In need of a helping hand {Open}

[Ayen]

Raccoon City was a broken city with many problems. Problems that escaped the new arrival named Alexis Malaware, Alex for short. She had long blond hair, blue eyes, white skin, and was dressed in brown and black. All she had on her was some rations and a 9mm Smith and Wesson pistol. She passed the checkpoint into the city with flying colors and some expressed surprise that she managed to survive with so little, but when the apocalypse happens you make due with what you have.

Alex decided to make her first stop be the police station. She didn't know what kind of help she would find here. The police back in Chicago didn't help her case, but she was hoping that the police in Raccoon City would be different. Or at least they aren't too wrapped up in their own city's concerns not to help an outsider. She entered through the large double doors pass the gates and was surprised by just how big the police station was in its first room. Seeing police wandering about she came up to the front desk to speak:

"Hello? My name is Alex. I was wondering if you could help me with a missing persons case."

Alex laid down a picture of Zira and looked at the person behind the desk.

"Her name is Zira Firestone. She's my roommate. She went missing several weeks ago. A contact here in the city told me she was near a burning building and haven't been seen since. Have there been any reports about her on your side?"

She hope they would have something, and if they didn't then they would be able to help her. At least she hoped.

[¤Amy Grace¤]

The woman at the front desk slightly glanced at the picture and looked away again back to her magazine, "you can file a report for her. Doubt anything has come through, cities in a bit of a crisis right now with all the illegals roaming around. Otherwise, you can talk to one of our P.I.'s who might be able to help you."

Cassidy was in the main hall pouring a cup of coffee listening to Alex's plight for help and approached the main desk looking at the picture as she capped off her drink.

"Your friend, very pretty. Any idea why she would go missing? Did she have any enemies or any reasons to go off the grid by chance?"

[Ayen]

Alex was a bit distraught at the woman behind the counter's lack of empathy for her plight, but it was something she also expected with how the police in Chicago reacted when she filed her original report. Alex then saw another woman come up who seemed to have more interest in her case than the woman behind the counter.

"That's the thing, she didn't. She was a sweetheart and I can't imagine anyone who would want to hurt her, but it also isn't like her to just fall off the grid like this. I don't know what would've brought her all the way to Raccoon City either."

Alex didn't like not being able to give the girl much information, but that was her situation at the current moment. Zira's missing case was a mystery she wanted to solve, and maybe she finally found someone who cared enough to help her.

[¤Amy Grace¤]

"What gives you the idea she came to Raccoon," Cassidy asked, she took a sip from her coffee. The station was mostly empty feeling today, a lot of the protests and the sickness going around had officers on the streets rather than in their offices doing paper work and chit chatting with one another.

[Ayen]

Alex was caught off guard by the question, but it was a good question to ask. She would've had no reason to think Zira came to Raccoon if it wasn't for the information broker that contacted her. It was a little sketchy getting a text from someone called "The Genius", but he was able to prove Zira's presence with a photo.

"I was contacted by someone who gave me this picture."

Alex held up her cell phone and showed an image of Zira by a burning building dressed in all black with a strange crimson vulture insignia on the right shoulder and breast of her clothes.

"He said Zira was spotted in Raccoon City in a strange black military uniform and was seen leaving a burning building somewhere in the city, but... He said I would have to pay for more information. I was hoping I could find her myself without having to use his services. It's kind of sketchy, but he was able to prove that Zira really was here."

Alex put her phone away and waited for the cop's response. Half expected to be scolded for resulting to using an unknown contact as a source, but she was desperate.

"You don't recognize the insignia by any chance, do you?"

[¤Amy Grace¤]

Cass looked the picture over, it was from a set of apartments that got torched a while back when the blood plague set in. She was pretty sure even if the woman was involved she wasn't the sole reason the building went up in flames given how a lot of the apartments were getting condemned and having police guard them to avoid torching city blocks.

"Not really," Cassidy said to the question, it was sort of familiar but nothing that had crossed her desk personally, "if you can air drop me that picture I can forward it to my DSO contacts and see if they can find anything on it but it'll be a while before anything gets back from that."

[Ayen]

Alex was hoping she would have more information on the symbol, but she would just have to figure that out herself later.

"Oh right. Hold on."

Alex got on her cell phone and immediately air dropped the picture to the cop's cell so she could do what needed to be done.

"I appreciate any help you can offer me. No matter how long the wait."

While she was here she figured she should get some much needed information on the city.

"Is there anything about Raccoon I should know about before I venture deeper into the city? The lady behind the desk here said there was a lot illegals roaming the city, and I saw on the news back home that there was some kind of virus going around?"

[¤Amy Grace¤]

She accepted the picture and instantly forwarded it to her boss in D.C. and sent a quick message following it saying missing persons, check insignia.

"There's some kind of blood plague going around that's infecting anyone and everyone no matter if they are altered or not. Plus some radicals going around basically assaulting people regardless if they are altered or not. They're just looking for a witch hunt at this point," she said sipping off her coffee once more.

"What's your name, I didn't catch it earlier," Cass asked.

[Ayen]

That sounded horrible. No wonder the city is in the state it's in. She was worried about catching the blood plague, or that Zira caught it among other things. She needed to find Zira and fast so they could get back to the safety of Chicago.

"Oh, pardon me. My name is Alexis Malaware, but you can call me Alex. What's yours?"

She was grateful for the kindness and the helping hand this cop has offered her so far. Here she was with no hope, but now her hope was starting to grow the more she talked to this person.

"And thank you for everything so far."

[¤Amy Grace¤]

"DSO Agent Cassidy D'Agata," she replied, "I work out of Raccoon as a Private Investigator. Been looking into a few crime circles that have been stealing people off the streets and selling them. More or less I figure it's a start but it's impossible to pin much on them. I'll keep an ear to the ground, give me your number and I'll contact you if I find anything out."

[Ayen]

"Nice to meet you, Cassidy."

Alex pulled put a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down her cell phone number and gave it to Cassidy so she could call her later. It sounded like Raccoon City had a large list of problems, so she was thankful that the P.I. took some time to help her with her case.

"I don't suppose any of you guys have a map of the city I could borrow or something? This is my first time in Raccoon City."

She was afraid of getting lost. She knew Chicago like the back of her hand, but didn't want to get caught wandering a city that had so many problems and dangerous people.

[¤Amy Grace¤]

Cassidy reached behind the desk, there was a stack of brochures that were given out by RC Tours when people visited the city it had a list of popular sites but the map on it was fairly accurate despite missing some of the finer details. She handed it over to Alex.

"Raccoon isn't that big of a city so it shouldn't be too hard to navigate," she said casually looking down at her phone, "my boss is going to run a search for your friend and the insignia soon. I'll let you know what he finds."

[Ayen]

"Thank you so much. Let me know straight away what you find."

Alex was glad to have someone in the city help her. It was better than going in blindly. Alex figured she may as well find this 'Genius' character and see what she can learn from him. If it even was a him. For all she knew it was a woman, it wasn't impossible, but it was normal to assume someone you don't know is a male. It was weird.

"Well, I guess I should begin my search now. I'll let you know if I have any questions."

Alex smiled and waved and then headed out of the police station to begin her search for Zira. Hopefully before something, or someone, got to her first.