Adam actually had never been to this place before the world ended. After all, why would he, a retired soldier, post army IT guy go to a military funded aeronautical research lab. But he certainly passed by it many times as he went through the city. Truthfully he had no idea what he might find but it seemed a worthy endeavor anyway.
Upon arriving he could already tell that his bad luck when it came to encountering enemies was coming into play. The place was crawling with members of the cult. Judging by the numbers present here it was obvious they were looking for something, whether it was here or not was beside the point.
This left Adam with a dilemma. He wanted to loot this place, and it was clear the cultists had not been here long, probably arriving just a few hours ago, so in all likelihood it was still full of loot worth selling. However he also was not ready to antagonize the cult yet. The battle was coming soon, but if they were to be tipped off that Adam was an enemy now…
"What do you think, Deccanus?" Adam said as he turned to look at Deccanus who was sitting in the cockpit with him as they parked far enough away to not be spotted.
"I think they would have the geographical advantage, they would also be fighting a defensive battle allowing them to bait our attacks into theirs. However we would have the element of surprise. I believe we can subdue the external forces with moderate ease and then the fight will truly begin once we gain access to the interior." Deccanus replied as he surveyed the situation.
"Do you think we should do it? I mean it is the cult after all. We don't necessarily want them as enemies, right?"
"They are already our enemies." Deccanus said back, quickly. "The first shots have already been fired long before, regardless of our plan to decapitate their leadership they are still our enemies. I see no need to spare ourselves the action now."
"What are you two mumbling about up there?" Eve asked as she slid open the door to the front cockpit a moment later.
"The place I wanted to raid seemed to be full of cultists. I'm considering our course of action."
"Oh then this is perfect~" Eve said with a flirty tone. "We can consider these appetizers for the battle to come." Adam was momentarily surprised to hear her say this but not altogether shocked. He glanced past Eve towards Mira to see if she had anything to add.
"They are a danger to this whole city, if we do not deal with them, there is no telling how many innocent people they will kidnap in the meantime." Mira said after noticing Adam look at her.
Well then, it seemed like everyone was in agreement that they should go ahead with the mission. As it turned out he was the only one having second thoughts. He considered asking Rae for their opinion but he doubted Rae would offer any insight so instead he just let off a soft sigh and then nodded.
"Alright, we will proceed as planned. But our first objective should be to make sure we clear out the ones on the outside, we can't let any escape or get away. If they do there's no telling if a larger force will march over here. Or if that will jeopardize the mission in a few days."
There is a general consensus among the group before they all step out of the APC and work out a plan.
Ultimately the plan was that Eve, Deccanus, and Rae would assault the building from the front, gather the cultists attention, and draw some forces out that they otherwise would not have spotted. Meanwhile Adam would play overwatch. He may not be as good of a shot as Salvatore but he certainly was no slouch. Adam would take up position on a nearby roof and ensure they are not flanked and that no one is slipping away. Finally Mira will use her stealth suit to slip past the defenders and eliminate them one by one from behind while they are distracted by the combat from the front. It was as good a plan as any so Adam agreed to it. He was a bit worried about Mira, since she would be going into the enemy lines but Mira quickly reassured him she would be fine so he let it drop. He was now wishing he had not given away all his medical supplies, they would have come in handy. Ah well, he would just need to stop at Naper again and buy more.
Adam headed up through the nearby, still standing, 5 story building and began his ascent to the top. This was a looting run, however, so Adam took note of anything stashed away here that might be useful. In fact he did find some useful things. On the unimportant side he found a bottle of nuka cola, some blank holotapes, some scattered ammo, and a few odds and ends. However the big find was that on the 4th floor, in one of the rooms of this former apartment was a stockpile of goods and a bug-out bag. It looked as though within the last few years someone had been living out of the room and then perhaps died while they were away and left all their loot unattended. Adam was going to gratefully take it all, especially since it was not a small collection of things, however he would take it later, he was needed on overwatch now.
Adam headed to the roof and took up position on the edge with his scoped rifle. Once in position he got a handle on all the cultists positions he could see and then gave a thumbs up to Eve who was watching from down below.
Then, as planned, Mira activated her stealth suit and slipped away while the other three began their brazen march into the waiting arms of the soon-to-be-dead cultists. Adam watched as they wove through the streets on approach to the research lab. One of the cultists noticed them but did not seem to yet be engaging them in a fight. However he did run from his position to tell the others that they had company. However Eve was not going to let him alert the others. That is when the fight began.