Victor "Vic" Stone was, by all accounts, a very intimidating man. At six feet, eleven inches, and two hundred eighty pounds of lean, granite-hard muscle, he was an obelisk of a human being. With wide shoulders, and limbs as thick as tree trunks, Vic's presence dominated any room he happened to be in. He had scarring from shrapnel and burns sustained when an IED exploded underneath his vehicle during a tour in Afghanistan. The scars covered a portion of his face on the left side, pulling the left corner of his mouth permanently down in a solemn frown. It gave him a distinctly terrifying look.
As ominous as his physical appearance was, it was perhaps his mind that was the scariest part about him. Vic had degrees in mathematics, engineering, and chemistry. The word "prodigy" didn't really do him justice. "Genius" was pretty close though. A sea of clouds stretched out before him as Vic stared out the window of the private jet. He grinned, remembering a moment when Gar accused him of having cybernetic enhancements shortly after losing a game to Vic, yet again. As a cool as that would be, Vic was sad to say he didn't have any. He didn't need them.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to look at the notification on the screen. It was from Jen. Jennifer Exley was Grayson Security Solutions' officially unofficial intelligence agent, and also his on-again off-again girlfriend. Currently they were on-again so Vic was pretty happy, and he thought she was too, commitment issues notwithstanding. They had met when Vic was still at the other private military firm he worked at briefly. It was called Hive Corporation, he'd only been there a month and was already itching to get out when he met her. They had a brief relationship before Vic quit and went to work for Richard. They met up some months later, and he found that she had taken a job at another rival firm. During the whole time their two companies were jockeying for supremacy, they had a torrid love affair. Then Jen had quit her job and disappeared, only to reappear some months later as a freelance information broker. Now Vic had a direct line to her for professional and personal calls, since she pretty much work exclusively for GSS anyway. He unlocked his phone to answer her text.
Jen: Hey there sexy. ;)
Vic: What's cooking beautiful. ;*
Jen: I got what's hot on your special client.
Vic: Hold on.
Vic backed out of the message, and made sure the encryption on his phone line hadn't been broken, and then double encrypted it. Then triple encrypted it, just to be sure.
Vic: OK, go.
Jen: Like you guessed he works for the CIA, but not directly.
Vic: What? Like, he works for a different company, like us?
Jen: Not exactly… He's more like a permanent outside consultant.
Vic: Okaaaay… What does that mean exactly?
Jen: Means he's on the payroll, but not *on* the payroll.
Vic: So he's getting paid by the government, but not on any official records… Well that's suspicious as hell.
Jen: Right? Plus I can't find any other alias that he might go by. Whoever this guy is, or was, that information is buried deep.
Vic: So you can't find it?
Jen: Of course I can find it! :( It's just going to take a little longer to get is all.
Vic: LOL Don't worry babe, if anyone can uncover the goods on this guy, it's you.
Jen: You know it.
Vic: What else you got?
Jen: A vague history of the jobs he's done. I've sent a file to your email with more explicit details, but basically he's a mask.
Vic: A what?
Jen: A proxy. He's the guy the CIA use so that they can keep their fingerprints off of whatever dirty business they need conducted. I'm seeing hit jobs, snatch-and-grabs, counterintelligence, espionage, to name a few.
Vic: That's… pretty scary. Still, no worse than what we do.
Jen: But what I'm picking up about this guy seems… slimy. Gotta tell you, I'm not digging this job so far.
Vic: Richard says we need the money. Listen, it's only for a couple days, then I'll be back safe in your arms OK?
Jen: You'd better be, I don't wanna have to search for a new BF if you die.
Vic: Hey! Don't jinx me! *Sweats profusely*
Jen: LOL. Seriously though, be safe.
Vic: You don't have to worry about me baby, careful is my middle name.
Jen: Good. G2G, but I'll see what else I can find on this guy in the meantime. TTYL XOXO.
Vic: K, TTYL.
Vic opened up his email and found the file Jen sent. After skimming through it, he decided that Richard should see it sooner rather than later. Instead of forwarding the email, Vic got up from his seat and went to go physically show it. As he walked to the front of the plane he passed Gar and Raven. The luxurious passenger area of the private jet allowed them to sit facing one another, and they were talking animatedly. Or at least, Gar was. Raven was one of those cool, reserved types, that didn't get excited. To Vic , their relationship was a mystery of the world. They were so completely opposite in almost everything, and yet it seemed like they were meant to be together. He smirked as he walked past them towards the front.
Richard and Kori were sitting together near the front, Richard pouring over maps, satellite images, and other bits of information as he prepared for the mission. Kori sat next to him applying nail polish to her fingers. This one made a bit more sense to Vic. While Richard could be a hard ass, and a buzz kill, he could also be pretty fun and relaxed. With her bubbly and sweet personality Kori had a way of bringing out the best in Richard, which was evident in the way that he conducted himself nowadays. He used to be insufferable before they got together.
Sitting himself down across from Richard, Vic casually placed his phone on the table in between them. He knew they were probably being watched, and Paulson was sitting nearby, so they had to be careful. Very careful. Vic had intentionally placed his phone so that Richard could read it. On the screen the message 'READ ME' should be clearly visible to him.
"What's the situation when we touch down?" He asked.
Richard looked up and slowly blinked, letting Vic know that he got the message. "Here, take a look."
He made a show of lifting up the map and turning it around so that Vic could look at it. When it was in place Vic saw that the phone was gone. Vic lifted up one side of the map to obscure the now vacant spot of where the phone had been from the rest of the cabin.
"There's rumors of war bands in the area, so we have careful about that." Richard continued. "As well as the regular desperate vagrants. Plus it's going to be hot as hell."
"Nothing new then?"
"As far as the lay of the land, no. But we're going to be here for three days, driving from here," Richard placed his finger on one point of the map and traced it to another. "To there. And back."
Vic studied the map for a moment. "Lots of opportunities for us to be ambushed."
"You're telling me. And we are only going to have two vehicles. SUVs for chrissake."
"Why not take a helicopter? It'd be faster, probably safer."
"Because we're trying to keep a low profile. How many helicopters do you think the people down there see?"
"Hmm. Good point."
"So I'm thinking you'll have all of six hours to see what you can do with the SUVs before we have to head out." Richard said.
"Fuck you." Vic replied flatly. Richard looked up from the map and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe if I had twice the time and half the vehicles I could give you something, but six hours? Forget about it."
Richard sat back and steepled his fingers. "Look, I'm not looking for a presidential limo. The SUVs are already going to be sturdy, I just need them sturdier. I want to get there and back, and be able to withstand indirect RPG fire."
"Oh is that all? And here I thought you were being unreasonable!"
"I said indirect RPG fire."
Vic shook his head. "That doesn't make it better."
"If you can't do it, just say you can't do it."
"I can't do it!"
Frowning, he sat there with his eyes leveled on him, like Vic was being childish. After a minute of glaring, Vic finally threw up his hands.
"Urgh! Fine! I'll see what I can do when I see what I'm working with." He said. "No promises."
"That's all I ask." Richard nodded appreciatively.
Looking over to Kori, Vic pointed an accusatory finger. "And where were you in my time of need just now?"
Kori raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Quelle? Je ne peux pas vous comprendre, mes ongles sont le séchage."
"Figures. Loyalist scum."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk to her that way." Richard said as he turned the map back around. Vic glanced down at the table and saw that his phone was in its original position again, but this time the screen was oriented so that he could see it. It read 'GOT IT. TELL OTHERS.' Vic could've sworn that Richard had not looked away from him at any point, and that his hands had been visible the entire time. Richard could be pretty scary that way.
"Well then I'm going to go and sleep the rest of the way since apparently I'm not going to be resting at all." Vic said, grabbing his phone and standing up.
Richard rolled his eyes. "Oh please, like the rest of us won't be busy gearing up and loading out for the mission."
"Ass."
"Douche."
"Whatever." Vic began walking away.
"There's still ten hours till we reach our destination. You should tell the others." Richard called after him.
"Yeah yeah." Vic called back noncommittally.
On the way back Vic stopped and got a drink from the minibar, a rum and coke, neat. Then he walked casually to the table Gar and Raven were sitting at. They had found a fairly luxurious travel chess set, and were currently having a pitched match. Strangely enough, chess was the one game that Vic couldn't beat Gar in. Vic figured it must be because he played so frequently against Raven, who was a frightening opponent. The one time Vic played against her, he'd lost so quickly and so one sidedly that he had sworn right then and there never play against her again. You could say a lot about Gar, but one thing you couldn't say was that he gave up easily. Which is why he always plays against Vic, despite his losing streak, and why he had the mysterious, unreachable Raven as a girlfriend.
"Hey guys, just letting you know, there's ten more hours 'til we get there." As he said this he subtly showed them the screen of his phone, which read 'PAULSON SUPER SHADY. STAY WARY.'
"Figures." Raven said.
"Aw, really? Goddamnit." Was Garfield's response.
Vic stood there for a moment, trying to gauge their reactions. He supposed Raven was being vague on purpose, to avoid tipping their hats to any eavesdroppers. But Gar could be reacting to either piece of news. With a shrug and a yawn, Vic went over to his previous seat and leaned all the way back in its cushy interior.
"I'm going to sleep for a bit. Wake me up if there's something to eat." He said before reclining as far back as possible.
Well all right, I think this one works out pretty well. I am actually pretty proud of it. What Kori says in French is vaguely, what? I can't understand you, my nails are drying. I use Google translate, so if the grammar is wrong you can suck it. Or correct it in a review, and then I might go back and edit it, if it bothers you so much. Read and review and all that good stuff, and thanks a ton for your support.