September 15th 1964
Washington DC
4.28AM
Autumn had arrived. He could feel it, the dampness of the atmosphere and the ruffling of leaves in the wind as he awaited his debriefing. Time for the spy to come in from the cold. He'd been in the cold too long he thought. While the other one had come home and gotten the recognition he owed so much to this agent, he had to wait almost two weeks just for his debriefing. He didn't mind, after all his life's work was never about recognition. It was all he knew anyway, intrigue and covert activity had been the staple of his being for what now seemed decades. So it was no big deal for him to stand under a lamp on a dark September morning waiting for the time to reach 4.30, the time for his meeting with his old commander. "XO." Uttered a nearing voice. "Punctual as always." The Major felt even more pleased in choosing this man as his right hand. "Major…Appearing out of the shadows as always." The agent reciprocated his appreciation. As Sokolov said, a man of his word.
"Let's sit." The Major gestured to the bench across from the lamp. The Major and his XO walked over and planted themselves carefully on the cold bench. "Flying colours." declared the Major. "So the DCI is happy with the result?" The two men stayed quiet as a jogger moved past them. Now that he was out of earshot, "The DCI wants to keep FOX in the intelligence community while carrying out covert military action." The XO looked to his commander. "And my province?" The Major knew he wouldn't take it personally. Without hesitation he replied, "Well you're an off the books unit made to support FOX from the shadows, you don't belong in the light." The XO grinned. "So we're still in business I take it?" The Major nodded as he looked to the distance. "We owe our success to you and your men. You watched his back and I'll watch yours. WE will watch yours. The are some in the CIA who still regard you as a hero for getting rid of 'Old Joe' and cooling down this war for a little while longer." Recognition of his greatest work, while unneeded still gratified his ego. "So what's next?" Eager for his next mission. "I'll contact you with the details once you've reached Saigon. Your team is already there awaiting your arrival." He reached into his charcoal black overcoat and pulled out a plane ticket. "Your flight leaves at noon." The XO lazily took the ticket and put it into his overcoat. "Vietnam." He muttered. The Major stood up and turned to face his best assassin. "The Bolshies go beyond the Iron Curtain old boy. Running amok in the Mekong Delta?! They're likely to be up to no good. There'll be a fellow from your team to pick you up once you land. Until we meet again XO." The Skull faced man lazily again tipped his ten gallon hat to his Major. "A pleasure as always…Cipher." The major walked away into the light blue sky, somewhat irked that his XO knew his codename from his days as an intelligence officer with MI6. After all David did like to keep his secrets.
