I decided to work my way around to the North gate. Better not to be seen coming in from Winslow. With the sun rising on my left I approached the gate house where two bored looking Red Bands stood guard. Both looked like frontline fighters. One had a massive hammer strapped to his back and the other a pair of long knives on his hips. Both were adorned in expensive looking armor, head to toe. Ill gotten gains from the adventurers that used to go out I suspect. There were no crucifixes on this side of the city, as well.

The guard with the hammer spotted me approaching first and casually stepped out of the gate house. “The hell you coming from?”

“Oh, well, the canyon. Tuba City.” I responded, feigning exhaustion.

“Bullshit, no one comes from up north. We haven’t gotten past Cameron. The monsters up there are brutal.”

I spread my hands out to let them get a good look at me. “I know. I’m good at hiding though. Travel light and all.”

His buddy came up and looked me over. “Yeah, you look like you been through the shit, alright. What’s your business?”

“No business, just passing through, got family in Sedona. Was hoping to catch a shower and a bed for the night, then move on. Maybe get a warm meal. That possible here?”

“Yeah, but we’ll have to check your gear and any weapons, not allowed inside the city.” Hammer man said and stepped forward. “Raise your arms.”

I did as directed and the man stepped up and patted me down like a pro. Considering he had probably been on the receiving end of such treatment he should be. He grabbed my Glock, emptied the magazine and racked the chamber empty in a fluid motion that suggested he’d done this before too. “You made it from the North with this piece of shit? You must be really good at hiding. You can get this back when you leave, I’ll have it moved to the South Gate. There’s an entrance fee, 25% of your current UMC. Non negotiable, you don’t like it, you can piss off.”

I had planned for this and only held ten thousand UMC, the rest had been transferred to Junipher before I came around. Knives frowned at the transfer and looked at me skeptically. “Good you don’t plan to stick around, wouldn’t last long without more money than that. Head on in and stick to the road, when you see city hall you’ll head left across the tracks and come to some college dorms. That’s been set aside for visitors.”

I nodded at his direction and thanked him as the large steel gates opened enough for me to pass through. I appraised the wall as I passed through and decided even with the rail pistol I wouldn’t want to assault it. I moved carefully down the road until I was confident I could double back. Michelle had pinged the location she tossed my real gear and I headed straight for it. This part of the city was largely wooded so I had no lack of cover and concealment as I moved. I found the bag under a tree and slung it over my shoulder then headed down towards the city once more.

The outer neighborhoods of Flagstaff looked much like Winslow did after the first few days. The buildings on the outskirts had been completely wrecked, burnt, or collapsed to varying degrees. What stood out most from the grim tableau was the fact there were still people living in and around the wreckage. People slowly woke next to burn barrels that smoked in the morning sun, the fuel for their fires long since expired at some point in the cold night. A few looked at me as I walked, though most ignored me as just another vagrant crossing through their city.

As I neared the city center and the rail station the condition of the buildings improved, though that of the people did not. Tarps stretched across narrow alleys and people began moving to an unheard rhythm. Here, Red Bands patrolled the streets that were flanked in only partially damaged or collapsed buildings. Many of the businesses had all of their windows smashed and had been repurposed for other functions. Outside a large mexican restaurant I had eaten at once or twice in the past a long line wrapped around the front and down the street. Moldy bread and weak looking soup was handed out as people gathered.

A pair of Red Bands watched the procession of starving citizens with bored indifference, occasionally calling someone out of the line and harassing them for this or that. Rage slowly began to billow in my stomach as I walked through the city and saw the scene replayed at different locations. It took a conscious effort to remain on task and not start murdering these worthless excuses of humanity where they stood. A pair of Red Bands had noticed my glare while they were shaking down a pair of despondent looking college age girls. I did my best to slip into the crowd, though at seven and a half feet tall it was easier said than done.

I wove my way around the streets and alleys until I felt I had sufficiently lost their attention, then I turned back down another alley that I figured would take me to a spot I could get a look at City Hall. I stumbled over a pair of legs sticking out from under a box and paused. I pulled the box away and found a young woman and an even younger boy staring up at me with lifeless eyes. Large rats scattered and I could see where they had begun to feast on their bodies. The boy was maybe five or six, and the girl could be barely in her teens. I reached up and closed their eyes and continued on my task.

When I stepped out the other side of the alley I found myself standing right in front of City Hall. To my right was a small coffee shop that was surprisingly open and serving. What the hell, it’s still early, Mayor’s probably not in her office yet. Might as well sample the local fare.

I stepped in and ordered a black coffee and balked at the 2000 UMC it cost me. I found a seat outside where I could slowly sip my coffee and watch the City Hall for when the Mayor decided to come out of her Mansion and go to work.

About a half hour later I saw the woman come down out of her mansion and enter City Hall. The Red Band presence was pretty heavy here. I needed a way to get at her that wouldn’t alert her until it’s too late. I could easily fight my way in, though she may run away before I reached her. Can’t have that now can we? And I really wanted to have a chat with her before I killed her. Give her a chance to surrender. As I was plotting my way in I realized almost all of her Guards were black or native. And they were all nearly as big as me, probably reaped the benefit of the Advanced Genetic Correction option.

I noticed that all of these men were wearing a face covering of some sort as well. A glimmer of a plan was forming as I sized them up and found the one I wanted. Then I remembered size didn’t matter in the System, so I found a guy wearing a black full face balaclava and waited for him to leave. When he did I followed him from a distance until we were out of sight of the other guards. Jen had given me a little tidbit of vital information about how the System assigned bounties for crimes committed. Apparently you had to be seen by the victim of the crime or other witness to be tagged for a bounty. If you can manage to take someone out without them actually seeing you, well, then you would need more traditional investigative services to determine a responsible party.

So I activated an ability I rarely used, Hidden Advance, that allowed me to approach my target unseen and when I was directly behind the man I activated Cheap Shot and Brutal Strike and punched him in the back of the neck. The only sound made was the snapping of his vertebrae from the force of the impact and his body striking the ground with a thud. I looked around making sure I wasn’t seen, then went to strip the man of his clothes and swapped mine out. I grimaced in irritation as another tick of Race Traitor was added to my titles. I was now sitting at 48 counts of that particularly nasty title. Veep informed me I earned most of those at the prison. Bastards!

I turned back out into the street that led to the City Hall and noticed as the docile people gave me a wide berth. I thought about attempting to walk through the front gate but decided against it. I was pretty certain they didn’t have any seven and a half foot tall white men in their group. The disguise would only work at a distance. Once they saw my skin around my eyes they’d know I don’t belong. So I found an alley that ran close to the building and waited for a gap in the patrols. When the gap presented itself I notified my teams that I was about to go in. If the hornet’s nest wasn’t properly kicked in the next half hour they were clear to take whatever actions they deemed necessary to fix this problem themselves.

I slipped across the road quietly and forced open a window with my strength, then crawled into the room on the other side which turned out to be a storage closet. Quickly closing the window behind me I pulled my armor out of the bag and put it on underneath the Red Band clothing. Then I stuffed the bag in my spatial storage not wanting to risk anyone seeing me in my full kit, and thus getting me narced out by the System due to the Laws put in place by the Mayor. I opened the door slightly and peeked out into a hallway. No one stirred so I stepped out silently and decided on a direction and moved with a purpose.

I stalked through the building to find it largely empty. A helpful placard on the wall directed me to the third floor and the Mayor’s office. I didn’t run into anyone and began to get suspicious. They must know I’m here. Found the guards body? Something else I missed? My senses were churning on full at this point. I could hear someone on the other side of the door who sounded like they were working at a computer. I looked around for a few more seconds and no one jumped out of the walls to attack me. Shrugging I thought, screw it, and pulled the rest of my standard kit out, removed the guard clothing and reached up to knock. Nah, fuck that, I’m just going to barge right in. And barge in I did.

“Mayor Carol Blevins, we need to have a little talk.” Her head snapped up at my sudden presence in alarm, quickly cataloguing my arms and armor, then an ugly look formed on her face.

“Who the fuck are you?” Venom dripped in her voice as she glared at me from behind her desk. She was wearing a pink skirt and blazer with a white blouse underneath. A surprisingly tasteful amount of makeup enhanced her facial features, despite the personality trapped behind it, and her hair was done in a simple small afro.”

I pulled up a seat and sat down casually with a foot crossed on my knee and gave her an equally hard look. “Name’s Karl. I own the SooHoo Village. I’ve come to negotiate terms of surrender.”

“Surrender?” She cocked an eye at me, “I’m assuming you’re surrendering to me. Because if you don’t, you’re not walking your cracker ass out of here alive. I’ll tell you that for sure.” She leaned forward with her elbows on the desk and fingers steepled in front of her, an annoyed smile on her face.

I looked at her seriously for a moment then let loose a light chuckle. Faint wisps of steam trickled from my nose and mouth as I spoke, “No ma’am, I’m here for your surrender.”

Her head rocked back in loud laughter and when she spoke next the venom returned, “Get the fuck out of here with that shit, white boy. You think you’re bald, white power, ass is going to force my surrender all by yourself? You got another thing coming! I’m gonna put all you mother fucking honkies in chains. What do ya think of that!?”

I didn’t let her goad me any further, the Reaper was stirring, I gave her one last chance, “Surrender, run, or die. Your choice.”

She had stood in anger with her palms pressed to her desk and hissed at me, “What the fuck do you think you’re going to do!? You think some delusional ass white boy like you is gonna run me out of here. You can go fuck yourself.” In a fluid motion she brought up a sawed off shotgun and pulled the trigger. I flinched to the side as the heavy slug slammed into my chest plate. My breath was hot with anger and I pulled out my ballistic mask and pulled it slowly over my face as I stared at her in rage.

“The fuck?” She muttered and pulled the trigger again. Another slug was deflected by the plate carrier and then I moved so fast she didn’t have time to react. My left hand wrapped around the handguard of the sawed off and I wrenched it to the side, breaking her hand in the process. She screamed in pain and stared at me in anger. “My people are coming up right now, you’re fucked!” She threatened hysterically.

“I gave you a choice, and you have chosen.” I tossed the shotgun to the ground and backhanded her with my other hand. She spun and landed face first on the carpet, a thick glob of blood strung out across the desk and floor.

“Fuck you!” She screamed as she rolled onto her back. I snatched her up as she feebly tried to bat my hand away, then I smashed her into the wall behind her desk, which then noisily broke away. Plaster and dust drifted in the air as light from the morning sun filtered in. The sound of footsteps pounding down the hall behind me led me to urgently launch us both into the air. We soared nearly 50 feet straight up before I heaved back and swung her at a terrifying speed towards the ground. I wasn’t sure if she broke the sound barrier in the short distance but she certainly struck the ground with a loud crack right in front of the Coffee Shop I had previously been sitting at. The cement splintered and cracked in a spiderweb pattern underneath her body, and bystanders looked shocked as gravity regained its hold on my person and I landed gently next to her broken body.

“NnnNnngh. You…” Blood bubbled up from her mouth as she tried to speak. She’s still alive!? Let’s fix that!

I grabbed her legs with both hands and swung her body high over head and barked at her as I swung, “I GAVE!” SMACK! Her body hit the ground and she grunted. I lifted her back the other direction, “YOU!” SMACK! Her head lolled to the side. I thought she was done when her eyes weakly opened to look at me in confusion, I swung her for a third and final time, “A CHOICE!” CRACK! Third time’s a charm! The back of her skull split on impact, blood and brain matter splattered across the broken cement.

Mayor Carol Blevins, owner and administrator of the City of Flagstaff has been defeated!

City Core is now available for capture.

That’s a fucking understatement! I thought as I stared down at the broken body of the Mayor, then I turned back to the City Hall which now had an indicator in my vision showing me where the City Core was hidden. In front of me several particularly large Red Bands were charging my position and the street bystanders had scattered at the sudden burst of violence. I decided it was time for the teams outside to get moving. I sent them messages indicating the deed was done and that I was moving on the core as I fully re-equipped my arsenal and turned to face the approaching threats. This is gonna be fun!