Link to article: Austin S. & the Anderson/Foundation Meeting.
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[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/austinsterribletime Austin S.] stood proudly at the sight of his finally organized office. Eight hours of labor culminated in a room so clean even the pen-holder shone. With a sigh of relief, he made his way to the desk, where he prepared to drop into the $2800 suede chair. His personal cellphone buzzed loudly, and Austin let out a groan. He put the phone to his ear. “//Ah,// Austin, my boy!” answered his eccentric boss, Robert Carter. In the background he heard someone making snide comments. “Yes, Mr. Carter, what can I do for you?” “Well, you know that Skipper handoff that I was supposed to go to uh, later today?” “Yes, the one at 3 PM?” Austin questioned while looking at his watch. 2:37 PM. “Funny that, I cannot attend myself. Bit of a scheduling conflict.” Robert Carter explained sheepishly. “Hurry up, Robert!” a feminine voice shouted in the background of Robert’s call. “//Shut it,// Iris. I’ll hurry this along. Anyhow, Austin, I require your presence at that meeting. You’ll be meeting with the team I was //supposed// to go with at 2:45 and then you will all meet the Foundation. It’s a simple assignment, really. Just shake hands and have good posture. Our business partner from Anderson Robotics will do all the talking.” Austin frantically wrote down all the details, while using his shoulder to prop the phone to his ear. He quickly calculated how long it would take to ready up, walk to the car and meet the partner. If lucky, the affair would put them tardy by only five minutes. “Anything else, boss? I can get there sooner if you text me the details.” “Ha! Innovative as always, but that’s it for now. Goodbye.” The Senior Analyst let the phone drop onto the desk with an unceremonious thud. “Oh, just another day in the office. By the way, you’re meeting with The SCP Foundation. Thanks, Robert.” Austin commented sarcastically. He did take the time to sit down at his desk and rummage through its drawers to get the right gear for the trip. Backup pens, legal documents, and a locator for a private security service were some of the items he gathered. The locator itself cost exactly $437 every time it was activated. In the hallway, Austin heard a set of boots approach his door. A loud, erratic knock came seconds later. Austin stood at attention and cleared his throat. “Come in!” he shouted. The door swung open and slammed against the wall to reveal the least-professional businessman Austin had ever seen. He was at least a head taller than the Senior Analyst, wearing a leather trench coat that went down to his ankles. The man’s fists were stuffed into his pockets, fidgeting around. A feeling of discomfort went through Austin as he met the man’s amber eyes, which were filled with a look of hunger. “Hello, Mr. S! I was informed by Mr. Carter to come to this office. Am I at the right location?” he asked, chuckling a little too much for Austin’s liking. Austin gulped. “Yes. You came a little early, but I don’t have too much to grab. In fact, I think I’m ready to go now.” came Austin’s nervous reply. The man’s expression went blank and he stared at Austin without a word. The Senior Analyst looked left and right, not daring to speak. A smile cropped up on the man’s face. “Alright,” he declared with a clap of his palms, “let’s go!” Robert’s business partner spun on his heels and walked off. Austin followed suit into the hallway, where he noticed the mix of human security staff and robotic humanoid security drones. The human staff, who were all Marshall, Carter & Dark contractors gave a polite wave. The robots gave an eerie stare, and Austin shuddered. Robert’s business parter waved his hand. “Well, Mr. S, let us make haste!” Austin caught up and matched his stride, reaching out for a handshake. The partner gripped his hand tightly, causing him to wince at the sharp pain. “Oh! I almost forgot, my name is Tyler from Anderson Robotics. Just Tyler will do.” “Glad to meet you.” Austin replied cautiously. Tyler’s eyes kept flickering about the hall as the group approached a loading elevator. An awkward silence accompanied the marching of footsteps. “So, Tyler, how long have you worked with Robert?” “Ah, yes, Robert. I am one of the Anderson Robotics liaisons. Normally, when Robert needs to meet with someone from Anderson, it is me. That’s if the man ever showed up to these meetings.” Tyler explained with a hint of aggression. “What about you, Mr. S?” Tyler happily asked, all apparent anger fading. “I’m just his Senior Analyst. Feels like I’m his assistant most of the time, though.” Austin said with an awkward adjustment of his tie. The group reached the elevator and they all filed in. Tyler had a look on his face. “Robert Carter’s assistant…” he observed absently. The elevator rumbled to life and took the group down to the garage. When the doors opened to reveal Anderson Robotics branded SUVs, a sense of paranoia overtook Austin. ---- The group was now at a derelict warehouse, exactly three minutes late. Austin fiddled with his watch while Tyler whispered to one of the drones. He realized he actually couldn’t make out anything the partner was saying. Shrugging it off as confidential business, he finished up with his watch and stood straight with arms to the side. He didn’t notice the deadpan stare Tyler gave while he was turned. “A little tense there, Mr. S?” Tyler asked. His hands were back deep into his pockets, but Austin heard something, supposedly his hands, moving around inside of them. The metal clanking did not help his theory, however. “Well, I find it suspicious that The Foundation is late. Odd behavior, even from them.” “My thoughts exactly.” Tyler snarled. Doors deep inside the warehouse opened and a team of about ten security guards, all in Foundation garb, rushed in. They formed a column, headed by a meek-looking researcher and the apparent captain of the guards. “On behalf of the Foundation, we apologize for our tardiness. We had a minor breach to deal with, but it’s all done now.” the researcher spoke. The guard accompanying him rolled her eyes. “Fuckin squares always messing it up…” she whispered. Austin noted her Australian accent. Tyler smiled a little too widely and snapped his fingers. One of the robotic guards walked forward with an Anderson Robotics branded folder. “Ah, but the meeting goes on, regardless. That you show up at all is a miracle!” Tyler exclaimed with a laugh. Austin opened his mouth to calm him, but no words came out. “In any case… ha! We proceed with the negotiations! A little bit of information from us, and Marshall, Carter & Dark. In exchange, some of your… Foundation goodies.” The researcher fixed his glasses and stood on his toes to look over Tyler’s shoulder. “Yes, that is correct. However, we don’t see uh, your partner, Robert Carter. Just some MC&D staff.” Tyler frowned. The expression on his face caused Austin to step back. If his working theory was right, he calculated a 28% chance of escape from this place. 47% if being taken by the Foundation was an option. “Robert… Carter…” Tyler drifted off. His body swayed left and right, the objects in his pockets jingling. “Partner… so what. Can’t grace //my// presence! Just a peon in his place!” he continued. The guard put a hand over the researcher’s chest, and Austin took a step back. 13% chance of escape. “After this day, I’ll show //him.//” Tyler finished with a big step towards the researcher. A split second later, a knife was stabbed into the researcher, Tyler holding the blade with glee. He turned his head back to the robots. 0%. “AR-Protocol JUDAS. All parties compromised, terminate //everything!//” Tyler sung with glee. The room erupted into chaos. The robots opened fire upon Foundation and MC&D staff alike. Austin ducked in time for a bullet to fly over his head. Another dinged off the briefcase, and he cringed at the inevitable $326 repair on it. The guard had dropped the body of the researcher and was barking orders at her remaining guards. “Exfil, now! Get us to base!” she shouted whilst throwing a 5-inch blade through the head of a robot. It went down, sputtering proprietary fuel. In the distance, Austin heard the panicked screams of the MC&D guards. He grimaced at the tortuous sounds from bones breaking to erratic gunshots. Before he could calculate the damages, a robot crept to the guard captain, who was backing into a room with her crew. Austin bit his lip and wondered about helping. If he stepped in, would it be a PR night- The robot took another loud step, and Austin dove forward. “Look out!” he cried, tackling the thing to the floor. He landed on top of it, and yelped in pain as the thing began punching back at him. His head became weary after four strikes. Dryly, he estimated two more punches before he lost consciousness. The captain let out a scream and stomped the robot’s head in with a crunch. “Come on!” she yelled, pulling Austin up. He wondered why //his// shoes weren’t robot-rated. She threw him into the room where the other Foundation staff remained. Austin was impressed with the speed of their impromptu barricades, though the rhythmic pounding on the walls didn’t help much. Austin turned to see her close the door and give a thumbs up to everyone in the room. “Thanks for the save, mate.” she said with a pat on the shoulder. He cringed at the dirt that marked it. “Oh, it was nothing.” he replied nonchalantly. It was that or get shredded by the death robots. “Never seen a Macca’s employee stick their neck out for //anyone.// I’d ask why, but I don’t want to sign my soul for an answer.” He pulled up the briefcase and opened it. “I mean, if you do, I have the papers.” he genuinely offered. His brows furrowed at her laugh. “Ah, that’s the spirit! You’re funny.” she declared heartily. The captain walked past Austin and attended to her men. He decided to rest and take a seat on a desk, pretending to fiddle with his briefcase. “Can’t believe a Macca’s saved me, seriously.” “It’s odd, but we’ll take any save at this point.” someone replied. “Any word on extraction?” she asked. “No, can’t get a damn signal in here. Wasn’t a problem before, I think that Anderson guy is responsible for that.” “Shit.” “Shit is right, cap. We lost our researcher and two of our boys. What should we do?” “Let me think about that. Rest up or barricade the room, just pick one and stick to it.” “Roger that.” the remaining guards responded in unison. Austin heard them shuffle about and he straightened up, seeing the captain walk to him once more, hand extended. He placed his briefcase down. “Name’s Alcott. This is a customary greeting, not an agreement to contract.” she stated confidently. “Austin S. Considering the circumstances, I wouldn’t put that on you.” he chuckled. “Great. Now let’s cook up a plan. What do you know about your partner?” “Not much,” he admitted, “I was a last-minute substitute. My boss is the one that normally works with Anderson.” “Shit. Guess we gotta improvise then. I know you’re a suit, but can you fight?” The Senior Analyst grimaced, and felt very tempted to lose $437. Alcott read the look on his face and gave an apologetic shrug. “Guess not, so we’ll sideline you with the rest of my guards. All of you keep lookout and //stay down,// I don’t need more bodies on my watch. Maybe barricade stuff, yeah?” “Will do, gladly.” Austin walked to the folks taking a breather and sat next to them. They gave suspicious glares before turning amongst themselves and talking. He didn’t need to hear them to know his presence was being derided. He raised a hand to speak when the robotic pounding stopped. A speaker from inside the room crackled to life. “Hello, hello everyone! I see that you’re all corralled into one room now. Corralled, heh. I’m happy to report that anyone //outside// hasn’t made it, though not for a lack of trying. Anyway, it’s time. Goodbye!” Tyler spoke. In a second, the door Austin and Alcott entered through exploded open and flew through the room, hitting a wall behind the team. Tyler came barrelling through with his trench coat off. His chest and arms were pure metal, gears whirring loudly. He opened his smoking fist and smiled with a wave. Anderson robots rushed in the opening behind Tyler, opening fire upon everything in the room. A couple unlucky guards were struck and fell to the floor. Austin and the rest ducked down to avoid the barrage. The robots stopped shooting and clanked towards them. He caught Alcott’s boots running towards Tyler and she roared as she jumped towards him. Curious, Austin peeked to see the action. Alcott was in a fistfight with Tyler, though she was on the defensive. She got two accurate hits to his nose, but the impact simply caused the man to laugh. His nose began to bleed a mixture of blood and fuel. Alcott reached for her gun, and Tyler reacted by punching her fist as the gun came up. She cried in pain as the gun went flying in the air, Tyler grabbed Alcott by the throat and lifted her up. Alcott swung her legs up and pulled the man to the floor in an armbar submission. “Oh, you’re good.” he cooed as she tugged on his arm, causing sparks to fly about. Austin saw that Alcott’s gun had bounced over to him. Hesitant, he picked it up and clicked the safety off. A robot to his right had a guard in its grasp, and he shot it in the head. It fell to the floor and another one rushed to take its place. The replacement took two shots to the chest before going down. He gave the guard a swift thumbs up and now calculated a 25% chance of their long-term survival. Austin jogged over and aimed his sights at the laid-back Tyler. Wordlessly, he started to pull the trigger. “Ah, Mr. S! Glad of you to join us!” Tyler declared. His free arm extended an inhuman length and grabbed Alcott, tossing her across the room. She hit the wall with a crash and fell to the floor. Tyler’s arms extended at some chairs near Austin and pulled him upward so fast Austin had no time to react. The gun was out of his hands before he could think about firing it. Austin felt the air expel from his lungs as he was tackled to the ground. Tyler had his arms pinned from his elbows, dripping down the mix of blood and fuel onto him. The stench of the mixture nearly caused Austin to vomit. “Oh, Carter. You just //had// to spurn me every step of the way! I am a human //being// you know! I’ll make an example of your prized pupil! Perhaps you’ll learn then.” Tyler cackled. Austin writhed but couldn’t move. From the corner of his eyes he spotted Alcott, who was limping with the arm of an Anderson robot in her hands. They made eye contact and she mouthed ‘keep him talking’ as she crept up behind Tyler. “Oh, learn? Carter? I think it might be impossible for the man!” Austin exclaimed. Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Yes, in my entire time there, he’s been nothing but erratic, foolish, and downright //unprofessional!//” he continued. Tyler gave Austin his manic grin. “Another that sees the light? How charming! How agreeable!” he celebrated. Tyler still kept Austin pinned down. “Naturally, if I had the time, I could go all day.” Austin replied. The response caused Tyler to inch his face inches from his nose. “Oh, do tell!” “I- uh-” “Well!? You have //so// much to go off of: The cheap outfits. The snide remarks. His ‘oh, I’m so //sorry// Tyler, but I //just// can’t make it today!” Austin opened his mouth, but Tyler kept talking. “And by god, the absences! Do you know how long I’ve been //working// with him?” He spat into Austin’s face. The Senior Analyst shook his head. “Sixteen //years!// Sixteen //wasted// years of deals gone bad, payments called off, and clients //laughing// in my face! All. Because. Of //Robert!//” Tyler practically howled. However, he quickly smiled. “I digress. Because I can just //imagine// the look on his face when his assistant’s //head// is on a PIKE!” “Wouldn’t he not show up to that, either?” Austin responded. Tyler’s face contorted into that of white-hot fury and his arm went up, a serrated blade in hand. At that moment, Alcott struck Tyler on the back of the head, the force sending his face into Austin’s nose. The madman turned with a look of anger. “We were //just// having a delightful conversation!” he let go of Austin and jumped in the air at Alcott. The Senior Analyst reached for the gun and fired it twice into Tyler’s back, where it deflected into the roof. Midair, Tyler turned back and growled loudly, though his trajectory still sent him into Alcott’s arms. She quickly used the momentum to swing him at the last of the robots, their arms reaching out to catch him. However, the force of his body sent them all to the floor. One of the robot’s arms got locked in place, impaling Tyler through the chest as they fell. Austin and Alcott exhaled a sigh of relief. Austin got up, trying to assist other Foundation staff to their feet while Alcott walked to Tyler, a robot arm still in hand. “I’d place you under some kind of arrest or containment, but frankly, I don’t think you’re making it far.” she said with a disgusted look at the metallic fuel leaking everywhere onto the floor. Tyler chuckled, his head turned at Austin helping people. “Can’t even grace me in my final moments. You pick them well, Carter.” he said to himself. Tyler coughed out more fuel. His eyes closed, and his body went limp. Alcott dropped the arm from her hand. Austin heard the noise and walked over, looking at Tyler’s body. “So much for that deal.” he commented. “Eh, it wasn’t so bad. Minimal losses for us is a win in my book.” Alcott replied with a shit-eating grin. “Ha, ha. But seriously, what are we going to explain?” “Oi! I’d say deal is still on! Let’s exchange the items and tell our bosses Anderson ruined everything. Sounds good, yeah?” “Sounds like a plan to me.” Austin agreed, lightly kicking Tyler’s shoe with his own. The remaining Foundation staff organized themselves at a record pace, and Austin overheard them finally establish a connection back home. Alcott gave a look his way. “I won’t arrest you, on account of you helping us. But how about we drop you off somewhere fancy?” Austin looked about the room and saw the still-angry glares of the Foundation security. “I’ll pass. I appreciate the offer, however.” Exactly three minutes and forty-five seconds later, the SCP Foundation team had retrieved their injured or dead, fallen equipment, and the documents for the deal. The items were hastily exchanged, and Austin was alone in a warehouse full of dead human and robot bodies. He sighed, and pulled a small rectangle out of the briefcase. Using his teeth to open the plastic wrap, he then pressed the small button inside. It let out a pleasant trill and Austin felt the $437 leaving his bank account. ----- “Let me get this straight, my partner went //mad// and slaughtered just about everyone?” Robert Carter asked in disbelief. Austin nodded. The two were in Austin’s office, which now had a security camera facing the door. “Yes, sir. It almost ruined the deal, but we were able to hash out an agreement.” Austin explained. “In our favor, perhaps?” “Perhaps. We might be in a better spot than Anderson for the foreseeable future.” “Huh, never thought I’d see the day. It still shocks me my old partner would go to such lengths. Shows you the quality of employee over there.” //Maybe if you’d ever// met //the man, this wouldn’t have happened.// Austin thought to himself. All of a sudden, Robert leaned over the desk and looked him right in the eye. “Say something?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Austin immediately felt very alone and afraid in his own office. Beads of sweat formed on the back of his neck, and his mind crafted any excuse to explain his //thoughts// to Robert. “Uh… no sir. Nothing new to report. Just going to wrap up the expenses for the deal. I’ll email you a copy when it’s done.” “Good! Glad to see you’re on top of things, as always.” Robert slowly leaned back, got up, and walked out of the room. Austin sighed and opened up his laptop to the spreadsheet. He gawked at the final expense number: **-$1,377.** “Fuck //off!//” he cried, slamming the laptop closed. [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box]] [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box-end]]