S.W.F. Vol.2
Ch.2: Pronoun games
Everything was already set when we touched ground side with the chopper. No, I'll pat myself on the back and say everything was set and good to go 27 hours ago if I do say so myself. We're here in Uganda as photographs and reporters, which is a common enough cover and should allow us to pass through without a second glance. I create the most potent looking fake IDs on this planet that they make the real ones look fake. We're a six man team. Sorry, four men and two women to be exact. Who we are is not important as to why we're here.
If things go as smooth as we hope then this will be a simple extraction mission. The thing is being ready for if or when the job goes south which normally isn't a problem…until now. In order to stay under the radar we had to pack light, much lighter then I would've liked. I'm armed with a Beretta 21 Tomcat and a single clip along with a Bob Dozier Knife instead of my Sig556 pistol. The others didn't really have anything better.
Once we meet our assigned contact, he'll take us into the city and pick up a better arsenal. It's nearly pitch black at 2:00am with lots of mosquitoes trying to snack on us like there was no tomorrow. We found the contact waiting for us, standing by a pair of camo green colored jeeps. He's in the one leading while I follow behind in the second one.
We were driving through a narrow road through a jungle for 36 minutes when a police road block that lit up the area came into view and forced us to stop. So much for slipping in undetected, though this shouldn't come as a surprise since the recent wave of violence involving our boss, Diana Burnwood and agent 47. Still I was feeling uneasy as I watched the contact step out and approach them. After two minutes of talking, he returned with three officers who asked for our papers which of course were already prepared.
Once they finished inspecting them, they handed the papers back to us and asked that we follow them. I glanced at our contact who nodded and smiled, signaling this is on the up and up but I still had my doubts. I decided to play this as causal and friendly as possible to see what I can find out myself.
"Listen officers, I know it's not your job or anything, but I was wondering if…you know…it be sort of possible to pay you to watch our equipment in the trunk? I know it sounds like a bribe but I swear to god that's all I'm asking for. Half the time we visit a new country, our gear gets stolen. So guys, pretty please, can you help us out until this is done? I've got $1,500 on me here."
I slowly went into my pocket to pull out cash and hand it to one of them. At first they just stared at one another before the one closest to me shrugged and took it and pass it out among his friends. That's when I saw exactly what I was hoping not to see. While some just jammed the money in their pockets, others pull out their wallets to put their share into which gave me a chance to glimpse at their IDs.
Piss poor fakes. I already mentioned I make some of the most convincing false IDs in the world so I can easily spot the ones of lesser quality. These people weren't cops at all and since our contact didn't mention anything about roadblocks, I'm certain he's sold us out. He probably told them who we are but instead of shooting us on sight, they want to take us alive to interrogate. Some agents call it a gut feeling but I call it an educated guess. I drew the Beretta 21 Tomcat and put a bullet into the heads of each man, including the contact, before driving around the first jeep and speeding past the road block.
The group riding with me shot at the pretend cops as we went by while the passenger of the other jeep swiftly climbed into and driver's seat and rammed into three more of them and powering through the block. This is how we're trained to operate: In harmony as one. We always try to be discreet whenever possible but when one of us start shooting, we don't ask dumb questions like 'what the hell are you doing' or 'what's going on'. No, everyone simply shuts the fuck up and follows suit.
The questions will come later and if I'm wrong, then there's hell to pay which I'll do gladly for being an idiot, however, you can't last as long as I have by being stupid. The pretend cops shot back of course but we already put some distance between us. No one was hit in my jeep but I couldn't tell about anyone in the jeep following behind. I just planted my foot on the gas and kept driving.
Since our cover is blown, moving forward will become increasingly difficult. The obvious choice would be to abort the mission and find another way out of Uganda but I owe a debt to which I'm hell bent on settling. Now I'm not going to mislead anyone into thinking I'm an 'honor and duty' sort because I'm not. I just hate owing people. Still, my co-workers may not be in the same boat anymore and I can't force them to remain on course…but I was still going to need their help. But before we get to that, the first thing we have to do is find a hideout and assess the situa- (BOOM!)
Wha…..wha….the fuck was that? God my ears are ringing. It's hard to see but…slowly things start coming into focus. I'm sitting upside down inside the jeep with my seatbelt holding me in place. Sluggishly I unfasten it and crawl outside. I must've driven over a goddamn land mine. There's still a ringing in my ears but I see what's happening clearly. We got ambushed by a second team of pretend cops who are shooting up the other jeep.
I look back on the people with me but they aren't moving. I was going to see if I can pull them out when I got noticed. Couldn't tell how bad the damage is but it hurt like hell trying to stand so I ended up having to crawl. Didn't know where my gun was but I see a knife not that far ahead of me and begin making my way to it. It might seem pointless but the only other option would be to throw my boot at them followed by harsh language. One of the assholes is shooting around me and laughing while I struggle to reach my destination. After I grab the blade I turn to face them.
"Where is the Hitman 47?" One of them demanded.
I still couldn't hear a thing but I can see his mouth form the words. This may sound odd but…I kind of appreciate his directness instead of playing the pronoun game as my last interrogator enjoyed doing, which annoyed the shit out of me. But regardless, I wasn't interested in spending a lot of time in his company. Already stated I'm not the honor and duty type, I just hate being interrogated. With what's left of my strength, I shove the blade in my throat and call it a day.
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There's a slow but constant beeping noise that awakens me. The sound is coming from a monitor that's positioned to my left. I'm laying down in what appears to be a hospital bed with and breather mask on my face and a IV inserted into my forearm. There's a women sitting and playing a game with a deck of cards by the wall to my far right.
She stands and walks towards me after noticing I was awake. She's the Inspector General of the Uganda Police Force. I recognize the uniforms of nearly all authority figures in most countries of the world, as I often sought them out to use for disguises. Since she hasn't murdered me in my sleep, I gather the Inspector wants information.
"Doctors tell me you'll make a full recovery much to their amazement. They say you took a big enough fall that should have killed you. But you did have internal bleeding so they needed to cut you open a bit to drain the extra fluid and repair the damage and despite all that, none of them learned much about who you're supposed to be. No matches on prints but you're DNA is unlike anything ever seen before. "
"..."
"See, there have been a lot of dead foreigners recently who we've also been unable to identify, but nothing stood out about their DNA like yours does. Can't pinpoint what it is but clearly there's something special about you."
"..."
"Doctors would bring in scientist to have you studied if they could afford it. They think it could lead to some medical breakthrough. I doubt that's why Serge Kayaru is showing interest in you though."
"..."
"He doesn't know where to find you…yet. Right now you're not giving me a lot of reason to keep it a secret. How much you'd think he'd offer to pay for knowing?"
I remove the breather mask and pull myself up to a sitting position. I feel far too weak to try and escape, a fact reinforced as I struggled to stand. Slowly I start to walk around the room but soon afterwards, the Inspector steps in my path.
"You're stuck behind enemy lines and you're being hunted. If you want to survive then you will need all the aid you can get so you should think about starting the ground work ASAP because time is against you. So is there something you want to tell me?"
"I need to use the bathroom."
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Nothing I said fazed him in the least. If I was actually going to tell Serge which hospital he's in, I think this guy genuinely won't give a fuck. I didn't get anywhere this time but I wasn't gonna call it quits on him just yet. So far I've been hitting dead ends but I still got more moves to make. I left him with two officers just in case he tries to leave. Not likely in his condition but just in case. My phone rings after I got inside my car. Assistant Inspector Gyasi Kaweesi's name comes up on the caller ID.
"Tell me you have something on Mr. Barcode." I said.
"Nothing. No connections of any kind to his tattoo so far. Surprisingly though, I mentioned to my mother in the U.S about his numbers and she used them to play and win the lottery. Could possibly be an omen of sorts."
"You know I don't put faith in that nonsense Gyasi, though I'm glad your mother was able to benefit from it. But that better not be the reason you're calling."
"More dead foreigners have cropped up, they look like reporters. We also got some dead men dressed in UPF uniforms."
"Give me the address."
After spending a few hours examining the crime scene here's what I picked up: The information gathered about the reporters seems legit, if not for the detail that they all were lightly armed and Serge saw fit to have them executed and he left the bodies for us to find. Because I know Serge well, I believe this is a massage meant for either Burnwood or the white man with the barcode tattoo. I intend to confront Burnwood with this and see what spills out but it pisses me off that Serge is using me as a massager. Even more so that he's dressing up his puppets as UPF which is a reminder that he's used upped the officers on his payroll.
Still a goddamn shame all of them didn't die at the stadium. The remaining four are in hiding and are probably trying to flee the country. I already got some men stationed at the airport and when I get my hands on them…I need focus. As much as want to deal with those cockroaches, they're not at all important. Once I'm ready I have the guest of honor brought back into the interrogation room where I'm already waiting with the photos of the newly deceased laid out on the table. After sitting down and scanning the pictures, she shuts her eyes for nearly ten seconds. There's the opening I was looking for to make my next play.
"Serge likes to boast on how Afrika is his, how he owns it. This is an exaggeration…but unfortunately not too far from the truth. No one gets in using the back door without him knowing it or allowing it, meaning the cavalry isn't coming to the rescue. I don't know how far your reach is but in this region, his is longer. So maybe now you should think it's probably in your best interest to-"
"Forgive me for interrupting Inspector General, but I notice these appear to be your officers in the photos as well. I take it Serge has converted more of-"
"No. He has not and will not again. Those are his…subjects posing as my men."
"Inspector General, you seem to exhibit and certain level of disgust regarding UPF officers working under Serge. What of the surviving men of the stadium?"
"A better question is what do they matter to you at all, Burnwood?"
"I suspect there's some unfinished business you may wish to be settled and perhaps I possess a means to be of some assistance."
"You think you can bribe your way out of this?"
"That would imply I'm offering money, which I'm not. I'm presenting an opportunity to correct a mistake."
"And what mistake did I make?"
"The mistake is not yours but theirs."
I sat back and looked at her for a moment. I admit the offer is tempting…but I won't accept it. Not until I know what her agenda is.
"I may be anti-Serge but that doesn't mean I'm pro-Burnwood. For all I know you could be even worse then he is and I don't like choosing between the lesser of the evils."
I rise from my chair and turn to leave when Burnwood speaks.
"Inspector General, May I make another call using my cellphone?"
"You've already been informed of your rights, which are none."
"I wasn't demanding in accordance to my rights, I'm asking."
"Tell you what: I'll ask a question and I want a non-cryptic and clear answer. Then I'll let you use your phone for as long as I allow. Sounds good?"
She hesitated a moment before nodding and I sat back down.
"What's your history with Serge?
"He and I were formally…involved in previous life. I left and haven't seen or heard from here in more than twelve years. Now he seeks to rekindle our past relationship. I refused but he's not accepting no for an answer. That's the long and short."
"So he's just the ex-boyfriend from hell?"
"I didn't tell you because I didn't expect you to believe it and I can see you don't. But I answered question Inspector General. May I use my cellphone please?"
She's right; I didn't believe it. Serge can't really be willing to go through this for some long-lost high school crush. It's ridiculous…but this Diana Burnwood didn't look like a person who spends much time dreaming up fairy tales. I didn't believe the story but I also wasn't ready to reject it either. I pulled out her phone, put it on the table and then left the room. I move towards Kaweesi's desk where we've set up with the listing gear.
Before I went to see the mute white man I arranged for Burnwood's phone to be tapped. UPF doesn't have the funds for this equipment and I'm sure she knows that. What she doesn't know is I'm owned a few favors and called one in to make this happen. The phone rings twice before it's picked up.
"Hello . I'm sorry to report the operation has failed."
"I know . Our contact sold us out but that's not why I'm calling. I have new contract available."
"Who's the client?"
"This one is on me actually. There are four UPF survivors from the attack on Kayaru's stadium who I would like to be located and dealt with. For a bonus payment I want their IDs collected as well. You can acquire a local Uganda newspaper or hack UPF database for Intel."
"The first option not only sounds boring and also provides limited Intel. One moment please."
This is the second time she's called Elliot. The first conversation was too cryptic to understand, but not this one. It was a mere 35 seconds before the Elliot woman returned on the line and actually shared all the info we had on those Kayaru cockroaches! This woman has stronger connections then I would have expected.
"It won't take long before we find them. Will that be all ?"
"Yes and thank you."
"If I may ask, why do you allow yourself to remain in UPF holding?"
"I can't leave until this matter with Kayaru is resolved first. I'll inform you if I require anything further."
After that she hung up. I'm amazed about what I just learned about this woman, especially the part about her choosing to stay here voluntarily. I had presumed the dead 'reporters' were attempting to get her out, but this phone call says otherwise, and why is she hunting for those cowards even though I rejected the offer? Kaweesi turns to me with a confused look across his face.
"What's bothering you?" I asked.
"General…compared to whatever gear Diana has, the stuff we have might as be a child's toy. With tech that can hack into our databases from what I assume is another country, I wouldn't find it hard to believe that she already knows we tapped her phone."
"…Which means we heard exactly what she wanted us to hear."
"Yes General. And with all the evidence we have against her, how does she expect to just up and leave?"
"Diplomatic Immunity is my guess."
"Now she is suddenly a diplomat?"
"We don't know full well who she or that other man is." But if this is true then way the hell is Burnwood still here?"
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I have the names and backgrounds of each target. Now I'll have to wait until Elliot locates them then I intercept the contract. She's still unaware of the tap I placed and on her phone and laptop which works to my advantage. Completing this job will bring me closer to employment with the Agency and taking 47's place. It's time to begin making preparations.