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The Broken Silence

Chapter 55

Team Shadow


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Scotland was incredibly bitter in the winter. The water constantly looked stormy and black, and the air felt heavy and biting.

The European V.I.L.E base was in remote Scotland along the Northern coast. The faculty didn't spend much time at this base, but this was a special circumstance.

Countess Cleo tapped her fingers impatiently on the table but she didn't say a single word. She looked tired and not as much care had been put into her appearance as usual. Seeing her so worn down was unsettling and no one else dared comment about it.

"When exactly is she going to arrive?" Maelstrom demanded, stirring a cup of tea absentmindedly, "I'd rather not spend the entire day in this...castle."

Brunt narrowed her eyes at him. "As long as it takes," she replied, "We royally screwed up, so it's no surprise that the director is on her way here. We'd better hope she doesn't decide to mindwipe the lot of us!"

Roundabout fumbled in surprise, dropping a stack of paperwork and the sheets scattered in all directions.

Brunt continued, pretending she didn't notice. "Bellum went against our code and branched out on her own. She put all of V.I.L.E at risk and there are going to be consequences because of this."

Cleo downed her glass of wine and closed her eyes, still remaining silent.

"I fail to see why we had to come here," Maelstrom complained, "Why couldn't she come to our tropical base instead?"

Brunt gave him a disapproving look. "The Spider does not leave Europe," she responded, "Ever."

Maelstrom rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea. None of the others seemed to realize he'd taken part in the Volkov lab scheme, and so he played things cool and had no intention of fessing up. It was a shame to lose all that research, but the results had been incredibly fascinating. The children he'd indoctrinated to evil would be neuro-divergent for years because of it. It would have been interesting to see the end results of the education, but it clearly wasn't meant to be.

"Roundabout, are you nearly done being a flake?" Brunt demanded, glancing over at him.

Roundabout looked up from picking up his paperwork and flushed. "Er...just about," he responded.

The doors suddenly swung open and two men entered, each holding a briefcase. They closed the doors after them, and then began approaching the faculty table without a word.

"Er...can I help you gentlemen?" Brunt demanded in confusion.

"We are here on behalf of the director," one of the men announced, setting his briefcase on the table.

He had a thick Burundi accent and his eyes were an icy blue, startling against his dark skin. His partner was fair-haired and absolutely covered in freckles and he seemed content to let his partner take charge.

"Excuse me?" Maelstrom demanded, "Are you telling me the director made us come all the way to Scotland and she didn't even bother to show up?"

"I am known as codename Scorpion and my partner is codename Viper," the man said, "We are the director's liaisons and you would do well to show respect. Spider is incredibly busy trying to fix your mistakes, and she wasn't able to make this little meeting."

Maelstrom narrowed his eyes. "She considers a meeting with all the head faculty a 'little meeting'?"

"Indeed," Scorpion replied, taking a seat beside his partner, "She has much bigger things in the works right now."

"Oh?" Brunt questioned with a frown. "Like what?"

"If she wishes to inform you of her plans then she will," Scorpion said firmly, "Now I would like to begin this meeting. Our chopper is set to leave in ten minutes and so we don't have a long time."

"I think this is highly insulting and inappropriate," Roundabout commented, "She fobbed us off to henchmen!"

"This matter can be dealt with by us," Viper assured him, revealing a Romanian accent, "We were hand-picked by Spider herself, and outrank all of you."

Maelstrom and Roundabout's eyes widened at the implications of this.

"You're here to discuss Saira," Cleo said, speaking up for the first time.

Scorpion and Viper glanced over at her and then nodded.

"Yes, Doctor Bellum has created a large problem."

"We haven't been able to get her back…" Cleo said, her tone sounding defeated, "A.C.M.E has hidden her somewhere out of our reach. There's no record of her arrest at all."

Viper opened his briefcase and pulled out a stack of paperwork. He slid it over to Cleo whose gaze immediately settled on a mugshot of Doctor Bellum. Bellum was bruised, bloody and scowling at the camera.

"You found her!" Cleo exclaimed in delight.

"We did," Scorpion confirmed, "Bellum will be taken care of, and you no longer need to waste resources on her."

Cleo hesitated. "Taken care of how?" she asked, "You're rescuing her...right?"

Scorpion and Viper exchanged a look and then shrugged. "That is not our mission and we don't know the answer to it."

"Then what do you want with us?" Roundabout asked, clearly starting to get nervous.

Scorpion opened his own briefcase and pulled out several folders. "This is what you're permitted to know of Spider's upcoming plans. You will make all efforts not to interfere and you are to help when it is requested."

The four head faculty each took a folder and opened it. What they saw made their eyes grow wide and they were speechless.

"Is she serious?" Cleo demanded.

"These are the beginnings of her plan," Scorpion replied, "You're only seeing the tip of the iceberg, but she expects you to fulfill your roles perfectly. Spider is smoothing things over from the lab incident, but we cannot afford another mess like that."

Maelstrom flipped through the first few pages of the document and when he looked up, he was clearly unnerved.

"What do you need us to do?"

"We will explain everything," Scorpion replied.


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Michael Finnegan Senior approached the glass wall and took a seat to wait for his visitor. His wife visited him now and then but her visits were becoming less and less frequent. He'd gotten life in prison, and he had a feeling she was planning on divorcing him. He'd never allow it, and she would not get away with something like that. His lawyers were already working on getting him out, and he was confident he'd be out within months once key evidence began disappearing.

His wife's bastard son MJ had somehow managed to escape, and it was infuriating that he'd been left behind. That idiot managed to escape, but he was still left to rot. He had a feeling his wife was somehow responsible and he was fully prepared to give her a piece of his mind once she arrived. She'd always been too soft on that boy, and he was completely useless because of it. He regretted ever allowing the boy to return, and vowed to throw him to the gutter once he got out.

Mr. Finnegan looked up when the door opened and his eyes widened when he saw who it was. Spider delicately took her seat and piercing green eyes slowly looked him up and down.

"Mr. Finnegan," she greeted, "You've certainly seen better days."

Michael Sr. quickly masked his surprise and became professional in his demeanor. "Spider, this is quite...unexpected."

"Oh?" she questioned, "Is it now? Did you really expect to mess up so spectacularly and not catch my attention?"

Mr. Finnegan winced.

"The loss of the Finnegan Empire was inconvenient, and as you know, I detest the unexpected."

"It wasn't my fault!" Mr Finnegan protested, "It was that little bitch, Carmen Sandiego! She ruined everything!"

Spider tsked him, and crossed her arms. "You allowed your false child to trick you, and you fell for it. You have no one to blame but yourself."

"Carmen Sandiego is smart and she-"

"I was not referring to her," Spider snapped, "Are you really so dumb that you haven't seen it?"

Mr. Finnegan simply stared at her. "...what are you talking about?"

Spider let out a deep sigh and rolled her eyes. "Michael Jr. played you for a fool. He planned from the start to take you down and you didn't suspect him for even a moment! Didn't you wonder why a child so horrifically abused by you would willingly return and ask to work for your company? Didn't you think this was odd?"

Mr. Finnegan gaped at her and shook his head. "No, MJ is far too stupid to ever trick me. He was a broke bum living on the streets and needed the cash. I let him return out of the kindness of my heart, and even let him work directly under me."

"Michael Jr. was never a bum living on the streets," Spider informed him, "He is the Volkov heir, and is even richer than you are. He lied to you and you fell for it."

Mr. Finnegan shook his head again. "No, impossible."

"Michael Jr. was the one who stole the harddrive from your office, he was the one who framed V.I.L.E, and he was planning on selling the harddrive to your competitors."

"...he was the one who tried to assassinate me."

Spider smiled at him widely. "Ah, now you're getting it. You under-estimated him, and because of that you lost everything."

Mr. Finnegan felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. Spider had no reason to lie to him, and that meant Michael had betrayed him. He tried to think back of anything suspicious the boy may have done, but he'd mostly ignored him. Michael had free range of the business, and he'd stabbed him in the back.

"Why are you telling me this?" Mr. Finnegan demanded, feeling absolutely murderous.

"I will be removing you from this jail shortly, and I need to make sure you do as I say. You have contacts that I need you to utilize on my behalf."

Mr. Finnegan narrowed his eyes. "And if I refuse?"

Spider then smiled at him in an unnerving way. "Have you been wondering why your wife and family haven't been coming to visit you?"

Mr Finnegan narrowed his eyes. "What have you done?"

Spider removed a photograph out of her coat pocket and laid it against the glass. He stared at it for a moment then let out a strangled cry. His children were dead in the picture, blood and gore turning his stomach.

"Three of your children are now dead," Spider informed him, "You can consider this punishment for everything you did. You only have two biological children left and if you don't do everything you'd told, you will find the Finnegan bloodline will end with you."

Mr. Finnegan roared in anger and slammed his fists against the glass. Spider watched him for a moment, and then placed the picture back in her coat pocket.

"Someone will be by within a few days to speak with you," she stated, "If you decline to help, you can stay in here for the rest of your life childless and wifeless. The decision is yours. Right now your wife and remaining two children are safe, but that won't be for long."

Mr. Finnegan screamed and threw the chair against the glass and several officers rushed into the room to restrain him. He screamed and swore and fought, and Spider watched all of this silently. Once he was dragged from the room, she straightened her coat, and headed for the door without another word.


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The corridor was dark and completely silent. Two lone figures stood waiting outside the massive wooden door and one of them was clearly on edge as he paced back and forth. They'd been waiting for nearly ten minutes and no one had approached them yet.

"This is bad, isn't it?" Spinkick whispered, "There's no way the head faculty want to see us for anything good..."

Flytrap grimaced and said nothing.

"V.I.L.E never pulls operatives back during the middle of a mission! Everything was going fine, but they cancelled our mission! I was doing awesome!"

"I know," Flytrap responded uneasily.

"Are we getting fired?!" Spinkick demanded, "Did we screw up anything recently?"

Flytrap silently shook her head. Their missions had been going extremely well lately and she couldn't think of a single thing they did wrong.

"What do they do to operatives when they fire them?" Spinkick asked, "Are they planning on killing us?"

Flytrap shuddered and she hugged her arms to her chest anxiously. Spinkick saw her unease and was instantly fired up.

"I won't let them get rid of us!" he announced loudly, "They won't lay a finger on you as long as I'm around!"

"Shh!" Flytrap scolded, shooting a nervous glance to the door.

Spinkick wasn't listening however and he kicked and punched the air aggressively. "I'll fight until my death!" he vowed, "No one will ever hurt you!"

"A little on the dramatic side, don't you think?" came a voice from behind them.

They both spun around and came face to face with a pretty young woman they'd never met before. The woman was tall, with tan skin and a figure and face like she could be a model.

Spinkick instantly didn't like her. He jumped in front of Flytrap and puffed up his chest aggressively. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Codename Driver," the woman responded, looking unconcerned with Spinkick's antics.

Spinkick narrowed his eyes. "And what do you want?" he demanded, "Why are you here?"

"I was summoned here," Driver replied with a careless shrug, "I have no idea what it's about."

"Same," Flytrap responded, giving another uncertain glance to the door, "We were in the middle of a mission when we were summoned."

Driver's eyes widened slightly but she didn't comment.

Hearing heavy footsteps approaching, they glanced down the hall and saw the biggest man they'd ever seen. The man was easily over seven feet tall and his body was pure muscle. His expression was set into a scowl, and his blond hair was shorn into a short military haircut. When Driver's gaze fell on him she rolled her eyes.

'"Ugh," she commented.

Spinkick was instantly threatened by the enormous man and he stood up as straight and as tall as his 5'6 frame allowed. He looked the other man up and down and felt certain he could take him in a fight. He began posturing aggressively, but the large man ignored him.

"Who are you?" Spinkick demanded, "V.I.L.E send you here to fight us?!"

The man didn't seem concerned with Spinkick and his gaze settled on Driver. "Hello, Cherry," he greeted.

"It's Cherise," Driver snapped, "How do you still not know my name?"

"Whatever," the man replied.

"You know this brute?" Spinkick demanded.

Driver nodded. "This is Jesse, codename Rhino," she introduced, waving a hand at him dismissively, "He was in my year."

"Were you asked to come here too?" Rhino asked with a frown.

Driver nodded. "None of us know why we were summoned. These two were yanked out of a mission to attend."

Rhino scratched at his head. "Huh."

"The faculty are up to something!" Spinkick exclaimed, "I think they're going to kill us!"

"I'm sure that's not it," Flytrap assured him, "This must be about something else."

The doors suddenly began to open and they were met with the sight of Brunt.

"All of you here?" she demanded, looking at them expectantly.

"How would we know?" Spinkick retorted, "No one told why we're here!"

"Oh...right," Brunt replied, motioning them inside, "Hurry up, everyone in."

The four operatives entered the room apprehensively, and they were met with the sight of the other three faculty waiting for them.

Spinkick squared his shoulders and strode over to the table fearlessly, and the others followed behind a little more subdued.

"Good evening, operatives," Maelstrom greeted as Brunt took her seat.

"Good evening, Professor Maelstrom," Flytrap responded, flashing him a charming smile, "And good evening Instructor Roundabout, Countess Cleo and Coach Brunt."

Her politeness seemed to ease the tension in the room and Maelstrom responded with a nod.

"I suppose the four of you are wondering why you've been summoned here?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Spinkick answered, clenching his fists, "We're good operatives!"

"Well, you certainly seemed to impress the director," Roundabout stated.

"The who?" Spinkick demanded.

"Our boss," Brunt replied, "The leader of V.I.L.E."

The operatives all stared at her in shock, no one even considering the possibility the head faculty weren't actually in charge.

"Carmen defected and created her own team, as you all know. We then created a Team of our own with Crackle as leader to destroy Carmen's team. It didn't go as planned, and Crackle's entire team defected and helped the enemy bring down Doctor Bellum," Roundabout explained.

Everyone's gaze went to the empty faculty chair, and Cleo's eyes hardened.

"The director also known as codename The Spider is taking over the Carmen Sandiego situation," Roundabout explained, "You are no longer working for us, but instead Spider is forming a new team that she will personally oversee."

"A team?" Rhino repeated, "I don't work well with others."

"Tough shit," Brunt snapped, "She's creating a team of eight and you four apparently made the cut."

"I'd like to decline," Rhino stated, "People who work with me end up getting snapped in half."

"Once again, tough shit!" Brunt responded, "You have no choice in this! If the Spider wants you, then she gets you! You each have been issued new communicators, new ear-pieces, and new uniforms. You're to leave immediately and fly to the good 'ol USA."

"...am I in charge of the team?" Spinkick demanded.

"No, that would be me," said a voice from the shadows.

Everyone spun around and stared as Lady Dokuso stepped out of the shadows, her expression as imperious as always.

"Who are you?" Spinkick demanded, "Why is an old woman in charge of us?!"

"Shh!" Flytrap hissed at him, "That's Lady Dokuso! She's one of V.I.L.E's top operatives! She's been working for V.I.L.E for over forty years!"

Spinkick squinted at her. "...oh."

"That's right, Flytrap, Lady Dokuso is an extremely talented operative, and she will be the new team leader. Only Spider will be above her in position." Cleo explained.

"You mean we don't have to listen to you guys anymore?" Spinkick asked in surprise.

Cleo's expression pinched and she let out a deep sigh. "No, from now on we have no authority over you. You will obey all orders from Spider."

Rhino glanced at his new unwanted teammates and then frowned. "Who are the other three people?" he demanded, "You said there were eight."

"Yo," said a sudden voice from over the speakers.

Everyone looked up and the screen above the faculty turned on, showing an extremely overweight Asian man seated at a computer terminal.

"This is The Troll," Brunt said in distaste, "He will be your tech guy. He will help with all missions and he has complete clearance of the V.I.L.E servers."

"Why aren't you here in person?" Spinkick demanded, "Where are you?"

Troll gave him an infuriating smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know, spitfire!"

"The name is Spinkick!"

"Right," Troll responded with a roll of the eyes, "I'm the tech guy so I don't actually need to be there in person. I will be working remotely."

"Alright, but who are the other two members?" Spinkick demanded.

"You will be picking up operative Earwig in Portland, Oregon in two day's time," Maelstrom informed them, "She will meet you downtown."

"Earwig?" Driver repeated, "What a disgusting codename."

Brunt burst out laughing and gave her a knowing smile. "Just wait until you meet her, sugar, there's a lot to a name."

"And the eighth person?" Rhino asked.

"Unknown at this time," Roundabout said, "This was information that was not shared with us. The eighth member will be meeting you in several weeks."

"I don't like this…" Flytrap said uneasily.

"No, I think this is going to be awesome!" Spinkick announced, "Just imagine all the people we're going to fight! Maybe I'll finally get to kick Carmen Sandiego right in her stupid smug little face!"

"Hmm," Flytrap said uneasily.

"Lady Dokuso has been thoroughly briefed and so from this point onward, you will direct all questions to her."

"A plane is waiting for you on the airstrip and you're to leave immediately," Brunt informed them, "Spider will be in contact with you soon."

Lady Dokuso nodded and then waved for her team to follow her. Most didn't look very happy with this situation, but they obediently turned to follow.

"Good luck, Team Shadow," Brunt called after them.


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TBC