Operation Final Spiral - Chapter Three

Maintaining Cordial Relations in the Delta Green RPG, using Mythic 2e

Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this document are ©SolumProtocol, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

Photo by Harrison Haines: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-leafed-trees-3172579/

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US 72-E, Just outside Memphis, Tennessee

“Good Evening Agent Jones.” The corporate guy said with a wide and obviously false smile. The police had waved him through and he had stepped out of his weird, humming car in a pristine suit, a briefcase and the kind of predatory smile that looked straight out of a True Crime documentary. He passed me his card, a small, matte black thing that felt heavy and metallic. A thin red line ran through the center with the words ‘March Technologies’ in bold italics.¹ I vaguely knew these guys, they were a big government contractor specializing in weapons and aeronautics. My boss had mentioned them in briefings a few times, their small arm contracts being forever out of reach of our federal budget, but still teased almost annually. The name on the corner of the card was ‘Mr. Reeves.’ No first name. I quirked an eyebrow and the man’s smile widened.

“Looks like we’ve got quite the mess here.” He said cheerfully. I felt a stab of irritation. Four of my fellow agents, most of them not quite friends, but more than strangers, were lying dead and mutilated under the sheets around us, and this fucker was calling it a ‘quite the mess’?

“That’s putting it mildly,.” I said, keeping my voice cool. “How can I help you, Mr Reeves?”

“I think it’s more about how we can help each other.” He said, waving over one the heavily armed jarheads he had arrived with. All four figures were decked out in full battle dress, Kevlar head to toe with flexible helmets that looked to have built in night vision.² I didn’t recognize the weapons they held, chunky pistols with long square barrels but I guessed they were March Tech originals, given the black and red paint job.³

“Uh huh.” I said, unconvinced and eyeing the towering figure. He was ex-military if I had to guess, or hell, maybe even current military, given his gear and bearing.

“Oh yes.”⁴ He said warmly. “Your friends here weren’t equipped to deal with the threat they encountered.” He lowered his voice. “But as you can see, we can change that.”

“And what exactly is it you want in return?”

“Obviously we work together. I’ve heard that you are an excellent tracker-’ He said, but I held up a hand.

“Heard that from whom?” I asked, my eyes narrowed.⁵

“Your record with the bureau is exemplary, Agent Jones. Have you read it? It’s positively glowing and makes very entertaining reading.” His smile had taken on a shadowy quality and I felt that growing sense of unease as I took in this man and his kill squad. How did he even get access to that intel? He took in my discomfort with an air of undeniable smugness and then moved on. “You lead the way. Let’s find this target, and then you can hold back with me and we can chat about this and that while my team goes in and secures the subject.”

“Secures?” I asked

“Of course. There’s too much we don’t know here. I know you’ve been with The Program for nearly half a decade now, Agent Jones, aren’t you sick of going in blind?”

“I’m sick of a lot of shit, Mr Reeves, but the job is the job.” I said, feeling the ice of unease at my spine whenever he said my name. Something wasn’t right here. This ‘external contractor’ was far, far too well informed to be the mercenary type, and if anything, he seemed to be more in the know than anyone else I had worked with in the Program, apart from the Director of Security herself.

“Of course, Of Course.” Mr Reeves said soothingly. “This is, however, the cost of our assistance. If we can secure the subject alive, who knows how many lives we will save in the long run?” Not fucking many, if my understanding of this shit was anything to go by. Knowing more wasn’t the answer. Burning it all and burying it so no one can find it, that was more my speed. Still. Oakes had said to play nice.

“Fine.” I said. “I’ve got a lead, get your team together and give me a few minutes. I need to take care of something quick.”

“Anything I can help with?” Reeves’ said, falling into step with me. I stopped and turned, plastering a smile of my own onto my face. We both stood there for a moment, big, fake business smiles pointed at each other like a business casual standoff.

“Nothing right now, thank you Mr Reeves. I appreciate the offer, but it’s just a bit of family business, then we can get back to work.”⁶

“Of course!”” He said warmly. When I started walking to the car, he still followed me. Bastard.

I gave Jo a meaningful look as I retrieved her from the car and deposited her with the sheriff. I gave her my cell number, told her to stay in the motel room until i got back, and to call me if anything came up. She eyed her surroundings suspiciously, but went along when I gave her another diet coke.

“Is it wise to give a girl that age caffeine this late in the day?” The Sheriff said as Jo shuffled into the front seat of her cruiser. I stared at him unblinkingly until he coughed awkwardly and tipped his hat and got into the car. The other Sheriff’s left when another van showed up, pitch black, red highlights, and barely perceptible armor plating. The March Tech Trade dress, I supposed. A few people in cleaners gear got out and Reeves grinned and gestured towards them.

“They’ll have the highway clear and the bodies moved in the next hour. We can leave them to it. Lead the way.” I didn’t like any of this. I was itching to call Landry or even Oakes and demand a full explanation, but with Candela’s killer on the loose nearby, I didn’t really have a choice. I ran a finger over the hilt of the knife in my underarm holster and then retrieved one of the rifles from the trunk of my car.⁷ I chose the Winchester, more from a sense of familiarity than any other purpose, and loaded a a few round in and checked the sights.

“It’s getting dark.” Reeves mused as I took my time preparing.

“Good.” I said. I didn’t see the problem. I could see just as well at night than in day, and his thugs all had night vision.

‘You’re a night hunter, then.” He said jokingly. I nearly flinched at the word ‘hunter’ but I kept myself in check and eyed him warily. What do you know, Reeves? He wasn’t looking at me, though, and he pulled out a small box from his bag and handed it to me. “This is a thermal imager. My boys have one of these in their headgear, but as your leading the way, I thought you should have one.” He smiled again, and I tried not to shudder. I glanced at the screen, and waved it around. Short range, from the look of it, but still useful.

“Your boys ready to go?” I asked, moving towards the edge of the highway.

“Of course!” He said, and gestured. Two trigger men stood facing me, the other two staring off at the tree line, all as still as statues. I stepped off the highway with a pit in my stomach as they all filed in behind me.⁸

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Flatlands, Just outside Memphis, Tennessee 10 PM

I told the others to give me some space while I tried to follow the tracks, but I was bullshitting them. I wasn’t a tracker, at least, not by sight. I took a deep breath through my nose as I moved deeper into the overgrown flatlands that surrounded the highway.⁹ I couldn’t pick anything up, however, so I had to rely on my training, rather than instinct. With the sundown, my sight was largely monochrome, and I wasn’t a survivalist, so trekking through the underbrush wasn’t my area of expertise. With nothing to follow, at least for now, I just moved into the trees with the thermal scanner up and kept my eyes open. Reeves joined me after my initial sweep.

“Any luck?” He asked in a whisper.

“I told you to give me some space.” I said, irritably.

“I’ll take that as a no then.”

“Take it however you want, Mr Reeves.” I was annoyed because there was little trace of anything apart from a few animal drippings and trash from the highway.

“Your boys have thermal scanners and night vision?” I asked.¹⁰

“Just Thermal.” He said.

“That will have to do. Spread out. It’s been a few hours since the attack, so even on foot they might have been able to put some distance between them and the highway. Those were bare human feet on the tarmac and the witness said she had little to protect her from the elements.”

“But we don’t know if that would bother her, Agent Jones.” He said, as though reminding a child of something obvious. “If she’s as unnatural as we believe, we can't measure her survivability by human standards.”

“Just get your boys to spread out.” I said again, failing to hide a twinge of annoyance. “Do you have short range comms?”¹¹

“Something like that.” He said evasive.

“I’ve got a spare earpiece for work, give me the frequency and we can stay in contact.”

“It’s a private channel and I don’t have any spares.” He said and I tilted my head. What was this fresh nonsense all about?

“We’re on the same side here, Reeves.” I said, leaping at the opportunity to take the moral high ground for once. “If you don’t want me on coms with your team, that’s your business. But we need a way to communicate.”

“I’ll stick with you and then I can communicate with the team. Don’t worry.” He said as his smile returned and his eyes become inscrutable. I grunted. I didn’t want that at all. If I was alone, I would just run in a straight line at full tilt until I picked up the scent. I had enough self awareness to know that It wouldn’t fly with anyone apart from Jasper, and maybe Tracy. I agreed, begrudgingly, and we moved forward as a unit.¹² I moved deeper into the trees, a dense overgrown piece of forest that limited my view and caused a heady mixture of natural smells to fill my nostrils, while Reeves walked casually at my side as though he was on his way to the boardroom. I noticed he wasn’t armed, which was bizarre to me, but soon enough I held up a hand to stop him. The thermal was blank, but I could smell it, a subtle, herbal smell that caused a tangy, unpleasant taste to flare up in the back of my throat.

“Hold up. Call your team in.” I said softly. I crouched down, pretending to inspect the ground while processing the smell. It continued north and a little bit to the east and so I drew my rifle and moved forward.

“Agent Jones, the rifle isn’t necessary, please leave it to my team.” Anderson said softly.¹³ I noticed he hadn’t said anything to his team, but they filtered in from the shadows regardless, so light on their feet that I hadn’t heard them approach.

“While I’m sure your team can handle whatever life throws at them, I’ve no wish to join my team as a broken body in a lab, if its all the same to you.” I gestured forward. “The trail leads this way.”

“I’m not picking anything up on the thermals.” Reeves’ said, but I was spared having to respond when a scream rang out through the night air.¹⁴ The woman’s scream lingered and petered out, and I moved forward cautiously. It originated in the same direction as the scent, so I was cautious, but the March Team moved like a pack of well armed shadows, and Reeves placed a hand on my elbow.

“Leave it to them.” He said warmly.

“The suspect is a woman, there’s no guarantee that scream isn’t a trap.” I warned.¹⁵

“It will be fine.” I heard a bark of muted gunshots and the scream warped into a bellowing howl. The ground shook slightly and I dropped into a crouch. Reeves’ face was blank as the sounds of combat intensified. I couldn’t see much between the trees and the darkness, apart from odd muzzle flash. I could smell the creature, but there was something else. With each bark of the gun’s, there was a slight unpleasant chemical smell that stained the air, gone as soon as it arrived. It made my nose burn and my eyes itch. Eventually, I heard one last howl that petered out into an all too human scream, and then the trees around us were silent.¹⁶ The March Tech goons reappeared and Reeves smiled widely.

“Good job boys!” He said, his voice exuberant and overly energetic. They carried the supine form of a small, naked woman between them, her hair long and tangled while her feet, legs and hands were coated with mud.¹⁷ She had a ruddy complexion with an uneven tan but where the pink flesh of her back met the skin of her chest, face and hands, there was something unnatural about the green/brown ridges that ran the length of her flesh, along her jawline and in a swirl above her breasts. The palms of her hands were rough, like bark, and as she passed me, a single, unnatural eye opened in the palm of her hands and looked blearily around. One of the March goons put another round in her, but the pistol didn’t fire a bullet so much as a pulse of energy.

“Non-Lethal weapons, using the latest in military grade weaponized energy.” Reeves said smugly as another wave of ammonia stink clouded my nostrils.¹⁸

“Fascinating.” I said, distracted by the woman’s hand-eye rolling back and closing, and I looked away with a shudder.¹⁹ I hadn’t expected to recognize her, but I had hoped she would be a familiar face from the case files we had on the remaining members of The Order. I supposed that, given I had been out of the loop for a year, there was likely a whole host of new faces to learn.

“This is great.” Reeves said, placing his hands on his hips and taking a deep breath. “I appreciate your help, Agent Jones. I’ll be sure to let my contact in the Program know about your exemplary behavior. You know, I have a good feeling about you. Keep my card. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.”²⁰

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March Technologies finally make their appearance! This faction is from the lore, and no spoilers but they might not be great news. What are they doing out here, in the relative middle of nowhere? Only time will tell! Thanks for reading!

1. Oracle: Do I know March? 50/50 49 Yes

2. Oracle: Are they wielding Pistols? 50/50 30 Yes

3. Oracle: Does he offer a non lethal gun? 50/50 76 No

4. Oracle: Does March Tech know about the monster? Likely - 93 Extreme no. Do they want to capture it? 50/50 48 Yes

5. Oracle: This guy read my Official record? 50/5039 Yes

6. Oracle: Does he relent? Likely - 67 No.

7. Oracle: Does March have any gear to offer? Unlikely - 30 - Yes Utility hear

8. End Scene - Chaos Factor 4 - Test Scene - 6 As Expected

9. Oracle: Enough of a scent to follow? 50/50 - 36 NO Tracks, blood, or something to folow? Likely - 94 Extreme no Thermal picking anything up? 50/50 71 No

10. Oracle: Do they have both? Very Likely - 93 No

11. Oracle: Do they have comms? Very Likely - 97 Extreme no. (What is with these rolls!?)

12. Oracle: Do I pick up a scent? 50/50 - 22 Random event and Yes NPC Action - Plant Monster (Combat Oracle Starfoged - Lure Into a vulnerable Position)

13. Oracle: Team start to arrive? 50/50 02 Extreme Yes

14. Oracle: Male voice? 50/50 48 No.

15. Oracle: Do the team subdue the creature? 50/50 28 Yes. Take any loses? Unlikely - 88 No

16. Sanity - 17/24 No Loss

17. Oracle: Does she look human? Likely - 73 No

18. Sanity for plant woman - 08/24 - No Loss - Killing it Kat!

19. Oracle: Do I recognize her? Unlikely - 80 No/.

20. End Scene. Chaos Factor 5 - Test Scene - 6 As Expected