After the mess that had been the previous event, the Man in Red had been left in an extremely sour mood. Losing so much footage, let alone the information he had been hoping to glean from it, was a painful blow to his plans. Not one he couldn't recover from, mind you, but one that left him...far too unpleasantly on the back foot for the first time in a long, long while.
Only just now, in fact, months after the last moments of the event, that he could even bear to turn his eyes upon the remains of the event's stage.
The sorry little town, in all its utterly demolished and decrepit glory. The cleaning teams were already on task, finding survivors and corralling them together for proper processing, cleaning up the dregs of corruption and viral contamination, purging every last trace of the cult-like presence lingering in the woods and shadowed hills. It would not be by any means an easy or quick task, but it as all necessary. The simple approach of "just burn it all down" wouldn't quite work in this case, much as he would have preferred it.
"Sir." The neutral voice of Cowl spoke up from behind him. "Cleanup efforts are progressing smoothly. We've successfully destroyed the entity marked as the Hunter, and we've managed a bargain with the Dullahan, to enlist possible aid for future events as required."
"Good, good..." the Man in Red murmured. One hand lightly played along the rim of his hat as he stood in silence, observing the ongoing efforts of purging the town of its woeful existence.
"In other news... Some of our other agents have returned to the fold from their training exercises. All of them have reported overall satisfactory scores, except one. The General and his squadron have reported excellent scores in all fields, just as you'd hoped."
"The General...yes..." the scarlet showman murmured, turning to look over his shoulder at Cowl. "What of the status on our infiltration projects?"
Cowl shook their cloaked head. "Very poor, I'm afraid, sir. Seven out of ten teams have gone completely dark. Of the remaining three, two report significant complications, and only one has met with any measure of success. I'm forwarding their results to your personal terminal."
"Thank you, Cowl. You are the only one I can truly rely on in this place." The Man in Red turned back to regard the ongoing progress of the cleanup operation. "Is the work force assignment ready to be commissioned?"
"At a moment's notice, sir."
"And the emergency crisis teams?"
"In the final stages, sir. We only need to finish their training with the new equipment."
"Good, good. And the opposition corps?"
"Being sorted into teams and ready for deployment within a matter of days, sir."
The Man in Red nodded once more. "Everything is progressing smoothly, then." He folded both arms behind his back, turning to regard his hooded accomplice directly. "As a final matter...send out new recruitment teams, as well. We need to shore up the numbers of our staff here, before the next event."
"You're still planning on going ahead with it, sir?" Cowl seemed genuinely surprised.
"Of course. The show must go on!" The scarlet showman lifted a hand, clenched fist held toward the sky. "The errors of last time, as grievous as they were, can be corrected and accounted for. Next time, there will be much...fewer to keep track of. Fewer moving parts and points for error." His raised hand slowly lowered, until it was held out in front of him. "I will be overseeing it directly, and not delegating to a technician of questionable capability, this time."
"The direct approach..." Cowl sighed. "Very well, sir... I'll have extra personnel assigned to the cleanup crews."
The Man in Red merely chortled.
Only just now, in fact, months after the last moments of the event, that he could even bear to turn his eyes upon the remains of the event's stage.
The sorry little town, in all its utterly demolished and decrepit glory. The cleaning teams were already on task, finding survivors and corralling them together for proper processing, cleaning up the dregs of corruption and viral contamination, purging every last trace of the cult-like presence lingering in the woods and shadowed hills. It would not be by any means an easy or quick task, but it as all necessary. The simple approach of "just burn it all down" wouldn't quite work in this case, much as he would have preferred it.
"Sir." The neutral voice of Cowl spoke up from behind him. "Cleanup efforts are progressing smoothly. We've successfully destroyed the entity marked as the Hunter, and we've managed a bargain with the Dullahan, to enlist possible aid for future events as required."
"Good, good..." the Man in Red murmured. One hand lightly played along the rim of his hat as he stood in silence, observing the ongoing efforts of purging the town of its woeful existence.
"In other news... Some of our other agents have returned to the fold from their training exercises. All of them have reported overall satisfactory scores, except one. The General and his squadron have reported excellent scores in all fields, just as you'd hoped."
"The General...yes..." the scarlet showman murmured, turning to look over his shoulder at Cowl. "What of the status on our infiltration projects?"
Cowl shook their cloaked head. "Very poor, I'm afraid, sir. Seven out of ten teams have gone completely dark. Of the remaining three, two report significant complications, and only one has met with any measure of success. I'm forwarding their results to your personal terminal."
"Thank you, Cowl. You are the only one I can truly rely on in this place." The Man in Red turned back to regard the ongoing progress of the cleanup operation. "Is the work force assignment ready to be commissioned?"
"At a moment's notice, sir."
"And the emergency crisis teams?"
"In the final stages, sir. We only need to finish their training with the new equipment."
"Good, good. And the opposition corps?"
"Being sorted into teams and ready for deployment within a matter of days, sir."
The Man in Red nodded once more. "Everything is progressing smoothly, then." He folded both arms behind his back, turning to regard his hooded accomplice directly. "As a final matter...send out new recruitment teams, as well. We need to shore up the numbers of our staff here, before the next event."
"You're still planning on going ahead with it, sir?" Cowl seemed genuinely surprised.
"Of course. The show must go on!" The scarlet showman lifted a hand, clenched fist held toward the sky. "The errors of last time, as grievous as they were, can be corrected and accounted for. Next time, there will be much...fewer to keep track of. Fewer moving parts and points for error." His raised hand slowly lowered, until it was held out in front of him. "I will be overseeing it directly, and not delegating to a technician of questionable capability, this time."
"The direct approach..." Cowl sighed. "Very well, sir... I'll have extra personnel assigned to the cleanup crews."
The Man in Red merely chortled.