Espionage, the spinoff

[Dante]

In the fine tradition of Espionage and Espionage 2, I thought perhaps a third and slightly different thread might prove interesting.

Like it's predecessors, in this thread you choose a character and/or an organisation they belong to, on either side of the law. This group can be a government of a specific country, or not. What is important is that this entity must have need to take part in espionage. Cloak and dagger, secrecy and duplicity. Stealth.

The previous two threads didn't have a clear plot, this will be different.

It is the year 2007. Life continues pretty much as normal until a worldwide alert goes up when four nuclear devices are stolen from four different locations and countries. No terrorist groups have yet claimed responsibility and tensions are high between the countries of the world. Trust is rare and so a co-operative effort to retrieve them has not yet been started. The devices are still at large...

For my own faction; I am a profit-based organisation employing several agents. Activities are almost all illegal but are hidden under the guise of a well-known and trusted multi-national cosmetics company. Agents are currently in the field.

Nukes ARE allowed, but if they are not used with care than this shall change.

Examples of accepted groups (you are not limited to this list);

Mafias of various nationalities.

Terrorist groups.

Governments.

Vigilante anti-terrorist groups.

Individuals who need not be connected with these groups.

Thread will start with first member to join, and continue from then on.

[Anathema]

I'm in, but won't have time to write anything the next few days (damn school!)

[EWS]

Group: Echelon Pie Alpha (EPA)

Group Location: Federated States of Micronesia (exact island unknown)

Leader: Unknown

Total Operatives: Unknown, although believed to be in the region of 30.

EPA History: Established in 1998, they have managed to infiltrate the CIA and FBI numerous times.  Disaster struck in 2001 though, when one of the operatives (Codenamed “CXI”) was captured and is currently held in a Maximum Security Unit somewhere in the USA.  Very little information was gained from this operative except the one piece of valuable information that led to the discovery of a second operative (Codenamed “XXX”) who was subsequently killed when his private plane crashed into the Pacific.  Operative CXI had infiltrated the CIA and operative XXX had infiltrated the FBI.  No information regarding what they had been stealing is known at the present time.

After the death of XXX, a raid on his flat was made a piece of paper with the words “The Pelican has flown” was found.  It was decided that this corresponded to the leader of the EPA although this has could not be confirmed.

Current Mission for EPA: Currently negotiation an Arms Trade in a town on the base of the Himalayas.  The town is the HQ to a band of terrorists wishing to stage a coup in their home country of Belize.  The negotiations are going well.

The EPA further believe to have knowledge of where one of the nukes are.

[Scrinlord]

I will post later, but im in.

[Dante]

A nameless and shadowy organistion with worldwide bases. Originally controled by an unknown government, the group splintered when illegal activities began to take place. The old government has forgotten about them, and the old leadership is dead. All that remain are six agents, two of whom are sitting in a small shack, surrounded by snowdrifts.

"Don't you ever get cold?" A muffled voice muttered from beneath a thick, woolen hood.

"Rarely." The woman replied, adjusting her earphones. "Be quiet." The man in the hood and jacket scowled, and looked out at the snow.

"Blasted mountains..." He muttered. "Why do we have to traipse out here in the middle of this godforsaken realm?"

"Espionage." The woman replied. "If the people I'm spying on are the people I think they are then this could be very important."

[Scrinlord]

An underground organization, made up entirly of trained operatives from various nations.  When the Cold War got to Political for their tastes, many operatives from many nations on both sided of the Iron curtain left their country and formed their own orginization, devoted to finding a way to stop the spread of violence without the hinderence of bad political influence.

Currently consists mostly of operatives from the USA, UK, USSR, and Germany, but many smaller nations agents are involved as well.

[EWS]

"So tell me then the weapons you are offering us?" Enquired the Belize soldier, obviously not in charge but doing the bidding for someone else higher up.

"We have already told you, we do not believe in repeating ourselves.  They are detailed here;" The EPA operative passed over the document with the words "Pelican" typed on it.

"Ahhhh, yes sounds good.  Now, what do you want?"

"$8 million US Dollars, your co-operation, and your undivided attention."

"That you then have, my friend"

"Reports indicate that 4 Nuclear Weapons, unknown as present of there power, were stolen from different countries.  As yet, our operatives have not found who they were stolen from.  I personally believe it was USA, Russia, Britain and China.  We want to know who stole them and what they plan to use them for.  You don't know who has them, do you?"

The figure, smoking a large Cuban cigar, leant over the table.  His menacing eyes pierced the soldier, staring deep into the eyes, watching for any lies to be told.  The soldier, remained still, sweat dripped down his face.

"No" His voice was croaky, obviously hiding something important.

"Tell me where the Nuclear Weapon is." The man stood up, towering over.  From the darkness behind appeared four other figures clad in Arctic fatigues.  They brandished Russian made AK-47's.

"I swear I don't know where they are, please believe me.  I, I, I, I'm only a solider sent to do this job."

"You were a fool to come alone, my friend.  Now I am going to give you to the count of 3 to tell me where those Nuclear Weapons are, or you shall be killed.  Do you understand?"

"Please"

"1"

"I swear to God I do not know where they are, please....."

"2"

The soldier tried to run, he turned straight into a towering 6ft 5 monster who knocked him to the floor.

"3, men, get him."

The fatigued clothed men pounced.  Not with weapons but with fists and clubs.  The Belize soldier was quickly knocked out and dragged up to face the operative.  The operative drew a breath from his cigar and breathed out.  The end smoked as it was dug deep into the forehead of the soldier.

"You know what to do."

[Dante]

"Not very pleasent people." The woman whispered under her breath. "But someone connected here knows about those bombs."

"Oh, that's why we're here." He companion complained.

"He wasn't very bright..." The woman smiled again. The man noticed and groaned.

"Don't smile like that Vivian, it means you're plotting and I hate it when you plot."

"I never stop plotting." Vivian replied with a smirk, still listening. "At least one of the men in that room has a bug on him now. I want you to keep an ear on them." She said, removing the headphones.

"Where are you going?" The man asked as Vivian made for the door.

"Tracking." She replied. The door slammed shut. The man sighed, and put the headphones on. The sounds of a beating echoed in his ears.

[Dragoon Knight]

Organisation Name: The Guardians

Location: UK

Leader: Unknown to Government/Public, but Justin Redlak (<-- Me)

Purpose: To bring law and order to the world by using means that the government will not.  To eliminate those who seek to bring harm to the people of this planet, or indeed the planet itself, while protecting it from harm at the same time.

Background: Justin is the last in the line of the extensively rich Redlak family line, and at the relatively young age of 23, his parents died after their yacht was sunk on holiday while traversing Japanese waters.  Justin was left the family esate; an assortment of houses dotted around the UK, and the savings of five generations of his predecessors.  The total value that this fortune amounted to was somewhere in the region of

[EWS]

"Right guys, you heard what the boss said, Kill 'em" Screamed one soldier as they dragged the lifless body of the Belizian.

"Oh look, seems he's coming around now.  Wakey wakey rise and shine, heh heh heh heh"

The Belizian soilder stirred his head, blood gaped from a wound.  He was completly unaware of his surroundings and what was going on.  However, he noticed a figure in the distance moving silently across the land.  That was the last thing he ever saw.

The EPA soldiers were quick at what they did.  Rope seemed to appear out of thin air as if this was always planned and the solider was strung to a tree.  The largest EPA soldier pulled 4 nails out of a pocket and quickly located a large stone.  One nail went through his liver, the second through his shin.  The third through his thigh and the final nail passed effortlessly through the upper arm.  The Belizian, still alive, bled to death in that desolate landscape of the Himilayas.

[Dragoon Knight]

Justin sat at his desk in his office on the second floor of his mansion.  It had no name, but he liked to refer to it as Redlak House.  Of course, no post ever came here... all P.O. Boxes and that.  It saved the postie the twenty mile drive.

He looked out over the landscape before him.  The desk faced the full length window, and the rising sun shot beams of light into the room.  Alone, but never lonely...

"Sir?" came a voice from outside.

"That you, Dirk?" Justin asked the door.  It swung open with a small creak.  Justin had it installed on purpose, so that he could hear people coming into his office.  Indeed, it was Dirk who walked in.

"Yes, sir." he said, closing the solid oak behind him.  "News from our operatives inside MI5.  Four nukes stolen, one from the UK definitely.  The other three... well, their countries must be keeping their disappearance under wraps, just like ours is."

"I see..." Justin intoned.  Only now did he turn away from the window.  "Any news regarding our thieves?"

"Possibly a small wannabe-regime in Belize, although God knows how they got it... but that's just guesswork.  We only got that info through monitoring Pelican."

At the mention of the name Pelican, Justin straightened in his chair.  "Pelican, you say..." he said, getting up and walking to the wall.  Pressing a concealed button, a 3D map of the world was hologramatically projected from three lenses at different corners of Justin's desk.  At the fourth corner appeared a keypad, which Dirk and Justin now stood around.

"Belize." said Justin, and the map zoomed in, providing a relief map of the country and several details regarding it, which Justin and Dirk ignored.

"There." Dirk said, pointing to an area in the North of the country.  "That's where Intelligence last saw the EPA agent."

"Monitor the situation closely... I'm going to call an old friend." Justin said, shutting down the map and sitting back at his desk.

"As you wish, sir." Dirk said, and exited the room.  Justin picked up the black phone at his desk and dialled a set of 34 numbers.

"Pelican, you had better pick up..."

[Anathema]

Louis

31 years old

white male, black hair

One of the top agents of an officially non existent French agency that takes orders directly from the president. The organisation was founded to counter the rise of nuclear capable nations throughout the world.

4 years before the French government catched rumours that the Egyptian president intended to sell nuclear warheads to an unknown individual. There was no way to prove these accusations and therefore the French government decided it was best to assasinate the president- Louis personally pulled the trigger from 600 metres distance. The world thought it was the work of islamic extremists.

two years later intelligence indicated that a Pakistanian general was preparing to ship away 2 nuclear warheads to a destination somewhere in eastern Europe. The evidence pointed in direction of the same unknown person. The warheads never reached their destination- the ship they were transported on sank on high seas and caused a natural disaster, wich lead to the whole world imposing sanctions on Pakistan. Louis was on the ship but managed to escape.

The organisation has failed in the worst possible way: 4 nuclear warheads are now in the hands of unknown opponents. Every agent has been deployed to find any leads to where the nuclear devices went, including Louis.

[EWS]

The dull ring of the phone echoed around the small house.

Back in Britain, Justin tapped his fingers impatiently, muttering cursives under his breath.  The line opened

"Hello, this is the residence of Dr Edward Peter Albertson, what ails you?"

It was a clear Australian accent.  Justin replied with out hesitation

"Hey, I would like to speak to Eddy please."

"I'm sorry mate but Dr Albertson is in a meeting at the moment and asked not to be disturbed."

"Right, tell Edd that it is an old friend from home will ya."

"No problem mate"

"Thanks"

In a large red room was a man smoking a cuban cigar, taking deep breaths reading a document and looking at photographs.  The black phone on his desk buzzed and a red light indicated a call waiting.

"What is it?" He spoke in a French accent, "Right, call zis perzon back, I vud very much like to speak to 'im."

The phone went down, a sharp inhale of cigar and a quick blow of smoke.  Then the phone rang.

"Ello?"

"Hey Edd it's Justin.  Lunch?."

"Fish or Chicken?"  The accent had changed to a British one.

"Actually I would much rather try the local cuisine.  If you dont mind?"

"Not at all, tell you what.  I will get someone to meet you off the plane at the airport, he will take you to a nice restaurant and I will meet you there."

"Got it, oh and by the way mate."

"Yeah?"

"How long has it been?"

"Too long.  We missed you."

"Your not the only one.  See you soon."

"Cya"

The line went dead and "Edd" pushed a button on the phone.

"We are going to have a visitor.  He isn't a threat, but an old friend.  He is to be treated with the upmost respect.  His name is Justin, we went to school together, and University.  If this goes right, we could have ourselves a new ally."

With that the phone went down and the figure resumed looking at the documents.

[Dante]

"Hear anything?" Julia asked.

"Nothing. Shh." Her older brother replied, pressing buttens. He was sitting on the roof of a large building in the middle of a blank landscape, working quickly.

"The security cameras are still up." Julia told him, "We can't get in."

"We're not trying to get in..." Alexei muttered as he split a few wires, "We're trying to listen in."

"What is this place anyway?" His sister continued, ducking as the sound of a door opening reached her ears. "We're in the middle of nowhere and suddenly there's this great big house with no address! We had to walk twenty miles just to get here!"

"We crawled." Alexei reminded her. "This is to be carried out in complete secrecy, keep it down." He waited a second. "Yes! I'm in!"

"Into what?"

"The roof. I can send something down now."

"What are you using?"

"One of these." Alexei proudly produced a tiny metallic shape before inserting it into the tiny gap between the wires.

Below him, a light went out in a room. It came back on a second later.

"A teeny tiny spider?" Julia asked.

"It's a bug." Alexei replied, "It carries a microphone, and a few other gadgets. It'll be able to crawl along for a few metres before it's legs die, at which point it will just sit and listen, and report back to us."

"Why are we spying on these people anyway?"

"You think it's just coincidence that this place springs up so close to our old HQ? I think not. If the guy who owns this place knows anything about us he has to go down. But Elisa does insist on not killing the innocent so I have to go to all this trouble first..." Alexei grumbled.

"And if he's watching us? You don't think anyone would go to all the trouble of building a place like this without proper security for... our kindof people?" Julia asked uncertainly.

"I happen to know that the master of the house is about to leave." Alexei grinned, "And as far as the little spider is aware, he knows nothing of us up here." Replacing the wires, he looked over the edge of the roof to the ground far below. It had taken a lot of effort to evade the security cameras but it did seem too easy...

"You first." He told his sister.

---------------------------

"Messy. Very messy." Vivian sighed as she regarded the swinging corpse. She pulled out one of the nails, being careful not to leave any fingerprints. Then she took a blood sample, and carried out a cursory examination of the corpse. She also searched his pockets, and cut him open to see if he had swallowed anything.

"Chewed... minced... mince... nothing of interest." She sighed, pocketing the unfortunate soldier's wallet, complete with a little cash, a few cards, and his ID. She wondered briefly why his killers hadn't taken it, but supposed it would have been regarded as evidence. Well that didn't bother her. She hoped that her brother was having better luck. And that her orders to Alexei had got through.

Taking off her bloodstained coat, and donning an identical clean one, Vivian carefully set fire to both it and the body, and calmly walked away.

[Dragoon Knight]

"You're not the only one." Justin said to the recipient of his current phone call.  "See you soon."  There was a small pause, then Justin put the phone down.  Turning around, he made his way towards the door.  As he exited his office, Justin turned around and locked the door using the security keypad.  Justin was paticularly proud of the mansion's security.  Impenetrable 5-inch steel and 3-inch lead surrounded every room, which was also connected to the central security node.  The only way to get anywhere important in the mansion was by being Justin.  Sensors placed throughout every corridor and room in the building recorded Justin's vital signs, brain wave patterns and hormone levels... only when these were within normal levels, accompanied by half-hourly encrypted password entries, fingerprint and retinal checks and voice recognition analysis, could the mansion be traversed.

Cameras, of course, surrounded the building's exterior and interior, subjecting the 1-mile radius surrounding the mansion to a blanket of security, including both infra-red and ultra-violet scans.  That, accompanied by motion and pressure sensors that covered the entire surface of the mansion, made it more of a fortress.

Justin now walked calmly towards the front door of his abode, a car waiting to drive him to Inverness, to catch the train to Glasgow Airport.  Justin never went for private jets or the like... security was so tight after 9-11 that even he had trouble getting on planes.  As he approached the towering arches of the seemingly oaken double doors, he informed his entourage of 15 security guards to watch over the mansion while he was gone.

"Dirk is to be in charge for the duration of my leave." Then, to the intercom on the right hand wall, "Business as usual, guys.  You know how to get me if you need me."  The sound of Justin's voice echoed throughout the house, and it was only then that Justin noticed a faint blip on the Security Display Monitor.  The pressure sensor had detected motion on the roof.

"Activate mirrors." said Justin, and the console blipped obediently.  Silently, outside the mansion and a good distance away, mirrors placed invisibly in trees turned slowly to face the source of the alert.

"Damn... trees aren't tall enough." he cursed.  Then, thinking quickly, shouted into the intercom, "Boo!"  The security went off again, affirming Justin's beliefs.

"There's someone or something on the roof, and they can hear the intercom." Justin told the guards quietly.  "Now, they're pros... anyone who wasn't would be trying to get in by now, and there's no way into this mansion... but a bug, maybe?" he trailed off, talking to himself more than anything.  He pressed the intercom button once again.

"This, in case you didn't know, is Justin Redlak.  I'm currently addressing the person or persons atop my bloody house.  I don't know who you are; my camera's haven't seen you - take my word or leave it.  Either way, get off now, and know that a full check of the mansion's structure, wiring and electrics will be conducted on my return.  If you want to talk to me, do it face to face."

Justin paused.  "I can't be bothered with any more trouble right now... I've got enough as it is.  Go now, and I will order my guards not to pursue you, and I will delete all security data that could incriminate your identity or identities.  But make it obvious that you are leaving, because I will also order my guards to find and kill you if no action is monitored in the next 15 minutes.  Do a little dance if you understand your situation."

There was no movement.  Turning away from the intercom, Justin spoke again to the guards in barely more than a whisper.  "They are either gone already or will be going.  They are sensible.  I can sense it.  I actually hope they do talk to me face to face... they're good."

Justin walked out of the door and into the car (fully armoured, of course).

"Follow my orders, and everything will be fine." he said, and then the car drove away.

[Scrinlord]

"Shit, man, what the bloody hell are we doing here?"

"Shhh, shutup ya bloody brit.  You want to get us caught?"

Jade and Charlie were both members of Sabre: A super secret private organization dating back to the Cold War.  While Sabre is devoted to promoting world peace, they often engage in espionage and even para-military actions to achieve their goals.  THey were on  one such mission now.

"But why the hell do we have to be in Siberia?"

"Damnit Charlie, I already told ya.  We think one of the stolen nukes came from here.  We already know that one of them came from America.  And we are pretty sure that one came from the UK, and Russia seems like another logical choice.  Our job is to cover Ivan in case he needs to get the hell out of here fast."

Several hours before, Ivan, a Russian trained specialist of Sabre, infiltrated a Russian nuclear command post.  He had quite a few friends in the Russian army, but this was still a dangerous mission.  That is why Jade and Charlie were sitting on nearby hilltops with German made PSG-1 sniper rifles, ready to blow a hole in the Russian guards in case their friend needed help.

"Well, if he doesn't hurry up, I think I am going to go make myself some tea.  This waiting in the snow sucks!  Maybe we should just go surrender to the Russians now, it would be easier."

"I dont think you want to do that.  The Russians have been acting up quite a bit lately, and old Soviet political influenses have been creeping back into the government.  If they stand unopposed, I think that we will have another Soviet Union on our hands within a year or two.  Sooner if there is a revolution."  Jade responded cooly.

"Then lets contact HQ and get out of here.  Its not worth dying for, not yet anyways."

"Au contrair," Jade replied, "It is worth it, because if some of those weapons were Russian, and something is detonated on Russian soil, that could very well be the spark that triggers a reversal to the Old Soviet system, and a new Cold War.  And we dont want that now, do we?"

Charlie just sat in the snow, looking desperate.

"Wait! Get down, there is something moving in the doorway!" Called Charlie, as he and Jade ducked down and got behind their weapons....

[EWS]

"If there is one thing I must ask you,it

[Dante]

(OCC: Alriiiiight... I like challenges)

"So what do we do?" Julia asked, an edge of hysteria in her voice. "We can't get in!"

"It was never the plan to get in." Alexei sighed, pressing buttons. "We've got a few minutes and a few minutes only to collect infomation." He paused, frantically pressing buttons on the spider's control pad. "Let's see... pipes... dust... machinery... dust... ahh, cables... Holy Sh*t!" He exclaimed.

"What? What is it?" Julia jumped as if she had been shot.

"This place has tighter security than the bloody Pentagon!" Alexei gasped, running his hands over the data screen. "The spider can't collect as much data as I had hoped but from what I can see this place could withstand an army!"

"How do you know about Pentagon security anyway?" Julia asked suspiciously, glancing over the roof.

"I broke into it a few years ago for some very rich guy or other." Alexei muttered, sending the spider further into the minute relics of electrical signals. A hissing, cracking noise emanated from the transmitter, accompanied by the sounds of giggling and... other noises.

"Dammit, they've even blocked the intercom." Alexei scowled, half annoyed and half impressed.

"Sounds like those videos you import." Julia said casually. Her brother gaped at her.

"How do you know a-" he stopped. "A little money on the side is nothing to be ashamed of." He said.

"I'm sure the girls in the videos think so too." Julia scowled this time, reminding herself of her brother's ruthless business acumen. He wasn't going to let something so paltry as internation law get in the way of making a bit of cash.

"How much time do we have left?" Alexei asked, staring at the panel.

"Seven minutes." Julia answered, checking the watch hidden in her sunglasses, which also effiectively obscured her face. Alexei wore them too. "Do you believe him? The guy who said we could go free?"

"Yeah." Alexei replied. "This guy obviously has something to hide here."

"Or someone." Julia murmured.

"That's enough." Alexei said, snapping shut the transmitter. "I've got enough on the security to know that this place won't be defeated without a complete electrical failure. And he probably has a generator as well. And solar panels." He added, glancing at the grubby marks his gloved hands had made as he scrambled over the blue devices. "For all intents and purposes, this place is uncrackable." He paused, and grinned, "For now."

"We should get going then." Said Julia, heading for the edge.

"We'll get back and report to Vivian." Alexei told her, "She'll be very interested in this." So saying, he pressed the button on the console labelled 'self destruct' and followed his sister to the edge of the roof, sliding down the solar panels. Behind him, a tiny 'pop' signalled the end of the cybernetic spider.

"Any danger of anything catching fire from that?" Julia asked, indicating the direction of the noise.

"A little." Alexei answered, "But they'll know about it long before it becomes dangerous."

Both excellent climbers, the two decsended to the ground along a corner of the house. At the bottom, Alexei paused to remove his shoe and tap it against the wall. A few pebbles dropped out, along with assorted other bits and pieces.

"Did you manage to drop any bugs on the car?" Alexei asked as he put his shoe back on, and Julia flipped a rude gesture to the security cameras.

"No." His sister answered. "Not a chance to."

"Probably just as well." Alexei answered, glancing back at the house, "We really don't want trouble from this guy."

"But we're going to keep looking into him."

"Oh definately."

[EWS]

The two men emerged from the bunker, wearing cossack hats and large winter jackets.  They spoke in fluent Russian whilst gazing around the bleak landscape.  They then switched into English,

"Right it looks like we are safe here, no one seems to be looking.  Cigarette?"

"Nah, just lets get this done with and get back to our shift, you know that the boss doesnt like hold ups.

"Yeah you are probably right.  Keep an eye out."

"Sure"

The larger of the two figures produced a telephone and started to type in numbers.

"This is a message for Dr Edward Peter Albertson.  I would like to book an appointment for a common cold.  The flu has caught me and would like to shift it soon.  Will try to get some medication for it though and get back to you if it doesnt get any better."

He hung up and turned back to the other one, he had litten a cigarette in the time the other was on the phone.

"Done.  Hey, come on we got to get back to work."

The cigarette was stumped out on the floor and the two figures disapeared back inside.

[Scrinlord]

The crosshairs of the rifle tracked the Russians perfectly as they came out of the bunker.

"Damn, we are to far away to hear them!" Jade snarled under her breath.

"Shut up.  I have the rifle, you get the camera out, we are supposed to record everything for HQ."  Charlie said to her.

As Jade set the camera up she saw one of the Russians pull out a phone.

"Quick, zoom in, we might be able to trace that number!"

Jade zoomed in, and hit record just in time to watch the man dial.

"Ok, we will get this tape back to HQ after the mission.  Hopefully SOMETHING good will come of it!"

[EWS]

Edd opened the door.  Justin was anxious, nervous really, as to what he was about to discover.  He hoped it wasn't what he believed.

It lead to a corridor, white with blue lights lining it and many a door on each side.  At the end of the corridor lay another one, this was red in colour and looked completly out of place.  Through this lay yet another door, and Edd pressed a button on the side.  EPA Foxtrot Alpha Zula 7-6-3-4-5-9ner Papa Echo Lima India Charlie Alpha November.

The door swung open to reveal a desk.

"Take a seat."  Offered Edd

"Why?" Justin sounded scared

"Because I am just about to blow the socks off of you."

Justin took a seat to the right, Edd went behind the desk, took a seat (and a cigar from the box on his table) and sat back.  He lit the cigar, breathed in, blew and then clapped his hands.  All of a sudden, the lights went dark.  From the desk rose a small platform, on it was a silver box.  The box opened to reveal what Justin had hoped it wasn't, but it was.

The EPA had a nuclear weapon.

"Now my friend, about that proposal."

Guards appeared from nowhere and stood behind Justin.

"What do you say?  Shall we be comrades?  Or shall we be enemies, but I swear, you will walk out of here alive.  Together, with your company and mine, we can be a serious force, bring back the glory days of the British Empire."

"What about the Americans?"

"Fuck the Americans, what the fuck have they ever done to help us?  Nothing, that farce in Iraq set us back years.  They took all credit for the liberation from Saddam and gave us nothing.  Then, when Blair was killed it was it.  It was the yanks that did that, and I was sick of it.  They had ruled too long, we must take steps to destroy them, team with me and let it become a reality.  Together, we can take back what is rightfully ours.  What do you say?  Are you with me?  Or are you against me?  You can leave now, you don't have to decide yet, but be warned.  Speak to anybody and I will have you killed, thats just what I have to do.  Think it over well, you have 1 week to decide, if you have not called me by this time next week I will assume that you have declined my offer.  You are on your own from there but don't try and stop me, it is inevitable."

[Dragoon Knight]

Justin re-entered Redlak House after his tiring plane journey enraged and upset.

[Dante]

"I'm cold."

"You should have brought a scarf."

"Can I borrow yours?"

"No." Alexei smirked, pulling his jacket around him. A sudden blizzard had hit the area earlier that day, covering the ground with snow and rendering sight near impossible. It was also freezing cold, and Julia was complaining. Fortunately, they were nearly at their destination. Both had dispensed with their sunglasses in favour of face-shielding ski goggles and in Alexei's case a scarf. They were wrapped up, but it was still cold.

"Did you really mean to drop the bugs?" Julia asked for the eighty-second time.

"Yes." Alexei sighed.

"I mean, deliberately tracing us..."

"That's why I used the ones linked to the portable laptop and not the base computer networks." Alexei said. Again. "Look, we're nearly there."

The building loomed up in front of them, a beacon of light amidst the storm.

"It feels so weird to be walking up to the front door." Julia said, remembering the gesture she had graced the cameras with earlier.

"Only because you prefer to go down the chimney." Alexei said with a trace of glee.

"That was-" Alexei cut his sister off, knocking loudly on the door of the mansion. It was answered almost immediately by an expressionless man, who beckoned the two inside and took their soaked outer gear from them.

"Sir, Miss; are either of you carrying any firearms, sharp objects, explosives, or otherwise weaponry-related objects?" a smartly-dressed man asked in a deep voice. Alexei looked sidelong at Julia, before shaking his head.

Julia sighed, and reached behind her to remove a needle-thin blade from her clothes. Then she reached into a boot and withdrew a tiny pistol. Alexei looked straight ahead. The man took both weapons without a flicker in his expression.

"Are either of you in possession of any recording, tracing or otherwise mechanical equipment?" He asked. Again Alexei did nothing. Julia stood silently, eyes turned away.

"If you would follow me please..." The man turned away and walked towards a set of double doors. He led the two siblings around a route of corridors, some of which Julia could have sworn she saw twice. The journey took approximately three minutes, and it was 7:20pm by the time the large wooden door to the living room was opened with a flourish.

Justin Redlak sat upright on a tall chair, next to a large log fire. Otherwise the room was furnished modernly, and nothing looked different from an ordinary home. The host's mouth smiled, and his eyes did not.

"Won't you take a seat?" He gestured to two other chairs near the fire. "I understand it is quite cold out there tonight."

"Understood correctly." Julia smiled, heading for the chair closest to the fire and warming her hands in it's glow. Alexei rolled his eyes, and moved slowly over to stand by his sister's chair. Justin watched him, but said nothing more.

"Common courtesy does, I suppose, require that I thank you for your invitation." Alexei smirked.

"Don't bother with that, you'll just annoy me." Justin said with the hint of a sarcastic smile. "Firstly, I want to know who you are.

[EWS]

"Sir, sir" The soldier burst into the room

"What is it?" The Pelican sat at his desk examining reports.

"Explosion, Nuclear, Sahara."  The soldier was out of breath.

"WHAT!!"

"Yes sir, no lie sir, here are the sat pictures."

He produced a wallet with numerous black and white pictures detailing a large crater.  In addition was a shot showing a clear mushroom shaped cloud descending into the nights sky.

"Shit, America's borders closed?"

"Sir" He nodded

"UK?"

"Oh high alert, so are Russia and most other European Countries.  Pakistan and China are also closed for business."

"Whats the damage?"

"Unknown sir, but we expect that the area is going to be uninhabitable for years."

"Casualties?"

"Unknown sir, probably hundreds of thousands."

The Pelican sat back in his chair, he sighed a deep sigh.  Under his breath he muttered something illegiable.

"That will be all."

With that the soldier left, and The Pelican picked up his phone.

"Get him now."

A short number of minutes passed.

"What!?!  Keep trying, I have to contact him."  He slammed the phone down.

"Damn you Justin."

He started to pace around the room.  Clearly agitated, his steps were large and heavy.  He was muttering under his breath what seemed to be strange words.  Suddenly stopping, The Pelican cleared his desk with a large swip of his right hand and cursed.  Something was wrong, and somebody was going to pay.

The phone rang;

"Justin?" Angry

"No sir, CCXX.  News."

"What is it?"

"I got it, it's ready for transport.  They payed handsomely for us to get it off of their hands, are we going to send it to the usual place."

"Yes, suppose so."

"When will it all start?"

"Soon my son, soon."

The Pelican placed the phone down softly, he nodded, laughed and lit a cigar.  He then walked into the room with the nuclear device and started to admire it.

"Together, we will make our home free.  Together, the world will be a better place."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Location: Russia

The truck ploughed through the thick blizzard, the Russian drivers wearing faces that said a thousand words.  The convoy of 5 trucks (4 filled with soldiers) and the 3 armoured personal carriers were making a steady pace.  The blizzard was thick, and the visibility poor.  Up ahead was a checkpoint.  One of those stupid Russian ones that only had 3 guards at them and a bunker.  The driver was asked for ID, it was accepted and he was let through.  It was barely 100 yards down the road when a legion of men appeared from the bunker.  Using an RPG, the picked off the APC's, they then took out the 4 trucks of soldiers with ease and slaughtered the drivers of the fifth.  The Russians were replaced in the back, the drivers also.  The convoy drifted on, a theft had just taken place.

In the cab of the first truck a phonecall was being made.

"I've got the antidote."

The 4 simplest words ever, but they meant so much to one man.  Kingfisher.

[Scrinlord]

{Russia}

"Listin!" Charlie called out over their secure radios.

Jade stopped scanning through her scope, and tilted her head, listening.  For a min. she heard nothing, then right before she was going to bury herself in her gun again, she heard gunfire, and a small explosion, probably from an RPG of some sorts.

"Shit, brace for action..."

At just that second, Charlie and Jade saw a flicker of light as the door to the silo command center was thrown open, and Ivan came running out, flashing his hands in the prearanged "evacuate" signal. 

Not knowing what the problem was, Jade and Charlie both dropped their rifles, and began sorting through their equipment.  Jade began getting out their backup weapons.  Sniper rifles were great for the long range, but sucked at CQB.  First she got out Charlies old Soviet AK-47.  Old, it still was more reliable than almost all other guns on the market, and packed a decent punch.  After loading the gun and cycling a round into the chamber, she bent over and got out her own Israili Uzi, fully upgraded with folding stock, silencer, and red-dot site.

While Jade was readying their defencive equipment, Charlie got on the radio.

"HQ, HQ this is Jaybird come in!"

We got you loud and clear Jaybird, Whats up?

"We have heard nearby gunshots and explosions, and Ivan is fleeing the ruskies base.  We need an immidiate evac"

As, Charlie was talking to HQ, the doors of the command post burst open, and Russians started swarming out after Ivan.

"Shit" Jade called out. "He's got tails!!"

With that call, she dropped to the ground, and picked up her PSG-1, and sighted through the scope.  She saw a Russian man with a "General" insignia on his lapel pull a pistol out and aim for Ivan.

A split second later, the russian fell with a hole in his chest, courtesy of Jade.  She picked off two more Russians when all of a sudden she saw headlights come around the nearby hills. 

All of the Russian soldiers halted their chase of Ivan, and turned to face this new threat.

Jade and Charlie never saw what happened next, for as Ivan crested the hill, all three of them turned and ran.  They had a schedualled evac point about 500 yards away, where a "Little Bird" Helecopter was to pick them up...

-------------------------------------------------

Several hours later, in a hidden base in the Alutian Island chain.

A large man in a suit stands over the three Sabre agents.

"Now," He said.  "I know about how the mission when, but I want you to tell me again what information on the stolen nukes you heard."

Ivan replied "I was inside the bunker, and I saw 2 people hunched over a computer screen, pretty much ignoring everyone else.  I dont know why I did it, but I walked up to them, and asked: 'Have they all been gotten?'  For some reason, they assumed that I was an ally of theirs, and replied "Da, we have taken the nuclear weapons, one is on its way to the Sahara, one in the UK, and the third....'  At that point, the Alarm went off, and we saw on the vidio monitors the guard post being blown away, then the commander saw me, and recognized who I was, so i had to flee.  I did not get the other 2 locations, but I am sure that they are on the Russians computers.  But I saw that the Russians had other, non-russian encryption on their systems, so I do not think that the russians are alone in this.  They may not be involved with all 4 nukes at all"

"Shit" the suited man said.  "A nuclear weapon was detonated hours ago in the middle of the Sahara, killing thousands.  We dont know who is responsible yet.  All major industrialized nations have closed off their borders, and increased alert. 

Gentleman!, and lady." He said to Jades glare.  "we are going back to Russia in a few days.  You have a chance to rest, and then tomarrow you will collect equipment, and prepare, and the day after, you leave again.  I will have a full briefing ready for you in 24 hours."

With that, he turned and left the room, leaving the young agents wondering what the hell to do next.