Chapter 3: The London Headquarters

My update schedule is splendid.

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"You're headquarters are inside of a sewer. That is quite fascinating…. But isn't that also a little cliche?" Uzui stared down, his eyes reflecting against the luminous neon water.

"Tell me about it. Our London headquarters is sorta lame…. You should check out our main one. It is insane….." Phoenix waved his hands around in exaggeration, causing Killjoy to roll her eyes as they went.

Because of their advanced technology and Radianite, this new world had advanced their purification systems, and pipes quite well. Apparently, it had taken many years, but they had finally rewired everything. Though, Phoenix said there were a few exposed areas from the old system to "preserve history".

The new waterways for one were devoid of any noxious smells, and most pests had been driven out. It was in a semi-octagonal shape, with smooth metal-plated walls and some faint graffiti once in a while.

The water, Killjoy had said, was cleaned quite quickly due to the use of some "Radianite Purifier" and such. Uzui somewhat understood this, but at the same time, it was all sort of unbelievable. Radianite truly was otherworldly.

The group walked on for a while more, their shadows dancing over the brightly lit water. It was for an unknown reason that Kingdom had decided to keep the lights on down here so bright, but Uzui wasn't really complaining. In fact, he could somewhat call this place relaxing and serene. That was how amazing Radianite-operated sewers were.

Another detail to mention was that the whole place was completely sound-proofed, which Uzui felt was a little weird. Shaking it off, the white-haired young man looked back down into the water. Uzui was a tall guy, at least in his family.

With bulging muscles and veins, his skin was, for the most part, a snowy white, with fierce golden-brown eyes. Bangs fell down the sides of his face, all the way to his neck, and a small scar ran down the side of his neck.

He stretched his shoulders, yawning. They made their way down the hall before finally stopping in front of a wall. Looking down, it seemed that they hadn't reached the end. Uzui shrugged, before staring intently at the wall. From what he estimated, there would probably be some sort of secret entrance inside of the wall.

Killjoy looked around for a second, swiping through a holographic watch of some sort before nodding. Reaching up, her gloved fingers soon pressed a certain part of the metal surface.

*Chck.*

From the nearly flat wall, a certain plate clicked, as with a hum, the wall parted smoothy, descending into the earth. Uzui stared inside and whistled. It truly looked like a secret base. The aesthetic hit really hard.

There was nothing lame about the place. A long also-metallic hallway descended down like a ramp, with the side walls graffitied with flashy orange paint, alongside many flickering holograms, displaying other screens. They varied in media, some displaying long essays and missions, while another, seemed to be suspiciously playing a K-Drama of some sort.

Phoenix laughed at the stunned expression, slapping Uzui on the back for perhaps, the fifth time that day. "All of that stuff is for aesthetic. Killjoy and Raze went wild with this place a while ago."

They walked down the ramp before they found themselves in a large bunker of some sort. The walls were made of some type of brilliant white quartz, and the floors were made from steel. In the middle, a large contraption of some sort sat, hooked up to engines and other long tubes.

Large blinking monitors and holographic displays levitated above, much like a control center. To the side, other tunnels went off to who knows where, and many rooms had been stacked on top of each other, connected by various stairways and such.

The trio walked forwards, before approaching a room. The walls were completely made of tinted blue glass, all of which glowed dimly with a faint blue tinge. Killjoy knocked on the room's heavy glass door, and then, they entered.

Uzui took a small breath, before entering alongside the two agents. Immediately, his attention was drawn to the oaken desk in front of him, with a metal plaque on its desk. Behind the piece of furniture, a muscular Caucasian man sat, a bundle of paperwork in front of him.

Wearing a pair of small black glasses, the man was huge, with rough calloused hands and hardened blue eyes that had obviously seen much war. His skin was a little wrinkled, but in surprisingly good shape for that of a war veteran.

He had a well-trimmed grey mustache and a brown beard, somewhat resembling a goatee. Though he wore casual clothes, with a long black shirt and a pair of jeans, Uzui immediately knew who it was. This man was Brimstone. The commander and leader of the Valorant Protocol.

To the side, Sage smiled calmly, nodding. She sported a casual sweater and was as professional as ever.

But on the other side of the room, was where Uzui genuinely became frightened. Standing next to a long bookshelf, a beautiful but scary woman stood. The woman possessed a fearsome snarling expression on her face, coupled with her shortly cut jet-black hair and those venomous green eyes, it was truly intimidating.

Her skin was chalky pale and her lips were pursed in irritation. Being another iconic character, Uzui immediately knew that he had met one of the Protocol's scariest agents. The toxin user hailing from the US of America, Viper.

Turning away, the white-haired man focused on the main person in question. The man himself, Brimstone.

"Nishimoto… Uzui? I feel like I pronounced that wrong. Your record is completely clean. Nothing fishy there. Joined Kingdom as a guard, has been in the company for a year. Tasked in defending the deposit in Rosbar. And then, in the recent raid…. You managed to eliminate two highly-skilled Radiants, with barely any prior military experience."

"Yes, sir," Uzui said robotically, straightening up as the large man stared at him in the eyes.

"And that's not the only clincher…." Breach turned to a button embedded into the side of the desk and pressed it. From within the wooden surface, a small box-like hole emerged, and an orb projector came to life.

Another virtual hologram appeared above all of them, displaying two dead corpses. The bodies of Viper and Phoenix, each with a hole in their heads. It was a gruesome sight, really. The Scout had done a clean job of going right through, with the head mostly intact.

Uzui sent a quick glance to the two well-alive people in question. Phoenix grimaced once more, obviously, a little disturbed, whole Viper was as cold as ever, her eyes narrowed.

"So, what is it?" Phoenix, who was extremely eager to turn off the hologram, asked the "big question".

"Patience, kid…." Brimstone cleared his throat, drinking a little water from a mug. "These bullets that were fired. They were both in the center of the face, just slightly above the nose. Sure-shot kills, clean and efficient. But the thing is…

Both of them, are absolutely perfect, and identical." Waving his hand, the projector hummed, and strands of light formed about, showing a digital scan of the heads of the corpses. Each bullet was smack dab in the center. Going right through the brain. Be it by diameter and circumference, it was…. Too unrealistic.

Uzui's neck dripped with cold sweat. Was this the power of V.A.T.S? Each shot had been efficient and deadly to a fault.

"Daaaamn….." Phoenix twisted his ring, whistling.

"Hmm…" Killjoy muttered something under her breath, as she tapped away at her holographic watch.

"So, tell me, Nishimoto Uzui. Who the hell are you?" Brimstone stood up, towering over the rest of the Agents, his gruff voice more steeled and serious than before.

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