10-28-2014, 10:55 AM
Ricky pulled out a map and pointed to the western end of the city as he talked. She didn't know the city that well and it had been 10 years. She pulled out her wallet and set it to holo-mode to display a map of Mexico City's environs. He'd mentioned an abandoned convent in the area so she zoomed in. She needed to get a feel for the area before she'd agree. There were a lot of places a nest of rougs might hide. Absentmindedly she said, "I tracked three. I saw them on surveillance."
She looked up at him briefly, then added. "Doesn't mean they didn't meet up with others in the city though. Rougs functional enough to relocate are not too common. One would think a town near the border might be a perfect place to live and feed, what with all the traffic fleeing north."
The display flew her over the various buildings and crowded living spaces as she put herself in the mind of an intelligent roug. Fleeing from something in the north- not really sure what. Planned a trip and brought food along. That kind of thing was rare in her experience. Not unheard of but rare. In the end, it didn't matter the reason why they'd come. They were here and had friends.
Each place she saw had its advantages. But it also had drawbacks. Gradually, her mind centered on el Desierto de los Leones National Park. What had been a national park anyway. The government infrastructure collapse under the weight of the cartel wars had made luxuries like parks an unsustainable expense. At its height, it had been nearly 5000 acres covering almost a fifth of this entire valley. Now it was a large fairly autonomous region. People were scattered throughout in shanty-towns nominally still under the government's control but effectively left to the mercies of the cartels and street gangs. The constant fighting meant high casualties. Drugged out junkies, runaways, street urchins, prostitutes and homeless comprised a sizable portion of the area. All kinds of other illegal activities were carried out, including human trafficking and brothels. It would be a perfect feeding ground for rougs since they could hit up any number of towns and no one would notice the disappearances. And it was right off of the 15, which they had hit from the 550 on their way south.
And there, smack dab in the center was El Convento Desierto de los Leones. Her map displayed pertinent information and pictures of the place. It had been beautiful at one time with its large stone buildings and Spanish architecture. Now it was run down and falling apart. It didn't surprise her to learn that local legend had began calling the place haunted almost 40 years ago. Disappearances, strange creatures, butchered corpses all made it clear that this was a prime place for any number of things to have occupied over the decades.
The last time she'd been in Mexico City it had been on the eastside and very quickly led them out to the south. The park hadn't shown up on her radar. But the Atharim database showed that this place had been hit more than once by the brethren over the decades. Oni's and chupes had been here and exterminated. Lot's of other things too. And then, it simply laid in wait until the next parasite decided to take up residence. And because of the legends, the people left it alone- including the cartels. It was a lure. Pity the convent hadn't been destroyed.
"Alright. I think you are right about their location. And that we are dealing with more than three rougs. No telling how many there will be. Rougs being rougs though, hopefully no more than ten. More than that and they get to fighting among themselves. You know, food. "
She looked at images of the compound. This was going to be tough. She laughed. "How many other Atharim are in the city? We need to plan this out. We're going to hit it tomorrow."
She looked at the job-boxes. "Open these. Let me see what you have. I've got some stuff on my truck but I'm sure we'll need more."
She had a few bars of C4 but the walls of the convent were pretty massive. And she always liked to have more than enough. Plus, she loved the explosions. She didn't get to make them often- too much attention. But with the chaos in the country and buildings already being destroyed and the cartels openly at war with the government, she had a free hand.
She couldn't help the stupid smile that wouldn't leave her face.
Edited by Jacinda, Nov 1 2014, 09:41 PM.
She looked up at him briefly, then added. "Doesn't mean they didn't meet up with others in the city though. Rougs functional enough to relocate are not too common. One would think a town near the border might be a perfect place to live and feed, what with all the traffic fleeing north."
The display flew her over the various buildings and crowded living spaces as she put herself in the mind of an intelligent roug. Fleeing from something in the north- not really sure what. Planned a trip and brought food along. That kind of thing was rare in her experience. Not unheard of but rare. In the end, it didn't matter the reason why they'd come. They were here and had friends.
Each place she saw had its advantages. But it also had drawbacks. Gradually, her mind centered on el Desierto de los Leones National Park. What had been a national park anyway. The government infrastructure collapse under the weight of the cartel wars had made luxuries like parks an unsustainable expense. At its height, it had been nearly 5000 acres covering almost a fifth of this entire valley. Now it was a large fairly autonomous region. People were scattered throughout in shanty-towns nominally still under the government's control but effectively left to the mercies of the cartels and street gangs. The constant fighting meant high casualties. Drugged out junkies, runaways, street urchins, prostitutes and homeless comprised a sizable portion of the area. All kinds of other illegal activities were carried out, including human trafficking and brothels. It would be a perfect feeding ground for rougs since they could hit up any number of towns and no one would notice the disappearances. And it was right off of the 15, which they had hit from the 550 on their way south.
And there, smack dab in the center was El Convento Desierto de los Leones. Her map displayed pertinent information and pictures of the place. It had been beautiful at one time with its large stone buildings and Spanish architecture. Now it was run down and falling apart. It didn't surprise her to learn that local legend had began calling the place haunted almost 40 years ago. Disappearances, strange creatures, butchered corpses all made it clear that this was a prime place for any number of things to have occupied over the decades.
The last time she'd been in Mexico City it had been on the eastside and very quickly led them out to the south. The park hadn't shown up on her radar. But the Atharim database showed that this place had been hit more than once by the brethren over the decades. Oni's and chupes had been here and exterminated. Lot's of other things too. And then, it simply laid in wait until the next parasite decided to take up residence. And because of the legends, the people left it alone- including the cartels. It was a lure. Pity the convent hadn't been destroyed.
"Alright. I think you are right about their location. And that we are dealing with more than three rougs. No telling how many there will be. Rougs being rougs though, hopefully no more than ten. More than that and they get to fighting among themselves. You know, food. "
She looked at images of the compound. This was going to be tough. She laughed. "How many other Atharim are in the city? We need to plan this out. We're going to hit it tomorrow."
She looked at the job-boxes. "Open these. Let me see what you have. I've got some stuff on my truck but I'm sure we'll need more."
She had a few bars of C4 but the walls of the convent were pretty massive. And she always liked to have more than enough. Plus, she loved the explosions. She didn't get to make them often- too much attention. But with the chaos in the country and buildings already being destroyed and the cartels openly at war with the government, she had a free hand.
She couldn't help the stupid smile that wouldn't leave her face.
Edited by Jacinda, Nov 1 2014, 09:41 PM.