capitalooc | FEBRUARY 16th, 2014 EDITION

TRIDENT STRIKES

Celebrity fundraising date ends in disaster
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Jacob Capello
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While not every Valentines date can be destined for success, no one could have anticipated TRIDENT's schemes to interfere with LA's Celebrity Date Auction. Despite being an event designed to raise funds for those that lost to the still mysterious Fowler sinkhole, one bidder used the evening as an opportunity for a kidnapping.

Reaphook, an Alternian member of the West Coast Trailblazers, was abducted by their date - a woman who turned out to be an undercover TRIDENT agent. While reported to have initially explained her bid with an enthusiasm for Alternian culture, it turned out to be something much darker than that. Said agent managed to knock out the CONDOR surveillance team before disabling Reaphook and taking him to an TRIDENT hideout within city limits.

Several members of the Trailblazers were pulled away from their own evenings by the news of their teammate's capture, and despite Trailblazer regulations against engaging A rank threats, the primarily under aged team ended up being the ones to locate and rescue their lost member.

"These rules are put into place for their own safety," an overseeing CONDOR agent commented. "While we're grateful for the fact that they managed to save Reaphook, we do not want to set a precedent for this level of dangerous behaviour."

While the findings from the overrun hideout are confidential, it's been suggested that TRIDENT may have been attempting to experiment with Alternian DNA.

"It wouldn't be the first or last time they've taken an interest in [Alternians]," a CONDOR representative said.

THE MYSTERY DEEPENS
CONDOR refuses to comment on the status of the sinkhole investigation
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Violet Jensen
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Weeks later, and there is still little word regarding the outcome of the investigations made into the nature of the twin sinkholes and the crystals associated with them. Before it was a matter of lack of progress but now, as this reporter has discovered, available CONDOR agents have declined to comment at all.

Nearly two dozen families have been effected by these natural disasters, and even though it's been months since the actual event, the Alpha Force has still not managed to recoup its loses. The crystal samples collected from the initial site remain at large. The question remains - will the city of Los Angeles be prepared for another natural disaster of this scale?

"The American government is doing everything it can to address concerns," CONDOR Agent Berkley said. "I can't tell you much, but I can tell you that."