Aside from the fact that I'm still alive, none of this surprises me. Technology got stronger, but we got weaker. We built computers, robots, whole unmanned armies, but no one ever asks: "What happens when the enemy steals the keys?" When the things they built to keep us safe are turned against us, that's when they figured it out: They'll always need men like us, those who are willing to do... what others cannot… - Sgt. Frank Woods
Victory is not measured by losses… It is measured by gains… - Raul Menendez
Chapter 1
"I don't know about this, Section."
Lt. Commander David "Section" Mason looked up at his partner Harper and followed his line of sight. They fixated on the newest member of their team. He glanced at Harper and replied, "It's Spectre's call, Harper. Roll with it."
"Come on, man. You really think the federal tax accountant is going to make all the difference?"
David gave a shrug of his shoulders. He was dubious about the girl himself. When he first met her, he was under the impression that she had never handled a weapon before in her life even though she carried. She wore a suit with three quarter sleeves and her blouse was utility blue. Her hair was straight and mousey and she wore glasses. It was the very definition of a nondescript girl. And yet he was stuck with her and all on Spectre's say so.
I'm assigning Special Agent Torres to your team, David. She'll be my eyes and ears while I coordinate your resources.
David didn't think that the girl would be able to keep up, but he really couldn't say no to his longtime friend. Besides, Spectre was pretty good with her hunches and suppositions. She was the spook that was responsible for finding what they needed to bring down the terrorist Makarov and disproving the allegations of her task force. She was a legend within the intelligence community and seemed to have the ear of the most important people within governments. If she said that her girl would be helpful, he knew he should believe her.
Looking Harper, David replied, "Spectre says so."
"Yeah about that. Spectre should be here since she was at The Vault."
David couldn't argue with that. When they got the call that Raul Menendez had been at The Vault, Spectre was there with them. It was there that he learned that his friend had spent time previously with the man that had raised him. She wasn't surprised with some of the things he said, but then again Spectre was known for being cool while under pressure. The joke was that she had all her freaking out when she was on the chase for Makarov. Yet, he knew that Spectre was doing him a favor, so it made sense and it just happened to coincide with their hunt for Raul Menendez.
The basics you gave me had me talk to Woods. This just happened to give a helping hand. Now it's priority, but I still have my projects.
It was meant to be reassuring and an apology though David knew what he was getting into. He sought Spectre out and she laid down the rules. He went with it because she seemed to know how it would make him feel. He trusted her though, but some of her suggestions were a little out there. Having her agent on his team was one of them.
Special Agent Simone Torres was not from the agency. She was actually Secret Service. One of the reasons why Harper and probably his team thought that this was unusual. Clearing his throat, David replied, "Spectre is coordinating our resources."
"But seriously? What is she going to do? She's…"
"Proficient in cyber security analysis and skill set in forensic accounting analysis," the subject of their conversation said.
David felt his skin flush and hoped that it wasn't showing. If there was anything, Torres had the sneaking up and making you sweat thing going just like Spectre. Harper though was much smoother as he countered with, "So you know your computer shit. Can you dig it where we're going?"
Torres looked at the pair of SEALs. She had put on utilities and tactical gear and still managed to look like she belonged behind a desk. She said in an almost girly tone, "I don't know. I don't think I would have my quals if I didn't." She looked at David and added, "Spectre wants to speak to you before we're Oscar Mike." She then turned and left to head back and start packing her gear.
Harper gave an appreciative whistle, "Girl's got spunk." He watched as Torres went back to check the weapons she was assigned and admired how she locked and loaded with precision and expertise. She didn't look like it, but she certainly knew her way around a gun and tactical gear. So maybe he might be wrong.
David made a face as he left the area and headed to the comms room. He was just in the hall when he heard the ring of his phone. He knew who it was and put on his HUD visor and the ear piece. "This is Section."
No need to be formal, David.
"And you know that we agreed on call signs when on business."
Not on a private and secured line.
David sighed and asked, "What do you need, Spectre?"
Just checking in. Special Agent Torres reported in that the op is a go and you will be Oscar Mike in five.
"I guess you meant what you said that she's your eyes and ears." David turned to lean against the wall. He watched other sailors go by and ignored them. "But seriously, do you really want Torres with us?"
She's fully qualified, David. I vetted her myself. Trust me.
"I do but…"
Don't always trust what you see. Old trick I learned the hard way.
David made a face. "Okay, you've made your point, Spectre. I still have doubts though."
Just do this op. One op and see how it goes.
"Somehow I get the feeling that you're not going to pull Torres even if the op goes bad. Why bother?"
Just trying to make it palpable. David, it will be okay. Torres will do her job and may provide a unique look to the situation.
"You could've said that you're trying to expand your reach."
Who says that I haven't? I do know the military.
David looked at nothing in particular and gave an almost dry chuckle. He shook his head at that. Of course, he knew Spectre knew the military. Her husband was SAS and she had a brother that served with the Marines and her best friend was Delta Force. "I guess I gotta trust you, Spectre."
Just as I trust you, David.
"Thanks. I'll keep an open mind on Torres."
I think you'll find things will work out. I'll do what I can to make sure we have ready clearance on ops. Woods is right. Menendez will be attacking and soon. Money trails and good old-fashioned gut instinct says so.
"Copy that. Wilco."
Good luck, David.
"Thanks, Spectre. Next time we all hang out, could you tell Kip to take a day off?" He grinned as he referred to her now pretty much mandatory security when she made public appearances to heads of intelligence and other government officials. He had been recruited from her own task force and vetted by her husband and an old retired veteran who had a unique way of making grown men cry.
You know that Kip only is on official detail. Talk to you later.
David grinned as the call hung up. He looked downward as he took off his glasses and tucked them into his uniform. He leaned against the wall of the hall and took in a deep breath. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to convince Spectre to pull Torres. Once Spectre set her mind to something, it was very hard to convince her to change her mind. You had to have compelling evidence and a real damn good argument. He didn't regarding Torres. To pull someone because they didn't look the part was rather petty. He would stick it out.
He headed back to their prep room and saw that Torres was finished packing up. She was just doing last minute checking on her gear. He didn't have to say anything since she looked up and saw him. She said, "Hey, Section. Any orders from Spectre?"
David thought about how to answer that. Finally, he said, "Just that… I shouldn't judge a book on its cover."
Simone Torres looked up and noticed the look David had on his face. She knew that the team had doubts about her abilities since she didn't exactly look like an agent from the agency or someone from a tactical squad. Even she had doubts when she had been tapped by Spectre a few years back and wondered why she wanted someone who never really went out into the field unless she was to examine banking systems for the Treasury.
When she first met David, she had been blown away by him. She couldn't pinpoint what it was, but she couldn't deny that he sent a thrill down her spine and had her want to be in the field. And she had never had any desire to do so in the past. Spectre probably caught on and that was why she started teaching her a few more things and sending her out with her task force. She accepted the assignment gracefully when Spectre assigned her to it.
David was looking a little uncomfortable. No doubt Spectre hit the nail on the head with that one. Torres replied, "Sound advice. Said the same thing to me when I questioned why she picked me out of all the other agents."
"That's Spectre for ya," David replied as he leaned against the table Torres was working on. "Never could figure her out."
"Hard to figure out a legend."
"Wasn't like that when I met her." David shook his head in a good-humored fashion. "More inclined to think I was bullshitting her."
"Well, some of her ideas end up sounding like that. Brass knows better than to completely disregard it and Spectre knows when to back down and come back with more proof." Torres finished what she was doing and gave a pat to her gear. "Then again some ideas you just gotta take on blind faith."
David looked at Torres. He almost wanted to roll his eyes at the fact that Spectre had him again. She called because he knew his habits and just paved the way. He made a slight sound and shook his head, "Damn it, Spectre."
"What?" Torres looked at David with a questioning look.
"Nothing. Just forgot how she anticipates. Hated that when we had that op in Singapore."
"The explosion?" At the look, Torres explained, "I researched all of Spectre's ops. Had to learn about the task force and other teams she's worked with. I like to know what I'm dealing with." She shrugged her shoulders. She cleared her throat before checking their timetable. "We better get a move on it. Otherwise we'll miss our window."
David stared at Torres as she walked away. Maybe Spectre was right about this one after all. He cleared his throat and headed to debrief. Time to get this started.
That's how it started. Your old man tries to kill Menendez. Menendez wants payback…
… Now the politicians, they want you to think this is about ideology, but even the fucking Spectre spook knows better than that.
It's all horseshit. Nothing debatable about that.
… It's about rare earth metals. The whole fucking world runs on this shit.
And China controls all of it…
… You better take him out real fucking quick. Bad shit's gonna happen…
David scoured the area below. He knew that when they inserted, things weren't going to be easy. Spectre's intel was spot on in that Raul Menendez had been on a hiring spree based in Myanmar. He marveled at the ability to get such intel and was grateful she was on their side.
"Well look at that. Menendez got a whole private fucking army hidden out there," Harper was saying as he took a look.
David heaved a sigh as he took a closer look. "Cubans. Elite rank. State of the art tech."
"Looks like Spectre was spot on again."
"Always is," David agreed. "Chasing leads where none exist."
"Good motto," Harper agreed. He had worked with Spectre before and while he had less patience than David, he respected the work their intelligence chief did. "So how many followers does Cordis Die have right now? What, a billion people?"
"Try two billion," David replied, repeating the latest stats provided, courtesy of Torres. "And they'll never believe their leader's a terrorist. They think Menendez is their savior."
David couldn't get it how people could follow. Spectre tried explaining it to him how people could be convinced based upon their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. She told them how easy it was for her to convince an ultranationalist to be more accepting of Western ideals but suited to fit Russia's ideals. She said that she played upon the feelings he had for her and pretty much started pitting father against son. It wasn't overly hard to do. It was scary to think of and David teased her about manipulating him over to her side. She teased back saying, "Only because I have a good back kick."
"Well, they've got a hell of a disappointment coming. That's all I could say." Harper could think and analyze but didn't see the need to strain yourself to do it. He said it was the analysts' job. They were the spearheads that took direction. Of course, being a SEAL meant you had to think on your feet during the situation. He wasn't going to discount it at any point.
David finished his surveying of the camp. He tapped his visor to close out. "Time to go see what Menendez has got hidden down there." He looked up where Harper had a perch. "You ready, Harper?"
"Wilco."
David nodded and called, "Everything good where you are, Torres?"
Copy that. I'm here with Salazar and Crosby. Awaiting your arrival, Section.
David looked at Harper, "Let's do this."
"Keep momentum on your swing. Don't wanna be left hanging."
David chuckled more to himself as he maneuvered to set himself up for Harper to swing down. It was not overly hard, but you still had to concentrate on where to put the nano gloves. Harper made it down and signaled, "Surface is a little uneven. Jam hard with the nano gloves."
They made it down to meet with Salazar, Crosby and Torres. So far it went well until the first little thing happened. David knew that you could plan an op down to the last detail and you always had several back up plans just in case of worst case scenario, but you couldn't always account for the little things that could happen. Spectre always said that a thousand things could go wrong but you could end up with the right outcome. It was just how well you thought on your feet.
They couldn't predict the lightning strike that would down the tree that would fall on his and Harper's line. They had to go with it. David tried to use his feet to brace himself and to keep from falling off the edge of the cliff. The tree was too heavy though and it was dragging him and could have dragged the team off the edge. Whipping his knife out, he cut the line just as he saw Torres do the same for Harper. He watched as the tree slide over the edge and drop out of sight. That was a close call for everyone.
"Thanks for the assist, Torres," Harper said.
"Rule Nine: Always carry a knife. The where and how is up to you," Torres replied as she flipped the knife she had pulled out and put it back on her belt.
"Man, that's cold," Harper muttered as he watched Torres. Louder he replied, "At least you had my six."
"Please."
Harper grinned and signaled that Torres liked him. David knew that was a far stretch. He looked at Torres as she walked by Salazar and said, "Thanks. Couldn't have done it without you."
Torres said nothing but gave a slight nod. It was more than David thought he was going to get from her considering that she was well aware he doubted her ability to help on this mission. He had to admit that barely out of the gate and already she was impressing him. He could almost hear Spectre laughing at him. One of these days…
"Wide open. Little more than a skeleton crew. Walk in the park, baby."
"No seas idiota. Do not underestimate Raul Menendez," Salazar chided Harper. He gave a sharp look. "Spectre sure doesn't. It's why he sent his right hand." He gestured at Torres who was surveying the drop and distance.
David ignored the deliberate use of 'he' to refer to his friend. It was a sign of respect from Salazar. It was a strange quirk but Spectre didn't mind and accepted graciously. He looked at Torres who was not really a part of the conversation but was listening then back to Crosby as he was saying, "His followers sure did. And what does Cordis Die mean anyway?"
Harper was going to say something, but Torres answered, "It Latin for 'Heart Day.'"
"Or some shit like that," Harper added, not really caring what it meant or not. He was just there to do the job they were there to do.
"It's meant to sound noble," Torres countered in a sarcastic tone. "But it's not."
"It's what Menendez wants his followers to believe," David added with a look.
"Play on the weaknesses and beliefs of people and you can get them to believe what you want," Torres added almost sadly. She shook her head as she stood ready.
David blinked. It shouldn't have been a surprise to hear the same thing Spectre once told him, but it was and the look on Torres' face. It looked like there was some history there. Maybe she knew people who bought into it. That would definitely be something to be sad over. Changing the subject, he gestured at Crosby, "Crosby, you're up."
Crosby put on the helmet and checked his glide suit. Everyone else did the same as Crosby took off. Harper couldn't resist, "Ever done this before, Torres? Can be a little rough." He grinned at her.
Torres put on her helmet saying, "The only thing you need to worry about is keeping up and making the drop, caput cibum." She then took off with a graceful leap.
"Shit, man," Harper commented, "She certainly knows her stuff. I could really go for her." He clicked his teeth and looked like he would give a wolf whistle.
"She just called you a meat head," Salazar countered with an annoyed look and a shake of his head.
David shook his head in annoyance as he followed. "Come on."
It was a thrill to feel the drop and the seemingly suspension in the air. Just one of the many things that a SEAL nowadays did. David looked ahead through his visor to get a read on his team and the distance. He picked up Crosby and Torres ahead. Salazar and Harper were to the sides. It was a walk in the park on this leg and it allowed him to observe Torres.
She was definitely not the paper pusher that they all thought she was. Harper couldn't resist flirting and David knew he was going to crash and burn with her. She wasn't exactly subtle about it. He liked that she could keep up and it occurred to him that Spectre had made sure she qualified and was rated on the equipment that they would use in the field. That was his spook friend, always trying to stay a step ahead and anticipate what her teams would need in the field and what she needed to do to make it happen. He was starting to buy Torres as a member of the team.
Deploying chute.
Deploying chute.
Deploying chute.
Deploying chute.
David turned his attention to the fact that they were at the drop point. He really needed to keep his mind on the mission and not the fact that he had a team member that was turning out to impress him. He made his move, "Deploying chute."
It was a good landing. Nobody was hurt as David removed his helmet. He replied to Harper's query, "I'm good. Torres?"
"Locked and loaded," Torres replied as she moved to join him and Harper.
David blinked a moment and realized that she wasn't wearing her glasses. Then again there was no need for them on an op unless she needed them to read something. He paused a moment when she said, "I wear contacts when I can't wear glasses. They are specially calibrated, so I can also see and receive phone calls among a few other things."
That solved that problem. David nodded, once again stunned that she surprised him. He watched her follow Harper as he started the trek to the vantage point to observe. He got back to business, "Salazar. Crosby. You got the left side?"
Covered. Ready on your go.
All things were set as David followed Harper and Torres. Time to investigate the base and see what they were up against. He got on his belly and crawled until he was alongside Harper and Torres and looked down below.
A/N: And here we go with another Call of Duty story. This time focusing on Black Ops 2 and introducing a new character Agent Simone Torres. Enjoy.