Operation Haruspex: Chapter Three

Trying Not to die in the World of Delta Green, using the Rogue Handler Supplement

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.

Thumbnail Photo by Brett Sayles: https://www.pexels.com/photo/field-of-trees-near-house-2121345/

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Eliot Abel’s Residence - 6:30 PM

I knew that this was the creature that had been watching me while I scouted the house, the familiar, uncomfortable prickle at the back of my neck and the sounds of rustling leaves had all been caused by this thing. It was foul and wretched and yet, it was still only the second most horrifying thing I had seen this year. For all its hideous bulk and unnatural musculature, the eyes were feral, more like a rabid dog and had nothing of the fell intelligence and malice of Marlene Baughman’s corpse. My eyes flicked to the shotgun in the passenger seat and I leaped into the car to grab it. I heard the creature let out an echoing screech,¹ and then a loud crunch as it hit the ground. Elliot Abel screamed². I scrambled out of the car to see the creature standing over him, easily over 2 meters tall at full stretch, its clawed hands having duck deep furrows in the ground next to him. Elliot’s eyes had sharpened, lucidity returning alongside a clear sense of fear as he half dragged himself backwards, towards the house. I raised the shotgun³ and fired, the slug smacking into the meat of the creatures back with a wet slap.

“Elliot, fucking run!” I shouted. I knew it likely wouldn’t help, the man could barely stand, but if he could scramble away, maybe he could escape. Fetid blood dripped from the fist sized hole in the creatures back, but it moved forward in a blur, its claws swinging for Elliot again as it let out an unnatural howl⁴. The claws raked along the wooden deck, but Elliot had dragged himself to his feet and managed to stumble backwards and away from the blow that would have torn his head off. He shambled into the house, clutching his wound and slammed the door behind him. The eerie sigil carved into the door seemed to pulse with a faint light, and the creature let out a plaintive whine, like the one I had heard earlier in the yard. It was standing, unmoving, and I couldn’t guarantee it would stay that way so I pumped the action on the Remington and shot again⁵. The creature dropped to all fours, causing my shot to go wide and blast away part of the awning. It lowered its malformed shoulders and charged towards the door⁶. It seemed to slow, and the crushing momentum of its claws ceased mid swing, knocking it backwards as though it had bounced off a wall only it could see. Eliot's strained voice called from the other side of the door⁷.

“Get in the house! The wards will protect us! Or run before it kills you!”

Fuck that. I racked the shotgun and took a few step forward. My only solid lead was bleeding to death in that house, and I’d be damned if I was going to let it slip through my fingers just because there was a terrifying multilimbed abomination in front of me. I shot again⁸, more foul blood spurting from its back, and it flexed its wings in irritation, still focused on the house, and the man inside. It stumbled forward, swinging both of its arms in tandem⁹ and this time, it didn’t slow or stop. It smashed the door to splinters and stepped over the threshold, its wings folding and its posture hunching over to fit through the frame of the door. I ran another handful of steps forward, yelling for Elliot to run again and firing another shot into its fleshy back¹⁰.The blast knocked it forward in chaotic stumble and it nearly collapsed ias blood gushed out from it. I had clearly hit something vital, and for a split second, I thought I had killed it. It surged forward a moment, and Elliot screamed again¹¹. I ran into the house, scrambling up the steps. I kicked through the shattered remains of the door, shotgun raised as I scanned the entryway. There was blood everywhere, both Eliot’s red and the creatures black. Eliot was slumped against the wall, moving his fingers in a strange, disturbing motions and the creature had frozen in place. It was straining, trying to move forward against an unseen force, its clawed limbs digging deep into the woodwork on the floor. Clearly Tabitha wasn’t the only person dabbling in something best left alone. I had no idea how long Eliot could keep this up, so I aimed at the center mass of the monster and pulled the trigger¹². The blast knocked it clean of its feet and it slumped onto the floor black, acrid blood pouring like a fountain from its two most recent wounds, but somehow it was still moving. Its eyes rolled in its skull, feral and full of rage as they fixed upon me. I blinked, and felt a gust of air as the monster’s claws were suddenly in my face¹³. I ducked out of the way and instinct took over as I drove the butt of the Remington up towards the creatures maw¹⁴. It bounced off the thick corded neck muscles, and it growled at my before I felt something grasp me around the middle and lift me off the ground. The shotgun fell from my grip and I swore again, and tried to break the creatures grip, but it just stared at me, it’s animal eyes suddenly coy before it’s lips pulled back to reveal it’s giant fangs in a crooked mockery of a smile. I jerked my head to the side¹⁵, and its teeth bit into my shoulder, rending my flesh and I felt something snap. It was excruciating, and I nearly blacked out from the pain¹⁶, but I shot out my free hand¹⁷ in a fit of desperation and gouged the creatures left eye with my thumb. It dropped me with a roar and I fell to the ground, nearly buckling under the pain as I stumbled back. I could barely stand, and my breath came in ragged gasps, but the monster didn’t look any better, a slick pool of blood already pooled at my feet. I ducked away as it tried to bite me again and slipped my sidearm from my jacket. Luckily, at this range, I couldn’t miss.¹⁸

---

The creature was dead¹⁹. I stared at the creatures unmoving form for a few moments before I shot it a few more times in the face for good measure. I swayed slightly, feeling increasingly woozy, but I tried to ride the adrenaline long enough to finish the job²⁰. The floor around Abel was soaked with blood, and even my limited medical knowledge told me that Eliot Abel wasn’t long for this world. I crouched down next to him, and trying not to show on my face the agony that rocked through my shoulder and the man smiled faintly.

“You killed it.” he said faintly. I nodded, and fixed him with an intent look.

“Where is Tabitha Abel?” I asked firmly. He smiled²¹.

“She’s below the Zoo.” He said, his voice getting fainter with every word. “Below the old Wallaby enclosure, it sunken into the ground and nobody has gotten around to fixing it yet. There’s a large basement. It’s old, nobody knows about it. Except for my Tabitha.” He gripped my arm suddenly, his grip fierce as his eyes locked onto mine. “Please. Help her. We were wrong. The sigil, it failed. Do you understand me? It is flawed. The work we are undertaking is flawed! Please, you have to…” His voice finally faded and his body went limp as his life finally bled away.

---

I checked my phone with a slightly delusional sense of dislocation²². I was so sure I was going to die, at the end there, that my mind was still getting used to the idea of being alive, and having to deal with all this messy shit around me. To my surprise, my phone had full bars, and 3/4s charge. I dialed Landry as soon as the signal flickered to life and he picked up on the first ring.

Landry was his usual jovial self, bar the extensive use of curse words, which was new, but I filled him in on the situation as best I could in my increasingly light headed way.

“I Need a clean up kit. And a medic if possible.” I took a few deep breaths and flopped down on the couch. “I don’t know if any of the neighbors called in to the SPD, but we can’t let anyone see what’s in here.” There was a sigh, and then muffled conversation, as though he had put his phone into his shoulder.

“I don’t have a medic or a clean up crew at my disposal, Agent.” he said, his voice showing the beginnings of concern.²³ “Here’s what I can do. Start the clean up now. Do what you can. I’ll have our friend in the SPD be there in about an hour. They’ll come in with sirens flashing to put the neighbors at ease. Work out the rest yourselves and get out of there, unseen if you can. Give me an update tomorrow, as planned. Do you understand me?” I nod, then realize he can’t see me give him a vocal affirmative.

“Hang tight Agent.” He said and then hung up. I got to work.²⁴ I slipped on my gloves and cleaned the house as best I could. Fortunately, my blood had mostly seeped into my clothes and the tatty welcome mat, so I bagged that and began to clean up my trail. Burning the house shortly after the police arrive would be way too conspicuous, so I searched the house for some tools finding a shovel and hacksaw in the small shed in the yard as well as the keys to Elliot Abel’s truck, parked in the garage at the side of the building. My first instinct was to hack both bodies to pieces and bury them in the yard, but my shoulder was in a lot of pain and I was wheezing just from a quick search of the house. Also the idea of mutilating Eliot’s body made me feel like I was going to vomit. Instead, I rolled the old man into the rug he had died on and tied it off with a robe from the garage. There was a connecting door, so I didn’t have to drag the suspicious body outside, but I only got halfway before realizing that I the hacking, sobbing sound was me, and that my arm was on fire, so I gave up on it for now, and moved over to the creature. It was too big for the rug²⁵, but I found large tarp and rolled it inside, mostly using my feet to kick it into place before tying it off. Its arm, or legs, I wasn’t really sure on its anatomy, poked out of the end. The claws looked almost like an animals, though nothing of this earth that I was aware of had claws like that. If I couldn't carry the old man, I definitely wouldn’t be able to load this guy up by myself, so I busied myself searching the place for any other signs of Tabitha Abel before the friendly showed up²⁶. The only thing I found was a strange, smooth metal rod. More sigils emblazoned it, and it made me feel vaguely queasy, so I stashed it in the trunk of my car, alongside the Remington and ruined Kevlar. With not much else to do, I settled into a deck chair and tried not to bleed on the deck before the friendly arrived.

---

Officer Wen Ko was a surprisingly cheerful member of Seattle Police department. Not much taller than me, but much, much wider across the shoulders, he exuded a bluff, honest aura that seemed a touch misguided, given our line of work. He had blared the sirens on his patrol car up the winding road and driveway, but his smile had dropped a bit as he came to see me. I could only imagine what I looked like, slumped in a deck chair with a shotgun braced across my knees. Officer Ko smiled professionally before pulling out a small first aid kit from the back of the car and began poking at my shoulder²⁷. I winced, but he seemed to have a better idea of how to treat a wound than I did, and if I didn't stop bleeding soon I was going to keel over.

“Mr. Landry said you needed help with something?” He said, his voice soft and

“How much do you know?” I asked before explaining. “About what we do here?” Ko eyed me warily before his gaze flickered behind me and he jumped backwards a step.

“What the fuck is that?” He said, his voice jumping up an octave or two. I glanced back at the limbs jutting out of the tarp.

“It’s dead.” I said plainly. He stared at it, a look of mixed disgust and, if I was reading him correctly, anger on written across his posture. “Officer Ko.” I said, snapping my fingers near his face. He jumped slightly, and shook himself.

“Sorry.” He said, slightly bashful. “I knew things like that probably existed, but seeing it for real...” he trailed off.

“Not a problem. Look, I need your help loading it, and that rug into the back of the truck.”²⁸ I knew of a few “No questions asked” storage lockers from my day job. I could park the truck there with the bodies, and then sort it out later. “You’ll want to call this in when I’m gone. I’ve scrubbed it the best I can, but give it a look over, make sure I haven’t missed anything, got it?” He nodded, but his eyes were fixed on the rolled up blood spattered rug.

“And the body?” He said, his expression grave.

“It will stay out of sight for now. And then, when the time is right, it will be found somewhere else, got it?” He didn’t look happy, which didn’t surprise me but there was only so much cover up we could do with the body here. Better it was found in a ditch somewhere, and blamed on bears or something.

“I’ll need a hand with the big one.” He said after a long pause.

We loaded up the truck and covered it with multiple tarps. I pried off the license plates and stashed them in the glove box while Officer Ko did a final sweep of the house for any trace of my presence.²⁹ He didn’t turn anything up. I drove my car a short way down the road and parked it in the local park before jogging back to the house. I pulled myself into the truck and nodded at Ko.

“Meet me at the Park n Store off the I15 when you’re wrapped up here.” I said. He had his police radio in his hand as I pulled the truck out of the driveway, and out into the night.

---

Park n Store Off the I15 - 9PM

There is something fascinating about a shady, seemingly legitimate business with almost exclusively criminal clientele. I had cleaned myself up in the rear view as best I could, and the jacket hid most of the blood stains, but within 10 seconds of being a “Park n Store Deluxe” I realized I needn’t have bothered. I used the last of my cash to pay it up for a month and then parked the truck in there and waited.

---

Tabitha Abel’s journal distracted me while I waited for the all clear from Officer Ko³⁰. The journal could be seen as a descent into madness, given the subject matter, although perhaps a heightened state of anxiety was a more apt comparison. One thing was very clear; Tabitha Abel was scared. The journal only covered the last few weeks, but half the pages were filled with Tabitha’s paranoid suspicions³¹. She feared for the animals, and had worked out that something was sapping their strength, leaving them sick and weak. She had seen the same thing happen from reports across the state and was certain whatever had killed them, was going to kill the creatures under her care. Long pages of helpless rage and fear followed, until a chance encounter with Cecil Bargain found the book of sigils. She began testing the sigils, carving them into dead animals first, and then, when she was sure she had gotten them right, on the animals most in danger, mostly felines. It worked, or at least, it seemed to. The animals didn’t get any sicker, but the shadow-man moved on to a different enclosure, and the process started all over again. Marking the animals drained her, and she could only do so many a day. At some point, she seemed to have had a mental break, the tone of her journal shifting as she described hearing a voice. It’s name was Seir. The name is written in her journal with ferocity, the pen digging deep into the page, almost tearing it in places. She hated Seir. She needed Seir. Seir was the only person she could trust. It is unclear to me from reading the journal if Seir is real. She writes about hearing his voice when she was alone, working in her apartment or office, sharpening her fear and driving her to throw herself more into her research on sigils so that could save the animals and banish the creature. She referenced her big project due this Sunday that will save the all creatures, but she didn’t include any details. Judging by Eliot’s last words, it’s something to do with these sigils. He said they were flawed. Whatever the work is, its happening tomorrow. I need to find a way under the zoo, and soon.

---

Nolan Landry’s Favorite Diner - Sunday, August 7, 2005 - 7AM

Officer Ko picked me up from the Park n' Store around 11PM and gave me a ride back to my car, giving my bloody jacket several pointed looks, which I chose to ignore. I drove straight home and collapsed into a pile of blankets, still fully dressed. I slept through my first 3 alarms, and was late to my meeting with Landry at the diner first thing Sunday morning, but he took it with good cheer. I ordered a black coffee that scalded my throat but did a good enough job of sharpening my still sleep befuddled mind.

“Tabitha Abel is below the Zoo.” I said. He nodded.

“There’s no record of a basement or underground foundation for the zoo in the blueprints we have seen.” He said, but he waved a hand for me to continue.

“Her father and her journal confirmed it. One of the enclosures has been damaged for a while and it’ had sunk partially underground. Tabitha’s journal indicated that there is an old structure down there. It’s not the sewer, but it sounds similar. That’s where she’s been all weekend, if I had to guess.” We spent the next half hour planning the next stage of the mission. He made a few phone calls outside and soon we had another few guests at our table. I recognized Montford looking at me sourly from behind a large mug of coffee, but I didn’t know the other person, a middle aged Hispanic woman with a perpetual glare, messy bun and trendy narrow glasses had taken a seat next to me. She kept checking the time on a flashy, digital watch and sighing just loud enough to be disruptive as Landry made introductions.

“Jones, you know Montford.” Landry said, gesturing to the sullen man next to him. “This is Candela. She’s our tech expert. She will get you into the Zoo, under the guise of tech support. There is a van parked outside. You were right, Jones, the people there are remarkably suggestible. They’ll be expecting you. Candela will run interference, and delete the relevant footage. You two will find this entrance, secure the target, and get her out into the van. Officer Ko will be parked a block away, and will intercept any call outs if there is any trouble but try to keep it clean, understood?”

“What about the other target?” I asked with a quick glance at Candela. Landry shrugged minutely.

“That is why you need to bring Dr. Abel in. Whatever she has planned likely won't work, but she seems to be operating with more information than we have. Get in, and get out Jones. We’re behind the curve on this one³².

---

The van prepared for us was green with bright white letters painted at a jaunty angle on the side. “Cybersec Industries.” Montfort and I piled into the back while Candela took the wheel.

“Are we supposed to go in looking like this?” I asked as I glanced around the back of the van. There was a bunch of tech, spare monitors, wires and small, fragile looking things but apart from a duffel bag on the floor, there was little else of use.

“What, you think a tech security company has uniforms? Most of the industry is in cargo shorts and polo shirts, want me to pick you up some of that?” Candela called over her shoulder a she pulled the van onto the road. I grumbled to myself but didn’t argue the point. The people there had seen me in a bad wig and ill fitting suit. I was dressed more casually today, jeans and white t-shirt with a light jacket just large enough to hide my pistol under my arm. Fortunately it was unseasonably cold, so I wouldn’t look too out of place, but I wished we had a ball cap or something so I could cover my face more effectively. Montford was looking through his duffel bag³³. He waved me over, and gestured down to the rifle in the bag.

“You ever use one of these?” He said, holding up an M4 assault rifle and running through a check.

“At Quantico, sure.” I said wryly. He made a noncommittal noise, and handed me the second rifle. We spent the rest of the journey in silence, checking the weapons and gear. If we wanted to bring Dr. Abel in alive, a taser or a flashbang might be more useful, but if she was smart, two assault rifles pointed her way would keep her compliant. Assuming she still had enough of her own mind left to care.

---

Woodland Zoo - 9AM

“Let me do the talking.” Candela said sharply as she engaged the handbrake. “I’ll tell them that you are going to check some of the camera’s. If these people are as spaced out as you claim, that should be the end of it, but if its not, shut up, and keep your head down. Here.” Candela handed me a radio and earpiece. “I’ll try to monitor camera’s near your location while I work, but depending on how annoying the staff are, I might not be able to do much else. Stay in communication. If shit goes bad, I don’t want to be here for it, right?” She glared at me, wiggling the earpiece for me to take it. I did, with a smile and a wink.

“It's just a grab and go job. Simple!” I said brightly. Her scowl deepened, and she shot a distrustful look towards Montford before sighing again, and leaving the van.

“God she’s such a bitch.” Montfort muttered quietly in the ensuing silence.

“That means less than nothing coming from you!” Candela yelled through the thin sheet of the van. I heard her stomp off down the path as we secured the duffel bags and made to follow her.

“Do you have that effect on everyone, or just people you work with?” I asked him

“Just the women.” He said sourly.

---

I had hoped that Candela would have a better game face than she had presented at the diner, but she was equally brusque and condescending as she spoke to the security guards at the door. Mabel Boyd was there unfortunately, and I did my best to skulk behind Montford so she couldn’t see me.

“Just show me to the mainframe and stop hassling me.” Candela snapped. “You two! Go check those cameras like I told you.”³⁴ The security staff seemed appropriately cowed by Candela’s personality, and they ushered her into the building, leaving Montford and I to wander around. We made our way to cordoned off wallaby enclosure³⁵, managing to avoid any of the personnel still in the Zoo. I heard Candela’s acerbic voice over the radio as we approached the target.

“Shutting down the cameras now, make your move quickly.” We ducked into the ruined enclosure and scanned the place quickly. The enclosure was taped off, and large warning sign stood over a sinkhole in the center. Moving a few of the wooden struts and boards that had been covering the worst of the damage revealed a battered looking utility ladder that led down into the darkness.

“This is it.” I said over the radio. “Heading down now.”

---

Thanks for reading! Enjoying the story so far or have questions about the process? Let me know with a comment!

1. Oracle: Does it attack me 55 Critical No - Its going for Abel

2. Monster Attack - 52/40

3. Skill Check: Firearms - 26/71 Success 8 DMG.

4. Monster Attack - 97/40

5. Skill Check: Firearms - 98/71

6. Oracle: Does the Sigil hold? Yes

7. Sanity Check: 24/58 0 SAN Loss

8. Firearms 41/70 - 6 DMG.

9. Oracle: Does the Sigil hold? No.

10. Firearms - 52/70 8 DMG. Does that kill it? No.

11. Monster Attack - 99/40 Critical Fail

12. Skill Check: Firearms +20% for close range 89/90 - 5 DMG Is it dead? 99 Critical No.

13. Monster Attack - 84/40

14. Skill Check - Melee Weapons - 80/30 Vs Monster - 14/40. Grabbed.

15. Unarmed. 80/60 Fail to Escape. Monster Bite 08/60 - 10DMG (This would have killed Kat without her armour. She is now at 3HP.

16. Kat Should have blacked out here, as she took more than half her HP damage at once, and so would have been stunned, but I forgot!

17. Opposed Check - Unarmed 54/60 VS 14/40

18. Skill Check - Firearms 61/90 - DMG 2. Dead? +20% Yes.

19. Reward - Sanity Regained - 1

20. Oracle - Is Eliot Dying? Yes. Last Words? Yes. Cryptic? No.

21. Oracle - Below the Zoo? Yes./

22. Oracle - Phone working? Yes.

23. Oracle - Friendly in the SPD? Yes.

24. Skill Check - Forensics 29/50

25. Oracle - Supplies around to roll the monster into? -20% Yes.

26. Skill Check - Search 07/72 “Energize Strength” Is it Unnatural? Yes.

27. NPC Skill Check - Fist Aid 49/50 - 4 HP restored

28. Skill Check - Criminology 02/50

29. NPC Skill Check - Forensics 42/50

30. Open Question: What is in Tabitha Abel’s Journal? “Attain Fear”

31. Oracle: Does she know what is haunting the Zoo? No.

32. Clock Start - 57

33. Montford Skill Check - Black Market Contacts - 32/45

34. Candela Stat Check Charisma X5 - 09/50

35. Montford Skill Check” Stealth 50/70