The Vampire Diaries: Thunder & Lightning
By Vincent Chia
Originally published May 24, 2014
Chapter One
"It isn't true," said Markos.
Damon looked at Markos silently.
"The doppelganger prophecy isn't real. I made it up centuries ago," said Markos.
Markos could tell he sparked Damon's curiosity.
"Would you like to see what your brother was seeing?"
Damon shook his head.
"I'd rather not know."
Markos sensed that Damon's curiosity wasn't about his brother at all, but about the girl.
"I'll satisfy your curiosity," said Markos.
"I thought you ended the visions," said Damon.
"Their visions ended, but I can still let you see the world they created for themselves."
"What would stop you from killing me once I was in a trance?"
"My dear boy," said Markos. "If I had wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."
Markos saw Damon in silent thought for a few seconds.
"Who would I experience the visions as? Stefan? Or Elena?"
"You would be… you," said Markos
In a flash, Damon was in the driver's seat of his blue convertible. He almost ran a red light, but stopped just in time. Although he had some control of his body, he was more of a spectator than anything. It felt like he was watching a movie.
Damon pulled his blue convertible into the driveway and parked it next to Elena's SUV. It was when he turned off the ignition that he noticed a passenger sitting next to him.
The passenger grabbed her small purse and pulled open the passenger side door.
"Something wrong?" she asked, as Damon seemed to be spacing out.
"Everything's good, Kitty-kat," Damon heard himself say.
Damon recalled that was one of the nicknames he gave to Katherine Pierce. So in the doppelganger visions, he was with Katherine? He didn't think she resembled Katherine or Elena, but then again, it was dark and he only caught a quick glimpse of her. Damon opened his door and stepped onto the driveway.
Damon knew that in Stefan and Elena's doppelganger visions, neither of them were vampires. He presumed he wasn't one as well. Damon often wondered what life might be like if he were a regular ol' human being. Boring? He hoped not.
Elena greeted Damon at the front door and welcomed his new girlfriend to her home.
"So you're Damon's new squeeze," said a smiling Elena. She rarely met Damon's girlfriends, but she knew he was fairly successful with the opposite sex.
"It's great to meet you," said Damon's girlfriend. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Oh," said Damon as he realized he hadn't yet introduced his new girlfriend. "Elena, this is Katie McPherson. Katie, this is my brother's wife Elena."
Elena and Katie hugged briefly and then the three of them made their way toward the living room.
"It's little Gilbert," said Damon as he caught a glimpse of Jeremy sitting in the living room. Although Damon and Jeremy weren't close, they had some things in common. Jeremy had been a little bit of an outsider in high school, similar to Damon. Both Stefan and Elena had been popular in high school. Stefan played wide receiver on the football team while Elena was a cheerleader and honor student.
"This is Bonnie," said Jeremy as he introduced his new girlfriend. Bonnie was short and petite. She was also one of the few African-Americans in the whole town of Mystic Landing.
"Nice to meet you," said Damon. The two of them smiled and shook hands.
Damon then introduced Katie to Jeremy and Bonnie.
Bonnie was relatively new to town. She grew up the New England town of Salem.
"Ah, yes. Famous for their witches," commented Damon.
"Our football team was called the warlocks," said Bonnie without skipping a beat. She had been a cheerleader in high school, which gave her something in common with Elena.
"Stefan is in the dining room, setting everything up," said Elena.
Damon made his way to the dining room as Elena, Katie, Jeremy and Bonnie sat down in the living room and continued to chat.
"How are the kids?" asked Damon.
"They're doing well. Asleep upstairs," said Stefan. "They really love the toy robot you gave them last time."
Damon enjoyed being an uncle. Among other things, it gave him a legitimate reason to be browsing through the toy aisles.
"How are you and Elena? Still considering relocating to NoVa?"
Stefan shook his head. "Only thought about that briefly. But we love it here."
Damon and Stefan were born in the tiny town of Mystic Landing. The town was on the banks of the Potomac River close to Chesapeake Bay. Northern Virginia and DC were about an hour away and the Salvatore brothers often found themselves in the DC area. Damon especially.
Stefan and Elena had a wonderful dinner with their siblings and their siblings' significant others. Everyone loved the main course that Stefan prepared. To their surprise, Elena made the dessert. She usually wasn't one for cooking or baking, but she recently started getting the hang of making sweet snacks. She first started getting into it so she could make snacks for her kids without having to buy the ones at the market which were loaded with preservatives and other unhealthy junk. Hers were still unhealthy, but less so.
After dinner, everyone remained in the dining room and continued chatting. Bonnie had been the first one to yawn, which led some others to check the time. The gang decided to call it a night. Elena suggested that they call do dinner again sometime, perhaps next week.
Stefan and Elena walked everyone to the front door.
Jeremy and Bonnie left together and drove off as Damon pressed his remote to unlock his car. Stefan had walked him outside.
"It was good to see you, brother," said Stefan.
"Likewise."
Damon and Stefan were close, but didn't always hang out. Damon's job often kept him out of the area.
"Don't be a stranger," said Stefan.
"Yep."
Stefan walked back into his home and made his way to the kitchen as Damon stepped into his car and started the ignition. Officially, Damon was a mid-level bureaucrat at the federal Customs agency. Stefan suspected Damon's job was slightly more dangerous than he had led on.
"I'm glad you now get along with Damon," said Stefan to Elena. They were both doing the dishes. Elena was washing and Stefan was drying them.
"Your brother's a good guy. It's good to see him happy," said Elena.
"He is decidedly not a 'good guy.' I still remember the days when you'd constantly call him an ass."
"Are you sure that wasn't just me complimenting his derriere?" joked Elena.
Stefan smiled. He walked behind his wife and hugged her around the waist.
Dinner with Stefan and Elena ended a little after 10pm. Damon had plans to meet with one of his old army buddies at a nearby bar around midnight.
"Are you sure you don't want me to take you home?" asked Damon. He had planned to stop by the bar after dropping her off.
"I want to meet your friend," said Katie.
"First my brother and his family, now my old army buddy," said Damon. When Damon was stopped at a red light, he texted his friend to say he would be early. Luckily, Damon's friend was already there eating a late dinner.
Damon parked his convertible on one of the streets in the picturesque town. He and Katie walked to the Mist Bar & Grill. As they entered, Damon saw Enzo sitting at a table near the corner.
Damon and Enzo hadn't seen each other in over a month. In fact, Enzo had been on a sailboat with his girlfriend Maggie for the past three weeks sailing near Cape Horn. Enzo got up from his chair when he saw his best friend arrive. Damon and Enzo briefly bro hugged, a combination of a handshake and a half hug.
Damon then introduced Katie.
"Nice to meet you," said Katie as she shook Enzo's hand.
The three of them chatted for a little while. Soon, Damon couldn't help but be distracted by two young ladies who were clearly drunk and singing quite loudly to each other.
"You are the thunder and I am the lightning," the two young ladies belted out simultaneously.
At first, Damon was slightly annoyed. But, he soon found the scene quite amusing when the two ladies started debating whether one of the words had two syllables or three.
"No, no, Penny," said the Asian girl to the strawberry blonde. "It's light-ning, not light-en-ing." The blonde had pronounced lightning in a way that sounded like brightening or whitening.
Damon actually chuckled.
"I remember when we used to get drunk and have fun," said Enzo.
"I bet tomfoolery comes naturally to you both," said Katie. "Drunken singing is always hilarious."
"In the month and a half that you've known me, what in our history makes you think I'd ever sing out loud?" asked Damon.
"Damon has always been more the mean snarky type. The type that would make fun of people no matter what they do, including singing," said Enzo. "He relishes being a jerk."
"I knew you were trouble when you walked in," sang Katie.
"Enzo chuckled. "Damon isn't a big fan of the swiftees."
"I know," said Katie. "That's what makes singing her songs so fun."
"If we break-up, I will remember these little annoyances," said Damon.
"Oh, come on. I can feel it. We'll go the distance. When we met, sparks flew instantly," said Katie as she lightly tickled Damon's chest.
"How did you guys meet?" asked a curious Enzo.
Damon and Katie met in D.C. They were riding on the blue line when all the subway trains were halted due to an accident at one of the stations. After 15 minutes, Damon became visibly annoyed. Katie had been standing near him and made a joke to cheer him up. Damon was amused and they hit it off. Strangely enough, Katie was also only visiting D.C. She lived in a town about thirty minutes from Mystic Landing.
Damon was glad that Katie and Enzo seemed to get along well. In fact, Katie seemed to get along with everyone. It was perhaps still too early to tell, but Damon was optimistic that Katie would fit in with his friends and family. The three of them chatted for a while longer and went through a few drinks.
Damon's smartphone vibrated. He took a glance at the screen. The text he received appeared to be about a new sci-fi movie. It was actually a secret code notifying Damon that he was being activated for a mission. It had been a few months since he had an overseas assignment. He looked over at Enzo.
"What's up?" asked Enzo. A second later, Enzo also got a text. Damon and Enzo were often paired together on covert missions. Sometimes in a team of 4, but usually just the two of them. They were a very efficient team.
Damon turned to Katie.
"It looks like I'll be out of town for a little bit," said Damon. He was heading out tomorrow morning.
"Sneaking away to be with one of your other girlfriends?" asked Katie.
Damon shrugged his shoulders and had a mischievous smirk on his face. Katie pinched him in the arm.
Chapter Two
Damon and Enzo arrived at the building in Arlington, Virginia.
They stopped by the security desk in the lobby.
"We're here to visit Raptor Robotics," said Damon.
"Sure," said the security guard. "Take one of the elevators in the right elevator bank and head up to the 18th floor."
"Thanks."
Damon and Enzo stepped inside one of the elevators.
"That was a little easier than I thought," said Damon after the elevator doors closed and the elevator started ascending.
"You shouldn't say stuff like that," said Enzo. "Don't say stuff like that."
The elevator doors opened on the 18th floor to a reception area. It looked like a typical corporate office.
"Can I help you gentlemen?" asked the receptionist.
"Yea, we're here to see Joseph Anderson. He should be expecting us."
"Let me call his secretary," said the receptionist as she picked up her phone.
The receptionist appeared to be waiting for someone to pick up the phone on the other end. As she was waiting, she picked up a small stuffed animal sheep that had been sitting on her desk.
"Do you suppose robots dream of electric sheep?" asked the receptionist, seemingly just thinking out loud. She was looking into the face of the stuffed sheep in her hands.
"Only the bah-d robots," Damon said reluctantly. He fought the urge to roll his eyes at the answer his superiors devised to the challenge question.
The receptionist smiled and almost chuckled out loud.
"You boys from Langley?" she asked.
"Special Agent Salvatore and not-so-special Agent Lorenzo," said Damon.
"Secret agents," whispered Enzo to the receptionist.
Now it was the receptionist who resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. Although, she found both Damon and Enzo to be attractive, so she could forgive the behavior.
"Commander Anderson is waiting for you," said the receptionist. She pressed a button on her phone and a buzzing sound indicated that the bulletproof glass doors to the hallway beyond had unlocked.
"Thanks," said Damon as he pushed open the door.
"All the way down the hall, to your left," said the receptionist.
As Enzo walked through the doorway, he gave a casual salute to the receptionist.
"Commander Anderson?" asked Damon as he knocked on the wooden door that had been left ajar.
"Please, come in," said Anderson as he waved them in.
Damon and Enzo walked into the spacious office. Enzo closed the door behind him.
"CIA?" asked Anderson.
"Something like that," said Damon.
Damon and Enzo sat down in a couple of chairs across from Anderson.
"You know, I have one of the highest security clearances on God's green Earth," said Anderson. "Yet, I know next to nothing about you two characters."
Anderson opened two file folders.
"Special Agent Damon G. Salvatore. Distinguished Intelligence Service Cross; Purple Spear," said Anderson as he read through the first file. "Agent Christopher Lorenzo. Meritorious Duty Citation."
Anderson then showed Damon and Enzo the two files he had been reading. Almost everything had been blacked out by various intelligence agencies. Even their birthdays and gender. The only things left were their service photos, their ranks, and their decorations.
"The only thing you need to know, Anderson, is that we'll get the job done," said Damon.
"I expect nothing less."
Damon and Lorenzo handed their heavily redacted files back to Anderson.
"Let's move on to the mission briefing," said Anderson.
"Let's," replied Damon.
Anderson gave each of them a packet that included various documents and glossy photos. Anderson explained the mission while Damon and Enzo skimmed through the documents. They were being sent somewhere in Eastern Europe. A handful of ex-KGB officers and some younger compatriots have been trekking through some of the former Soviet Republics and stirring up some minor chaos. Damon and Enzo were tasked to put an end to the meddling. Normally, the Pentagon wouldn't care too much about the minor inconvenience. However, the Navy has a base in the projected path of where the group is moving and would prefer to prevent the surrounding neighborhoods from being destabilized.
Anderson spun his computer screen around so that Damon and Enzo could see a brief video. It showed a group of about a dozen men and women standing and chanting.
"What are they saying?" asked Damon.
"We haven't been quite able to translate it yet, but it seems derive from Latin."
"Latin?" asked Damon. "You would think Russian or something Eastern European."
"That would have been my first guess, but it's definitely not Russian. The linguists are working on it."
"Is this some type of militia group?"
"They haven't popped up on any previous intel reports. We're calling them the Brotherhood of Travelers. They've been recruiting and their followers now number in the low hundreds. Your mission is to infiltrate the group, find their senior leaders, and get them to end whatever it is they are doing. Try to limit collateral damage to the local recruits. We're only concerned with the outside elements."
"Deadly force is authorized, I presume?" asked Damon. He knew it would be, but he took some joy in hearing it said.
"Yes. Use whatever method you deem appropriate to achieve the objective."
"I guess I could always use my charm and talk them out of it. Or maybe pouches full of gold coins. But I've found that murder is often the best solution," said Damon. Anderson found him a little too enthused by the prospect. But then again, Damon was a trained assassin. It was why he and Enzo were recommended to Anderson in the first place.
"Murder is a strong word, Salvatore. But, do what you gotta do."
"Nobody calls me Salvatore. Call me Damon."
"Actually, we'll make up some callsigns for you both. Your former operative callsigns have been redacted from your illustrious files. I'm guessing you must've been something like 'Demon' as a play on your name."
Damon shook his head. That nickname would've been too cliche.
"Let's just go with Traveler Killer One and Traveler Killer Two. I'll be One," said Damon.
"We'll put that in the 'maybe' pile," said Anderson sarcastically.
"I know," said Enzo. It was the first time Enzo spoke during the meeting and Anderson was a little surprised by Enzo's accent.
"How 'bout Thunder and Lightning?" asked Enzo.
"Thunder and Lightning?" repeated Anderson quizzically.
"He's the thunder; I'm the lightning," said an amused Enzo. Damon was less amused.
Anderson looked at Enzo for a few seconds.
"Fine, we'll go with that," said Anderson. Damon was tempted to punch Enzo in the face.
Anderson's phone rang. He hesitated in picking it up before seeing the caller ID.
"Please, excuse me," said Anderson as he pressed a button for the call to connect through. He spoke with someone for a few minutes. Damon couldn't make out the entire conversation, but he gathered that someone was giving Anderson a status update. Once Anderson hung up his phone, he turned his attention back to Damon and Enzo.
"You'll both be flying out at 1800 hours tonight. Langley is arranging transport. Please tell your superiors that the Pentagon appreciates their help on this."
Damon nodded an acknowledgement.
"Lastly, just one of these formalities. If either of you get caught behind enemy lines, the United States government disavows any connection to you," said Anderson.
"The typical dick move," said an annoyed Damon.
"This isn't your first rodeo, cowboy," said Anderson. "You know the drill. Anyway, from the scuttlebutt I've heard about you two, I'm confident you will have no trouble avoiding capture."
"And what scuttlebutt might that be?" asked Enzo.
"I have a friend who is an army major. When I was poking around for information on you two, he mentioned that you were both attached to the 160th SOAR Regiment for some time. The Nightstalkers. Sound about right?"
"Yea, the Nightstalkers," said Damon.
"Well, once a Nightstalker, always a Nightstalker. Anyway, your 4-man squad made a strong impression. There were rumors of a CIA secret experiment called Serum 12144. Increased your strength, speed, and agility. Stamina and endurance off the charts. Of course, then the rumors went into fantasyland with abilities to fly, control the weather, x-ray vision, super-hearing, that sort of garbage. However, I have no doubt that you both are capable covert operatives."
"We were just trained very well," said Damon. "No super-serum in these veins."
"Well, if it's true, please fly over to Europe yourselves and save our jet fuel. We're pinching pennies. Budget cuts n' all," joked Anderson.
Damon and Enzo were dismissed. They walked out of the office and headed toward the elevator. Enzo flirted with the receptionist one last time, even though he already had a girlfriend.
Damon and Enzo were driven to Pax Air Station. There, they were taken to a medium-sized private jet that would take them across the Atlantic.
"Sirs," said a Navy lieutenant commander who escorted them from the base's gate. "Your operational gear is stowed onboard. Happy hunting."
Damon and Enzo climbed aboard. They expected at least a few others there, but there was nobody. The cabin was quite lavish, typical of a corporate jet. The cockpit was fairly comfortable as well. Damon wondered where the pilots were.
A few minutes later, a young lady climbed into the plane.
"Which one of yous is my co-pilot?" she asked.
"We're your passengers," said Damon.
The pilot flipped through some of the pages on her clipboard.
"Sorry, sir," said the pilot. "There must've been some mix-up. We were told that both of you knew how to fly."
"Give me that!" said Damon as he yanked the clipboard out of the pilot's hand.
Damon read through the orders the pilot had been given. It stated that two civilian intelligence operatives, codenames Thunder and Lightning, would be flown out at 1800 hours. Both civilians were flight qualified for jets and helicopters.
Damon was a little pissed. It wasn't the first time a bureaucrat screwed up the paperwork, but this was one of the more serious oversights. Damon stepped out of the plane and flagged down the navy officer who had brought him to the plane. The officer climbed into the cabin as quickly as he could. He was a little surprised when Damon explained the situation.
"Commander, do you have any pilots on base who can take us? This is a matter of national security," said Enzo.
"Sir, I'm sorry, we're all out," said the navy officer. "My pilots are all either on training exercises or on their mandatory rest period. Besides, even if I had any pilots, I would have to get clearance from the Admiral. This was supposed to be an all-civilian operation. Civilian plane; civilian intel operatives; civilian pilots. I don't think I'll get permission for any uniformed personnel to take part in this."
The female pilot thought about it for half a minute and then decided things would be okay. She could fly the plane herself. Many planes only had one pilot.
"This plane practically flies herself," she said.
"All the same, I'd feel better if you had someone in the seat next to you," said the navy commander. He flipped through his own clipboard.
"You're the senior agent on this op?" the commander asked Damon.
"I guess," replied Damon.
"Good," said the commander. "You get to sit in the flight deck."
Damon looked out the cockpit windshield. It was drizzling a little bit and he hoped the weather wouldn't be too much of a problem. He started to buckle his seat belts.
"By the way, my name is Damon," he said as he reached out to shake the pilot's hand.
"No names, CIA boy," she said, a little annoyed.
"Okay," said Damon defensively. "What do I call you?"
"You can call me captain. You're the co-captain," she said matter-of-factly.
"If I'm a co-captain, doesn't that make you a co-captain too?" asked Damon, intent on annoying the young lady.
"Fine, I'm the captain, you're the first officer. Happy?"
"Very," said Damon with a smile.
The captain studied the flight plan for the fifth time and then handed the clipboard to Damon.
"Okay, first officer Thunder. This flight is designated Wombat six-zero. Before we take off, I'm going to read down this checklist. All you have to do is look at the instruments panel to your right and confirm that all the indicator lights are green. If any are yellow or red, let me know."
"Aye, aye, captain."
Damon took a quick look around the cockpit. There must've been a hundred indicators positioned all around him. He was glad that checklist on the page only had about a dozen bulletpoints.
"Wombat six-zero, this is Pax River Tower. You are clear to proceed to runway 3."
"Copy Tower, Wombat six-zero proceeding to runway 3," said the pilot.
The plane slowly pulled out of the hangar and made its way to the northeast end of runway 3.
"All right, Agent Thunder," said the pilot with a sly smile. "Let's run down the checklist."
"Good to go," said Damon.
"Navigation."
"Check."
"Hatches."
"Secured."
"Right engine."
"Check."
"Left engine."
"Check."
"Cabin pressure stable. Cockpit safe."
"Copy, I show same."
"Electronics."
"All green across the board."
The private jet sat at the end of the runway for a minute before the air traffic controller came back on the radio.
"Wombat six-zero, you are cleared for take off."
"Copy," said the pilot. "Go flight. Power to max."
At 1806 hours, Wombat six-zero roared down runway 3 and shot into the air.
"Tower, Wombat six-zero is airborne," said the pilot.
"Copy that. Have a safe flight."
A few hours into the flight, Damon wanted to stretch his legs. The plane was somewhere over the Atlantic and the rain had stopped.
"I'm going to the cabin for a few minutes. Is that okay?"
"Sure," said the pilot. "We're on autopilot right now, but I'll call you back up here if I need your help."
Damon walked back to the cabin where Enzo was relaxing with his feet up. Enzo was watching a basketball game on the widescreen high-def monitor.
"Who's up?" asked Damon.
"Wildcats by 5," said Enzo.
Damon sat down on the leather recliner across from Enzo. Some of the mission briefing documents were spread out across the coffee table in between the two of them.
"Should be an easy in-and-out," commented Damon.
"Looks like it," said Enzo. While Enzo and Damon knew that every mission was important, most of the CIA"s attention was focused further east where Russia recently mobilized over 40,000 soldiers to their border. Damon and Enzo were being sent to elsewhere.
Damon looked through a few of the photos.
"Looks like there are 30 of these Traveler guys at most," said Damon.
"Probably only about 10 core members. Take them out and the rest will crumble. We can probably ignore all the local recruits. None of them look to be armed at all," said Enzo.
The conversation soon diverted away from the mission at hand.
"So this new Katie girl, how serious?" asked Enzo.
"Who knows? She's a fun girl. We have a good time together."
Enzo knew that his best friend would rather be having a good time with one Elena Gilbert, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
"How are you and Maggie doing?" asked Damon.
"Everything's perfect."
"Tell her about what we do yet?"
"She has some idea."
The conversation then returned to the upcoming mission. There were a handful of armed women in the Traveler group. When Damon and Enzo were new recruits, they hesitated shooting women. That attitude shifted in short order. Nowadays, Damon and Enzo were equal opportunity assassins. After a few more minutes of conversation, Damon headed back up to the cockpit.
"I take it that you're not with the agency," said Damon. He had returned to the cockpit several minutes ago and felt like chatting.
"What makes you say that?" asked the pilot.
"Well, calling me 'CIA boy' earlier was pretty much a dead giveaway."
She hadn't realized she had done that until Damon mentioned it.
"Oh, yea. I'm with one of the civilian defense contractors," she said.
Damon didn't think he showed any reaction, but the pilot seemed to think he disapproved.
"A lot of the intel agencies outsource their operations," said the pilot.
"Yea, I know," said Damon. He himself was currently a part-time operative with a private defense group. He and Enzo started out as CIA operatives. They retired from the agency after serving 5 years. Damon thought he would just get himself a desk job, but it turns out that it's hard to live a normal life after serving in special ops. Damon missed the adrenaline rush.
The plane landed on the relatively empty airfield. Damon and Enzo disembarked with their gear.
"Good luck, Agent Thunder," said the pilot as she shook his hand. "Agent Lightning," she said as she nodded at Enzo.
"Thanks, captain," said Damon.
"Rocky," said the pilot. "The agency calls me Rocky."
"Like the boxer?" asked Damon.
"Or maybe the flying squirrel," said Enzo.
"Just Rocky," said the pilot.
"You gonna be here to pick us up?" asked Damon.
"It might be me or it might be another pilot. Depends on what the agency decides."
"It was nice knowin' ya, Rocky," said Damon.
Damon and Enzo walked off toward the jeep that was waiting for them on the tarmac.
In addition to the jeep, there was a geeky tech in eyeglasses and a white labcoat waiting for them. Once he saw Damon and Enzo disembark from their plane, he hopped out of the driver's seat and stood by the tailgate. He tossed Enzo the keys once they were several feet from the jeep. Damon and Enzo dumped their gear into the back of the jeep.
"Agents Thunder and Lightning?" asked the tech.
"Thunder," said Damon pointing to himself. "Lightning," he said while pointing at Enzo.
"I'm out of the agency's research division," said the tech. "I was at the Berlin office for a few days and retasked here to bring you this new toy."
The tech showed Damon a remote controlled flying drone about the size of his hand.
"This is the Clandestine Robotic Observer. C.R.O. for short. Here's the control device."
The device resembled a smartphone. Damon asked whether he could just program his own phone and not have to carry around an extra device.
"Sure," said the tech in an excited mood. Damon handed over his cell phone and the tech played around with it for 30 seconds. He touched his own phone to Damon's and wirelessly transferred the control program.
"Done," said the tech with a smile.
"Fantastic," said Damon. He tested out the control program and the crow flew through the air under Damon's command.
The tech then brought out two bottles of a dark red liquid.
"It's the agency's new energy drink. Designed by the geniuses at bio-performance solutions division. They call it Bloodfuel."
"What happened to the neon green stuff?" asked Damon. "I liked that stuff."
"That was soooo last year," said the tech. "This stuff is new and improved."
Damon took a few sips of it. The taste was satisfactory. He and Enzo pour about 2 liters each into their small hydration packs that they wore on their back. Many soldiers put plain water into their hydration packs, but it was important to have a mix of water and electrolytes.
Damon and Enzo hopped into the jeep and drove off, leaving the tech at the airfield.
"Three clicks out," said Enzo. Damon was driving the jeep as Enzo looked at his map. They were heading toward the last known location of the Travelers. It was a small hamlet with a long-ago shuttered car factory.
Damon soon parked the jeep on a hill just outside of town. It was a high enough elevation to have a good view of everything. Damon spent a minute or so looking through high-magnification binoculars. He then released his C.R.O. drone into the air to scout the town more thoroughly. The drone flew almost completely silent. Damon also made sure to fly it high enough in the air that it wouldn't be noticed by the villagers or would be mistaken for a bird.
Damon studied the video feed that the C.R.O. was beaming back to his smartphone.
"Okay, it looks like there are about twenty of them," said Damon. "I see 4 walking out and about in the streets, in 2 pairs of 2. There are two standing guard at the entrance to the park, and the remaining dozen or so are in the center of the park, standing in a circle."
"A circle?" asked Enzo.
"Yea, roughly."
Damon and Enzo formulated their plan of attack. They decided it would be a waste of time to try to go undercover and infiltrate the group. Easier to simply go on the offensive from the get-go. They would take out the pairs of wandering patrols first, take out the sentries at the park entrance, and then move away from the park. They would watch the remaining travelers and see if they split up into smaller groups. That would make it easier for Damon and Enzo to deal with. Splitting up is almost always a bad move. Your group will cover more ground, but the members of the group risk getting picked off one by one.
Damon and Enzo screwed silencers onto their pistols. From time to time, they liked to use sniper rifles and deal with their targets from afar. However, Damon and Enzo mostly enjoyed combat up close and personal.
As usual, Damon and Enzo struck with speedy efficiency. After seeing a pair of Travelers on patrol turn onto an empty street, Damon and Enzo nonchalantly walked up to pair. The Traveler patrol didn't seem to consider Damon and Enzo a threat. Too bad. Damon almost felt sorry to have to dispatch these two low-level followers who probably weren't dangerous. At least, not dangerous to America's national security. Alas, he had his orders.
Damon pulled out his pistol and quickly shot both Travelers in the head before either of them saw what was coming.
"The next two are mine," said Enzo.
They grabbed the rifles from the two Travelers and the walkie-talkie radio one of them was carrying. Damon methodically took apart the two rifles to prevent them from being found and used by any others. Damon took the two tiny firing pins from the rifles and put them in one of the many pockets of his combat cargo pants.
Damon and Enzo quickly left the scene to avoid being seen by any villagers who might soon pass by. The other pair of patrolling Travelers were currently on the other side of town. Though, it was a small town, and they might soon find their comrades dead.
Damon and Enzo decided to try to blend in at the local supermarket and wait until their next opportunity to strike. There was really only one supermarket in the small town. A couple of small convenience stores also existed, but Damon and Enzo wanted a place with potentially large crowds to mix into. The park would have been another option, but that was where the Travelers had decided to congregate. The shoppers in the market didn't seem to pay much mind to Damon or Enzo. Although it was small community and the locals basically knew each other, they presumed that Damon and Enzo were part of the traveling visitors that had recently arrived in town.
Damon was standing in front of the magazines section near the check-out lines for a clearer view of the front entrance and windows. He pretended to read through an entertainment magazine but was really looking out at the main street that went through the village. Eventually, the second Traveler patrol should be making its way down the street.
Enzo was in the first aid aisle pretending to browse through the antacids when Damon came to get him.
"The second patrol just passed by," said Damon. "Looks like they are heading east."
The two of them studied the map on Damon's smartphone to see what was in that general direction. In particular, they were looking for places away from the town square that would be relatively secluded where they could take out the patrol without onlookers.
As Damon and Enzo approached the second Traveler patrol, they were told in Russian to halt. This pair was a bit more suspicious than the first. Damon wasn't sure if these Travelers had found the dead bodies of the other patrol.
Damon halted, but looked at Enzo. Enzo gave Damon a look that meant to convey something like "I got this."
Enzo grabbed the rifle of the closest Traveler and yanked it right out of the woman's hands. He pulled out his own pistol and shot both Travelers in the chest two times. However, before she died, the first Traveler was able to press a "panic" button on her walkie which sent three beeps over to all the others. Damon was able to hear it on the walkie he had confiscated earlier.
"Well, there goes the element of surprise," said Damon.
Enzo shrugged. "We would have eventually had to draw them out anyway."
Damon repeated what he did earlier with the Travelers' rifles and added two more firing pins to his collection.
They broke into a nearby building and waited to see how the remaining Travelers would react to the alarm. There was an elderly couple in the residence. Although there was no sign that the couple would give away Damon's presence, Damon nevertheless shot the couple with tiny tranquilizer darts. They'd be out for at least three hours.
Soon, Damon and Enzo watched as two new Travelers ran down the street. The Travelers rushed to see if they could save their fallen comrades. One of them knelt down to feel for pulses while the second held his rifle up and scanned the surrounding area for threats. After determining that the two on the ground were dead, they radioed in the situation and awaited instructions.
A few minutes passed and back-up arrived. Damon's original plan wasn't working quite as hoped. Instead of splitting up and fanning out to search the area, the newcomers formed a tight group. There were now six of them.
Then, to Damon's slight annoyance, an additional eight arrived. It seemed that everyone from the park arrived to the scene in a concentrated force. A skinny man with short curly hair and light stubble on his face seemed to be in charge. Damon's hearing had been enhanced a little by serum 12144, but he was still too far away to hear exactly what was being said.
The skinny man seemed to give some instructions to the group. He then left with eight of his men, leaving five to investigate the situation further.
One of the females now appeared to be in charge. After a minute of thinking, she ordered two of her men to knock on doors of the buildings near the area. It appeared that she was looking for either the perpetrators or at least some witnesses. Soon, a local was dragged out of his home and taken to the woman. Enzo surmised that the Traveler woman was interrogating the young man. The Traveler woman had a gun pointed at the young man, who was frantically waving his arms and screamed something that sounded like "I don't know anything" in Russian.
"What the hell are you doing?" asked Damon when he saw that Enzo was about to go outside.
"I'm going to save the day," said a confident Enzo.
Damon gave Enzo a stern look. Damon was in charge here; he wasn't about to let his agent go rogue.
"Damon, you do this kind of crap all the time," said Enzo defensively. In fact, Damon's eagerness to jump into action sometimes caused complications down the road.
"What, exactly, are you planning on doing?" asked an annoyed Damon.
"I'll distract them. You come save me."
"So in other words, I'm going to save the day," said Damon. Damon wasn't too keen on this course of action, but he could see Enzo was going to do it anyway.
"That's why you're the senior agent," said Enzo with a wink as he stepped outside. Damon stayed hidden. He couldn't see, but listened intently.
As Enzo slowly walked toward the Traveler group, three of the Travelers shifted their attention and pointed their firearms at Enzo while one stood ready to aim at any other threats that might materialize. Enzo calmly showed his open palms to signal that he was not holding a weapon.
"Who are you?" asked the woman in charge. She was speaking a dialect of Russian, but Enzo had been trained in basic conversation skills in Russian, Chinese, and Arabic.
"I am the man who killed your friends," replied Enzo in relatively smooth Russian.
The woman was seemingly able to detect a bit of an English accent in Enzo.
"England? Or Australia?" she asked in English that only had a very small hint of a Russian accent.
"Does it matter?" asked Enzo.
"I think no," said the woman. She now pointed her gun at Enzo. Enzo made the somewhat risky decision to slowly walk towards the young man who the Travelers were interrogating.
"This guy has nothing to do with anything," said Enzo. To the Travelers, Enzo was seemingly trying to put himself in a position to perhaps shield the local. In reality Enzo moved to draw their attention in a direction away from where Damon would hopefully be soon approaching from.
The woman reluctantly agreed and yelled at the local to scram. He immediately stumbled away and didn't stop running until he could no longer see the Travelers.
"I'm going to enjoy choking the daylights out of you," said the female leader who one of the followers called Sloane. She smiled as she approached Enzo. "A little sad that you weren't more of a challenge."
Enzo pretended to struggle against the two men who were holding him.
"I've dealt with you black ops people before," said Sloane. "As always, I will come out victorious."
Suddenly, the woman next to Sloane crumpled to the floor. The two men holding Enzo raised their pistols and shifted their attention to scanning the surrounding area for threats. Damon then knocked Sloane to the ground and shot dead the two men holding Enzo. Enzo himself then broke the neck of the third male. Damon pointed his pistol at Sloane and told her not to move.
"Here's a tip," said Damon. "If you intend on killing someone, don't waste time gloating about it."
"Look who's gloating now?" asked Sloane.
"Oh, don't worry. If I had wanted you dead, you'd be dead," said Damon.
Damon wasn't a 100% sure about not executing Sloane. However, he needed some information. No doubt the top leader of the Travelers had gone into hiding with his bodyguards. Standing out in the open in the middle of a park wasn't something one does after several of your men get taken out. Damon's crow wasn't going to be able to locate them. Even though the drone had heat sensors, it wouldn't be able to distinguish between the locals and the Travelers. Damon didn't want to waste time figuring it all out.
"Where did your boss and the rest of your buddies go?" asked Damon with his pistol still pointed at her.
"Why should I tell you anything?" asked Sloane defiantly. "You're just going to kill me anyway."
"You tell me what I need to know, and I'll let you live," said Damon. He hated sounding soft, but information was valuable. "I'm a man of my word."
Sloane stared at Damon for a while. Damon was a cold-blooded killer, but for some reason, she trusted he would hold his end of the bargain. She could also tell that regardless of whether or not she told him where her leader was, Damon would find him sooner or later. There was a determination in his eyes. Sloane only hoped that when Damon found her leader, the Traveler guards would be prepared.
"They are in a large house near the edge of the village," she said. "It's by the river. Made of red brick."
That information helped narrow down the possibilities, but Damon wanted an exact location. While Enzo kept his pistol trained on her, Damon took out his smartphone and put a map of the village on the screen. He asked her to point to the area where the house was.
"Thank you," said Damon after she pointed to the house. It seemed to be much larger than any of the others in the village. It was also relatively isolated from any of the other nearby homes.
"Who are you guys anyway?" asked Damon. "What is your group doing here?"
Sloane gave Damon a brief overview. The leader of the Travelers was a distant cousin of hers named Markos. Centuries ago, Markos' ancestors were wealthy and powerful. However, they were driven away from their homes. Markos returned to reclaim his family's wealth.
Damon tied up Sloane with plastic flexi-cuff restraints.
"Okay, let's roll," said Damon.
"You're just gonna leave her in the middle of the street like this?" asked Enzo.
"What?" said Damon.
Damon and Enzo made their way to the large mansion where Markos and his men were hiding out. Three armed men were stationed outside of the mansion.
"Leapfrog?" suggested Enzo.
"Yea," confirmed Damon.
Leapfrogging was the typical two-man maneuver that Damon and Enzo employed to move toward an enemy position. Sometimes called "bound and overwatch," one person would move forward while the second person stayed still and covered the first by watching the enemy positions and, if necessary, firing at enemy positions to keep them occupied. Once the first person found a safe place to crouch behind, the roles would be reversed and he would then cover his teammate while the teammate moved forward.
Enzo was the first to bound while Damon provided cover. It worked out that there were a good number of bushes and trees in the mansion's front yard, providing enough cover for Damon to Enzo to move relatively undetected. Once Enzo reached about half-way to the front door of the mansion, he took position between a row of bushes and signaled for Damon to join him while he watched the Travelers.
Damon and Enzo were approaching the mansion at a slight angle and basically followed the curved driveway that led right to the front door. There were two sedans parked near the front door which would give Damon and Enzo some cover. However, Damon and Enzo would have to crouch pretty low in order to remain hidden. Once they reached the rear of the nearest car, it would be close enough for Damon and Enzo to shoot the Traveler guards. They made sure not to actually touch the car, just in case there was some type of sensitive alarm system.
"Tornado?" asked Enzo.
"Yea," said Damon.
"I'll take out the guy with the shades first," said Enzo as he aimed his silenced pistol at the Traveler wearing sunglasses.
Damon nodded. Enzo fired twice at the first target. Damon immediately fired at next closest person and Enzo soon got rid of the third. Damon and Enzo moved quickly but quietly in a half crouch until they got to the front door. Damon prepared to enter from the right side of the doorway while Enzo took the left. Damon placed his hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. The door wasn't locked, as was often the case when guards were posted.
Instead of bounding, Damon and Enzo stuck together while inside the house. Damon took point and Enzo trailed while covering their rear. They walked through the hall without encountering any resistance and then started searching the rooms one by one. Suddenly, the lights in the house shut off. The sun was about an hour from setting, and very little light came in through the windows. Damon and Enzo took out their little flashlights and held them next to their pistols.
Damon and Enzo entered the large dining room. Although it was dark, Damon could feel there were people very close, perhaps waiting to ambush him and Enzo. The lights came on and the two of them were surrounded by 6 Travelers.
With 5 guns pointed at them, Damon and Enzo were ordered to place their pistols on the ground. Although Markos now had the upper hand, he still wanted to talk his way into Damon's good graces. Markos thought that killing Damon and Enzo might be a mistake. Making decisions on an in-the-moment tactical basis often brought negative long-term consequences. In this case, Markos knew that whoever sent Damon and Enzo would send many more if Damon and Enzo were killed. Markos would only kill them as a last resort.
"This isn't what you think it is," said Markos.
"What do I think this is?" asked Damon.
"I can tell by your accent that you are either American or Canadian black ops," said Markos.
"Canadian?" asked Damon, a little surprised and perhaps insulted.
"American, then," said Markos. "We don't intend to antagonize the West. We are no threat to you."
"Your group has been sowing chaos in your wake as you travel from town to town. Tell me why I should allow that to continue?" asked Damon.
"We only seek to re-establish our birthright. Many centuries ago, my people ruled over these parts of Europe. I am the current patriarch of my clan. We will rule once again. The so-called democratically elected officials are a sham. I wish for chaos no more than you do," said Markos.
Damon was amused inside. Who said he didn't crave chaos? A little chaos was entertaining from time to time. However, chaos was also stress-inducing most of the time. Damon was a fan of a carefree life.
"I'm sorry, Markos. You're destabilizing the regional government. I can't allow it. I have my orders," insisted Damon.
"I can be a strong ally to you and your government. Your people promote capitalism. As do I. Your government sent you here to secure the area around your naval base. I can guarantee you an alliance after I ascend to power."
"We already have an alliance," said Damon.
"And what happens when popular opinion shifts? Or someone new gets elected? With me, you'll have a constant."
"People change. Regardless, my government promotes democracy over dictators. I can't allow you take power."
"Then, I guess we have nothing further to discuss," said Markos. He raised his revolver and pointed it at Damon's face. "I'm sorry we couldn't come to a more amicable solution."
Damon smiled. This joker thought he would be able to kill two of the most capable agents on this planet. Damon and Enzo gave each other a quick glance. Enzo quickly glanced to his left, indicating that he would take out the Travelers to his left. Once Enzo made his move, Damon immediately attacked the Travelers to Enzo's right. Both of them moved with lightning speed and dispatched Markos' bodyguards.
Enzo took out his k-bar combat knife and stabbed the first bodyguard through the heart. Enzo then quickly spun around and stabbed the second guard in the throat. Damon was slightly more hands-on. He snapped the neck of the first guard to Enzo's right, and then proceeded to knock the second unconscious with a quick blow to the back of the head.
Markos and the last remaining bodyguard seemed to freeze for a moment, unsure of whether to fight or to run. That split second of indecision spelled their doom, as Enzo took out the last guard while Damon handled Markos.
Damon deftly knocked the small revolver out of Markos' hand and kicked Markos down onto the floor.
"I don't suppose I could bribe you with a treasure chest of gold coins?" asked Damon rhetorically.
Markos screamed and lunged at Damon, who effortlessly pushed Markos back to the ground.
"That's too bad," said Damon. He casually shot Markos twice in the chest. Damon kneeled down near Markos to confirm that he was dead. Markos had blood trickle out of his mouth. There was no pulse when Damon felt Markos' neck.
With Markos dead, Damon deemed the Traveler group to no longer be a threat. Two of Markos' men were on the ground and bleeding, but they would survive. Damon walked up to the man who was slightly bigger.
"Your friend Sloane is tied up at the abandoned car factory in town," said Damon. "You two can pick her up and then return to wherever you came from. Stay there and live long lives. Any of you come back here, you die. Understood?"
The man nodded. The two injured Travelers limped away while Damon and Enzo watched.
"Those idiots will return," said Enzo.
"No they won't," said a confident Damon.
Damon and Enzo climbed onboard the private jet. Time for a relaxing flight back to America. Damon typed in his credentials into the computer in the passenger cabin. It took a few seconds to establish a secure videolink to Langley.
"Objective accomplished," reported Damon
"Outstanding," said Commander Anderson. "Well done, gentlemen. Come on home."