1700 hours, a secure prison facility.

"These are the numbers for a Swiss bank account," Ward told the stranger standing before him, and the man nodded. "You will use the money to purchase the specified package, and the remaining money in the account will be yours once you have completed that task."

"Understood," the man said. "And how do you know I won't just take the money for the package and leave?"

"Because if the package is not bought and delivered as we agreed, I'll kill you," Ward said coldly. "Slowly."

The man paled slightly, then tried to pass of the remark as a joke, grinning nervously. "Of course," he said. "And where is the package to be delivered?"

"To the base," Ward said. "Engineering and research, to the youngest scientist. You are to tell him the package is to be his assistant, and that it is part of research another science division on the capabilities of the package to serve as an assistant."

"And what is the package, sir?"

Ward surveyed the man carefully for a long moment.

"A monkey," he said finally. "The package is a monkey."