Ziggy (Legal Mojo) Sez:

        Dirty Pair belongs to: Adam Warren, Dark Horse, AD Vision, and
Streamline Pictures.
        Predator belongs to: CBS/FOX video





PLANET: CORIX IX
TIME: 1500 CST
DATE: 2142.06.22


	The heat was intense as the Corix SWAT team surrounded the dilapidated
building. The whole block was sealed off to prevent anyone from entering or
exiting. The other buildings were too shoddy to be called inhabitable, so
people weren't a real problem. 

	Tension filled the air, as the small army of cops amassed around the
building. They were waiting for the signal to strike. The heat was
unbearable, and riot gear wasn't the most comfortable gear ever made. The
breathing masks were also a pain, the air from the small tanks on their
backs left an anti-septic taste in their mouths and notrils. At least it was
a better taste than the stench that permeated the air from Corix IX's
indutrial wastes. All they could do was wait for the Stalkers, the Trouble
Consultant team from the 3WA, to get the matter resolved.

============================================================================

	A man ran across the roof of the crumbling building. He was wearing black
body armor, and a full face mask that hid his face and was hooked to a small
air tank on his back. He looked to be at least six-foot-seven, and every bit
of 250 pounds. He clutched his semi-auto pistol out in front of him as he
made for the stairway down into the building. He kicked the door open and
rapidly descended down the darkened stairwell. 

	The criminals were on the third floor of the twelve floor affair. He
switched his gun over to full auto as he charged down the stairs to meet his
partner, who was coming up from the basement as the other half of teh
squeeze play. So far, he hadn't heard any gunfire, which was ominous in its
own right. 

============================================================================

	They met at the door which led to the thieves. The two of them exchanged
worried glances. They hadn't met a single iota of resistance the whole time
they were moving into position. If these theives were who they thought they
were, this was a disturbing sign, indeed. Shoving their suspicions aside,
the large man reared back, and launched a side kick at the rusted metal
door. The door rattled in it's crumbling frame when his foot connected with
it. He let loose with another kick, the door rattling again in response. His
third kick caused the door to fall inward, he and his partner rushing in
behind it.

	"FREEZE! 3WA!" they shouted as they swept the room with the barrels of
their guns. The room had a high ceiling, and was dimly lit by several bare
bulbs that adorned the walls. The two agents took in the carnage before them.

	"GodDAMN, Danny! What happened, here?" said the large one. 
	"Hell if I know, Mike. Let's just find that bug." The two split up and
began to search the apartment. 

	The apartment, like the rest of the area, was delapidated and in serious
disrepair. The walls were covered with grime and smeared with blood. Danny
cautiously moved through the corpses, keeping his gun out in front. He felt
his gorge rise up at the sight of the eviscerated bodies. One was missing a
head, several were missing limbs. One even had his chest blown out.

	//Christ, what did this?\\ Danny pushed the thoughts of what happened out
of his mind. He had a mission here, and he had to accomplish it, no matter
what. If that virus got out... Danny proceeded to tear the apartment apart.
The Bio-container was a fairly large cylinder, and would be hard to hide in
the sparsely-furnished apartment. Twenty minutes of searching revealed
nothing, and Danny's frustration rose a few notches. "Mike! You find
anything?" Silence was Danny's answer. "Mike? MIKE!" Still nothing. Danny
stalked in the direction his partner took earlier. Danny tried to ignore the
strange fear that crept up from the depths of his mind as his feet stuck to
the blood-soaked floor. "MIKE! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" He still got no
response. If that sonofabitch was fucking with him...

	Danny walked through a doorway, his temper rising. "Mi...." The word caught
in his throat as he saw the blood dripping down from the ceiling. He slowly
turned his gaze upward to the...ceiling...

	"JESUS CHRIST!" Mike's lifeless body was spread-eagle on the ceiling,
attatched there by a net of thin wire. The net dug into his skin, blood
welling in the tiny cuts. His chest was little more than a gaping hole.
Danny took an involuntary step backward, and bumped into something  hard. He
gasped in fright and spun around, coming face to face with what was little
more than a distortion of the light in the room. Before Danny could react,
the distortion snatched his gun out of his hand and tossed it far across the
room. Danny staggered back a few steps, unable to take his eyes off the
distortion that hovered in front of him, seemingly regarding him as some
sort of insect. It was hard to see in the dim light, mainly just a pocket of
warped space. It took a step forward, and part of the creature became visible...

	Two brass-colored, wicked-looking blades popped out and gleamed dully in
the light cast by the bare light bulbs. All the training he underwent with
3WA finally kicked in, and he activated his comm-link.

	<<GET IN HERE! I NEED ASSISTANCE....YEEEAAGGGHHHH!>>

============================================================================

	The old, warped doors burst inward and several teams of officers stormed
inside and up to the third floor. The pounding footsteps echoed like thunder
in the narrow, trash-strewn hallways. The SWAT teams converged on the
doorway and burst in, only to be greeted by the sight of carnage. More than
one of the SWAT members stumbled out into the hallway to empty their
stomachs. Some wondered what happened to the Bio-container, but most
wondered what the hell killed all these people in such a gruesome fashion.

{END CHAPTER 1}

============================================================================

Well, what do you think?

        I thought it was time for something different, and here's the first
chapter. So far, nine people have volunteered to pre-read this, and response
has been good.

Jed

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"To the living we owe respect.
To the dead, we owe only the truth."