The Scarman Enigma

[|Scarecrow|]

Starwood Hotel, Landing Platform Terminal, Floor 75

Zed Raphael sprinted back along the outer edge of floor seventy-five, away from the sounds of conflict. He was done. With Skyler dead, there was nothing left for him with the Black Flag. The entire operation had been cracked wide open, all for the Tyrant’s insane lust for vengeance, and his foolish alliance with the unpredictable and untrustworthy pirate Sayne Jadyn.
I hope those Liberty fuckers get him. Raphael thought bitterly as he rounded a coffee stand and ducked for cover. They deserve each other.
He peered back around the stand to see Jadyn making for one of the ferries. Fleet Admiral Merlow and the alternate version of Tyrant Scarman were chasing him down.
“Rot in hell.” Zed muttered as he watched Merlow close in.

He almost jumped out of his skin when an almighty crash sounded from behind him. He hardly had time to turn around as he was showered in razor-sharp shards of glass. He instinctively raised his arms around his head to protect his face. When he lowered them, he saw the cause of the violence. A native LACPD SWAT unit had broken through the nearest of the outer windows, having rappelled down the outer edge of the building on tough nylar lines. The darkly clad SWAT team punched into the building and instantly fanned out, scanning with their snub-nosed laser carbines. Thin red tracer lasers cut out from the noses of the weapons, ready to mark any hostile targets in the vicinity. The leader of the group spotted Raphael and instantly trained his weapon on him. Zed squinted as several lasers hit his retinas at once.
“Down on the ground, hands on your head!” The SWAT officer barked.
Zed had no choice but to comply. There was nowhere left for him to go. Reluctantly, he dropped down to his knees and knitted his hands over the top of his head. The officer slapped a set of energy-binders over his wrists and pulled his arms down behind his back.
“You’re under arrest! Do not resist, any efforts to resist will be deemed hostile!”
Zed scowled up at his captors but said nothing.

* * *

Starwood Hotel, General Area

All around the Starwood tower, the native LACPD were galvanising. Overall, their reaction times had been admirable. When the rumblings of trouble at the Starwood had first reached them, they had dispatched their standard policing units to investigate. Now, the incident was being regarded as an open act of terrorism, and the LACPD and LSF had been granted the use of full force to bring peace to the city. Eighteen SWAT teams were currently progressing through the tower, either descending from the roof after aerial insertions, or by climbing up from the ground floor. They were in turn being supported by aerial light fighter and aircar support. Heavy firepower for an inter-city engagement. Power to the tower’s elevators had been cut, so progress for the ground teams had been slow. However, the aerial teams were now able to strike. At equidistant points around the ferry terminals of the seventy-fifth floor, SWAT teams broke through into the building almost in unison. Patriot light fighters swooped in close to the building and lit up the level with powerful searchlights. Across all units, officers and pilots alike were now more than ready to bring an end to what had become the most devastating outbreak of violence ever recorded in downtown Los Angeles Capital. The noose was tightening, and soon it would be completely taught. The end was drawing near.

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| S C A R E C R O W |

"See you space cowboy..."