Chapter 6: Manila Folders and Blood

Unspecified office, somewhere in Washington D.C

The man called Brown sat silent, thumbing through a well worn folder. His eyes quickly gazed over whatever was written on the pages, lighting up suddenly with delight.

Noise, the silence ripped apart by the ushering of an assistant

"Mr. Brown, a Mr. Fell to see you"

"Ah, yes, bring him in please"

As soon as this communication was done, the grand oak doors opened, exposing a short, rather stocky man, flanked by 2 guards. They walked, the short man's bald head glistening.

"Good evening, Mr. Brown" Fell said

"The same to you Mr. Fell" Brown replied

Fell sat down while his guards stayed standing, looking menacing, all muscles and metal

"I have bad news, Mr. Brown. The operation failed. We lost all our men"

"Yes, I planned for it. Eventually, even the lead boxes, the guns, the men, everything falls apart. Even though that electricity cut helped us, you cannot stay for very long in the most secure place as a stranger. There are only 3 people I know who can do that"

"Who?" Asked Fell

"Ranma Saotome, Sam Fisher and Solid Snake"

"Who?"

"Go on"

"Well, anyway, I have the footage from the camera we planted in the White House"

"Was it traced?" Asked Brown

"Impossible. It was a satellite uplink"

"Very well. May I see it?"

"Yes! Yes!" Fell squeaked, hurriedly searching through his pockets. You did not leave a man like John Brown (Yeah, I know John Brown's Army isn't named after my character, but please) waiting.

"Ah! Here it is!" Said Fell, holding up a tiny, blue SD card. He handed it to Brown, who slid it into his computer port. He quickly uploaded it and handed it back to Fell.

"Thank you. Anything else"

"Yes. I'm very sorry, Mr. Brown, but once again, your planning has failed me. I will no longer need your services"

"That's funny" Chuckled Brown lightly

"Why?"

Because I was going to say the same to you"

Take, for instance, that you were in the waiting room of John Brown's apparent law firm. All you would have heard was a slight, muffled banging. Inside, things were different. The two imposing guards were cut down by gunfire, splattering blood upon Fell. His eyes wide, he stared back as Brown walked closer

"You see" Brown said, removing a gun from his holster, holding it with love and tenderness, slightly smiling "My organization runs better without the screeching of idiots. My father always told me"-Brown continued, placing the gun's barrel straight between Fell's eyes. By now, Fell was perspiring freely, trembling with fear-"that when you have a problem, simply get rid of it"

Bang

Fell's brains joined the blood of his men. He reached for a button upon his desk

"Martha, there's a stain on my carpet. Get the cleaners please"

"Yes sir" replied a woman

John Brown sat down again and reviewed his files, smiling slightly. It was almost time

NSA Headquarters, Level 3

Fort George G. Meade, Maryland

September 6, 2008

"Let's see what we got here" said William Redding "A hack, quick intrusion, money stolen. I'm pretty sure it's a trade made to look like a hack, but we need to get in there and get into their mainframes. Can you do it?"

"It should be easy" Smirked Ranma Saotome "Give me a map of its layout, I'll get in and out like a flash"

"I hope you're ready, it might not be easy" William said

Sticking his tongue out, Ranma left the room, going to his quarters.

Consisting of a bed, a TV, a computer and a couch (The bathrooms were community), his room was decidedly Spartan, but more luxurious than any other quarters. He put together his kit (Having a modified FN five-seven, a knife, his SC-20 and his night goggles) and put on his suit, letting the black material fit to his body. Flipping on his transmitter, he heard the noises of ambient conversation.

"Hey! Lambert, I'm ready" He yelled

"Okay, seriously, you've got to stop yelling at me" Replied Lambert

"Fine, can I just go already?"

"Yeah, the chopper's waiting for you on the pad"

"Then I'll hear you there"

Mexico City, South America

September 7th, 2008

10:34 P.M

Ranma gazed at the bank. A veritable fortress, its concrete walls looked impenetrable, the doors, impossible to enter.

"Tch, my ass it's impenetrable" Said Ranma to himself

"What" Answered Lambert

"Oh, nothing. How do I get in?"

"There's a way in through the roof"

"Didn't I hear something about this once? A guy got through the magnetic locks on a roof"

"Urmm..No. Never happened"

"Okay" said Ranma, switching to heat vision, detecting the various heat signatures. Adding the heat signatures to his display, he crawled out of the bush he had been hiding in, sliding through the mud. It was raining. Hard. Large drops were falling thickly through the air, drenching everything. A guard was standing not 15 feet from Ranma, his hands holding tightly to his rifle, a cigarette clamped between his lips. Ranma crawled toward the guard, slowly moving, until he was almost within touching range. Ranma grabbed the guard's feet, dragging him down with a slight sound, shoving his face into the mud, holding it there until the last breath left the man. He dragged the body to the bush, hiding it there and searching the man's uniform. A wallet, some bullets, a cigarette packet, a lighter and a memo. Bingo!

(This is the Memo)

We've been told that there's been an increased risk of a break-in

Keep you weapons loaded

Report back to us in 20 minute intervals

Stay in twos

(End of Memo)

Ah shit, thought Ranma. I don't know the last time that he reported back or where his partner is. Already a voice was calling "Juan! Juan are you there!" Another guard appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Pouncing on him, smothering his cry, Ranma snapped his neck.

"Shit! Lambert, I've got a problem!"

"What is it?"

Ranma told him

"Ah, yes..that's quite a problem"

"Anything you can do?"

"Get inside and shut off the alarm system"

"Thanks for the help" Quipped Ranma sarcastically

Ranma moved at a steady pace. The garden was mostly clear. A guard was sleeping there, his shoulders moving up and down with his breathing. One chop to the larynx took care of that. Another walked out

"Yo, Alejandro, gimme a cig would you?"

The guard peered into the darkness

"Hey, you there?"

The last thing he saw was a disturbance in the air and he was down. Ranma moved silently through the alley. He saw a door, moved to it; slide a snake cam through the bottom. Clear. He picked the lock and entered, silently, a black figure in pure blackness. He was in. According to his PDA, the security room was just to his right. He silently opened the door entering a dark hallway. Glancing upwards, he saw a camera, uselessly pointing into the darkness, its power off. He hurried down to where a bright light shined.

Voices were overlapping each other

"They should have reported back by now?"

"Ah, they're not in trouble. Probably spending their pay on the whores down the street"

"But-"

"No! That's the end of it. Who'd want to rob us? It's not like we have any money"

"You never know"

"Whatever, I'm going for a smoke"

There was a slight creaking and a tall, fit man came out. He was dressed sharply, definitely not a guard. Ranma would have to look into this. The man stepped outside, finding a cigarette.

"Where's my damn lighter?" exhaled the man, searching for a lighter

"Let me help you with that" Said Ranma, grabbing the man, covering his mouth and placing his knife at his throat.

"I know about the transaction"

"What!" Whispered the man violently, his fear showing "No one was supposed to know about that!"

"Tell me who and you might live"

"Germans! That's all I know!"

"A name"

"Brown! Just Brown!"

"Thank you" Answered Ranma, slitting the man's throat. He was too important to let live. He delicately placed the body behind a bush, letting him rest there. Ranma re-entered.

"Hey, Jon, is that you?"

Ranma crouched by the wall, staying under the shadow

"Ah well, guess not"

He peered over, seeing a man sitting relaxed, his concentration on several monitors. Ranma whistled

"Hey! What the-"The man started laughing. "Of course, you're playing another joke on me. Well, I'll come out, but I won't be scared"

The door creaked open, the man walking out. Ranma jumped on him in a flash, strangling him to unconsciousness and hiding him outside. Ranma shut the lights in the security room and entered, checking every terminal.

"Seems like you have to go to the second floor, Ranma" Said Lambert

"I figured"

Ranma hurried to the stairs, climbing slowly, quietly. The bored tapping of a foot resounded through the room that he entered, loud yet silent at the same time. Ranma flipped on his night-vision, detecting a nearly sleeping guard

Yawn

Ranma moved swiftly behind the guard, disposing of him with a chop to the neck. He fell without a sound. Dragging him to the back of a pillar and a corner, Ranma continued. The hallways were empty, knives of moonlight cutting through the windows. Not a single guard. Ranma was becoming quite suspicious.

"Where is everyone?" He asked

"What?" replied Lambert

"There's not a single guard up here"

"That's bizarre…keep an eye out, Ranma"

"Will do. By the way, can you cross-reference anything we have on a "Brown" involved with Germans?"

"Yeah sure"

"Okay, Saotome out"

Ranma moved further down. A slight crack of light amplified into the hall, alarming the teen (I guess he's still a teen). An orgy of faint voices drifted through.

"Lolz! I pwn these noobs!!"

"Hey! Shut up Rob, the manager will find us and kick our asses back to the motherland"

"Die bitch!!"

"Stop playing Halo 3 dammit!"

There were the sounds of a scuffle and furniture breaking and the door broke open, exposing two men who straightened up and turned to see Ranma

"Holy shit!!"

End of chapter 6

Hey, Palpi here. Sorry bout the ending ("Die bitch" "Stop Playing Halo 3"? I astonish myself sometimes…) I couldn't think of anything. Expect delay for chapter 7 though…the damn homework keeps piling up…What'd you think about this chapter? I think it's definitely more "Action packed" (Notice the marks)

Till next time then, this has been Palpatine47.

P.S For recommendations about what happens next (I'll listen! Believe it!) Just message me