jared thought of the many scenarios once more and then stated "Squad 19, remove the obstacles and open the door. Prepare for hostiles."
Brooks and Patty-Cakes didn't want to do this for obvious reasons but they feared the brutal bo staff even more. Thus, the squad carefully removed the furniture blockading the door.
Despite how careful they were it still made some noise. This noise, however faint, made its way past the door. And something heard it.
A large BANG was heard. The force of which practically shook the entire wall. Squad 19 now knew that a mutant 008 victim was in there and that the mutants due get super strength.
Squad 19 slowly opened the door, preparing to mow down the monstrous being of undying horror was in there with silenced weapons of extreme caliber. But what was in there was no blood spewing, bloated abomination. It would've been much better if that was the case. No, it would've been easier. What was in there you may ask? A pale, malnourished little girl wearing a pink summer dress. Her hands smeared with blood and guts. Her hair once in the style of pig-tails now disheveled.
The girl turned her head and smiled.
Almost everyone there, whether they were simply watching or were in the flesh, said "F*ck."