By: Ominae
Rating: T
NOTE:
All characters of Martin Mystery are under the copyright of Marathon; all characters of Striker/Spriggan are under the copyright of Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa; all characters of Street Fighter are under the copyright of Capcom. I exclusively own the rights to the characters Mark Sy and Patrick Chan.
Previously:
After the combined teams from Delta Red and the Center were able to rescue the ex-assassin Killer Bee from M. Bison and his Psycho Doll commandos, Killer Bee was now given the new name of Cammy White. With that problem out of the way, Center agents Martin Mystery and Mark Sy have stepped up their pace as they have made contact with M.O.M. in order to get information regarding their mission. What kind of information will they get and will they be able to thwart Shadowlaw any further from raiding their research facilities in the heart of the British countryside? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.
Chapter 7: Preparation Time
Conference Room, ARCAM Britain, London, Britain - 12:00 P.M.
Six teens were now conducting a discussion inside the mostly quiet ARCAM British headquarters. While most of the staff were on duty, the chairman was away with a lunch meeting with the board of directors.
Yu Ominae, Jean Jacquemonde, Patrick Chan, Martin Mystery and Mark Sy were in the middle of a secret meeting, with plans to hinder Shadowlaw in their plans to raid a Center research base in the outskirts of the British metropolis. The six teenagers were eating lunch, which contained typical British food including Mark's favorite, Fish and Chips.
"Hey, Yu." asked Mark, munching on his fried cod. "Didn't the British Army have some heat on us on what we did to their boys in the SAS a few years ago?"
"Yea, that's true. But the honchos in the British Army and Chairman Pearce had some talk and they agreed that they'll pretend that nothing ever happened by laying the smack down on a certain Japanese terrorist group." smirked Yu in response.
"Okay guys." Martin worked on the computer's CPU attached to a projector. Mark had inserted his flash disk on the CPU before Martin started to work on showing skematics on the location of the research base with satellite images and blueprints of the place.
"So this is the place that Shadowlaw plans to bust, huh?" asked Patrick while reclining on his seat.
"Yep." responded Mark, pointing to the various photos that were now being flashed on the projector screen. "This here is one of our secret research bases in Britain. Center doesn't know why Shadowlaw has the knowledge of the place, although we suspect moles were responsible for providing the moron Bison for the info. Remember, what we're showing you is extremely classified."
"Yamamoto and most of the top honchos at ARCAM are also worried about Shadowlaw infiltration as well." commented Yu, with everyone nodding their heads in agreement. This was not a surprise; Shadowlaw has managed to recruits double agents and moles to every organization that could either help the terrorist group unintentionally or hinder their plans for world domination. ARCAM was also included in this as well as ARCAM Strikers were having suspicion of having Shadowlaw infiltrators within ARCAM's employees too.
"ARCAM had its problem of Shadowlaw moles too, but most of them were taken care of already." explained Jean, narrating on how the three ARCAM agents had secretly caught an ARCAM researcher trying to transmit classified data on an ARCAM expedition regarding the discovery of the Kris Taming Sari to a Shadowlaw base in Malaysia via secret radio transmission that his Shadowlaw handlers that instructed him to do so in the year 2002 after conducting years of undercover work. Within minutes, the researcher was handed over to local police and locked up on anti-terrorism charges, without him being linked to the ARCAM Corporation.
"Still, its best that we have meeting like this. That way, we don't attract much attention." suggested Patrick, looking at his wristwatch for the time.
"Well..." Mark looked at the time on his modified U-Watch. "I'll need to head back to the hotel and rest. I'm heading back to Delta Red HQ for my debriefing."
"Sure thing. We told Chairman Pearce about this and he agreed that we can unofficially support you on your mission." said Yu, placing a hand on Mark's shoulder.
"You can count on us, friend." added Jean, giving a thumbs up.
"Right. Let's meet back here tomorrow after my meeting with the honchos of Delta Red for a final briefing." said Mark, throwing the newspaper that had the fried fish inside into a trash can by shooting it like a basketball. "Hopefully, M.O.M. won't know about this secret operation."
The six agents soon left the room after making sure that everything inside was neatly arranged.
Briefing Room, Delta Red Headquarters, MI-6 Building, Britain - 10:00 A.M.
After heading back to their hotel, Martin and Mark turned themselves in after eating in one of the hotel's restaurants for aquick dinner before sleeping early. As usual, they were escorted by MI-6 agents to the MI-6 Building. Before they went to see the rest of Delta Red, Mark had received a message from his U-Watch from M.O.M., who congratulated the two agents on their work yesterday and told them to work with Delta Red in making sure that their research base is secured. Unknown to M.O.M., Mark's Striker pals would be on hand to unofficially work with them as they need all the help that they can get in order to stop Shadowlaw's aggressions in British territory.
Entering the briefing room, they were greeted by Colonel Wolfman, Rita Luwanda, George Ginzu, Matthew McCoy and new Delta Red operative Cammy White, who give a smile when she greeted Mark and Martin. Of course, the two agents couldn't help but blush in response before Rita and George gently elbowed the two on their shoulder to remind them that they should tell them what they have to know. Mark went to work on the CPU connected to the projector while Martin shuffled through the files that he had brought with him in his backpack.
After the CPU operated, Mark sat down in front of it and uploaded various images of the Center's research base via flash disk. Martin, wanting to impress the Delta Red team, volunteered to debrief them on the aspect of the base, explaining to them on the blueprints of the place and its layout when he showed them the satellite photos of the research base.
"Well, agent Mystery." Colonel Wolfman briefly halted Martin's briefing in order to drink a glass of water. "You say that your superiors are working on hunting down the moles within the Center?"
"Yes, Colonel." answered Mark briefly, who turned his chair from the computer to face Colonel Wolfman. "Our superiors have made a task force to work on hunting Shadowlaw's moles within the Center unannounced."
"It's no surprise." suggested Matthew McCoy. "Shadowlaw's been trying to get some moles and double agents in every known organization to work for them. Heck, even Interpol and the various world bodies are already infiltrated with Shadowlaw moles as well." McCoy strectched his arms for a few minutes. "I guess your superiors are making a good move against them."
"We're aware of that." said Martin, briefly interrupting Matthew. "However, we were duly informed that the infiltration problem could have been years after the Center was established."
"Anyway, back to our briefing." Mark had decided to end their brief conversation about moles infiltrating the Center and all. "Our intelligence units have received some credible information that Shadowlaw forces will launch an attack as soon as tomorrow or a few days from now, it was not said when though."
"That gives us time to muster some time to prepare." added Rita as she did her thing by gesturing to everyone with her hands.
"We'll need some choppers just to get us to the facility." commented George.
"I'll provide Colonel Wolfman and Commander Watson the necessary data, especially with the layout of the base, satellite photos and the base's blueprints." said Martin.
"Thanks, Martin." replied Mark, as he proceeded to remove his flash disk from the CPU.
Colonel Wolfman had gestured to George and Matthew to escort them towards their vehicle. Along the way, Cammy appeared in the hallway, apparently waiting for him.
"Guys, looks like Cammy needs to talk to me. I'll take care of it, the rest of you better go ahead." said Mark in an orderly voice.
Main Lobby, Delta Red Headquarters, MI-6 Building, Britain - 10:55 A.M.
George, Matthew and Martin agreed to his request and waited for him outside Delta Red Headquarters. Once Mark was approaching Cammy, she motioned to him to sit down next to her. As usual, Mark couldn't help fight off his blush whenever he was near beautiful women, especially with his former teachers in high school. He admitted to himself that Cammy somehow reminded him of his early youth.
"Mark, we need to talk." said Cammy, breaking the silence between the two.
"About what?" asked Mark, who still had his cheeks in a red color.
"It's about what you did the last time before Juli and Juni did the Death Cross Dancing that was meant for me." Cammy slowly lifted his chin up to face her with one of her hands. "That was very brave of you. I could have been injured or killed backed there."
Mark noticed a smile in Cammy's face and tried his best not to snicker. "Yea, I know. After all, various intelligence groups did figure out that you were merely brianwashed by the bastard Bison as a tool of his."
"I noticed." Cammy slowly removed her hand from his chin. "But still, take this as a small gift of appreciation from me."
She then wrapped her arms around the stunned Center agent before she gave a small kiss to his forehead.
"Thanks, Cammy. Listen, I have to go." Mark quickly stood up and jogged for the door leading outside Delta Red Headquarters, but not before giving a smile to Cammy and waved goodbye to her.
"Goodbye, Mark." whispered Cammy to herself as she waved goodbye to Mark before he disappeared from her sight.
Mark and Martin were inside their transport, provided by Delta Red. Matthew instructed the driver and his passenger to take the Center operatives back to their hotel safe and sound. Without any hesistation, the vehicle drove off the driveway, all the way back to the Intercontinental Hotel.
Hotel Room, Intercontinental Hotel, Downtown London, Britain - 11:10 A.M.
Mark was now away typing up at his laptop, sending a report to M.O.M. via e-mail. Martin was using his U-Watch to go over the Legendex in order to see if he can get anything relevant over their case.
A few minutes later, Mark was away drinking regular Coke from the can. Martin, who was now exhausted over using his U-Watch, was now using his fingers on the remote control, looking for something to watch on the television.
"Well, well, well." Mark clicked on his e-mail and he had received a special e-mail from Billy.
Martin and Mark,
We've been told by Colonel Wolfman about your debriefing. Good work and um, M.O.M. said that the stuff you guys need will be at your disposal. Just be sure to contact her or me with what you need.
Have a good rest tonight.
Billy
"Ain't that nice of Billy to do that for us?" grinned Martin as he read over his shoulder.
"What did I tell about reading over my shoulder, Martin Mystery?" scolded Mark.
"HE HE!" Martin patted him on his shoulder.
"Oh boy!" huffed Mark as he was finishing his work on his laptop. Later on, they had their usual early dinner before going to sleep as they're about to embark on a dangerous journey that would greatly affect their personal lives and their careers in the Center.
Before Mark went to bed, he scribbled down a note on the notepad, reminding him to call on the ARCAM Strikers. Their help will really be needed right now.
Briefing Room, Delta Red Headquarters, MI-6 Building, Britain - 8:30 A.M.
Right after the two agents took an early shower, Mark went to his laptop to e-mail Yu and the rest of his Striker pals on a location where they can meet secretly before the planned insertion into the outskirts of one of their research bases in the British countryside.
Martin communicated with Billy via U-Watch and after a few seconds, Billy emerged out of a portal and handed five white Center field jackets that were inside the same backpack that Martin had used since yesterday and the Canadian agent took the backpack and slinged it on his shoulder. Mark reminded Billy that he'll get the weapons from him later on. Billy agreed to do so.
As they exited their hotel, Matthew McCoy was at the wheel of a 2002 Land Rover Defender SUV. With him was George Ginzu. Martin and Mark boarded the vehicle and the agents told them to step on the gas. The Defender SUV drove away, taking them to Delta Red Headquarters, for the nth time.
The agents were quickly ushered inside the briefing room. Commander Watson took the opportunity to debrief everyone on the planned raid on the Center research base.
"As you may know, I was contacted by some officials of the Center and I was told that Shadowlaw forces may attempt to move in as we speak. I have relayed this bit of information to some of the concerned agencies regarding this case. Apparently, Interpol and the American Air Force had some representatives on this case."
"Who are they, Commander Watson?" asked Martin, raising a shaking hand.
"Detective Chun-Li Xiang of Interpol, Colonel William F. Guile and Lieutenant Charlie Nash of the US Air Force."
"What?" thought Mark to himself. He suddenly turned pale and began to sweat after hearing the name of Chun-Li Xiang. Some of the people inside the briefing room were concerned about Mark's sudden change, especially Cammy.
"Are you all right?" asked Cammy, who was seated next to him during the briefing session.
"Yea, I'm all right." answered Mark, grabbing the glass of water and gulping down its contents.
Cammy frowned at his answer, sensing that he seemed to be hiding something from them, even though Commander Watson resumed his briefing again. "What does he know about Chun-Li Xiang? I know that she has a relative in Canada, but is Mark related to her? I'll just have to see for myself."
Minutes later, the briefing had ended. Everyone shuffled out of the room with some time to stretch and relax before the mission. While most of Delta Red decided to stay at the lounging area, Mark went to the Delta Red armory in order to get his gear ready. Martin opted to accompany him.
Armory, Delta Red Headquarters, MI-6 Building, Britain - 9:00 A.M.
Upon entering the armory, Mark activated his U-Watch and saw an image of M.O.M. hovering over it. Martin told Mark that he had to go to the toilet in order to relieve himself.
"M.O.M., I'm going to need some heavy weaponry."
"Will do, Mark. It's on the way."
After Mark deactivates his communicator, a portal appeared out of nowhere with Billy exiting it, followed by a Center employee.
"Here you go, Mark." The employee handed him a duffel bag and Billy gives Mark a thumbs up gesture, indicating that the stuff that he may need is all there.
"Thanks Billy." said Mark before giving Billy a high five. Soon after Billy and the Center employee went back through the portal, he opened the duffel bag and rifled its interior with his hands before scooping the contents out. Various metal parts, a black balaclava, a camouflaged battle dress uniform and a black jumpsuit was inside alongside a combat vest and a knife sheath.
"This will be interesting." mumbled Mark to himself as he began to assemble the various metal parts on an empty long table. He had the time to himself as he begins to make preparations to strike down Shadowlaw once and for all.
40 nautical miles near British airspace - 9:20 A.M.
Inside a Thai International Airlines Boeing 747, three distinct personalities were seated in first class. Though they were some people inside, it was thought that activity was not that lively since only a few passengers were inside the first class cabin of the plane. The flight was from Bangkok, courtesy of Bangkok International Airport, all the way to London.
Occupying two seats on the first row were two Americans. One of them was seated by the window; he had eyeglasses on and had a unique hairdo on. He was reading the The Herald as he tried to relax himself before they arrived at Heathrow.
His name was Charlie Nash, a young officer with the rank of First Lieutenant in the American Air Force. A few years ago, he and a team of street fighters had tried to bring down Bison in his Thailand base, but he had apparently escaped before the Thai Air Force launched an air strike against his secret fortress. He was frustrated at the lack of effort that the Thai Army had done when they launched an investigation on Shadowlaw's presence in Thailand. But thanks to Bison's moles in the Thai Armed Forces, the investigation has stalled for some time before the head of the investigation, an officer with the rank of Major, was murdered in his residence. Witnesses say that the mysterious visitor was wearing a mask and had mounted claws on his right hand when he "visited" the Major in his house.
"Vega did it!" Damn him!" Charlie was angry at himself after hearing from CNN that the Major was assassinated at his own bedroom even if he had heavy security granted to him by the Thai Prime Minister. He now began to frown; he didn't want to remember it as much as possible.
"Something on your mind, friend?"
Charlie immediately turned his head around and saw his pal giving a slight grin. He had a mohawk haircut on himself and he had the tatoo of the American flag on his arm, though he concealed it by wearing a plain white shirt with a black jacket over.
His name was William Guile, an officer in the American Air Force with the rank of Colonel. He was pals with Charlie back in the old days when they were a bit younger. He had joined up with the young brash Lieutenant and the other street fighters when they found out about Bison's base in Thailand. Like Charlie, he too was frustrated with the corruption rooted in the Thai military, as well as with the heavy number of double agents and moles planted in various branches of the Thai Armed Forces as well by Shadowlaw.
"Nah, just worried about what's going to happen next." Charlie took the glass filled with Coke from the collapsable table in front of him and drank the cold, refreshing soda as it entered his mouth and slid down through his throat.
"Don't worry about it. Heard that the guys from Delta Red had rescued the so-called Killer Bee with some help from another organization." said Guile, giving out a small chuckle.
"Oh?" Charlie's eyebrow began to twitch. "Who are they?"
"Don't know. Wolfman said that they're from the Center." answered Guile, while pressing the seat recliner button.
"That paranormal agency? But Shadowlaw doesn't butt their business with his." suggested Charlie.
"From what Wolfman told me, Shadowlaw was suddenly getting interested in the occult nowadays." responded Guile to his friend's concern.
"Is that so?"
An Asian-looking woman, who looked in her late '20s to early '30s, had her hand on top of the seat with her other hand on a glass full of water. Her body was leaning on the chair, so as to provide some support as she was leaning on it.
"Yes it is so." he answered to his colleague's concerns.
The woman was Chun-Li Xiang, a Chinese national who happened to be a rising officer with in the ranks of the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) or Interpol for short. She had her street fighting outfit on, consisting of a blue mini-qipao shirt, brown tight pants, white boots and her hair was neatly tied in an ox horn hairstlye. Of course, she had a black jacket on as they were going to Britain to assist Delta Red and some agents from the Center to track down M. Bison before he tries to raid the secret research base. She had no spiked wrists on her arms as she didn't want to get into trouble with anybody on the flight.
"I see." replied Chun-Li. "Well, I guess I better head back to my seat now." With that, she turned her back and went back to sit down at her seat behind Guile's.
Putting her glass aside, she took out her wallet from her handcarry stowed under Guile's seat. After fiddling through, she was able to take out a wallet-sized photo from the interior pockets.
It was a photo of Chun-Li in her teen years. She was seen hunched down on her back since she had her arms around a young boy, around 8 years of age. The young Chun-Li was smiling on the photo while the young boy was giggling as her arms were wrapped around his neck.
The Interpol detective smiled while looking at the photo and she flipped the photo to see the rear of it and something was scribbled on it and it said...
Me and cousin Mark back in Manila, 1993
"Mark" Chun-Li whispered to herself as a tear came down her cheek. "After this is done.." She hesitated before flipping the photo back, seeing the same picture that she had taken with her young cousin back in the early '90s.
"I'll see you again soon. This is a promise."
Chapter 7 END
PS
1. I decided to make Chun-Li's age a bit younger (She'll be born in the middle of the '70s.). In other words, a sort of AU, but most of the SF canon will still be there. And Charlie won't die in my fanfiction universe!
2. To those who've read the Striker/Spriggan manga, the Chun-Li photo moment in the plane was based on the part where Rie Yamabishi arrived back in Japan after a number of years being in the US as a professor to Cornell University.
Hope you guys liked this chapter as much as I did. ;p