Link to article: Solution.
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[[include :scp-wiki:component:toggle-sidebar]] [[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] [[=image http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/solucion/solucion1.png]] “Well… Does anyone have a plan?” @@ @@ The voice of agent Marcelo Oliveira Barreto broke the momentary silence that had formed in the group of agents. There, in front of them, was the core of the disaster caused in the facility. Their journey to the origin of the anomaly had been long and dangerous, especially because of the unfortunate encounters they had with the infected. All the corpses were properly tagged as they made their way, the hostiles neutralized, and the rooms cleared. The only thing left was to figure out how to quickly and safely rescue the scientists currently barricaded inside. Some members of the team looked at each other for a few seconds, trying to come up with some kind of strategy to break the barrier that separated them from the researchers until agent Steffano González decided to break the silence. @@ @@ “Víctor? You got anything?” said Steffano, as he slowly approached the young man. @@ @@ Agent Víctor Penz looked up briefly from his notebook. He was making use of the short break to update his map with notes about the area. His activity was interrupted by his teacher’s question, which he complained about under his breath before setting about reviewing the situation. @@ @@ “Let me see.” @@ @@ In front of them, a bizarre and gruesome combination of a mucilage-like substance and pieces of fungus formed a barrier, stretching across the doorway and between the hall leading to the room where the scientists were barricaded. After checking the surroundings and thinking for a few seconds, he raised his voice again. @@ @@ “Does anyone know if this thing is fire resis- Bah… No. Nevermind. You.” He said pointing directly to agent Turner. “Do you have a lighter?” “Why the fuck would I have a lighter and not any othe-“ “Do you have one or not?” @@ @@ Shocked by the agent’s audacity, Rex simply looked at him with a raised eyebrow and started to search in his backpack. After a few moments, he rudely threw a lighter at Victor. Victor took a small sample of the fungus from a nearby wall. He lit the lighter on and when he brought it close to the flame, the sample disintegrated while releasing a smoke of greenish-blue spores. After observing the smoke for a few seconds and with his doubt cleared up, he proceeded to explain his plan: @@ @@ “I thought about this: We could use the alcohol and the lighter to burn the first line of whatever the fuck is covering the door. Perhaps we could improvise an incendiary device with what we have in our equipment. The more area we cover, the better. Meanwhile, dividing ourselves into two groups, one for civilians and the other for any possible threats. You all heard on the radio that there are infecteds inside, so we have to be prepared.” @@ @@ Everybody meditated about it for a few seconds, before the silence was broken by a sarcastic laugh from Agent Turner. Penz just watched, confused and frowning @@ @@ “We cannot do that.” Said Marcelo as he took a few steps forward. “The release of spores into the environment when incinerating whatever that is… It may not be as harmful to us since we have the right equipment, but we must consider those who are inside. However,… @@ @@ The Portuguese agent extracted a CBRN kit from his equipment and his partner did the same, taking his own out. @@ @@ “I’ve now noticed that the substance dissolves very easily when stimulated, such as by setting it on fire, so, to put it simply, we can try something using the basic chemical containment equipment… It isn’t much, since we weren’t expecting something of this magnitude, but it may be more than useful to dissolve whatever lies ahead, at least in not too excessive amounts.” @@ @@ Rex slowly approached the door blocked by the viscous mucilage and proceeded to take a couple samples to insert them into tubes very similar to traditional laboratory test tubes, with the only difference that these were covered with warning stickers of different types, alongside the distinctive logos of the Beta-7 task force and The Foundation. [[=image http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/solucion/solucion2.png]] Meanwhile, Marcelo carefully observed the various encapsulated chemical agents he carried as he read a guide that came with the kit. @@ @@ “Samples ready.” Rex shouted to Marcelo. “We’re gonna isolate these for a second and I’ll let you try them with the solvents we have. Let's see if we strike a bit of luck here for the first time in the division...” “Go ahead” Marcelo stretched out his arm wearing an oversized yellow glove over the equipment they had brought previously, receiving the tubes Rex handed him. “Now cross your fingers and stay back in case of any adverse reactions that may occur.” @@ @@ Agents González, Ibarra and Penz simply waited nearby, with the kind of admiration one would expect when watching a highly skilled team at work. Everybody knew that interrupting the process could be a waste of time and, therefore, would risk not being able to evacuate the civilians alive. The mucilage from inside the vials glowed faintly. One by one, Marcelo poured the reagents. Variations of “voriconazole”, "quinoxyfen", “imidazole” and some “Echinocandins”. All carefully labelled so that their reactions to the fungal agent could be measured and identified. After a few seconds, the differences in some of the tubes were extremely noticeable. One in particular showed a visible structural change, which Marcelo reported to Rex. Both agents analyzed it and then agreed, finally they shared the result with the rest of the group. @@ @@ “Well, as you can see…” Marcelo raised the sole disposable tube he had in his hand for a few seconds,enough time for the rest of the team to see it. “We suppose that this is what we are looking for. The reaction was as expected… But to be sure, I’ll need the lighter." @@ @@ Penz threw the lighter back to Rex, who looked at him reluctantly for a few seconds and then passed it to Marcelo. The agent carefully took out part of the sample from the vial and passed it over the flame. The sample disappeared in a matter of seconds, but this time no spores could be seen. Evidently, it had worked. @@ @@ “Ha, ha! Perfect, now, what was the plan of action you said before?” “Burn everything blocking the entrance and the room before the containment room so we can get in. González, Ibarra and you would go for the civilians, Turner and I for the hostiles. There's no clear view of how many are in there, so it's best to be prepared.” @@ @@ Everyone looked at Víctor for a moment before nodding slightly and moving on to the execution. @@ @@ “So, first…” Rex shouted as he laboriously prepared enough reagent to break down the mucilage that was blocking the passage. “We need to spread this across as much surface area as possible.” @@ @@ Meanwhile, Marcelo was preparing a small yellow tank with a hose similar to a fire extinguisher, which they were going to use to cover the area with the chemical. As he was spraying the organic wall, the fungus wriggled and pulsed to the contact with the solvent. When the task was done, he took a few steps back and put the equipment away again. A spark from the lighter, and the wall in front of them vanished almost immediately. In the front room, clusters of hyphae blocked the way like vines. Marcelo reached out and gave one of them a slight pull, which was enough to break it. They were not going to be an obstacle for the team anymore. Watching the situation unfold, Victor signaled to the others to review the entry plan. The agents Ibarra, Gonzalez and Oliveira would enter the observation room and would be responsible for extracting the civilians, while Turner and him would go for the remaining hostiles in the containment room. With the plan established and their weapons drawn, both teams headed through the hyphae maze hanging from the ceiling. With a quick movement of his hand, Victor pointed to the darkest side of the room as he walked slowly to the end of the hall that led to the entrance of both rooms. Once there, he signaled via radio to announce his arrival at the door covered in mucilage, where the presence of hostiles was presumed. Rex took a combat knife from his backpack and made some cuts in the remaining mucilage between the door separating the two agents and the dark room with its dim turquoise light. Victor, with one of his hands resting on Rex’s shoulder, approached and illuminated the room with the lantern attached to his shotgun. On the other side, several deformed hostiles laid staring at the ceiling of the room. In a corner, a grotesque mass made of some biological compound, similar to the stem of a plant, vibrated and pulsed constantly, giving off faint and intermittent flashes of light. Silence reigned for a moment as both agents watched the various humanoid figures writhe in agony, scratching their bodies in an attempt to take off some pieces of scales that seemed to serve as natural armor. Víctor lightly pushed Rex aside as he extracted a stun grenade from a compartment of his equipment. @@ @@ “One. Two. Three!” the agent shouted before dropping the explosive inside the room and moving away so as not to be hit by its effect. @@ @@ ---- A gruesome scene was shown unfolding inside the room where the rescue team entered. [[=image http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/solucion/solucion3.png]] Two scientists were unconscious, sitting with their backs against the wall. Both had chemical protective coveralls, which seemed to have protected them from the infection that affected the other scientists in the area. Steffano and Ibarra approached each scientist, trying to check their vital signs and carrying them to the vicinity of the entrance door. A radio transmission indicated that Víctor and Rex had reached their objective, to which Steffano responded positively. Marcelo illuminated the room with his flashlight in hand, panning it around as he approached a large table in the center of the room. On the table lay the last scientist using the protective coverall in a prone position. Oliveira quickly noticed and he immediately approached the subject, turning him over and positioning him correctly on the ground. @@ @@ “Guys, over here!” @@ @@ Oscar and Steffano approached Marcelo, who was slowly examining the unconscious scientist. @@ @@ “Oh no…” Marcelo desperately pressed a section of the suit near the neck. “I need tape, or something similar. Right now.” “What happened?” Ibarra checked the contents of his backpack, looking for an efficient alternative. “The suit is broken. We need to seal it immediately” Marcelo responded as he pressed the suit with one hand and checked his backpack with the other one. “I'm going to put a simple oxygen mask on him to counteract any pathogens that may have entered the system, but I need to seal this up right now.” “He doesn’t seem to be in any state of infection beyond loss of consciousness.” Steffano pointed out. “That doesn't mean anything, of course, but I would like to know what led these people to the state they are in.” @@ @@ Steffano knelt down beside the subject and started to press the suit, replacing Marcelo, who was focused on putting the mask in the small tear. Ibarra took out a tape of considerable length and began to secure the area of the break after the two agents had finished their work. @@ @@ “We have to drag them to the door. There, we'll carry each one on our shoulders and see if we can get them out that way. There is no other way, for now.” @@ @@ Oscar and Marcelo agreed unanimously and began to carry the unconscious men to the doorway. In that moment, the rumble of a nearby explosion, followed by the sound of several detonations, put the three agents on alert. ---- The explosion of the stun grenade made the hostiles writhe and screech in pain, searching for the source of the explosion. Víctor slapped Rex’s back strongly, who instantly entered, firing his assault rifle on the two nearby hostiles. Víctor took advantage of the opportunity to blast his shotgun towards the other two hostiles, who were immediately ejected by the force of the shots. Rex came close to the creatures he shot, who were still moving erratically, even with the prominent holes in the soft parts of his skin. @@ @@ “Ugh. Bloody hell!” he shouted before drawing his secondary weapon and emptying the magazine on the monsters. @@ @@ Víctor approached the other two hostiles with methodical and precise movements to shoot them, and executed them both with a single, clean shot on the head. @@ @@ “//Bichos de mierda.//” Said Penz, answering Rex’s shouts. @@ @@ Between the commotion and the heavy breathing, both agents approached the fleshy nucleus that breathed in one of the corners of the room. @@ @@ “I don't know what this is, but I think we both agree that it’s the reason we are here in the first place, innit?” Asked Rex, as he took out the tank they had used to spray the chemical against the mucilage earlier. “Surely. What I’m not sure about is, if trying to destroy this thing might be a good idea.” Penz answered, concerned, after seeing his colleague with the tank in his hands. “We don't know what the consequences might be.” “Well…” Rex began to spray the chemical over the nucleus, before pausing to contemplate. “I think it is a good idea to get rid of the contamination source. I don’t know what the consequences might be, but I don’t think it could be worse than this.” @@ @@ The creatures the agents thought had previously been defeated began to shake and convulse frantically in the same place where they had been left. @@ @@ “Shit, uh… God damn it, just do it, ok? We’ll complain later.” Víctor pointed his weapon at the creatures. “Come on! Hurry up!” @@ @@ Rex finished emptying the contents of the tank on the surroundings and lit all the area on fire before running away, dragging Víctor by part of his suit. ---- Outside the rooms there were González, Ibarra and Oliveira with the civilians on their shoulders. Gonzalez tried to adjust the radio to communicate with the other two agents, to no avail. @@ @@ “We should start moving, the civilians are top priority.” Said Marcelo “Yeah, I know that,” González replied, slightly frustrated. “Just… give me a moment, I’ll try once more and then-“ Steffano was interrupted by another loud rumbling, followed by a beam of light coming from the back room. @@ @@ From the back, Victor and Rex ran out at full speed, almost bumping into the walls, while shouting at the top of their lungs. @@ @@ “GET OUT, NOW!” “RUN!” shouted Víctor as he ran towards the others as fast as he could. @@ @@ Behind the agents, the hostiles who had supposedly been taken down ran out of the room at full speed. They were being incinerated as they ran, but it didn't seem to affect them, bullet holes could be seen all over their bodies. @@ @@ “What the fu-” Steffano shouted before running slowly because of the load he was carrying “What the hell just happened there?” @@ @@ Oscar and Marcelo just started running, taking the lead for the whole team. Víctor and Rex ran behind the rest of the agents, pointing at the hostile that were rushing at full speed. @@ @@ “This ain’t the time, not now!” Answered Rex. @@ @@ In the distance, it could be seen how the fire carried by the hostiles began to burn the surroundings with every step they took, creating a blazing tide that advanced alongside them. @@ @@ “Shit, shit, shit.” Penz throwed another stun grenade, which ended up getting lost in the rush, without being effective. @@ @@ The mucilage started glowing strongly, spreading over the heels of the agents who were running to escape from the lower part of the facility. [[=image http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/solucion/solucion4.png]] “Penz, the door!” Rex shouted, signing with one of his hands indicating the security gate through which they had initially entered. @@ @@ Victor froze for a split second, processing the order Rex surprisingly gave him, then sprinted quickly towards the door, taking the lead. Ibarra and Oliveira watched in confusion as Penz sprinted at full speed and positioned himself on the left side of the security gate. During the confusion, Turner took up position behind González and began sprinting backwards, shooting at the hostiles as an attempt to slow down the imminent march of the enemies. The run lasted only a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Oscar and Marcelo arrived first, drew their secondary weapon and pointed towards the hallway where Steffano and Rex were approaching with the enemies hot on their heels. Seconds after, and by a matter of luck, Steffano passed through the security gate alongside Rex, who did an excellent job keeping in line the anomalies as Víctor typed some numbers on the security console, finally closing the gate and keeping everyone safe. All the agents stood still for a few seconds, breathing heavily and processing what had just happened. Without saying a word, everyone began to climb the stairs. Rex and Víctor tried to help the others, without interrupting their walk. The stairs seemed to stretch on endlessly due to the effects of fatigue, but the adrenaline kept the agent on the rails. Everyone climbed slowly and walked the last stretch of the way out of the facility with difficulty. Limping and in pain, those carrying the civilians went from walking slowly to jogging. At the front of the installations, the giant gates swung open, allowing an entire task force to enter. Steffano shouted some instructions, and most of the task force passed by the agents, going directly to the location from which they had just come. Another couple of agents of the task force stopped and helped the group carry the civilians, while providing support so that they could walk with less difficulty. Once outside, the scene was completely different from what they had encountered when they first arrived. Several helicopter fleets circled the facility. Tents of different colors were arranged throughout the perimeter. Some red tents gave medical support to the civilians that could have been harmed during the breach. Some of those provided psychological assistance, and others simply displayed an assortment of weapons for the agents who recently arrived on the scene for the intervention. The specially trained mobile task forces were the most noticeable above the scene, with oversized suits and specialized equipment, forming brigades with the other agents who were gathering at the doors of the facilities. The entire team was intervened by two groups of personnel; some wore full-body grey suits, while others were dressed as doctors and nurses. The latter retrieved the civilians from the shoulder of the agents carrying them, and disappeared from the scene to keep them safe, while the men in gray gave instructions to guide them to a tent of the same color, a bit further away from the rest. Once inside, the entire team was instructed to follow an emergency cleaning and chemical decontamination protocol. They were disarmed from their equipment and stripped down to their underwear and were sprayed with various chemical agents for disinfection. Once they finished the process, they dried themselves before moving to the next section of the tent, where the bags they had left outside before the operation were being kept. Each member took their equipment and began to change again. In the silence of the room, everyone dressed meticulously without saying anything about the operation. After a couple of minutes starting to get dressed, Turner looked up at agent Penz, who did not notice him until a couple of seconds later. @@ @@ “…Is everything al-?” @@ @@ Before he could say another word, Víctor was interrupted by Rex’s laughter, who approached him and extended his fist to greet him. Penz looked at him for a moment, confused, before he responded to the greeting. @@ @@ “Oi, goldilocks. We almost died there. What were you going to do if we died, mate?” “I, uh… I don’t think I could do anything in that case.” “You’re damn right!” Rex slammed a glove against the ground and then started laughing again. @@ @@ Penz did not fully understand the reaction, but he was not bothered by them either. Something about the whole situation reminded him of times gone by, and perhaps, just perhaps, he was not as lost as he used to think. The blonde agent smiled with his head down and finished closing a small bag with a Glock and its tiny flashlight. ---- While the team was waiting for a new order, Rex was sitting, leaning against a pile of bags and he was visibly irritated. @@ @@ “Shit.” “What’s wrong?” Marcelo asked him. “No, nothing…” After a few seconds, he continued “I honestly didn’t think they were going to receive us with a tent. Fuck! I didn’t believe we would see anyone waiting for us outside that door. I still don’t believe it.” “Hm, you’re right. I didn’t think about it…” “Huh?” Steffano interrupted them from the other side of the room “Sorry. What are you saying?” [[=image http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/solucion/solucion5.png]] “It's a bit obvious, innit?” Rex snapped again “They send two guys from a task force alone to a site far away from everything. You have to pray that they send only three more as backup. Those three are hired on a quasi-private basis. None of them are given a damn clue of what the fuck is waiting inside there. For God's sake! It looked like they left us there to d-” “Okay, that’s enough” Marcelo interrupted Rex before he could continue. “The situation wasn’t handled in the best way. We all noticed that. Most of the plan was made on the fly due to the urgency. But I don’t think it is the best idea doing this now, after all...” @@ @@ When he was done dressing up, Marcelo turned around and gave the tent structure behind him a light tap. @@ @@ “Walls have ears.” “Ah… I see.” Steffano frowned for a moment before replying slowly. “We’d better get together to celebrate the victory at another time, in another place.” @@ @@ Steffano took out a notebook from his bag, and from it, took out a couple of small cards with his name and email address on them. He handed one to each agent from the task force they had worked with, then silently put the notebook back in his bag. @@ @@ “I know a place where we could go and relax, it’s a small bar where the police used to hang out. There the walls don’t have ears, in fact, they have no sense at all. If you know what I mean” said the agent, chuckling to himself. “I see, yeah. We’ll be there, right?” Marcelo turned to Rex, who was distracted, chatting with Victor and Oscar. “Nevermind… We’ll be there. It’s been a pleasure.” “Likewise.” @@ @@ Both agents shook hands. The handshake lasted for a couple of seconds before being interrupted by the entrance of a man dressed in a formal military uniform, who slowly approached the group. @@ @@ “Gentlemen. With your permission, I hope I'm not interrupting anything.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “First, let me congratulate you on such an impressive performance, we would expect nothing less from an elite group. Unfortunately, you know what comes next.” @@ @@ Marcelo and Steffano were visibly frustrated. Marcelo had his reasons, and Steffano just hated the bureaucracy of operatives. @@ @@ “You will be summoned to Site-22, New York headquarters. There’s most of the documents, so you know where to go. It has to be sometime this week, preferably within the next three days. Once you finish the standard process you will be free of responsibilities.” “Understood” responded Marcelo. “Have a good day, agents.” Said the officer, leaving the way he came. @@ @@ Ibarra approached González and whispered something in his ear before he grabbed a heavy backpack and said goodbye to everyone as he left. Victor looked worriedly at Steffano before asking: @@ @@ “Is everything okay?” “Everything is alright, don’t worry. It’s all good.” @@ @@ Steffano gave a thumbs up in approval before grabbing his bags and leaving the tent, accompanied by the rest of the agents. After a quick exchange of farewells and several handshakes, each member went separate ways with their respective group. Víctor followed Steffano with his head down, glancing sideways at the groups of agents and researchers surrounding the now quarantined site. The return trip was not remarkable; they flew back to Site-210 by helicopter, followed by a drive to Site-28. Both were quite exhausted, and the protocol interruptions along the way did not help much. When they got back to the apartment, they left their bags in the living room without saying a word. Steffano took the chance to finally relax and stretch out on the sofa, while Víctor glanced at the clock a few seconds before heading to the kitchen. The noise coming from there broke the silence in the place. The opening and closing of the refrigerator, the search of the ingredients and the organization of everything were momentarily interrupted when one of the two spoke up: @@ @@ “What are you doing?” Asked Steffano, turning to look at him as he spoke. “Burgers.” Víctor answered him without looking, busy cutting some vegetables for a topping. “It’s quick.” “It’s quite late. Don’t you prefer ordering something?” “Uh…” The sound of the knife against the cutting board stopped for a second. “Well, it's almost one in the morning. I don’t think we can order anything at this time. It’s quick.” “Alright… if you say so.” @@ @@ After a couple of minutes, Steffano went to the dining room to set the table for dinner. He lifted a white tablecloth and placed it on the table, arranging it neatly and tidying up the room to bring in the food. With the food on table and both of them eating, Steffano paused between bites to gesticulate. He commented about the experience of the incursion so he could ask the opinion of his student, but then he realized that he had failed to get his attention. @@ @@ “Vic?” @@ @@ No answer. @@ @@ “Víctor!” “Huh? Wh- What? What’s wrong?” “I just asked you what you thought about today’s job” “Oh yeah. I- sorry. Uhh, it was fine.” “You’re distracted” Steffano crossed the cutlery on his plate, indicating that he had finished eating. “Again.” “I suppose. I guess I’m tired…” @@ @@ Steffano chuckled quietly before teasing him again. @@ @@ “See? It wasn’t that bad, right? You get used to it over time, and you know the money’s good. Maybe you'll even make a decent career out of this, you are much better than some toy soldiers I’ve seen before in the special forces. I’m just saying.” @@ @@ Víctor stayed in silence for a moment before shaking his head quite vigorously. @@ @@ “Maybe…” “Maybe?” Steffano smiled. “Maybe it isn’t that bad, you may be right.” “Yeah, I know. You should listen to your elders more often.” “Just shut up and let me eat, okay?” “Alright.” @@ @@ While Víctor was eating, Steffano stood up from the table in silence. He took his empty plate to the kitchen, then disappeared down one of the long hallways of the house and came back with a huge black bag and a sports bag. @@ @@ “What’s all this?” [[=image http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/local--files/solucion/solucion6.png]] Steffano did not answer the question and just opened the front pocket of the bag and took out a silver-colored pentagonal plate. @@ @@ “We need to talk; I have a proposal for you.” [[div class="gusano"]] [[include component:earthworm | first=false | last=false| hub=yes | previous-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/enfoque | previous-title=Focus | next-url=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/estrella-blanca | next-title=White Star | hub-url=http://scp-int.wikidot.com/hub-shrp | hub-title=Special Hazard Response Protocol ]] [[/div]]