>>6333815[3/4]
It was here that you first saw a<span class="mu-i">Civil Protection</span> presence. A tall man dressed in a distinctive uniform with a bone-white gas mask punctuated by two glowing blue eyes. A long, black baton jaunted from between his crossed arms. He leaned idly against an alien barrier outside the small Combine structure in the intersection, watching pedestrians pass by. You tried not to look for too long, this was supposed to be a normal sight for you, nothing out of the ordinary. Crossing the street towards the RDT, you caught a chill as you felt the CP's gaze lock on your person, your peripheral vision catching their blue luminescent eyes track you from one side of the street to another. You couldn't help but sweat a little, these are the moments where your cover is to first be tested. If <span class="mu-i">Citizen #493357</span> was for some reason not supposed to be in this block or flagged as missing, this next hour could be your last.
Around the RDT were stationed several more Civil Protection officers, all mixed in stages of professionalism and profound boredom. The officer at the front beckoned you to approach with a motion from his baton. This officer seemed on the shorter side, with a more feminine figure than most of the others. An artificially-garbled voice barked at you from her inhuman mask.
<span class="mu-r">"<:|| Apply, Citizen. ||:>"</span>
You were taken aback for a second, you had no idea what you were supposed to do. You stuttered, glancing around nervously.
<span class="mu-i">"Sorry, I... wh-"</span>
Her baton came upward quickly, pointing menacingly at the nametag on your chest. A shifting net of blue sparks loudly crackled at the baton's tip, inches from your body.
<span class="mu-r">"<:|| Your number, dumbass. ||:>"</span> she stated impatiently.
You recited your identifying numbers quickly.
The officer's baton dropped slowly to her side as she stared through you. Your stomach dropped. The color drained out of your face. This was it. The Recon guys gave you a busted cover. You were screwed. Fucked. You swore silently that you would haunt those sons-of-bitches for the rest of their lives. You wondered if anybody would find your body.
<span class="mu-r">"<:|| Go. ||:>"</span>
You blinked, making a conscious effort to unfreeze yourself. Thank fuck. Thank God! You slithered past the female CP into the maze of fences and into the sparse line of Citizens waiting their turn for rations. Behind the first bend in the fence, a <span class="mu-r">Combine Turret</span> swayed from side to side, beeping rhythmically as it swept over all and sundry. Some anxiety came back as your imagination intrusively presented a vision of the short, dark barrel suddenly spitting blue flame as it presented towards you, but it remained docile, sweeping and beeping, as patient as a landmine.
