Splat Force IV: Radicalism; Chapter 9

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad! I hope you are all doing great! As per usual, I'm back on this fine Sunday (or Monday, depending on the timezone) with a new Chapter of Splat Force IV: Radicalism!

So, the past couple of Chapters have been slower. They've been shorter, and nothing too major (apart from a few introductions and an assistant being killed) has been going on... let's say we change that right here, right now!

With the ending of the last Chapter, a couple of Magnus' loved ones have now been put onto Cyrus Zagan's list, but will he be able to save them? You'll just have to wait and see...

So without further ado, let's get into this!

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(Previous Chapter)(Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R  9 : B U D D Y H O L L Y

Morning had come again, Emily sat in the visitation centre wearing her full Splat Force gear along with her black beanie. She was awaiting the arrival of her "favourite" prisoner. After a couple of minutes, Vincent Fisk finally arrived. He walked to their usual meeting space and sat in his seat. The pair of them picked up the phone.

"Back again? I didn't expect you so soon."

"I've got a few updates in the ongoin' case."

Emily told him.

"Okay? I'm listening."

"As it turns out, Albert Newton is dead."

Emily informed. Vincent looked shocked.

"William Swannack had classified R.A.I.C files on you. Among them were files relatin' to your colleagues. Apparently, they found Newton dead outside your old base at the Coraldia from a suspected self-inflicted bullet to the head."

"That's off... Newton was always the calmest and most reasonable among us. Why would he kill himself?"

Vincent asked to which Emily shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm just goin' off what I know. I could be wrong about this."

She told him before moving on to the other assistant.

"As for Cyrus Zagan, we don't have anythin' on him, not even a trace... or that was the case, anyway."

Vincent seemed interested.

"You found something?"

"Do you recall the name, Yazmin Wells?"

"I think...?"

Vincent answered, sounding unsure.

"It's been years and I had a lot of employees."

"Don't blame you if you don't... anyway, she was found dead in her home."

She told him.

"She was decapitated. We're suspectin' that the assassin killed her."

"But, why? I never hired a single cured man or woman. Why would they go after her?"

"I suspected that maybe she tried to go behind Cyrus' back and he retaliated. That's my guess, anyway. Again, I could be wrong."

Emily suggested.

"Zagan always had an unhinged side to him, especially with how he treated Project ZM, along with the other prisoners."

Vincent explained to her.

"Your theory has a lot of merit, Emily, but do be careful. I don't want you getting hurt."

Emily wasn't expecting that kind of comment from Vincent. She sat up in her seat and leaned forward.

"Is there anythin' you'd suggest we do? Anythin' that'll help us?"

Vincent sat back in his seat as he thought about what their next course of action was. Eventually, an idea was sprung into his head.

"I'm not sure how you'd get there, but maybe you could go to where my old base was. I doubt you'd find anything there, but it's worth a look."

"I'm pretty sure that the R.A.I.C have already run down that old place, but..."

Emily replied as she tried to think of whether or not the trip would be worth it. She eventually made up her mind.

"I'll ask Magnus and maybe Shauna. We'll speak to Luke about gettin' a ride there."

"Good."

Vincent said. Before the meeting could end, however...

"Oh! I have a request."

Emily squinted her eyes and tilted her head.

"A request?"

Vincent nodded.

"Two. One. Zero. Seven. One. Seven."

He told her. The moment he started saying the numbers, Emily got out a folded piece of scrap paper from her utility belt and began to write down the numbers. Once done, she tucked it away back in her belt.

"Keep those numbers in mind, will you?"

"Uhh... okay?"

Emily said. She was completely lost and didn't know what the relevance was.

"So... I guess I'll see you soon?"

"See you soon, sweetheart!"

Vincent said with a wave. As Emily left the building, Vincent turned back to the guard.

"We're done here!"

After walking outside, Emily took out her phone and dialled Magnus' number before calling him. He picked up after nearly half a minute.

"You're up early..."

Magnus whispered, not expecting Emily to be up and ready at seven in the morning.

"Just visited Fisk again, he gave me a great idea."

She told him before giving him a request of her own.

"Could you give Luke a call?"

"Sure... what for?"

"We're gonna need a ride."

Emily informed him.

M E A N W H I L E E L S E W H E R E . . .

Walking around MakoMart with young Mary in the shopping cart, Holly picked up supplies she needed, which mostly consisted of toilet rolls, shampoo and cheap hair products along with essential food and drink.

Along the way, she ed the toy Isle, making young Mary excited and giggly. The baby saw a soft squid toy on the shelf and reached for it. Seeing this, Holly chuckled to herself before grabbing the plushie and checking the price.

"Seven Ninty-Nine... I'm spoiling you, for sure!"

She said playfully before giving Mary the plushie.

She walked to the tile at the end of the store and purchased all of her orders, paying by a less card. Once paid for, she put all of her items into a shopping bag. She picked up the bag with her left hand whilst carrying Mary in her right arm.

She arrived back at her navy blue car and opened the boot before storing all of her shopping. Of course, Mary already had her plushie in her small arms, so there was no need to reach into the bag to find it.

She carried Mary into the front seat of the car and onto her baby chair. Once she was all strapped in and comfortable, Holly got into the driver's seat. Not long later, she drove away from the store.

However, what Holly didn't know was that danger was lurking nearby. The assassin was looking down at her car with his visor up from the top of the roof of the store. He was standing in the sign in the middle of the O. Suddenly, his coms went off.

"Follow her, soldier, don't engage until I say..."

M E A N W H I L E E L S E W H E R E . . .

"Hey, Austin, have you found out her address yet?"

Cyrus yelled out to his assistant. His eyes were still glued to his computer screen.

Moments later, the assistant came up to him with the news Cyrus wanted.

"Sir, her address is: Twenty, Cuttlefish Lane, Larvae Town."

Cyrus turned to his new assistant and gave him a crooked smile.

"Oh, I'm proud of you, Austin, I don't know why I hired a woman assistant when all I needed was you, my friend!"

He told him, making the assistant feel good about himself. Cyrus then faced back to his computer screen.

"Now, go and make me a sandwich!"

"Right away, sir!"

Austin said before leaving the room.

L A T E R T H A T A F T E R N O O N . . .

Magnus, Emily, Shauna, and General Bishop had arrived at the Coraldia via the General's helicopter. They landed close to the ruins of Fisk's old base, but still kept a bit of a distance just in case someone was nearby.

Upon arriving at the base, the four of them began to dumpster dive into the ruins. They dug through the rubble, but the only things being found were old broken weapons and armour.

"Any luck, Magnus?"

General Bishop asked as he put down a large slab.

Magnus shook his head.

"Other than a gun or two, I've found nothin'."

He answered.

"Shauna? Emily?"

Shauna was digging through the rubble like a pet digging through sand. Eventually, she uncovered a brown box with a digital lock.

"I found something!"

She announced to the rest of the team.

The other three circle around Shauna and the box. General Bishop looked the most confused.

"This was left out here all this time?"

"To be fair, their mission back then was to look for survivors and arrest any of Fisk's men on sight. Plus, I assume they must've thought they had everythin'."

Magnus said in defence of the old R.A.I.C.

"What we should be asking is how we open this thing..."

Emily saw the -protected lock in front of the box and was immediately taken back to the numbers that Fisk had told her about in the morning.

"Shauna, can you please me the box?"

"Sure."

Shauna replied before handing the box to her girlfriend.

Emily kneeled on the ground as she got out the scrap note from her utility belt. Reading the numbers out loud, she typed in what she suspected the was.

"Two... one... zero.... seven... one... seven..."

She whispered as she finished typing in the . Moments later, the box opened by itself.

"Yes!"

"Go on, Emily!"

Magnus cheered.

The group all looked into the box excitedly. Inside was a small notebook. Emily took it out. It had no cover, just blackness.

"Well, this sucks..."

She whispered, sounding underwhelmed and disappointed that this was what the numbers were for.

"Try looking inside."

General Bishop recommended.

"Good point."

Emily said back to him before opening the notebook.

Inside one every line was a name. At the top was a mini title:

'My Employees.'

The top right of the page had the date it was written.

'July 26th 2028'

"Why would he write all these names down?"

The General asked.

Shauna was quick to answer. She ed that time very well, for all the wrong reasons.

"This was a day before Fisk was taken in. He knew that he was gonna be taken down sooner or later if his plan didn't work, so he wrote all of it down for someone to find."

She explained.

"Or at least, that's what I think."

General Bishop slowly nodded as he put the pieces together in his mind.

"Maybe in his mind, if he went down, everyone else would."

"Maybe, at the time."

Emily responded.

"But, he turned himself in."

"I know."

The General replied before looking back to the book.

"What are you going to do with this?"

Thinking about the question, Emily stood up and tucked the small notebook into her belt.

"I'm gonna show this to the rest of the team. We'll go through the book and pick out names of people we can get access to for information."

She told him.

"When we're done, you guys can have it."

General Bishop nodded and hummed.

"Good plan."

He said before making his way out of the ruins.

"Let's go, I don't wanna spend any more time here than I have to."

"Yeah, fair enough."

Emily replied as she, Magnus, and Shuana all followed General Bishop out of the ruins and towards the helicopter. Not long later, the four of them were off into the skies once again.

L A T E R T H A T N I G H T . . .

Holly drove slowly down her neighbourhood. Her navy blue car helped blend her car in at night, though the car lights would give her away. She drove to the very end of the road before turning right into her parking space.

"Home, sweet home!"

She said to Mary, who was sat giggling next to her in her baby chair.

Holly carefully took off Mary's seat belt and took her out of her seat. The pair of them got out of the car and walked to the bungalow ahead of them. As they walked up the wooden steps to the front door, Holly used her spare left hand to reach into her pocket to grab the key to the front door.

Neither Holly nor Mary knew that the whole time, they had been followed. The assassin stood on the roof opposite them. His dark suit helped him blend in with the darkness. He watched as Holly got her key out. He had his visor on. Much like Cyrus Zagan's computer, the visor showed everything with a strong blue filter with the exception of Holly, who was in a bright shade of yellow, signalling her once being gifted. Baby Mary, on the other hand, was as blue as the environment around her.

Holly walked into her bungalow. The entrance led into the living room, which was a small, squared room with a small couch in the middle of the room facing the small TV that layed on the drawer against the right wall. There was a small desk to the right of the front door that was next to the window. To the left of the front door was the door to the bathroom. There was a small kitchen just ahead by the top left corner. Opposite the entrance was the door to the bedroom.

"Shall I get you to your crib?"

Holly playfully asked the giggling baby as she carried her to the crib by the couch. As she gently placed Mary into the white crib, the infant started to giggle as she squeezed her Squid plushie.

"Just gotta get the shopping out, so-"

T H U M P ! ! !

Suddenly, she heard an echoing thump coming from outside. She jolted and faced the front door, confused.

"What in the world?"

M E A N W H I L E W I T H T H E T E A M . . .

Rex, Platinum, and Samantha were waiting in the base. The former two were sat by the desk at the back whilst Samantha sat on the stairs in the corner, downing a drink. All three of them were in their casual clothing, with Rex in particular wearing a blue coat over his white shirt. Luckily, they didn't have to wait long.

Magnus, Emily, and Shauna arrived back at the base, still in their Splat Force gear. The notebook was in Emily's hands.

"Got the names right here!"

She told them as she skipped to the desk and slammed it onto the surface. Emily then looked up at Rex and Platinum before whispering to them.

"It's a long list."

The full group assembled by the desk, each circling the folder. Samantha decided to speak first.

"So, have you got a plan yet?"

"I'm willin' to take a gamble here."

Magnus replied as he looked at Samantha.

"We'll write down a few names we can access, and then tomorrow we'll start the hunt."

"Yeah! It's interrogating time!"

Shauna announced, sounding strangely excited about it.

Platinum seemed eager to get in on the plan.

"Couldn't we just go tonight?"

She asked.

"Theatrically, we can find out where one of them lives, go to them and then get our answers there."

"Platinum, that's breakin' and enternin'."

Emily replied, sounding very monotone.

"Good point..."

Platinum whispered to herself.

"Well done, you three."

Rex told them. A thought then raced into his mind concerning Magnus and Emily.

"Magnus, Emily, you two are Commanders, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

Magnus asked, confused as to why it was suddenly brought up.

Rex looked at their Splat Force gear, specifically the neck area.

"Where are your scarves? Every Commander has them."

"Oh..."

Emily replied awkwardly before turning to Magnus.

"I knew we were forgettin' somethin'!"

"Yeah... we might have to get that sorted soon."

Magnus replied. Suddenly, his phone started ringing. It was from an unknown number.

"Who's that?"

Rex asked.

"I don't know..."

The Octoling replied before answering. He put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Magnus Lang, I'm guessing?"

A sinister voice asked. Neither Magnus nor the rest of the team recognised the voice.

"Yes...? Who is this?"

"Oh, come on! Unknown number calls you during a case against Fisk's former workers?!"

It hit the team instantly.

"Cyrus Zagan?"

Magnus asked. He didn't get a response.

"H-How did you get my-"

"It doesn't matter how I got your number."

Cyrus said to him. Before ending the call, he left a cryptic message.

"What matters is you giving good ol' buddy Holly a call!"

"What?! How do you-"

Magnus asked just as the call ended. He looked spooked. His heart race quickly increased as he turned to the worried team.

"I-I gotta go!"

Magnus ran out of the base and onto the streets of Inkopolis City. He began super jumping across the large city of color. After getting far enough, he got out his phone once again and dialled up Holly's number. The moment he started calling her, Holly picked up.

"M-Magnus?!"

"Holly! Are you okay?"

He asked her. Unfortunately, Holly had gone quiet.

B A C K W I T H H O L L Y . . .

Holly was now face to face with the assassin, who was now standing at the open front door, staring her down.

"Holly? Talk to me!"

Magnus yelled on the phone, panicking.

"H-H-He's staring at me!"

She whimpered to him.

By now, Holly had come to realize who she was dealing with. She knew there was no way out. If she made a sudden move, she was a goner. If she left the room, that would've meant leaving young Mary helplessly on her own. If she even made it to a different room, who's to say the assassin wouldn't catch up? She was stuck.

The Octoling on the other end of the call instantly knew who she was referring to, only making him panic more.

"Don't engage! Do NOT engage, H-Holly!"

Magnus yelled back on the phone. He was so intense that Holly could hear the strong breeze on the phone. She could tell that he was going as fast as he could.

"I-I'll be there soon! J-Just stay with me!"

"O-O-Okay..."

Holly whispered back. She was doing her best to hold back tears. She remained completely still.

Meanwhile, the assassin stood still, staring patiently at Holly. At first glance, one would assume he was waiting for a sudden movement, however...

"Engage, soldier!"

Cyrus Zagan said on the coms. The assassin was just waiting for the signal.

S K I T ! ! !

Out came the blade from the top of the wrist of his metal arm. Holly knew what was coming. She was frozen in fear and began to hyperventilate.

"Holly? What's going on?!"

Magnus called out, only to get nothing but quick breathing was a response.

"Holly...?"

B A C K W I T H M A G N U S . . .

"HOLLY?!"

Magnus screamed. All of a sudden, the call ended.

"Squit, squit, squit!"

Magnus began panicking. That could not have been a good sign at all. He had to get there as quickly as possible. Using the energy he had, Magnus went into his swim form and began super jumping his way there.

After a couple of minutes, he arrived at Larvae Town. He rushed to the end of the road to find a burning house that was engulfed in raging flames.

"No... NO!"

He screamed before rushing into the house.

On the inside, the furniture had been completely burnt and destroyed. It looked like the fire had originated from the kitchen, as there was an overcooked pan on the stove as well as metal knives, forks, and spoons being stuffed into the microwave. Judging by the foul smell, it appeared that gasoline had also been used to spread the fire.

Lying in the middle of the room was the woman whom Magnus was there for.

"Holly!"

He called out before rushing to her side. He was quick to notice two things: the large stab wound in her chest and her lifeless eyes staring back at him.

"No, no! Ho-Holly, p-p-please!"

There was no use in begging, Holly was dead, and there was nothing he could do about it. Tears fell from Magnus' face as he held the lifeless woman close to him.

"I'm s-s-so sorry, H-Holly..."

He whimpered quietly as she rocked her side to side. Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing after hearing crying from up ahead.

"Mary?!"

Magnus rushed to the crib up ahead and saw his scared, crying daughter who was clinging on to the Squid plushie.

"Oh, Mary!"

Magnus cried out before picking up and cuddling his daughter tightly. They both cried into each other, with Magnus burying Mary into his chest so she wouldn't see anything around her.

Once his moment of relief had ed, Magnus became filled with anger. Cyrus Zagan had just killed someone he cared for whilst also endangering his daughter. As far as Magnus was concerned, the whole case had now become a personal matter...

T O  B E  C O N T I N U E D . . .

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T H X  F O R  R E A D I N G ! ! !

Thx for reading the ninth Chapter of Splat Force IV: Radicalism! Of course, it ain't a Splat Force story without a little bit of tragedy. How will Magnus cope with this loss? What will the team do next? You'll find out in next week's intense Chapter. In the next Chapter, shit is going to go down, so stay tuned for that! Until next time, stay safe out there! ^^

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