| “ | Hello, my friends from the AMS.
— Goldman
|
” |
The AMS is an international organization. It appears to deal with zombie-related infestations, as shown in The House of the Dead: Overkill and after the Curien incident. Its true purpose is never stated, however, but it appears to be outside of other US Government organizations and/or jurisdiction (for example, when G confronts Papa Caesar, he specifically places him under "AMS Arrest", though this may just be an example of the purposely bad writing).
By 2019, following a worldwide outbreak of zombies, it is obvious AMS is no more. However, former agent Thomas Rogan forms a paramilitary group combat the undead threat that roams the world.
Battle vs ARC (by Wassboss)[]
ARC: 
AMS: 
Captain Luke Johnson casts an experienced gaze over his team as they read themselves for the task ahead. It’s the latest in long line of anomaly disturbances over the last few months and in that time he’s had to deal with a whole plethora of creatures, from Pterodactyls in Guernsey to a pack of dire wolves in a bustling Aberdeen centre. Fortunately today’s disturbance is not nearly as high profile as those previous missions, a country mansion in the middle of nowhere is about as ideal a location for an anomaly to pop up as any. Johnson makes a quick mental check of all his equipment, something which has become almost second nature to him after his many years at the Anomaly Research Centre. His trusty Sig Sauer is holstered on his right hip, anomaly device strapped in his belt along with flash bangs and flares. In place of his usual EMD rifle, an M4 is strapped across his back, as today is no ordinary anomaly insurgence. Subconsciously tapping the grip of his Sig Sauer he notices the other members of his team have finished their own checks and are waiting patiently for their orders.
“You lot all know the drill by now. We go in, contain the anomaly, deal with any creatures and call in for back-up. Normally we try to subdue the creatures so they can be transported back to their time safely, only killing them if there is a direct threat to human life and only then after all other options have been exhausted. However today is different. This isn’t an anomaly to the Cretaceous or the Ice Age, oh no. This anomaly has been traced to the year 5017” Johnson pauses to let the other men process the information as none of them have ever dealt with an anomaly from the future before. “That is why we’ve been equipped with standard firearms for this mission as opposed to our usual EMD weaponry”
“But I’ve still got an EMD rifle Sir” one of the men says sheepishly. The man is Jimmy Cook, the most junior of the team at nineteen.
“Unfortunately, resources are spread thin and we weren’t able to get all of the weapons we needed and that’s why you’ve ended up with a EMD rifle Jimmy. But don’t worry about it, when set to the highest setting those rifles have enough strength to knock out a large therapod so they’ll be more than lethal enough to take care of anything that comes out of that anomaly.” Jimmy nods in understanding and Johnson continues with the rest of his briefing.
“Now we don’t know if anyone is on the property or not so keep alert and don’t accidently shoot a civilian by being too trigger happy. I don’t know what’s going to come out of that anomaly but what I do know having worked with this team for months that every man here is more than capable of sending anything nasty back through that anomaly wishing it hadn’t bothered showing its face.” The men all cheer in agreement, raising a smile from Johnson. “Alright then, let’s do this” he says and leads his men through the gated side entrance.
---------------------------------
Agent Danny Holder tries to aim his gun at the abomination in front of him but the damn thing is moving too fast. Every time he gets it in his sights it leaps away and his men are having just as little luck. One of them screams as the creature jumps on him but before it can tear into him another agent blows the back of its head off. Danny strolls over and prods the creatures body with his toe. “What the hell is Goldman coming up with now” he mutters to himself as another pair of agents approach him.
“We’ve just destroyed some of that zombie’s spawn” one of them says.
“These things can reproduce now?!” Danny shakes his head in disgust.
“That’s not all.” the agent beckons for Danny to follow him and leads him to an area of dense foliage. Parting back the branches and leaves with his hand, he reveals a bright shining light, as if someone has broken through the space in front of him like a mirror. He reaches out to touch it but his hand passes right through.
“What the-” Danny says in amazement.
“HEY,” Danny snaps out of his wonder and pulls his hand out of the mysterious light. In the distance are a group of men dressed in military gear. “Step away from that it’s too dangerous,” shouts the man at the head of the group.
“Who are those men” Danny asks the nearest AMS agent.
“I don’t know sir, we’re the only team assigned to this case.”
“We were warned that there may be security forces on the property” another agent adds.
“They’re all carrying firearms”
“So, they’re some of Goldman’s men eh?” Danny unholsters his Desert Eagle. “Tell the others to open fire of the hostiles. But try to keep some of them alive for questioning.” The agent nods and hurries to convey these orders to the other agents.
-------------------------
Johnson grips his Sig Sauer tightly as the ARC team scope out the area. He constantly checks the anomaly device in his spare hand, relying on the other men to alert him of any danger. They swiftly move across the property, keeping an eye and ear out for any sign of a creature. They reach a small disused patio with a stone stairway leading down to a large lawn area. “There’s people down there” Jimmy says suddenly and Johnson looks up from the anomaly device. Jimmy points to the distance and Johnson sees a group of men at the end of the lawn. His eyes are immediately drawn the unmistakable glimmer of an anomaly and shouts out a warning to the two men peering in wonder at it.
“HEY” he shouts catching the pairs attention. “Step away from that it’s too dangerous.” He leads his men down the stone stairway and begins to cross the lawn between the two groups.
“Is that a future predator sir?” one of the men says, pointing to a body lying on the lawn.
“Jesus Christ, it is.”
“How the hell did those guys manage to kill one of those demons?”
“Must’ve got pretty lucky. They don’t look like cops so they must be the owners or something.”
“Why are they all armed then?” Jimmy pipes up.
“Lots of people own guns in the country Jimmy. They might not be legally owned but if they managed to kill a future predator then I’m willing to cut them some slack.” As they near the anomaly, Johnson notices that one of the men is dragging something along the ground in their direction. He lifts it up off the ground and points it towards them and it’s at that moment he realises that it’s a handheld minigun. “FIND COVER” he yells as the AMS agent opens fire on them. Caught off guard two of the men go down in a hail of bullets but Johnson, Jimmy and the other ARC trooper manage to scramble behind the cover of a cluster of ornamental boulders. . Johnson immediately grabs the communication device from his belt and presses the speed dial for ARC headquarters.
“Hello Captain Johnson how can I help?” asks the operator on the other side.
“Requesting back-up immediately. We’ve been engaged by hostiles and have lost two of our team. I repeat we’re two men down and need back-up urgently”
“A back-up team is being dispatched immediately to your coordinates Captain.” Johnson ends the call and joins the rest of his team in trying to return fire but the sheer volume of bullets peppering their location means they can’t even pop their heads up to aim accurately. Jimmy positions his EMD rifle in a crack between two rocks, sets it to the highest setting and fires blindly. Astonishingly the magnetic pulse actually manages to hit the Minigun wielder square on and the electrical pulse courses through his body . Now the supressing fire from the AMS agent has stopped the remaining members of the ARC team are able to peek over their makeshift cover. The body of the minigun wielder lies sprawled on the lawn and the remaining agents are retreating back towards the mansion itself. Johnson takes aim and guns down the last of them just as they disappear out of sight.
“Damn it” he mutters under his breath and signals for the two men to follow him as they pursue their opponents. Jimmy stops briefly at the body of one of the ARC agents and crosses himself before swapping his EMD Rifle for an M4 and hurrying off after Johnson.
-------------------------------------------
Danny checks the ammo count on his XM8 and sees that he’s almost out of ammo. Discarding the weapon he takes out his Desert Eagle as they approach a split in the pathway. “Tony I want you to go and stay with the van, just in case Goldman’s men try to sabotage it. We’ll will head back into the mansion in case they go in there and try to destroy any evidence.” Tony nods and heads off down a path leading into a forested area while Danny darts up the path ahead.
------------------------------------
Not long after Johnson and the ARC troops reach the same split in the path. “Which way did they go sir?” Jimmy asks.
“I don’t know. My instinct is telling me they headed back into the mansion.”
“Then we should go that way.”
“But on the other hand if there are still creatures out there then they’d likely be in that forested area. Our primary mission is to deal with the anomaly threat not with these men we’ve run into.”
“What if I was to head into the mansion to check it out, that way you and Jimmy can check out the area for any more future predator,” the other ARC trooper pipes up.
“But then you’ll be by yourself without back up. What if you were to run into a future predator? Or what if all three of those men are in there waiting to ambush you?”
“There isn’t really another option sir.” Johnson thinks about it long and hard.
“Okay Sergeant but be careful.” Johnson pats the man on the back and he nods before heading off towards the mansion. “Come on Jimmy” Johnson says and leads the young man into the forest.
----------------------------------------
Danny frantically starts grabbing evidence of Goldman’s plans out of one of the labs and stuffing it into a nearby backpack while the other AMS agent stands guard at the door. Danny is just zipping up the now bulging backpack when he hears gunfire and when he looks to his teammate he’s lying slumped on the floor, riddled with bullets. He instinctively drops his hand to his holster but he grabs at nothing and curses as he realises he’s laid his handgun on a lab surface a couple of tables away. Keeping one eye on the doorway he slowly edges towards the gun but just as he gets within touching distance something appears in the doorway. Danny ducks down just in time as the ARC trooper steps into the doorway. He checks around and satisfied that there is nobody else in the room he begins searching the body of the dead AMS agent.
Danny peeks over the top of the lab surface and, as carefully as possible, grabs the Desert Eagle before crouching back behind cover. He waits until the ARC trooper lays his gun down to get a better grip before rising up and firing off several shots, striking the man in torso and jolting his body forward so that it comes to rest on top of the agent he was searching.. Snatching up the backpack, Danny hurries out of the lab and back to the van.
--------------------------------
“Vehicle up ahead sir.” Having followed the winding path through the wooded area Johnson and Jimmy have reached a large paved driveway. Johnson scans the area and notices that the driveway leads back up towards the mansion and is surrounded by forest on either side. There is also a large gate with a security hut further down. Parked sideways across the road is a black van with writing in big letters across the side which reads ‘AMS’. “AMS? What’s that” Jimmy asks.
“I don’t know” Johnson replies. As they approach the van the side door slides open to reveal the AMS Agent lying in wait, he empties his shotgun at the two men but he’s misjudged the distance and most of the shots go wide. However, one of the slug’s hits Jimmy in the side and he collapses in shock. Johnson shouts in anger and, before the Agent can reload his weapon, puts him down with a burst from his M4 . As soon as the threat is dealt with Johnson immediately turns his attention to his injured comrade. “Jimmy. Are you alright.”
“I think so” he replies through gritted teeth. Johnson crouches down and lifts up the teenager’s shit, which has gone a crimson red. The pellets have struck Jimmy in the side and he’s bleeding quite heavily but it doesn’t look to be anything life threatening. Johnson takes some bandages out and wraps them around Jimmy’s torso to stem the blood flow. As he begins to straighten up he feels the cold hard tip of a barrel pressed into the back of his head.
“I wouldn’t try anything funny if I were you” Danny Holder says. “Now I want you to put your hands behind your back so I can cuff you.”
“Who the hell even are you guys” Johnson says reluctantly doing as the man asks.
“Agent Danny Holder AMS. I’m sure you’ve heard of us before”
“Can’t say that I have”
“You can play dumb all you like but we’ve got enough evidence of your crimes against humanity to lock you away for a long time.”
“Crimes against humanity? We’re trying to protect people dammit.”
“I don’t see how creating monsters is protecting people. Me and my men happened to encounter one of your latest creations earlier and that thing was in no way created to help people. You’ve even got those monstrosities to breed you sick bastard.”
“Breed?” Johnson asks “You mean there were infants?”
“Well, well, well looks like these zombies have developed something even you didn’t know about. Luckily for us you’ll never get to pass on these revelations onto you master Goldman and we’ve destroyed the spawn before they could develop.”
“Firstly, those things you killed weren’t zombies they’re future predators, a future descendant of bats which came to this time period through a crack in time called an anomaly.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that” Danny scoffs.
“Secondly,” continues Johnson ignoring the remark “I don’t work for, with or know of anybody called Goldman. I work for the Anomaly Research Centre which deals with the anomaly thr-”
“That’s it I’ve had enough of listening to your nonsense. You’re under arrest for- “
“and thirdly and most importantly” Johnson says raising his voice “You killed one male future predator and a litter of infants.” Danny feels a chill go down his spine as Johnson looks back at him.
“So, my question is; what happened to mother?”
Danny feels the presence of something nearby and twists his neck around to spot a Future Predator stood right behind him. Before he can turn his gun to shoot the creature pounces on him and drags him off to the side, viciously mauling him and tearing out his internal organs. Johnson let’s out a relieved breath before reloading his M4 and levelling it right at the Future Predator. He whistles to get its attention and it turns to him snarling, giving him the perfect angle to empty the entirety of his magazine into its head. Satisfied that the creature is dead he turns his attention back to Jimmy who has passed out due a combination of blood loss and shock. He hears the sound of tires squealing on tarmac and a loud crash as a SUV crashes though the mansion gates. The vehicle is clearly labelled with the ARC logo and is followed not too long after by an ARC issued medical vehicle. A group of heavily armed men exit the SUV and immediately train their guns on the man stood in front of them.
“Identify yourself.”
“Captain Luke Johnson” Johnson snaps back and the men lower their weapons. The lead trooper walks up to Johnson and gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“Well Captain, looks like you’ve got the situation under control.”
“It wasn’t easy, we lost some good men on this mission.” The medical team rushes past Johnson to attend to Jimmy and check out the body of Danny Holder. “How’s the boy doing” he calls out to one of the medics.
“He’s a lucky man Captain, another couple of inches to the right and he’d be in some real trouble but miraculously the shot seems to have missed anything vital. He’ll be healed and ready for action this time next week.” Johnson clenches his fist in relief.
“I’d better show you guy where the anomaly is, we didn’t get time to secure it before those hostiles showed up. One of them said they were from the AMS. Ever heard of them?"
“Can’t say I have although if they’re anyone important I bet Lester have a pretty awkward phone call.” The two men laugh. Johnson casts a quick gaze over Jimmy as he’s carried away on a stretcher before leading the back-up team to the anomaly.
Winner: The ARC
Expert's Opinion[]
The ARC ended up being the victorious secret agency by a long shot. They had the better weapons overall and many of it's members are ex-military and were therefore more used to facing human opponents whereas the AMS mostly dealt with brainless zombies.