Hotel Ambush

## Casualties

*“Think on it, Derek. Because in a few minutes, you're going to find out that Cassandra has made a break for it and they've located Doctor Strickland's hideout. Then, your life is going to be in danger.”*— Derek Hawthorne's soul, *Esoterrorism*
The **Hotel Ambush** was an attempt by Cassandra Cassidy to ambush and kill Derek Hawthorne and Shannon O'Reily while their guards were down following their investigation into her creation of the Matheson-22 virus. After the two went to the nearby High Garden Hotel to resolve their trust issues with sex, Cassandra sent her forces after them to kill them. It was naturally opposed by the two of them, who evaded the ambush and were able to successfully kill all of their attackers. The ambush not only confirmed once and for all that Cassandra was an enemy of the House, but shortly after this, Cassandra began a rampage against all of the House's facilities, beginning her efforts to completely destroy it.

## Background

After Dr. Strickland led an attack within Division One headquarters, Derek and Shannon were assigned to investigate Cassandra's role in both the attack and the creation of the Matheson virus. Cassandra admitted to making the virus; however, she claimed that rather than the malicious intent the Wazir had for the virus, she and Strickland intended for the virus to eventually cure diseases like cancer. With her ostensible help, Derek sussed out a scientist within Pantheon Corp who worked on it and pointed the finger at Strickland, who had faked his death in the White Room assault.

With both Cassandra and her scientists fully pointing the finger at Strickland for the virus's use, combined with The Committee cutting a deal with her for immunity in exchange for a large portion of Pantheon Corp, Derek and Shannon had no choice but to leave them alone. With Strickland's uncertain location being the only lead and the two agents having some unresolved feelings and tension to resolve, they quickly booked a hotel nearby.

After the two had sex and laid down to sleep, Derek had a dream where his soul confronted him. After a brief conversation, the spirit of his soul revealed that in a few minutes, Derek would get a call saying that Strickland had been located, Cassandra had made a run for it, and he would be attacked a few minutes later. After he woke up, he received a phone call from Lucy Danvers, confirming everything his soul said and that the mercenaries that attacked the White Room were sent by Cassandra. After telling Lucy to send Penny Hawthorne to his location, Derek and Shannon came under attack from Cassandra's forces.

## Ambush

### The Oni

Shannon heard the first attacker before he entered the room as he shot someone in the hallway with a silencer, giving the two agents just enough time to prepare themselves for the assault. What appeared to be a member of the Yakuza kicked the door down and kicked Derek away from him, only for Derek to realize that the man was actually an oni, forcing Shannon, in her lilin form, to face him hand-to-hand. After a brief quarrel that Shannon lost, Derek tried to shoot him, only for the oni's armor to take the hits without wounding him.

At this point, the oni pulled out a sword and made to slice Derek, only for Shannon to hit him in the groin and down him. With this opening, Derek pulled out a garrote provided by Lucy and began strangling the oni while Shannon shut the door to hide the fight. The garrote proved strong enough to decapitate the oni, ending that threat; however, realizing that Cassandra wouldn't trust killing them to just a single mercenary, Derek explained the full situation to Shannon and came up with a new plan. To counter any other forces Cassandra would have sent, they would break the window on their second floor room and make a break for the parking lot to head directly to Division One's Chicago substation.

### Escape

After breaking the window, the agents jumped out and snuck around in the confusion caused by the fight and the alarm in the hotel. As civilians exited the building and called 911, Derek and Shannon made their way to their car, only to discover four Sons of Mars mercenaries dressed as police officers surrounding it. Before the two could take cover, they were discovered, and the mercenaries opened fire on the agents. As they shot back, one of the mercenaries tried to throw a grenade, forcing Derek to act. He dived to the side and managed to shoot both the mercenary with the grenade and another next to him; Shannon used the distraction to quickly eliminate the other two.

## Aftermath

Though the battle did not last long, it was a crucial point in the war against the Wazir, and the effects of the battle had massive repercussions for all three sides of the war - the House, the Emerald Eye, and Pantheon Corp.

For the House, the ambush confirmed Cassandra's duplicity and role in the creation of the Matheson virus. Derek and Shannon were able to create a convincing enough cover story to prevent the Truth coming out despite the public nature of the ambush, which was later aided by Penny using magic to wipe the minds of the first responders. They were able to follow this up by discovering Dr. Strickland's location, leading to the confrontation at his safe house that would result in Strickland's death and Derek receiving the information he needed to ascend to the Committee.

For Pantheon Corp, specifically Cassandra, the ambush gave her the time she needed to begin her full plan against the House. First, she killed her father while making it look like a heart attack, but immediately after this, she and her forces began a full-scale assault on Division One, with her mercenaries attacking their forces directly and Cassandra working to damage the House's relationship with the federal government and freeze their accounts.

For the Emerald Eye, the Wazir took the opportunity to begin personally attacking the House as well, but the ambush also gave him the time he needed to set up the confrontation with Derek that he wanted inside Strickland's safe house. This gave him the opportunity to turn against Cassandra and encourage Derek to ascend to the Committee while also firmly aligning him against Cassandra, turning the two-way war into a three-way war. The consequences of this decision would be felt all the way to the Battle at Cassandra's Lair, where the Wazir murdered Cassandra when given the chance.