Part 1: Target: European Central Bank
It all started with the death of Abraham Lincoln, the end of the Civil War, and the rise of Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Ford.
But what if Woodrow Wilson wasn't assassinated?
It would have opened Big-Business to take over the world.
Ever since Big-Business bought out the government, the world ran on industrialism with multi-million-dollar corporations at the head of the pack.
Out of all the corporations from shipping to oil, the banking system is the most powerful, controlling everything from politics, to war, sometimes even everyday life.
The two largest banking systems in the world are the Federal Reserve and the Central European Bank.
The Federal Reserve controls both North and South America, including Canada, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Mexico.
And the Central European Bank controls all of Europe, including most of Northern Africa, Israel, and a small portion of Western Russia.
In 1939, sixty four years after the Union won the Civil War, and the world was turned into a planet that runs on corporation, both the Federal Reserve and the Central European Bank got greedy, and tried to buy out each other's territories.
The Federal Reserve and Central European Bank resisted, and at some point, their forces met somewhere in the Atlantic, and someone, nobody knows exactly who, but one side fired a shot at the other, and it exploded into an all-out war. The resulting conflict led to over thirty two years of war, from 1939 to 1971.
The war cost both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank billions of dollars, millions of lives, and it almost caused their countries' economies to die.
Ever since then, both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank signed the North Atlantic Peace Bond to prevent another conflict like that from arising ever again.
The scars of that conflict are still visible today, even though relief efforts are still ongoing, and nobody, not even those born today can forget it.
Our story, however begins in Frankfurt, Germany, forty three years after that bloody conflict with a lone assassin codenamed Viper, and his McMillan TAC-50, as Viper twisted a suppressor onto the barrel of his rifle, and slid on the scope, Speaker of the House for the Central European Bank, Dillon Prescott walked out onto the stage in front of Europe's newest Fore-Trust Bank which was just opened the day before.
Viper walked back to the table he set up, deployed the tri-pod on his TAC-50, pulled up a stool, took his seat, and placed the rifle on the table.
As Viper looked down the scope, Dillon began his speech, "I hope with the opening of this new bank, that it will cement a new union," Dillon began, "This union between the Bank of England and the new Frankfurt Branch I hope will bring a new age: A new age of banking, a new age of enlightenment."
As Dillon paused, Viper squeezed the trigger: the bullet flew from the end of the rifle, and as it flew toward Dillon, the wind caught it, and caused it to curve.
The bullet slammed into the bodyguard on Dillon's right, and as all hell broke loose, Viper pulled back on the bolt, and fired again.
The bullet took out the second bodyguard, once the guards began running towards Viper's location, Viper picked up his rifle, gathered up the shell-casings, and ran out of the room.
Once the guards entered the room, they found nothing but the scent of freshly exploded gunpowder, the stool, and the table.
Once they searched the building, no one had seen Viper entering or exiting the building.
When they staked out the building, they waited for twenty four hours watching the building, and nobody, except the employees left the building, and not one of the employees were carrying anything even remotely gun-looking.
Later in the week, at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York: the capital of the Federal Reserve and the capital building of the American territory, President-Chairman for the Federal Reserve (you could call her the President of the American territory), Tsunade sat in her meeting room next to her best operative as the head of the board for the Central European Bank, Arthur Prescott, father of Dillon Prescott appeared on the screen of the TV they were sitting in front of.
The story on the shooting was broadcasting on the BBC, he stood next at the podium in front of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, "I stand before you today to report that earlier this week, attempt on Dillon Prescott, the Speaker of the Central European Bank's life," Arthur began, "Even though he survived, two members of the SAS's Fifteenth Parachute Regiment who were filling in as bodyguards for Dillon were killed by sniper-fire, and despite the efforts of the surviving members of the Fifteenth, the sniper escaped."
"He escaped," the operative said, his face hidden in the shadows, since the room was poorly lit, but what was visible was his navy tuxedo, black-leather shoes, white dress-shirt, red tie, and Caucasian skin.
"You think it could be one of our snipers?" Tsunade asked.
"I don't know," the operative said, he placed his right foot in the seat of the chair, placed his right elbow on his knee, and cupped his chin in hand while keeping his index-finger on his cheek, "Our people don't miss."
One week later, there was another attempt, by a female assassin named Raven with an MP7 on Rachel Dempsey, the European Central Bank's Chief of Foreign Affairs while she was on vacation in Monte Carlo, while she having dinner with her boyfriend.
As a car drove by the front of the restaurant, Raven sat on the edge of her window, and emptied the drum-clip into the windows, killing one Monte Carlo police officer, and injuring a civilian.
Raven got away, the fact she wore a Russian SMS gas-mask made it impossible to get any kind of identification, and also the car: a 2001 black Chrysler Crown Victoria had no license plate and was later found dumped in the harbor.
Once Arthur gave his address to the nation on the attempt on Rachel's life, the operative still couldn't tell if it was one of J.P. Morgan's Deltas.
The following week, there was another attempt by an assassin named Bulldozer with a mini-gun on the Central European Bank's director of Investigations, Adam Davidson.
Bulldozer mounted his mini-gun on the roof of a Hummer H3, and when they drove by Adam's house, Bulldozer unleashed full-auto on the house, injuring Adam's maid, and his oldest son.
With that attack, Arthur decided to upgrade security for the board members, but this extra security didn't matter when the last straw was drawn.
Diana Prescott, Vice-President-Chairman of the Central European Bank, Arthur Prescott's wife, and Dillon Prescott's mother was attacked by an assassin named Hood.
While Diana was making a speech at the National European bank in Zurich, Switzerland, Hood killed her guards with a fourteen-inch long knuckle-duster knife.
When he approached Diana, she ran, Hood responded by throwing his knives, missing her, and hitting the wall beside her.
As Hood disappeared, the investigators found the knives which were engraved with the symbol used by the Special Forces soldiers that belonged to the J.P. Morgan branch of the Federal Reserve.
While Arthur was on his way to the United States, Tsunade called her operative back in.
Once he arrived, everyone in the office he passed watched as he walked on.
He was wearing a pair of white-leather shoes with black soles, a white tuxedo suit, white suit pants, a metallic blue dress-shirt, and a white tie: he was only nineteen years old six foot three, and the burn scars that marred the right side of his face had become a permanent I.D. to those he worked with: his name, Sasuke Uchiha.
Sasuke took the elevator to the top floor, and found his boss waiting for him, "Come on inside Sasuke," Tsunade said as Sasuke stood by the door to her office.
Sasuke entered Tsunade's office, and took his seat in front of his boss's desk, "You needed to see me Ma'am?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes," Tsunade said as she looked up at Sasuke, "There's been another attempt: this time on the Head-Chairman of the Central European Bank's wife, Diana. We have reason to believe that an Ex-Delta named Hood was the assassin."
"The attempt was made with a man dressed all in black," Sasuke asked, "Guards were killed with a fourteen-inch knuckle-duster knife? And I guess he left behind a throwing knife with the J.P. Morgan branch's symbol engraved into it?"
"Yes," Tsunade said, "And right now, as we speak Arthur Prescott, the Head-Chairman of the Central European Bank is on his way to New York to start asking questions."
"Then why'd you call me in?" Sasuke asked.
"We want you to investigate these attempts," Tsunade said as she handed Sasuke a mission file, Sasuke opened it, and looked at the information, "You'll be working undercover to gain the trust of the Central European Bank's board members to either convince them that we had nothing to do with this, or to solve the attempts, and prevent the powder keg we're sitting on from going off," Sasuke pulled a pair of fake Delta Force dog-tags out of the file, "We've established your new identity as Sergeant Sasuke Uchiha, but your official name is Porthos, a member of the J.P. Morgan branch's Delta Force who was caught downloading classified information on the members of the Federal Reserve's Delta Teams. They caught you, arrested you, and as of now you're being interrogating you at a J.P. Morgan-owned military base in upstate New York."
"Where do I get the information?" Sasuke asked.
"The information's been uploaded to your phone," Tsunade said, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it is…"
"Cut to the chase." Sasuke said.
"We want to present them something they've never encountered," Tsunade said, "The Federal Reserve's first successful defector. Go to England, investigate the attempts, try to convince the CEB's board-members of our innocence, prevent another World War, and if possible, identify, locate, and eliminate the assassins."
"When am I going to get the shit kicked out of me?" Sasuke asked.
"That's the spirit," Tsunade said, "First, go down stairs, see Kakashi, and get your equipment."
Sasuke took the elevator down to the Tech Lab, where Dr. Kakashi Hatake was working on a camera mounted in the cap of a pin which he was looking at under a large magnifying glass.
"Good morning Kakashi," Sasuke said as he walked up to his old friend. "Ah, good morning Sasuke," Kakashi said, "On assignment?"
"You know it," Sasuke said, "Let's get to the toys."
Kakashi walked over to the table where a Swiss-Army Knife, a leather belt, and Sasuke's Droid I-phone were resting, "Let's begin," Kakashi said as he picked up the Swiss-Army Knife, "A Swiss-Army Knife," Kakashi held it out straight in front of him, "If you'll notice, it's longer than many Swiss-Army Knives because of the blade," Kakashi pushed on the knife's Swiss Arms symbol which extended the four-inch blade, "In the tip on the left side, there is a mini lock-pick, and there's a small laser on the right side that should cut through any kind of metal. Aside from that, the knife has all the usual bells and whistles."
"What high-tech evil genius's lab am I breaking into?" Sasuke asked.
"It was operation standard," Kakashi said as he picked up the belt, "A leather belt, black-leather braded, one-size-fits-all, in the buckle is a seventy five foot rappelling line, a very tiny microphone, and a locator," Kakashi pointed toward a small switch on the side of the belt, "Flip that and the response team will descend upon you within twenty four hours."
"They always said to tighten your belt," Sasuke said as he fastened the belt around his waist.
"And finally your phone," Kakashi said as he pulled up a single app, "I just invented this app, it links every on former members of the J.P. Morgan branch's Delta Force operators, just enter the M.O.s, and it should narrow it down."
"When do I get the Aston Martin?" Sasuke asked.
"Slow down there James Bond," Kakashi said as he turned his attention toward a black 2014 Corvette Stingray Convertible, "This is your car, we'll arrange for it to be sent to Europe. Corvette Stingray Convertible," Kakashi leaned down toward the dashboard, "The dashboard here contains the most advanced computer in the world."
"Hopefully it won't give away who I really am." Sasuke said.
"It won't," Kakashi said, "Are you ready for Europe?"
"As I'll ever be," Sasuke said, "I hope to see you again old friend."
"Likewise," Kakashi said, "Now that we're ready, it's time to start on part one."
Sasuke turned around to see three soldiers from the J.P. Morgan's Nineteenth Delta Force Team walked up to him with a uniform, "Sasuke Uchiha?" Lieutenant Dan asked.
"Yes." Sasuke said. "Put this on," Lieutenant Dan said as he handed Sasuke the uniform, "We'll wait here."
Sasuke ran his hand through his spikey black hair as he walked toward the changing room, looking at the uniform in his hand: the boots were standard-issue grey-leather U.S. Army Rocky S2V Vented Boots, the pants and jacket were black and grey octagon-pattern camo, and the undershirt was just a plain white shirt.
After changing into the uniform, Sasuke walked outside, and saw the soldiers waiting for him, "How do I look?" Sasuke asked.
"Like one of us," Lieutenant Dan said as he pulled out a small patch that was embroidered with the rank of Sergeant, he then placed it on the Velcro patch located in the center of Sasuke's uniform, "That completes it, now for the other part. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to punch you in the face."
"Knock me out." Sasuke said.
"You said it," Lieutenant Dan said as he slid on a pair of brass-knuckles, and punched Sasuke across the face, sending him to the floor.
When Sasuke awoke, he was sitting in the back of some kind of vehicle, obviously an Army Truck, he had a burlap sack over his head, and his hands were tied.
"Good morning sleeping beauty," Lieutenant Dan said, Sasuke could tell he was sitting next to him, "We're less than two minutes out from the base. If I were you, I'd start thinking of a way to escape."
"I'm just going to break free of the restraints you'll put me in, grab a gun, and shoot my way out." Sasuke said.
The truck came to a stop, and one of the guards walked up to the back, "Lieutenant Daniel Ambrose," he said, "What are you doing back?"
"I'm here on assignment," Lieutenant Dan said as he grabbed the sack around Sasuke's head, "Interrogation."
"Interrogate one of our own?" the soldier asked.
"He was caught trying to download classified information," Dan said as he pulled out Sasuke's phone, and pulled up the list of the J.P. Morgan's Delta Team members, "Delta Team members, current, and former members. His base Commander wants to know where he got the information."
"Go on through." the guard said.
As the truck moved forward, Sasuke formed his escape plan in his mind, once the truck stopped outside, he decided now would be the time to put his plan into action.
He was led down a long hallway, into a single room where he was handcuffed to a chair, and had the sack pulled off of his head.
"So you're Porthos," Lieutenant Dan said as he walked around the chair Sasuke was sitting in, "Of all the people I thought would betray our nation: you'd be the last suspect. Now I'm going to ask: where did you get the codes for the list J.P. Morgan's Delta Team members?"
"Porthos, Sergeant," Sasuke began, "5-18-9-3."
Lieutenant Dan chuckled, and then punched Sasuke across the jaw, "You paid attention in training," Lieutenant Dan said, "Focus on a specific object on the wall, and breathe."
Lieutenant Dan walked out of the room, and as the door shut, Staff Sergeant Alex Cook and Master Sergeant Paul Davidson pulled Sasuke out of the chair, and as he stood up, Alex punched him across the face.
As Sasuke stumbled backwards, Paul threw his elbow into Sasuke's face, sending him to the ground.
Paul then pulled Sasuke to his feet, and threw another punch, nailing Sasuke on the bridge of the nose.
As Sasuke stumbled backwards against the room's one-way glass, Alex punched Sasuke in the stomach, and then elbowed him on the back.
As Sasuke lay on the ground, holding his stomach, Paul walked over, and both him and Alex started kicking Sasuke.
Two minutes later, Lieutenant Dan came walking in, and he pulled them off of Sasuke, "What the fuck is wrong with you two," Lieutenant Dan asked, "Our job is to get information from him, not turn him into blood sausage," Lieutenant Dan leaned down to Sasuke, "Your Swiss-Army Knife and phone are in my right pocket. I want you to grab my gun, and begin your breakout."
Sasuke head-butted Dan on the bridge of the nose, grabbed Dan's Beretta M9, and shot both Paul and Alex in the legs.
Sasuke stood up, tucked the M9 into his belt, knocked Dan, Paul, and Alex unconscious by kicking them in the face, and then took his Swiss-Army knife and phone from Dan's pocket.
After cleaning up the blood on his face with Paul's jacket, Sasuke walked out the door, and as he did, the alarms went off.
Sasuke quickly walked toward the nurse's office, once he entered: he waited until the guards ran past him.
The base's intercom system came on, "The man that puts Porthos down gets a five-day-leave."
Sasuke bolted out of the nurse's office, and fired at the two prisoners disguised as J.P. Morgan Army soldiers.
As five more came running, Sasuke dived into cover as they opened fire.
Once they all ran out of ammo, Sasuke took aim, and got all five, all headshots.
He rushed down the hall, and picked up one of the disguised prisoner's Heckler and Koch MG36.
As Sasuke popped out from behind cover, and as seven prisoners came running down the hallway, Sasuke opened fire, shooting from the hip, and killing all seven.
Sasuke found another nurse's station, and quickly fabricated a concealer for his burn scars out of left-behind skin-tone lipstick a nurse left behind, medical-cream, and some iron-oxide.
After covering his burn-scars, and hiding the guns, he waited for the prisoners to pass, and walked in the opposite direction.
He walked out of the base with no more problems, but he still needed justifiable reason to leave the base, he looked over, and saw a soldier holding proof of a twenty-four hour leave walking toward his jeep.
Sasuke walked over to the soldier, and started to him talking, when they arrived at the jeep, Sasuke turned the soldier's attention toward something on the ground which wasn't there, and as the soldier knelt down to get check it, Sasuke slammed his head into the side of the jeep, knocking him out cold.
After putting the soldier in the next jeep over, and hiding him with a tarp, Sasuke picked up the soldier's notice of leave, jumped in the jeep and drove toward the gate.
Once at the gate, the guard asked to see his notice of leave, and when he showed it to the guard, he opened the gate, and Sasuke was let go.
Meanwhile, in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Arthur Prescott was talking to Tsunade about the attempts on the Central European Bank's board members, and the connection to the J.P. Morgan branch.
"I'm telling you right now Arthur," Tsunade said, "I've checked the logs, there are no reports of any operations in Europe, and I did not order any attack."
"Then what about the knives?" Arthur asked.
"Anyone could forge those," Tsunade said, "That doesn't prove anything."
The door opened, and Tsunade's secretary, Jessica entered, "Excuse me Tsunade." she said.
"Yes Jessica," Tsunade asked, "What is it?"
"You remember that soldier who was caught downloading information on the J.P. Morgan's Delta Team members?" Jessica asked.
"Yes," Tsunade said, "What about him?"
"He got away." Jessica said.
"What," Tsunade exclaimed, "Excuse me."
As Tsunade and Jessica left the room, Arthur looked over at his secretary, Erica, "They seem pretty intent on finding that soldier," Arthur whispered, "See what you can find on him." Tsunade came back in, and the meeting resumed.
Two hours later, it was 9:00 P.M. in New York City, Sasuke walked through the streets dressed in black-leather loafers, blue jeans, a white tee-shirt, and a grey jacket, Sasuke defiantly stood out in the crowd, being six foot three that is.
His phone rang, "Hello?" he answered.
"Sasuke," Tsunade said, "Good to hear from you again."
"Yea," Sasuke said, "You plant the seeds of interest yet?"
"Yes I have," Tsunade said, "They have agents looking all over the city for you. Arthur Prescott himself has found your file."
"I have to go," Sasuke said, "NYPD are on to me."
Sasuke sealed his cell-phone and Swiss-Army knife inside the water-tight pocket of his jacket, and continued walking.
As he was walking, someone walked up behind him, and slipped a disposable cell-phone into his pocket, a few seconds later, it rang, "Hello?" Sasuke answered.
"Sergeant Sasuke Uchiha?" the voice on the other end of the phone asked.
"Yes," Sasuke said, "Who is this?"
"A friend," the voice said, "Now listen to me, they Federal Reserve is looking for you, and so is the NYPD, you'll be dead in exactly three minutes unless you do exactly as I say, when I say it."
"What'll happen when I do?" Sasuke asked.
"You'll find safe haven in Europe," the voice said, "Now walk to the street corner, and hail a cab."
Sasuke walked to the corner of the street, and signaled for a taxi, "Taxi!" Sasuke exclaimed.
When the taxi stopped, Sasuke got inside, "Take the taxi to the harbor." The voice said.
"The harbor, please," Sasuke said, "And step on it."
The cab driver took Sasuke down to the riverfront, and after paying the driver, Sasuke walked over to the railing just as a dozen sirens started bellowing in the distance, "There's NYPD coming after you. As soon as they arrive, step onto the railing, and fall backwards. Be sure to lose the cell-phone."
As soon as the call was cut off, Sasuke turned around to see twenty NYPD police cruisers pulled up, and twenty nine officers jumped out of their cars carrying Glock 17s, they ran into cover behind their cruisers, and took aim, "Freeze," one of them shouted through a megaphone, "Put your hands in the air," Sasuke lifted his hands, "Walk slowly toward the cars," Sasuke smiled as he stepped onto the railing, "Wait, don't! All we want is the phone: give it to us, and we promise you'll make it out of this alive!"
Sasuke tossed the phone toward the cruisers, and dropped backwards, landing in the Hudson River with a splash, the makeup to conceal the scars he had washed away.
As he began to sink, he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned around, and there was a man in a wetsuit who clasped a rebreather over his mouth.
Soon they were gliding through the water with the help of the propeller they had, after an hour and a half, they arrived at some kind of boat.
When they arrived, the diver climbed onto the back of the boat, and as Sasuke poked his head out of the water, someone held out their hand to him.
Sasuke grabbed the man's hand, and was helped onto the boat, once he stood up, someone put a blanket around him, and guided him into the main room where Arthur Prescott was sitting in front of a fire.
"Cold," Arthur asked as he pointed toward a chair in front of the fire, "Please, take a seat, let's talk."
Sasuke sat down in the seat Arthur pointed to, and warmed his hands, "Thanks for the save." Sasuke said.
"What makes you think it was me on the phone?" Arthur asked.
"Because I didn't say anything about a phone," Sasuke said as he pulled a tick-tack-sized chip out of his pocket, "And I pulled this out of the phone before I tossed it," Sasuke handed it to Arthur, "One of yours isn't it?"
"Impressive," Arthur said as he tossed the chip into the fire.
"I'm… well, now was, Delta Force," Sasuke said, "After pulling that little fiasco, everyone in the U.S. is going to be after my head."
"What kind of information did you download that got you thrown in an interrogation room?" Arthur asked.
"Delta Team members," Sasuke said as he pulled out his cell-phone, "Present members, soon-to-be members, and discharged members."
"That would be worth millions." Arthur said.
"Or maybe asylum," Sasuke asked as he looked at Arthur.
"You want asylum with the Central European Bank?" Arthur asked.
"I also want a job." Sasuke said.
"As what," Arthur asked, raising his right eyebrow.
"An investigator," Sasuke said, "I think I know who made the attempts on your son and wife's lives."
"I'll need some time." Arthur said.
"How long," Sasuke asked, crossing his arms on his chest.
"One hour," Arthur said as he stood up, "In the meantime, why don't you clean up," a man in a black tuxedo with a black tie walked up to Sasuke carrying a Navy tuxedo, black-leather loafers, a white dress-shirt, and a satin-black tie, then dropped the clothes in Sasuke's lap, "Make yourself presentable. When you make your case in front of the board, you need to look nice. Plus when we disembark, the press are going to ambush this ship like knights on a castle."
"Camelot or Hastings?" Sasuke asked.
"Camelot," Arthur said, "If you paid attention in history, the Battle of Hastings was a hill."
"I know," Sasuke said as he stood up, holding the clothes in his hand, "Making a point. You have a place I can change?"
"Yes," Arthur said as he pointed toward a stair case leading to the lower levels, "Just down there and when you're down there, put some ice on that eye."
Sasuke looked at his reflection in the shoes, and saw the punch Lieutenant Dan gave him with the brass-knuckles was now a fully-formed black eye.
After changing into the suit, Sasuke walked upstairs where Arthur was waiting for him, "Am I overdressed?" Sasuke asked.
"Not at all," Arthur said, "I have an answer from the rest of the board. They say you help find the assassins: we'll give you asylum, citizenship, a job, anything you need."
"It seems like we have a deal," Sasuke said as he held out his hand to Arthur.
Arthur then shook Sasuke's hand, and then pulled Sasuke close, "I'm going to give you one warning though," Arthur said, "The Central European Bank prides itself on secrecy. If I find out you're a double agent, justice will be swift and merciless."
"You've paid me one warning, allow me to pay you one in return," Sasuke said, "Your bank prides itself on secrecy. I pride myself on being kept updated. If you think one of your board-members even think of turning me over… well, let's just say, the law of celestial mechanics states that when two earthly objects collide, there is collateral damage. And that's the last thing we both want."
"I like someone who's stern," Arthur said, "It shows spirit, and determination," Arthur then slapped Sasuke on the shoulder, "We could use more like you in the SAS."
"I'd think I'd stand out in the SAS," Sasuke said as he took the ice-pack one of the men onboard the ship held out to him, and placed it over his eye.
"It should be a light bruise by the time we arrive back in London," Arthur said, "The bank's already found a small apartment. Once we're done at Parliament, I'll take you there."
"Then we talk about the job?" Sasuke asked.
"As I said before," Arthur said, "You help us find the assassins, we'll give you a job, asylum, and citizenship."
"And as I said before, I have information," Sasuke said, "You deliver me to England, and introduce me to your board members: I can get started on the investigation."
"I hope you can solve this," Arthur said, "I can't stand to think about losing any members of the board. England can't afford another World War."
And for England…