12.05.35 2:48 am Had a strong glass of bourbon and crashed hard tonight, despite the noise on the street. I guess you get used to it after a while living in Freeport, but something was definitely different out there. No Ð peculiar is more like it. ThatÕs what must have caused my strange dream. Man, was that a weird one. I want to get it down on paper but itÕs so tough to put into words. It sounds dramatic anÕ all but man, it was so frigginÕ real. The moment I threw off my specs and pressed my palms against my burning eyelids, it felt like it was the calm before the storm. And then I passed out. opened by a shot from an above tier and a keen eye. A hoard of mutated bodies without faces eclipsed the light and turned to me, armed with guns, bombs, and claws. And the chase was on. I pulled a quick 180 and leapt across the separation in the floor, only to duck behind a crate to turn around and open fire. Four down. Time to move. I quickly scrambled outside under the angered sky with bullets darting past both my ears. One gets me in the All was quiet except for a faint but noticeable murmur of a power generator. I took a slow step out of the shadows, looking to my right and left down each corridor for any potential danger. But this wasnÕt a usual route around the sector looking to bust armed U4 pushers. This was a real war for some reason, but there was nothing here but very subtle screams in the distance, gun blasts, explosions, then more screams. Then it kicked in: that adrenaline rush from hell. I bolted down the metallic hallway with a 1000 years of rage on my shoulders and seven hand-held CB-22 rockets in my backpack for each of the souls IÕll take in the next half hour. The lives IÕll devour to make me stronger and impenetrable. As I ran, fitted in armor and conviction, the familiar war sounds become louder and fed into my fury. The screams were almost unbearable at this point. The moment I turned the corner into a room with this powerful blue light, blood and chunks of flesh sprayed onto my pants from the poor disemboweled ÔCorps soldier to my right, shoulder but proves tolerable. I found myself cornered with nowhere to go except into a sea of death, already a graveyard for many dead soldiers. I dove in while more bullets burrowed into my suit and skin and bone. Just as I thought I was safe, I heard a splash only to look over my shoulder and see three desperate beasts, but theseÉanimalsÉhad faces. And they were scared, too. Were they after me or were they running from fear themselves? I immediately unleashed four more demons from my barrel, three meeting their destiny. Although victorious, I choked on the thick water, blood, and flesh that surrounded me, and died just the same. As I floated slowly to the surface, a womanÕs laughter came from somewhere above, as if I was part of an experiment or something, like I was in a test tube. And then I woke up in a cold pool of sweat. It is the calm before the storm. My God, it is the calm before the storm. ItÕs funny, actually, getting used to this good guy shit. A few years ago it very well could have been me laying in the streets with a 1.02.36 8:20 pm Happy FrigginÕ New Year. Two days in and I almost blasted my first punk in Ô36 already. That kid musta been smacked out pretty good to kill a cop just to get to his cruiser. And all this right in front of his hands were shaking the neon glow of the Starck Club. Thankfully, so bad he missed me by a mile. fatal case of lead poisoning. Who wouldÕve ever thought that IÕd be crossing over to the other side, patrolling the same blocks I used to run gangs on. IÕm sure all theYoung Masters and Warriors are dead now, anyway. Life sure is strange the way things come full circle. Dumb punk didnÕt realize his life was already over before he even left the rock he climbed out from under. I chased the junkie into the club but lost him in the crowd. Got him on the cams though, so IÕm sure heÕs arrested by now. I ripped my leg open when I slipped on the floor Ð there were broken vials of U4 all over the place, man. I guess kids arenÕt even going to the bathroom to jack up anymore. Damn. You know, I think that dead cop worked with my dad at the FPD at some point. His name was McPherson or something like that. Poor bastard. Got there too late, was already shot in the head. WasnÕt wearing his damn helmet. Nothing I could do. NoteÐ eÐ notify McPhersonÕs wif rs. office ll field o to a y, n dut a mem hile o d out sen on, w o s eed t elmet ay, I n out h Mond t with ed.Ó caugh l be fin ey are ey wil th ÒIf th 2.22.36 11:43 pm. Tonight was one of those nights that makes you wonder how it ever got so bad. I swear, itÕs not even midnight yet and already the cityÕs gone to shit. I musta grabbed my Mag three times within an hour because of these damn punks jumping out of the shadows. Two of them even tried to shiv me, dumb bastards. If they were zombies, that would be one thing, but this tainted garbage just completely freaks them out altogether. Even nailing those dirtbags Mancini and Kong last week hasnÕt slowed down the flow of U4 any and I know theyÕre behind a good chunk of the Freeport flow. I shouldÕve popped Mancini a hat guy. 3.13.36 1:10 pm SinTEK's been all over the news again. Looks like they've bought out yet another major petroleum company in the Middle East for a zillion dollars or something. These guys are everywhere, man: chems, oils, computers, pharmaceuticals, geneticsÉ and now as a SEC-Force Op as well. It must be my lucky day LookinÕ mighty fine! God, I need to get laid. $32,000 Looking good. The SinTek shares I bought are on the rise again! re U Buy mo ber Sto ck!! Unbelievable. . . They may have their greedy hands in all kinds of pie, but IÕd do anything for a night with Dr. SinclaireÕs daughter. Man, is she hot or what?! WhatÕs her name? Oh yeah, Elexis. Elexis Sinclaire. Hmmmmm. Keep this up and I see early retirement calling my name. Pork bellies are up ker Call your Bro and thank him tip. for the SinTek Dave Eddings 200-658-6971 4.09.36 3:30 pm least. interesting, to say the Yesterday was pretty I let him tell me his story. HeÕd been running big hack jobs for a good three to four years for all kinds of colorful characters in the underworld. Tech Warfare sure pays well if you donÕt get back-stabbed in the process. Such was the case here. w we met. ay by reminding me ho J.C. cracked me up tod lf years. dy been four and a ha I can't believe it's alrea it was yesterday. I remember that day like hacker who hell, I finally caught the After three months of d it turned out to , an the HardCorps server had been tapping into ges. iz kid who loves challen year-old wh be some bored 20 to 21 a good 10 to 15, made sure he served 've kicked his ass and I would s during those few month but I realized something r have this nt him down. IÕd rathe while I was trying to hu thatÕs for sure. n anywhere else, kid ÒJ.C.Ó on my side tha guys for $50,000 on a job last year, but he had no choice. Somet hing about eating his own tongue must have persuaded him. Plus, he was told HardCorps was a dirty organization that was in bed with the government, and responsible for half the problems on the streets to begin with. So, J.C. rented space at a neighboring office building and set up his operation for a close tap and began to systematically watch our HC server. He soon learned our external protocols, then tapped in and gained access to lower level system files, only to learn we were the real deal. ÒGood guys with a purpos e worth fighting for,Ó he said, or something like that. What a bullshi tter! He seems like a smartass all right, but after a few long hours and a pack and a half of smokes later, he graciously accep ted my generous offer to work for us here at HC, and IÕm sure it had nothing to do with going to jail if he refused. going to like this guy, and for some reason, I feel like I I think IÕm to gain classified information and hand it over to his bosses . Apparently, he didnÕt want to do it since heÕd been burned by those J.C. was hired by the Vitello family to break into HardCorps can trust him. Hope Frank Vitello doesn't start snooping around or we'll have to see if he's allergic to leadÉ HA HAÉ maybe arrange to have him plugged, too. 4.19.36 5:12 pm For the second time this week, another Freeport citizen was killed by these enormous bats weÕve been seeing lately. Pretty weird stuff. WeÕre still trying to figure out what kind of breed they are and where theyÕve come from, but for now, weÕve allocated a few of our men on it to scour the areas for extermination. HereÕs a sketch based on the few found by the east river docks. Scientists are still trying to figure out what kind of fluid is stored in that appendage under their bellies. Gross, man. BAT!?! So Ð This is a J.C. Ð e net Surfspan th e and see if for m out ANYTHING motely there re resembles this SHIT! BLADE Hairless Ð ! A freakinÕ HUNCHBACK? 400 titties? Fingernails? 5.11.36 1:32 am Found out Antonio Mancini got off somehow and is back on the streets already. I swear there is so much red tape in this frigginÕ city, I canÕt believe it. He musta had that scumbag lawyer Johnny Cockroach defend him. How the hell did he afford that crooked bastard? Someone high up on the food chain must be pulling some strings because Mancini has more goddamn lives than an alley cat. He must have bribed someone pretty high up, but what can Mancin offer besides dope? Everyone on the street knows that although he may be up the U4 food chain, he doesnÕt have a pot to piss in. i Dickhead Extremely dangerous kno wn Identifiable markings: blin underworld figure. d in left eye, large vertical scar that runs from upper forehead to mid left chee k. Multiple tattoos on right and left hand and upper arms. I wouldnÕt even be surprised if he was on the junk himself, that stupid jerk. To make matters more interesting, J.C. said ManciniÕs recent arrest file was totally wiped from the FPD computers and Kong was found beaten to death in his cell. If I get a chance, I may look into this. IÕm actually looking forward to corn ering that slimy weasel again to see what he has to say. oG yo ut w otta u T ha fin IC t m d K Ð S ake ON s !!!! 6.17.36 9:23 pm Saw this in the locker room and couldnÕt help myself. She is the hottest thing IÕve ever laid eyes on. How could a woman that smart be so beautiful AND rich. Talk about having EVERYTHING. Except me of course, Ha Ha. I also had no clue she was actually running SinTEK now. It says in this article that the success of her dadÕs miracle Òfountain of youthÓ drug, Vanity, was too much to handle so heÕs given her the whole corporation on a silver platter and retired. I know daddyÕs little princess is a biochemist for God sakes, but cÕmon, just take a look at her! On another note, J.C.Õs proved once again how valuable an asse t heÕs turned out to be. CanÕt tell him that or his melon will swell even bigger than it is now. IÕd still love to slap that wise-crackin g mouth from time to time but overall, IÕm glad I trusted my gut instincts and brought him on boa rd. I can imagine playing doctor with her... 6.17.36 9:23 pm ThereÕs definitely something very weird going on in the city. J.C. was in the VR-cades and overheard a couple of people talking about some creature they encountered near a garbage dumpster. They said it looked like a dog at first until it pulled its head out of the trash and it had a long beak or something?! Call me crazy but I read something like this in one of those tabloids about this mutated four-legged animal found with spikes on itÕs back like a goddamn stegosaurus. HereÕs a photo of an especially photogenic bum and his favorite subway wall. IÕve never is. ing like th seen anyth charts! ItÕs off the Blade, t this hair Where did you ge someone sample? ItÕs as if actively went in and retro A, but not changed the DN in a nice way. e tests. I need to do mor We need to talk about these results. Come by later. Dr. Dylan ALexander ÒJohn,Ó Mom said. ÒWake up, JohnÓ. sitting by the side of my bed, I opened my eyes and my mom was a crisp. was a kid. And she was burnt to but I was in my old room when I charred remains. I screamed and ÒTime for school, Johnny,Ó said the apartment, tonight. I looked at the jumped up, but found myself in my ing there. side of my bed but there was noth 8.07.36 3:23 am I havenÕt thought about my folks for a while, so I decided to pull this out: Man, I hate waking up in that cold sweat. Went down to sector 3, to do my own investigation, where 9.30.36 9:55 pm This is the fourth account of what some call Òthe clawÓ Ð a mutant . creature rumored to roam under the city in abandoned subway tunnels All four descriptions of this beast involve an abnormally huge left arm with a claw on the end, and a bony, almost skull-like face. Special forces have com ...