How would I describe the threat of the CCIIA and the ICA? That's a pretty interesting one, uh...

For us, it was pretty terrifying. A lot of the low level researchers tried to keep their head down, and figured that the higher ups had a handle on things, but honestly, we were always only ever one half-step ahead. You can't STOP them. You can't even delay them, really. You have to build around them, worm out from underfoot at every opportunity, because when they get you firmly in their grasp, you're done for.

I distinctly remember being caught in an ICA raid. It was one of the more terrifying experiences I've had, and I've seen some shit come through those portals. I just heard screaming over the comms; some of the other execs freaking the fuck out and yelling that the building was under siege. You feel a certain energy when a lot of portals open up in the same small area, and I could feel that in spades.

Waves of ICA agents were swarming the halls, blasting anyone with a gun and subduing anyone without. They didn't speak a word; you couldn't hear 'em say a thing, but like they were networked together, they'd follow wordless orders. A few would break off from the whole every now and then to clear out other rooms. It was like this intractable tidal wave of boots; you could hear them storming toward you and if you slowed down for even a second you were done.

That shit's freaky dude. The armor doesn't help. They're covered in spikes and their helmets are just blank. You can't see their faces, you can barely see anything about them. It's like they're drones; they don't speak or display emotion. It makes it all the creepier when they're coming after you.

The CCIIA ain't so bad. They don't seem to take themselves as seriously as the ICA. HPO officers will yell orders at you and sometimes they'll talk amongst themselves if they're waiting for something. They don't act so much like drones, but it's still scary to have one of those big fuckers coming at you. I'd say of the two, I'd take the CCIIA any day.

Either way though, doing the kind of shit we did, you had to deal with both. That threat of a raid was constantly looming, and the only way to deal with it when it happened was to fucking beat feet. You can't REPULSE a raid or any shit like that. I've heard stories of Brotherhood and even Traders trying to stand their ground and getting steamrolled. Standing your ground is the dumbest fucking thing you can do. At best, you get arrested; at worst, you get shot and forgotten. For the ICA, it's usually the latter.

In our line of work, the best thing you can do is build around them. Hide in places they aren't likely to look, monitor your fucking staff, make sure no one's drawing any unnecessary attention, don't ever talk about that kind of shit in even a slightly public place. The darkest, shadiest alley ain't gonna' keep you out of the Dispatcher's watch.

They made my life a living hell especially. It was my JOB to make sure we didn't attract them, so I was doubly stressed. If they didn't kill me, the other execs probably woulda'. Building around them is hard, especially for us. At the time I thought it was weird; we were doin' something good for the universe and we weren't hurting anybody, so why would they send the most brutal, vicious ones they had after us? But uh... now that I'm out of that whole system, I'm startin' to see why. I remember a lot of the dangerous containment breaches and shit, I can only imagine the kind of damage we could have actually caused.

So I'd describe it as 'fuck that shit'. Frankly, if you ask me, the illegitimate lines of business ain't worth that shit. It's like having a big angry animal breathing down your back, and sometimes it digs its teeth into your neck, and one of these days it'll clamp down hard enough to pull your throat out.