Author's Note: Figure I'd release this on the ten year anniversary of when a merciless monster was removed from the world.
Chapter 64: Square One
July 16th 2011 1437 Hours
The Pentagon, Washington DC
As with all things that happen within leadership of truly democratic governmental and military bodies, they change hands to the next capable one. The timing though for when this happened couldn't be any worse for General Andrushko. He had been so focused on helping his son that he forgot that the political cogs of the capitol don't stop turning. He thought this issue with Koko Hekmatyar and his son would have finally been over and he along with Bookman would explain everything in detail to their superiors. Whether or not they believed them was irrelevant.
But when Damien returned from Turkey, under the very watchful eyes of a CIA agent and Delta Force team leader, empty handed he feared the worst that everything had been for nothing. He would have cussed him out and threatened to let him handle this on his own. Until he told him about the hostage that Koko had with her 24/7.
Now this private war his son was a part of had boiled down to personal. But in the eyes of those in power, it meant nothing in the grand scale of things. The tipping off of and elimination of a major Hamas terrorist cell was all well and good. But tying up that loose end happened after rumors began to circulate up that they were performing an act in accordance with the CIA. It would have been political suicide had this information became public. He would find out who the leak was later with the help of his friend Carlyle. Politics didn't mean much if there wasn't going to be a United States in the future if Koko Hekmatyar had completed 'Jormungand.'
"I'm already well aware of the secrecy of espionage that has to be kept under wraps. But that's not why we're having this conversation, General. The damage control has been happening way too frequently. And you seem to be there every time it happens. Why?"
Since the former head of the CIA, Leon Panetta, had now been appointed the Secretary of Defense. It meant he had authority over anyone that had a star. Admiral Olson wasn't going to be able to cover for Marcus much longer and Panetta was still strung up about what Bookman had really been doing before the Night Nine disaster. His temporary placeholder would handle that until the next director was sworn in.
"Sir, I think the real question is why am I being brought straight to you with this and not General Dempsey or Admiral Mullen? I know this is a military matter and it all goes to you but aren't I supposed to speak to them first?"
He wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. He knew his son was a hot target of suspicion right now. He had to get him away from home before Panetta or the Department of Homeland Security started snooping around.
"Dempsey is about to become the Chairman of JCOS in a few months anyway. Plus I got his approval for this after Olson kept coming up with too many hollow excuses to Mullen. You may have been given a great deal for freedom of movement given your position because Olson trusts you. But this is not Iraq, General. SOCOM is not a law unto itself and there's rules we have to follow over here."
General Andrushko had to be properly dressed and cleaned up for these kinds of inquiries. His was building up sweat under his dress blues. Not from being nervous, but frustration of what was transpiring here. It was also very hypocritical of what Panetta said given who and what he was in charge of most recently.
But it also gave him an opening he could use to give himself more time. Not yet though.
"The only thing I have done was clean up the messes that YOUR agency made. It's not my fault that whatever operations happen keep spiraling out of control. I'm already aware of how we've been operating the War on Terror. It should have ended much earlier if we didn't decide to go the Vietnam route all over again." He said ending it sarcastically.
It wasn't a very smart idea which drew an angry stare from the newly appointed SECDEF. Andrushko's reputation of being cold and callous was well known. But he also kept the same personality of a junior leader. There are some things an officer of his caliber can't say once they reach a certain level of authority. The US military is supposed to have an apolitical stance on how the country is governed.
"You're dodging the answer General. If there is a credible threat to our national security, I have a right to know. There's been too many incidents in the CIA, NSA, and now SOCOM. And a lot of them are ending with one question being answered and two more taking its place."
"That's the reason I've been so busy lately Mr. Secretary. And the reason why I've been in contact with Chief Black so much. We're trying to figure out a solid lead but we just keep coming across whoever is associated with this threat and not the threat itself."
Andrushko was starting to wonder how much longer he would be able to keep the lies up. They were losing their credibility. But they were more believable than convincing the SECDEF that a mere girl with the literal power of an army at her disposal was holding him off.
"Well have you at least gotten a name?" Panetta asked.
"Not yet sir." The General lied again.
He sighed as he took of his glasses. "General, as I said I know there's a reason why some things have to remain classified. But I was this close to putting Black on a Congressional Witness stand. It seems as though not everything appeared as sounded when he almost got kidnapped. So I'm giving you an opportunity. You and Black either give me some solid evidence on what's been happening within not only our intelligence community but also our Special Forces or you're looking at a federal inquiry."
Andrushko knew a threat when he saw it and a bigger one was out there somewhere. Using his unborn grandchild as a shield. It made him feel like he was going to throw up. An old man in a cheap suit sitting at his desk in front of him however, didn't make him feel anything.
"With all due respect Mr. Secretary, I haven't done a damn thing except do my best to combat this threat. Not to mention that there's a little thing called due process. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a threat to our country out there and I'm going to find it."
The General then walked out of the office aggressively but not enough to where he would slam the door and bring more attention to himself. The SECDEF's protests while he was exiting were enough. His Chief of Staff, Colonel Raiser, was standing in the waiting room. He knew that they wouldn't be there for very long and that they needed to get Damien into hiding immediately.
He waited a few moments to get away from the SECDEF's office before he said anything. Plus keeping the conversation as mum as possible.
"I take it that went as expected?"
"I honestly didn't think they would have caught on that quickly. Olson said he was going to try and cover for me as much as he could but unless we give him something believable I think that DHS is gonna start poking around. We have to find Hekmatyar. She's more than likely going to double down on her system if she knows Damien can track her whether she has the thing or not."
"Well does that mean you're finally gonna tell me why you said to go easy on Damien? For God's sake Marcus he said he had her and then lost her just as quick. What happened?"
It wasn't a healthy discussion he had with his son. But how would any normal person react under those circumstances? His son said he was going to do his absolute best to better himself. If necessary spend the rest of his life righting his wrongs. This had to be the ultimate test. But Marcus wished that the unfair cruelty to his son would just stop.
"I can't say everything Aaron. Only that it has become personal to both him and me whether we wanted to or not."
The somber way he said that made the Colonel understand that now was not the best time to ask that question.
"Well how are we going to get him to safety? Plus where are we going to start looking again? Hekmatyar could be anywhere."
"When she was going over old man Hekmatyar's files that she'd brought back from Switzerland, Dietrich had come across a few interesting things. The money he had stashed away can buy some information and that network he had put together over the years seems pretty clever. Even if she's managed to get the computer up and running again, she can't track Damien or Floyd Hekmatyar's web of contacts if it doesn't run off f anything electronic. Gives the boy more time."
The General then got out his phone to make a call back home as he motioned to Raiser to contact the NSA rep to escort Damien.
There were a few extra rings before his son answered.
He knew why.
Three Days Earlier:
July 13th 2011 0140 Hours
Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean
I can't possibly feel any worse so just spit it out.
After getting out of Jerusalem, we took a Hop on a C-17 at Rammstein to get back to Reagan. My mind was in a state of utter chaos. The Air Force pilots and crew had been involved in these types of top secret operations before so they knew not to ask questions and let us be. That wasn't including the obvious tension between everyone. But that didn't mean that Scarecrow and Temishenko weren't backing down from getting answers during the few moments we had alone on the entire trip. What in the hell could I really even say? It wouldn't have mattered because they couldn't possibly know how I feel right now.
To be fair though, I didn't return the appropriate response whenever they asked why Hekmatyar got away.
"Fuck off."
The blonde bastard just scowled at me again. The rumbling noises of jet engines weren't the only thing in the background. Temishenko was leaning up against a crate keeping an extra eye on me and making sure the rest of the Delta's didn't interfere. But he didn't seem to mind to let Dietrich watch. She knew that this was the breaking point and was just waiting for what was going to happen next.
"Alright. That's it. I'm done." He said calmly. It highlighted that was clearly pissed now because he was almost never quiet. "I don't care what your dad or Bookman is going to do to me once I get what I need to know. I've been strung along on this joke of a mission long enough Andrushko. You had Hekmatyar and you let her just slip through your fingers. I don't care what your reason is but you're going to tell me exactly what lead up to this point! As a matter of fact, I'm going to trust my gut on this one. I'm willing to bet she sent you to us to lead us on a wild goose chase, just to give her enough time to finish that stupid computer of hers? Am I right?"
I just stared at him. I didn't think it was possible that he could make himself an even bigger dumbass. But I think narcissist would be a better description.
"I'll admit though, pretty good show. But don't think just whacking a bunch of Hamas is gonna get on the CIA's good side like it did with Baldra. But what was a real masterpiece was on how Koko managed to make some big reunion with your dad. She must have made one hell of an offer to…"
"Can you please just shut your fucking mouth right now? I can't stand the sight of you getting more retarded by the second." He finally pushed it over the edge.
"How about 'No'?" He said with a dare. "Or am I guessing right that you're here just to screw with us?"
I stood up, not caring that I still felt sore from being in a brawl with Ugo and getting hit by his car, towering over the blonde agent. He wasn't a small man but he still kept his eyes locked on mine showing that he wasn't afraid.
Stupid mistake.
"Shattzberg. You are about to start something you cannot finish. So I'm telling you to drop it. It's not worth it."
"Oh I'm pretty sure it is."
Smack!
Out of nowhere came a left backhand across my jaw. It seems the stupid son of a bitch had a death wish. If I snapped now, I'd be in a world of trouble when I tell dad he's about to become a grandfather with the worst possible circumstances.
"Drop. This. Shit." I said looking and speaking to him like I was about to end his life.
"You…are going to have to kill me for that to happen."
Thwack! Another left swing.
Smack! Right hook.
Thwump! To the sternum.
Then I caught his fist as he was about to throw a straight.
He chose this.
"As you wish." I said with a growl as I bent his wrist. As he clenched his teeth in pain I reached back and struck right between the eyes so hard he rolled back a few feet.
"If you will not listen to my words. Then you're gonna feel it through my actions."
As I looked down on him, in the corner of my eye, I saw the horror in Dietrich's face as she covered her mouth. And my possible second opponent Temishenko preparing to jump in.
"And it…is going…to hurt." I said growling and cracking my knuckles.
Dietrich then started to protest and Temishenko looked like he was about to jump in. I stared at him to back off, but it wasn't a good idea taking my eyes off of Shattzberg. While on the ground he made a straight kick to my still slightly injured knee.
The pain immediately caused me to buckle down to my other knee and with a hop, he kicked me in the side of the face. I immediately got up just as he did, spearing and lifting him to the side of the plane with a slam. I then delivered a series of combos on his face and torso.
But when I went to finish with a kick, he stepped to the side as it landed against the fuselage. Using leverage and my disadvantage of being on one leg, he pushed me on the floor and started his assault.
But after his third strike I grabbed his arm, twisted it to bring him down, and using my legs rolled him to his side.
Not giving him another opportunity I grabbed him by his shirt, pulled him up, and threw him into the side of a cargo container. It took a bit to get to his feet.
"I thought you said, 'The Farm weeds out weakness.' I seriously doubt you've done anything else besides sit at a desk, get others to do your shit, or threaten people. Even if you got off a few cheap shots, you're outclassed. Give it up."
He wiped some of the blood off from the cut above his nose. "Anyone ever tell you; you have a massive inferiority complex?"
He got into a defensive stance again. It appeared he wanted to do this the hard way. Arrogant pricks like this who think they'll win no matter what are a rarity. But when they come around, they can be really annoying. The type that believes their own bullshit is the worst.
I then stalked toward him but he backstepped out of my reach. Next few moves I got closer. But this time he managed to block a few jabs and strikes.
After parrying one of my hooks, he went on his own offensive as well. But my height advantage on him didn't allow for a lot of meaningful damage. My torso and legs were still badly hurt but not so much he did any real damage. So after batting him off with a show of strength, I struck through his defense with a roundhouse.
He took the full force of it. Not expecting me to be that agile considering my size.
As his body slid towards the other side of the plane I stalked my way toward him. But as I grabbed the back of his collar he spun around quickly.
Clang!
The only thing I remember was a red canister in his right hand and the side of my face erupting in pain as I recoiled around.
I then felt more pain from my spine. But as I arched back I swung around with a blind and wild haymaker. He backed off at the last moment and wound up for another strike with what I now saw was a fire extinguisher. But as he swung it at me like a club I used his own momentum against him, grabbed his arms and threw him to the ground.
I then put my knee to his back as I still held on to his wrist and elbow. All I had to do was push down and his right arm will be crippled for the next few months.
Thwap!
That was until a fist came out of nowhere, knocking me out of my grip on Shattzberg, and seeing that it was Temishenko that delivered the blow.
"That's enough! General's kid or not, don't think I won't use force to get you to calm down!"
Even after his rescue by his team in South Africa, I didn't pay much attention to the Delta's that brought me back home. I was more focused on stopping Hekmatyar. After getting a good look at their team leader, he seemed so similar to Lehmbrick that it was just plain disgusting. The grizzled vet tough guy. Only thing that's ever different about them is their personalities. This guy was the professional and Lehmbrick was laid back.
People like to say that militaries are made up of all walks of life. But they have a tendency to break people down to a point where they lose their own personalities and are replaced with either bare bones generic types, weak willed idiots, roid raging dicks, overconfident fools with bloated egos, depressed drones that just want to get through the day, bootleg Captain America's, and losers that were so hopelessly dependent on a system that they quite literally die without it.
I'm one of the few latter types that can throw them off so easily with just my way of behaving irrationally.
"How about you try? Cause I ain't no two bit insurgent thinking he's doing God's work or some Soviet leftover." I said motioning him to bring it.
His eyes were still slanted but they widened so much that he didn't believe what he just heard. He walked past Shattzberg and figured I lost most of my stamina after my brawl with him.
Big mistake as he reached for me as I batted his hand out of the way and hit him with an uppercut. He stumbled back but regained his stance and went for a side kick, then a jab, and ended with lunging in close to get me in a standing grapple but I just broke out of his grip after three seconds.
But then I saw he was testing the water. Soldiers like us don't fight fair, but I doubt he would just pull a gun inside of a pressurized airplane.
He approached again. But as he looked like he was going to land another punch, he bursted forward with a knee. It connected, but I blocked his follow up. After getting some space I started with low kick, then a side kick, and ending with a roundhouse. But as I did, he mirrored each of my moves. It seemed like he knew Tae Kwan Do. So as he stepped forward with another kick I caught it and then grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him forward. It threw him off of his balance and he fell forward to the floor, landing on his head. A swift stomp to his spine would end this quickly.
But as I prepared to go through with it, the impact of two feet hit me in the chest sending me to the floor. Shattzberg was back for more. Now it was two against one.
"Why the hell are you acting so stupid Andrushko!?" Shattzberg said out of breath.
"You hit first. Ask yourself that question." I said ready for an attack that'll come from either my left or right.
"I have to agree with agent man here. Everything about what's been happening since you 'returned from the dead' just adds to all the bullshit piling up. What is the deal with you and Hekmatyar!?"
I just scowled at him but Scarecrow looked like he just had his opening.
"I'll gladly answer that question for you Major. He used to be Hekmatyar's personal squeeze."
This was the point where I started to lose control.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I screamed as I charged at him.
But my wide open charge left me exposed to a strike to the gut from Temishenko. But I powered through the pain to try and land a blow of my own. But my moves were starting to become sloppy. Then I fell for the easiest thing a fighter can fall for.
"He also let her get away with a lot of vile crap! And killed whoever got in her way!"
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
Letting my opponent egg me on.
This devolved into throwing all I had into my strikes while trying to simultaneously block from both sides. I heel kicked Temishenko in the chest to give myself some breathing room. Then kneed Scarecrow in the gut and brought my elbow down on his head. But he put me in a clinch, just as the Delta Leader landed a boot to the side of my head. The commotion of the fight drew the attention from the rest of Temishenko's team. Dietrich telling them to stay where they were and she'd end this.
I didn't pay much attention after that.
All I was doing was landing a hit on one while receiving a hit from another. My injuries from earlier today were starting to take their toll and my body didn't want to cooperate. Truthfully speaking if I had the opportunity to shoot them both without the risk of sending the plane into the ocean, I'd take it. But after a few more strikes, my legs gave out and I was down on one knee. My head was throbbing and my whole body felt like a bruise.
"I'm strapping you to a crate. I'll take the General's screaming later." He said as he got out some zip ties.
But as I prepared to give it one last go. Dietrich stepped in front of me with her arms out like a shield.
"That's enough! All three of you! This shit is pointless!"
Scarecrow obviously didn't seem to care as he looked like he was going to shove her out of the way.
"Get out of the way you dumb bim-BO!"
But he didn't see the swift kick come in between his legs until it was too late.
This had to be the first time I'd ever see her truly mad. His face contorted into sheer agony and he fell to the floor like a stone. She then quickly got back in front of me. This was kind of a scary trend for me when women get involved with me.
Oh God, this shit again?
"Stop calling me that!" She then looked to Temishenko. "And you! You don't have the right to judge Damien on what he's been through! You have no idea how much he's suffered! He's had everything taken from him! Twice! And none of it was his fault! Why do you think he's in such a crappy mood all the time!?"
The girl was partially right but I think she was just being passionate about letting them know to stop for my sake. I didn't really deserve it though now that my head had cleared up a bit.
"What the hell are you even talking about girl?" The Major asked.
"Does it matter? He came to us asking for protection and to help us deal with a threat that will quite literally kick start World War Three! You might hear that kind of thing all the time but this is for real! Do you really believe that Damien would turn himself in if he didn't know how serious all of this is?"
Temishenko just looked at her skeptically. It wasn't a new look that I'd seen since all of this started.
"You want proof?" She pointed to the idiot on the ground still holding his sack. "This dumbass here let her walk several times! And I gave her a few pieces of intel every now and then! I'm just as guilty in letting Koko Hekmatyar letting her get to where she is right now as Damien is! The Company didn't know how much of a threat she was until it was too late. But he came to us! Now we have a chance at saving a lot of people."
The Delta Team leader looked down on Scarecrow who started to get back on his feet. I know the look of not being told everything a mile away.
"This still doesn't change the fact that this arms dealer got away when he had her in his sights."
"Then she had to have something terrible in mind to make him stop. My partner is right though, they did spend a lot of time together. Haven't you ever heard of fail safes? Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that we still have time left so we'll try again later."
Temishenko looked like he was thinking this through a little more. But I know his type. These guys would never admit to being called out by a mere girl that worked most of her time in an office. No matter how stern or serious Dietrich put forth her little speech.
"And like it or not, you're still under orders Major." She then took out her satellite phone. "Now do you want to explain this to General Andrushko and Chief Black now, later, or not at all?"
But they always seem to listen to rank and on occasion of not doing something while saying they did. He motioned to the rest of his team to be at ease.
"This isn't over yet." He said as he walked off rubbing his jaw.
Scarecrow just kept scowling at the both of us but at least he finally took the hint. He waddled off bitching like a child as if he didn't get to stay up as late as he wanted.
After a good minute or two, it looked like the two of us were alone. She then finally turned around to look at me. She normally had a portion of her blonde hair covering her blue eyes. She moved it out of the way to look at them both. The usual shy but nice look she had was replaced with frustration and legit anger. Probably to let me know how upset she was.
"Dietrich I…"
Slap!
Ugh…should have expected that.
"What in the hell was a matter with you? Everything of what you just did made you look guilty. So you had one screw up. Big deal! Do you think that gives you the excuse to rant and rave like…some…popular girl that didn't crowned prom queen!?"
I sighed, not bothering to rub my cheek. She was slightly smaller than Hekmatyar so reaching up that high to get that slap in caught me by surprise.
"It's not so simple Prudence."
"Then try Damien. What could she have done to make you freeze up like that? This all could have ended yesterday. Out of everything you've been through in the last three months alone, why fumble the ball now?"
I then walked past her to sit back down against the cargo container. She didn't back down.
"I can't do anything with this silent treatment and neither can your dad when he finds out about this." She then crouched in front of me. "Talk to me."
The main problem was that Hekmatyar normally did this exact same type of thing to me whenever I acted like this. I would have ignored her but I realized that she wasn't her. I felt so damn pathetic right now. I felt even less masculine for what I was about to ask. But I'm still human and sometimes you need the closeness of another to ease stress when it's overwhelming. I'm not that familiar with her, but I'd know she wouldn't say no if I said something out of character.
"Can you hold me for a few minutes?"
She then looked like she couldn't process what she just heard.
"Uhh…pardon me?" She said nervously while turning a bit red.
"Your ears aren't playing tricks on you so I'm not gonna repeat myself. So to answer your question, Hekmatyar has someone that she's using to prevent me from getting to her. And I can't do it."
Her face then straightened up. "What do you mean? Are you saying she kidnapped someone?"
My thoughts came back to her swollen belly. "Like I said, it's not so simple."
She must have realized I wasn't going to budge on the subject. She took out her sat phone.
"Then tell your dad why that is."
I was going to anyway. Once I was alone. But as I reached for the phone she pulled it back.
"And your gonna pay me back for preventing those two from kicking your ass any further with this burger joint I saw in Manassas. Then I'll give you a hug."
The nerd girl can be a little cruel. I just smirked and held out my palm as a silent yes. As I dialed in the numbers to the house she then sat next to me, put her arms around mine, and placed her head on my shoulder. The look on her face meant she was trying to not be awkward. The feeling was mutual since I felt so much more beaten down mentally that I needed some form of human comfort. It took a few rings because I knew he was probably waking up. But with my train of thought trying to figure out what to say to him, I forgot how well-endowed Dietrich truly was. This damn running theme I have with women over the years boggles me.
Present Time:
July 16th 2011 1500 Hours
Bull Run Estates, Virginia
I must have fallen asleep. The phone ringing woke me up. I was waiting for dad's call all day. The moment he did I was gonna get ready to go for the next phase of the plan of starting over to find Hekmatyar. It was to get to the Cayman Islands where old man Hekmatyar kept a private stash that his kids didn't know about. Then see if this contact web he put up was any useful.
"Yeah dad?"
I felt weight on my shoulder. Prudence had fallen asleep on it. We were just flipping through channels and must have gotten bored with the baseball game on.
"Get your shit together. You're going on the plane tonight."
"I take it I'm gonna have less help on this one?"
Obviously dumb question since Scarecrow had FINALLY stopped talking to me. But having less help on my hands didn't improve my situation. The only other one that insisted she help was the blonde girl who had to keep an eye on me. Scarecrow's nose was actually a real benefit of smelling out where money went.
"Only until you get to where you need to go. You'll make the destination plans after you get Hekmatyar's deposit. The NSA agent assisting you will give you the fake power of attorney. Providing you don't punch him out like the other guy."
I rolled my eyes. "That asshole hit first dad. I'm not gonna say it anymore."
"Remember this time wherever you go, you're going to stay for a much longer period. I want you to stay here but the attention being drawn to me right now is too high." He continued on ignoring me.
This was a little frightening for me cause the last time we said goodbye and I left the house I didn't come back for three years. But no matter what happens I'll figure out a way to apprehend Hekmatyar and make sure that innocent child doesn't get caught up in any more of their parent's sins.
"Alright, nothing else that we haven't already talked about."
"…"
There was no way we could NOT stop talking about what I had just found out. In the logical perspective it changes nothing. But in a personal and much more human one, it changes everything. I won't dare let her think that I'm something worse than her by just ignoring her and the child altogether.
"I'll figure out something dad. I always do." I said confidently.
"This isn't a fight that involves actually combat, boy. We're talking about your possible child here."
He shattered that confidence immediately. "Well I'll find a way damnit!"
There had already been enough anger in the last few days. So I took a step back and deep breath in the process. The shout woke up Dietrich too as I felt her head come off my arm. I saw a slight embarrassment on her face but it quickly contorted into concern when she saw how mad I looked.
If I keep falling back into my rage at this rate, I'm gonna get killed. And he was right about another thing. I was going to have to prepare for something else once this is all done.
And if I even live through this.
I don't know the first thing about children.
"Sorry. For now I'll focus on finding that machine. Without that, her whole plan falls apart. By the way, any news from Bookman about what he could dig out of Yildiz?"
"Nothing yet. He should have what you need by the time you reach George Town. I'll see you tonight."
As I hung up, he knew as well as I that it'd be a miracle if I could track her down again. But if I can find out what she's been up to then it's better than nothing. I sat up off the couch and made one last look through my bags to be sure I didn't miss anything I needed. Normally I don't double check things as often as this but with what my head was going through in the last few days, I needed to focus on calmer subjects.
But my insomnia had continued its rampage and I was only eating one meal a day. Not to mention I still felt like a giant bruise from getting hit with that car. Adding that to my near fatal fall off of a building last month, it made it really fucking hard.
I then felt a twitch in my shoulder blade, all the way to my tricep. I was pushing my body well past its limits now so more often than not I was just keeping my limbs stretched and moving to made sure nothing locked up. There was no way in hell I would go to a gym in the shape I was currently in.
"That's a very scary looking sword you have." Dietrich said as she turned off the living room television.
"Excuse me?"
"The tattoo on your arm. What's that supposed to be some kind of symbol for a metal band?"
I slightly smirked as I rolled my sleeve up. "Nah. It's just a representation of my dad's unit when he still worked with the 1st Special Forces Group. This was back when I still wanted to be like him. The flash colors on their green beret's are gold with a black outline. That's why the skull and the wings are the colors they are."
"And the crossed arrows and the sword represent Special Forces?"
"Glad to see you read."
"Gee thanks." She said sarcastically.
I then went to make sure the specialized compartment in my bag was secured. The CIA had hooked me up with some pretty fancy swag. The material manages to hid what you don't want found from airport x-ray scanners and metal detectors. A brand new modified M1911A1 was a nice touch too. It looked like it came right out of the box.
"You don't have a plan once you find Koko again do you?"
I didn't look back to her as I checked to make sure the weapon was clear. The answer was obvious. And I just told myself to hold back on the emotion.
"No."
"Then you realize that the next time you see her, she'll have 'Jormungand' at her disposal and fully operational. She won't be alone either."
"I know."
"Well if you know, then why don't you…"
"Prudence, listen to me." Her heart's in the right place but there was never going to be a happy ending for me once this was over. "I had no idea. That's the whole truth. But what hasn't changed is stopping her. I hesitated and it cost me. So next time I can't because there won't be another one after that."
I zipped up my bag and decided to eat early. Beer and pizza seemed fine tonight as I walked to the kitchen to get the menu off the fridge.
"So your plan is to just wing it and end up with either letting Koko succeed or possibly risk the life of your unborn child!? Real fucking brilliant, Damien!"
Her shouting stopped me in the house foyer. I didn't think she had that much of a mouth on her but she had a point. She was right and so was dad. I was playing this by ear a little too much. I can't just wait until the kid's born cause by then she might have everything she needed. Time just doesn't want to agree with me right now.
"Don't think I just want the worst possible scenario to happen Prue. And please don't start sounding like someone else cause that isn't you." I then turned around to face her, normally. "That woman is cunning, clever, driven and ruthless. She will make sure that her 'dream' becomes reality even if it costs her, her life. I don't know which philosophy came up with the idea where you win wars by dying and whoever did is a fucking moron. But like I told her father in his last moments, I won't go down on her terms. She thinks she's incarnation of the grey line between good and evil. The only one that can save the world and lead to absolute peace. But she's thinking with the same train of thought as every other would be world conqueror in history. Her megalomaniacal ego is tending to prove that as fact. I need to find a way to exploit that and prove that under all her bluster and fancy speeches, she's just a power tripping brat. I just need time to figure that out."
Once again the damn memories came back. It's like some sick joke that what keeps popping up are the ones where she smiled the most and made each day like she was having innocent fun. But beneath all of that was a monster waiting to consume all it deemed unworthy.
"I still wish that all of this wasn't real." I said as I clenched my fist. Staring at the shield I gave her on my wrist. "We shared everything together. And now I'm forced take everything from her or she's gonna take everything from everyone else. So don't ask me for an answer I can't give."
She looked up at me. More than likely wondering how someone like me can seem so fragile.
"You were right." She finally said.
"About what?"
"You aren't what you appear to be." She put her hand on my arm. "Show that to Koko."
Smiling, I checked my watch. The plane should arrive in George Town by tomorrow morning. The both of us wouldn't see each other again until after I figured out where to go next. Along with a certain asshole with bruised balls.
July 18th 2011 0950 Hours
George Town, Cayman Islands, Merrill Lynch Bank and Trust
There were over six hundred different international banks here in the Caymans and a lot of money comes through here. But surprisingly what comes through here isn't as nefarious as one might think. The lack of certain tax laws is one thing but it focuses more along the line of tax neutrality but their asset protection plans are very strict. Unless they are presented with solid proof of criminal activities, the banks open to no one but the account holder.
"It should open up in another ten minutes. Try not to be so serious Damien." The old Japanese Colonel said.
"In the last two months alone I've been beaten, shot at, run over by a car, and fell off a building. Sorry for being in a pissy mood." I said still feeling sore from the last few days. The pleasant weather and nice scenery from when I got here wasn't doing anything to alleviate the pain.
I wasn't really too surprised at the NSA agent who would be my escort and handler for this little grab and take op. Even thinking back to when we first met, he must have pulled some serious strings to get the Caribbean as his operational territory. It appeared that I underestimated Yoske Hinoki's merit and cunning if he managed to acquire employment in the NSA from Japanese Intelligence after he sent his own team to the wolves. But I had the slight suspicion that the NSA either never checked or didn't care. Either way I'm just glad enough that he sees the bigger picture on what's at stake.
"Hmm." He said nonchalantly. "Well from your rather bombastic and over the top experiences, I'd figure those kinds of events would seem rather mundane given your overwhelming skill for combat and adaptation. And rather entertaining bravado at triumph."
I then checked my watch again; it was time to head in. I didn't know if he was poking fun at me or giving me a compliment.
"Say that again after you've been in my shoes for three years straight old man. Alright let's hope this works."
As we went in we kept our façade up but our real discussion down as we approached the bank from around the block. As I put my hair in a ponytail, I noticed Hinoki was actually wearing the same Hawaiian shirt when we first met.
"They may have the most up to date and stringent checks and balances of any other banks out there but you forget that US Intelligence has the ability to make real documentation for anything to get what they want. They don't make forgeries, they make the real things. It takes the person to realize somethings off about anything. Why do you think the NSA brought me in? I know the Johohonbu like the back of my own hand. I'd know immediately if something was off when something or someone wasn't supposed to be where they were. Kind of redundant though if they wanted to know our JSDF countermeasures to an invasion of South Korea from the North. We'd have let the Americans know anyway."
I'd ask about that story later as we entered the bank. I wished though he didn't wear his Hawaiian shirt to this place but the staff didn't seem to mind. To my observation were mostly multiracial and Afro-Caribbean. Light casual seemed to be normal around here considering the nice temperatures year round. As I put my sunglasses in the breast pocket of my polo, the clerk at the front desk drew his attention to us. No surprise he was perplexed at the odd duo in front of him.
"Good morning gentlemen, can I help you?" He said with a Jamaican accent.
Hinoki went first. "Yes sir. My names Yoske, we've come here on behalf of the owner of HCLI, Floyd Hekmatyar. It's regrettable to say this but unfortunately Mr. Hekmatyar has passed away. We represent his legal team to collect his deposits and we have all documentation of proof death and powers of attorney. The paper's Damien?"
I did it while maintaining the act but I was a little concerned that he decided to use our real names. I opened the case and handed one folder at a time. I took a quick glance at some of the documents before I left, CIA and its sister agencies really spare no expense to make fakes. Seemed kind of simple to label his death as a car crash but at least news doesn't travel the way it's supposed to in certain aspects. The man was a little bit of enigmatic business owner. Especially since I shot him and it was an accident.
"Sarah?" The clerk then got another staff members attention. "Get the manager please. These two need access to the vault."
After waiting a good ten minutes for the clerk to escort us to the manager's office he made sure that everything was in order, expressed his condolences, and then began the first part of Hinoki and me taking a dead man's possessions. The manager then began a transference of his funds to a different account we gave him that was supposedly his companies. What he didn't know was that it was a specialized slush fund that CIA had for agents who needed readily available cash. The amount in question for what he stowed away here was rather sizable. And that's putting it as mundane as possible.
God Almighty, that's a lot of zeros. He must have had his hands in every conflict around the world for the last thirty years.
It didn't concern me and it technically wasn't mine but I just helped the CIA, and myself, get a comfortable budget for a while. I would have never seen a penny of that money anyway. I'd only have access to it only until I find Hekmatyar again.
With that out of the way, he then led us to the vault to get what we really needed.
"Such a tragedy. I spoke to Mr. Hekmatyar not more than two or three times a year for the last decade. It was always enjoyable. And then this happens. I'll miss talking to him."
It appeared he really did have friends and made a social life outside of his ability to profit from war. But I wonder for real how many people did know about what happened to him and his company. My guess was zip and bupkus considering his daughter could alter a lot of shit. The world must seem so simple to people who don't look beyond the surface.
After another couple of minutes he opened the, not as elaborate as I thought, vault door and lead us inside. After a few seconds he located Hekmatyar's box, opened it, and took the tray inside to set it on the table in the center of the room.
"I'll wait outside until you've emptied its contents. Please let me know when you are done."
After he left the two of us looked at each other and went to business. The box wasn't full to the brim but it had three cover bound notebooks and what appeared to my shock were, after counting, thirty 1000 gram gold bars. The gold was one thing, but those notebooks were far more valuable to me right now. After taking a quick look through one of them, it was a fact that he had connections to a lot of important individuals. Not all of them government or business but some who were in the position of knowing what was vital. Some information on the people written down was rather old. Others were crossed out and appeared to be updated with specific dates. Some were even listed as dead and either pointed to their next best person, relative, or labeled as a severed tie. The newest one was really added over nine years ago. That must have been when he reached his limit of influence.
"Are those what you needed?" The Colonel asked.
"Oh yeah. Looks like the old man's web was updated often as well. The only real question is; where do I start?"
"Well we'll have to read those on the plane back to my place. Pack that up and lets go."
I looked at him if I heard him right.
"Wait a minute. Don't we…"
"Don't just put all those names on a wall and throw a dart Damien. Carlyle told me that you often rush things so take your time and see where the most likely place would be to start. This line of work can be slow sometimes but there's a reason for it. He said you know her entire network and that she using some method of expanding her project. Think of what she'll need. Not to mention that you're still injured. You need something less stressful on your body."
Getting the old man's stuff was actually the simplest part of all of this. Hinoki was right, I'll have to read through this and then dig through my head of where to look the hard way. But like I kept thinking, time wasn't on my side.
July 19th 2011 1400 Hours
Region of Zhambyl, Kazakhstan
Stretching from the steppes of China to the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan had a massive amount of isolated areas where you could conduct practically anything and keep it away from prying eyes. The wastelands went mostly unnoticed by the government and even if they were to take interest, Light Hawk simply bought them off. But what seemed like wasteland to the average person was prime real estate for militaries. That way they could go all out in conventional warfare and not worry about any type of long term collateral damage. The same could not be said for the nuclear tests that were conducted at Semipalatinsk by the Soviet Union. As Koko held her stomach, she couldn't help but feel sad for all those children effected by the fallout and people who suffered from cancer later in life. And hatred for the men who cared only about expanding their own power just to get ahead of their rivals in a fifty year struggle over a war that never happened. She looked to her slowly growing belly, hoping the child will hear its mother.
The world will become better than it once was. You will not be a part of anyone's ideology but your own.
"Ah! Miss Hekmaytar! I was wondering where you went off to. Your team has been running around all over the complex trying to find you."
"I'm just standing here overlooking the launch site construction. I'm not really hiding."
The man approaching her was Tsewang Volkov, the CEO of the Light Hawk PMC. Having the mixed heritage of Kazakh and Russian he would have passed for one of the countries nomadic people. When the Soviet Union collapsed and his only method for receiving an education for engineering went with it, he took his education into his own hands with tinkering the machines of whatever was left by the Russian Army after they withdrew from the country. Specifically their old rocket test sites. And with more and more people privatizing launching things into orbit for experiments and satellites, funds for building his success poured in. That didn't mean though that he kept his business model one sided. With fulfilling contracts around the world his employees knew both how to build and destroy, as well as keep whatever they were building safe from hostile locals and insurgent groups that didn't like their land being taken over by someone else. Taking in a few former Soviet military officers from the Spetsnaz helped his men become a lot better in combat as compared to whatever passed for an army at the time from anywhere in Central Asia.
He first came on to Koko Hekmatyar's radar when they both met each other in Angola. At the time Africa was interlocked in a multitude of proxy wars with no real battles. Just a lot of the local guerilla groups terrorizing the locals and many people dying of starvation because of both them and the state armies gathering everything they could for their war efforts. The much older man from Central Asia was at wits end wondering a pale little girl was doing in the middle of Africa amongst the bloodshed. But considering the company she represented and the people she kept near her, it explained more than he had anticipated.
"Well how are you liking your new platform so far? I know it's not as elaborate as what we built for you in the Solomon Islands but why another? You said you would only need us again if repairs were needed from any type of natural disaster."
"I'm more than pleased that construction is coming along at such a rapid pace. And yes Zavare is still operating and good efficiency but what I'm going to launch next is too big for the platform to handle. So I don't really want to run the risk of it collapsing and having to salvage the ocean floor."
The duo then looked towards the launch tower surrounded by several cranes along with workers changing shifts.
"Well then when do you expect the rocket to be ready to launch?"
Koko kept a straight face but knew that Minami and Dr. Baburin had hit a bit of a wall. They had managed to get 'Jormungand' back to operational status with no error but miniaturizing it enough to make a second brain was taking longer than expected. If Damien hadn't killed Dr. Faiza, she'd have launched already.
"That's kind of the problem for me though. I don't know when it will be ready."
"Ahh…parts still on order and they haven't arrived huh? I know that excuse more than I would like to admit."
"Not as easy as that I'm afraid. But you will get a rocket to launch here. Just make sure that no one gets any funny ideas or decides to look at this place longer than they should. If they do, kill them."
Volkov was surprised that Koko was totally blunt with that last statement. But it didn't bother him in the least. It wasn't the first time he and his men had to keep intruders or thieves away from their work.
"I'll admit it was rather enjoyable when my builders got to go to work in a tropical area. The scenery alone during our time off when some of us weren't working was more than enough. But my men tend to get a little irritable if they don't get some action in every once and a while."
"You have to remember Mr. Volkov that not everywhere is Fallujah, or Mogadishu, or Free Town."
"Hey now I didn't say that I'm looking forward to shooting old men, brats, or skinny drugged up suiciders. Those are the worst types of people to fight. They do it because they have nothing to lose and the bastards that send them to their deaths are the ones who have everything to exploit."
"Koko!"
The duo turned around to see Tojo and Mao coming towards them.
"Jeez little lady, you can't just run off like that! Not after what happened this week!"
"He's not a wizard Tojo. He can't just pop in and out of thin air. He won't get another chance next time."
"Assassins again?" Volkov knew the usual reason but not why it transpired.
"Nothing that you need to worry about." She then went to meet them halfway. "I'll let you know when the delivery is ready."
She did need to call Minami again to see what they could do to find away around or over the wall that had been placed in front of her. After some careful analysis, it seemed that the Yildiz information didn't turn out to be so reliable. So she would have to try another school or research institute. But she needed time to keep Minami going and to keep Damien away from them before he managed to pick up her scent again. With him knowing everywhere she could possibly go, she was having to make decisions of where to go on the fly. At least on the Fruition she could remain off the radar and she could erase any records of the ship having put into port anywhere.
"Seriously boss, no more wandering off by yourself no matter where we are now."
"I've heard you a million times already Mao. I…"
But the crew's everyman took her shoulder and got in her line of sight.
"This is something all of us decided together no matter what you say Koko! We barely got out of that scape!"
Koko just looked at Mao's bandaged forehead from his car crash. Then towards the agitated look in his eyes. They always did what she ordered without question but when they stood their ground for her protection, they did it where they needed to remind her that she wasn't thinking straight. Lehm had given his wisdom on when intense moments happened where the danger wasn't what he considered fun. Valmet needed no explanation when she slapped her across the face when Echo got killed. Then she cursed herself for not realizing that not caring about whether or not she got shot was a bad idea.
She no longer had to care about herself.
"Alright Mao I'm sorry." She put her hand on his. "I think that how rapidly things have been transpiring, I'm not thinking three moves ahead like I always do."
As the wind then picked up suddenly, she looked out to the barren lands.
"800 years ago, the Mongols marched through these lands hoping to continue their delusional dream of total world conquest. There was no other military power in the world that could equal them. There are confirmed facts that there are certain ethnicities that don't exist anymore because if they didn't bow to the Khan, they were all wiped out. They thought they could rule the world with strength alone. But that is never enough to solidify unity. Because of those people that the Mongols absorbed into their army the resentment towards them was massive. Not to mention the complete lack of maintaining such a huge empire that it collapsed as quickly as it was formed."
Tojo knew that this was one of her 'moments'.
"What's the point behind this one Koko?" Tojo said intrigued as they continued to where their car was parked.
"It's just one example of why war is so pointless. Even after all this time, after all the miracles in medicine, technology, art, discovery, everything since then doesn't matter. All that matters is might and who the victor is. They don't focus on the future, they live in the moment. What one doesn't have something and they see that what they want is what someone else has, they tend to take it rather than ask for it. It's no different than children fighting over a toy. This is why I'm going to break that cycle and give what humanity needs."
She then looked down to her stomach, smiling and visualizing a happy future.
"Peace."
Being the only parent here at the moment, Mao just looked at her and smiled.
"Any ideas on a name yet?"
"Not yet. But you were right about another thing, Mao. I can't afford for Damien to show up out of nowhere again. He managed to catch up with me. I need to figure out how he did that on his own. He proved that 'Jormungand' has blind spots and I can't allow that. But as for him…" She looked down to the road where a man was standing with a full beard and long hair with the distinct red color of Scottish heratige. "…I'm through holding on to past joys that I will never get back."
Spencer Rhodes just looked towards the arms dealer walk up to him with his arms crossed and chin up. He often thought of himself as a superior soldier in every way. He felt no challenge or threat to himself whenever the British Army joined the American's cause in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even less so with the Special Air Service around the globe. Despite his team suffering the heaviest casualties during missions he cared only about what was next and who to kill. The memories of his superiors berating him or his peers staring at him with disgust were such an annoyance to him that it numbed him to the point where he didn't even notice. He was glad when he was forcibly removed from the SAS. He didn't have to be shackled down by people who lost their primal instinct of what warriors are by nature. Coming under the employment of Koko Hekmatyar turned out to be a decent investment despite his patience being tested.
"I take it that it's finally the time for you to use my services?"
Koko looked at him neutrally but her cold blue eyed stare warned him not to make this a show of bravado. Only to eliminate a threat and get it over with.
"Stop him and don't make this into some kind of game. If you screw up and if he doesn't get the chance to kill you…" Her beautiful blue eyes then contorted into an ugly chilling stare of terror. "…I will."
Rhodes obviously didn't know Koko Hekmatyar as so many others had. He found it amusing a mere pregnant girl had the audacity to threaten his life with such maliciousness. He wondered how vicious that Green Beret was and how cruelty did he wound her. It was best to start finding that out now as he took out his phone.
"Yeah it's me. It's finally time to go hunting." He said with a sneering grin.