Frosty

by MeepMeep7913

New operator, Tina Lin Tsang or 'Frost', has joined Team Rainbow. Striking up a friendship with Monika - 'IQ' - she seeks to start a new chapter of life, but it turns out to be more of a challenge when the past catches up to her. In the form of a traitor within Team Rainbow.

5. Presence Reduction

Monika was deeply surprised. It was as if her friend had several different methods of operating, none of which she deigned to explain but rather to spring on her when the time called for it. Like now.

"You can't operate like hand-to-hand combat Monika, remember - you need to separate your mindset from it." Tina stated in a serious tone as she raised the blade in her hand again. "Go."

The German sprang at her, utilising her greater physical prowess to outperform her opponent and swiftly move in for the kill to the torso, mind already planning her next steps as Frost had already begun twisting her body. Instinctively, she raised her left arm to block the blow incoming to her left as Tina had propelled herself left, using her own greater agility to keep from her friend's own incoming blade.

The Canadian said nothing as her friend's arm got in the way of her own attack, the prop blade she had in her hand striking the skin and then sinking back into the handle as it was designed to do to prevent actual injuries. "Out of the fight." She merely commented.

The blue eyes of her friend merely took in the positions of their prop blades for a second, before cursing in her native language as she had for the third time defaulted back to her instincts. Standing down from their combat positions, IQ only ran a hand through her hair in slight frustration before trying to make a laugh of it as she spoke. "Better than being dead, I suppose."

"Unlike the previous two times, yes." Came the dry tone of a response from her friend. "At least you'd get to retreat and fight another day, although you'd be no use to your team in the field at the time if the dominant hand pulling the trigger can't do anything."

"Always the analyst, Tina." Monika replied with a short sigh to her friend, again caught up in the enigma that Tina Lin Tsang could be. On one hand, it could just be sarcasm employed in a witty comeback to her own joking manner, or on the other hand it could be legitimately serious, as her friend approached situations just as many times analytically as she did casually.

Or it could be both, which by perchance could be the most likely answer of the three choices.

Frost just eye-smiled from above her mask. "Happy to be of service."

"So then, Tina." IQ began as she continued along the conversation. "How does one become as good at this as you are?"

Frost just stood a little straighter at that, and Monika could see the analytical gleam in the brown irises of her friend as if her brain had kicked into overdrive - and knew right there and then she had touched upon something the Canadian was proud of.

"The best knife -fighters don't just have good stance, form and equipment." Tina began, speaking softly as she visually was thinking as she spoke. "It isn't even the years of just practice some people like me can have. It's about the thought patterns and the actual experience, the differing ways in which to take a situation and taking the one that will favour you the most. Practice as much as you want, it doesn't mean shit if your opponent approaches it from another angle that you didn't even know could be utilised."

"Catch." She suddenly spoke with a tone of brute seriousness in stark contrast to the soft tone previously as she threw the prop knife she carried at Monika, the blonde catching the prop with little effort and a raised eyebrow - before her eyes widened slightly. She had been surprised when without even looking, Tina's hand had already clutched down upon a combat knife that had emerged from the mechanism she kept on her wrist and merely then flicked her wrist. The glint of light was all she saw.

"I don't mean to brag, I really don't - I hate it." Frost stated with sincerity. "But the best example is always that with the sharpest clarity. Every knife fighter is different, you shouldn't know what to expect: for as you just saw after throwing that knife, I got another replacement without even bending my elbow out of position." IQ saw it was indeed the truth, as Tina then finally moved her elbow to lift the knife she now clutched up into the light as she spun the handle around her fingers in experienced sleight of hand, before darting her eyes to the wall. There, lodged right up to the handle in the wood, was the knife that the Canadian had sent hurtling down the room with a mere flick of her wrist. The fact that she hadn't even been looking wasn't spoken, but certainly acknowledged by Monika.

"You're right." Monika merely spoke as she took in what her friend said. "There's more to it than I ever thought, even after all you've said previously."

"More than you know." Tina replied as she tapped the top of her beanie hat with the knife she carried in a gesture of knowing experience. "Your predominant problem right now Monika, is the ingrained routines of all you've done before. It is commendable, really. You have your own stance and form, you've trained rigorously to be such a high-performer, amongst all of your other skills and achievements." Frost outlined as she then merely tilted her head back slightly to seriously stare her friend in the eye. "All I'm going to ask is if you're prepared to set a large portion of that aside if you want to take on my experiences, or if you'd like to continue your own."

Monika blinked as she took that in for a second, before shaking her head. "C'mon Tina, we've been over this. We can learn together."

Another eye-smile came from Tina as she shrugged. "Fair enough then." She stated, before her tone took a bit more of a serious edge to it. "I am serious, though. I'm not asking you to unlearn everything you've done, merely to create a new mindset as it's a whole new game. You're used to gun fights and hand-to-hand, but knife combat is completely different - one hit is all it takes to cause death or debilitant injuries. As you saw, it's a combination of close combat and longer-range in the right hands." She explained as she had moved over to the knife lodged in the wall, placing a hand on the grip before then slowly moving it downwards slightly - and then forcibly yanking it out in a practiced flourish of freeing the weapon. Merely taking a second to inspect the metal for imperfections, she then twisted the blade about her hand and then slid it into a sheath that had appeared in her other hand.

IQ just took a second to gaze at her friend before smiling. "How am I going to repay you, Tina?" She asked.

"You've asked that before." Frost stated in a bemused tone of voice, before tilting her head for a second and then drifting her gaze to the stab-mark in the wood of the wall to the left of her. "Though you can start by not mentioning the fact that I was throwing knives around in an unregistered location."

LOCKER ROOM.

Tina just looked to the box in a contemplating manner, gloved hands holding onto the side of the box as she clearly was debating on whether to open it up. Monika looked over to her curiously, having gathered that her friend knew what was in the box but was clearly in indecision about the contents she knew of.

"Are you alright, Tina?" She finally decided to ask.

Frost looked up at her friend's question, eyes flicking back to the box before going to glance at Monika. "I am fine, thank you." She replied with a level tone. "Sorry, just thinking."

IQ just gave a nod to that, before then stepping closer so she too could have a clearer look at the box - not that the action made its contents any more visible. "What's in there, if you don't mind me asking?" She questioned aloud, before then holding up both her hands in a placating manner. "Unless its private, of course."

Tina just gave an amused exhalation of air at that, before opening up the box, speaking as she did so. "It's not some big secret, Monika." She responded, staring into the box for a moment before providing clarity. "It's my old commanding officer's weapon, something I've kept for years now."

Monika did not miss the slightly warmer tone in which her friend spoke about that person unlike any other person she mentioned. "Your old commanding officer?" She softly asked.

Frost looked to her from the box, figuring out that IQ must've established that there was a friendlier relation than just professional. "Yeah." She replied, a bit absent-mindedly as she just clutched the box again. "Captain Collins, from whom I took over as Captain at his own recommendation for the previous three years before I joined Rainbow. He taught me a lot of what I know in terms of tracking expertise, which helped me a lot even if I did learn all about trapping by myself. He's the one person I can say I owe anything to."

A slight smile came over Tina as she plucked something from within the box. "He left me his weapon, and his own personal guide to every bit of his expertise he ever bothered to put to paper. I've memorised every page of this, word for word." She mused in such a fashion that Monika thought she was speaking to both herself and Monika, as her fingers skimmed past the pages of the notebook she was holding. "I may not have considered him a friend, but I think he did for me."

"What happened to him?" Monika asked.

Frost's returning gaze to Monika was strange, before her friend answered. "He died." She answered with a level tone. "Health complications with a weakening heart. Forcibly discharged from the military three years ago on such grounds, died two years later from the strain of it. From what I know, he had no named family his possessions went to - he just left me a few of his personal effects as the rest was sold off."

IQ was put out by that, feeling somewhat bad now for having brought up such a topic even if it was unknown to her. "I'm sorry, Tina." She spoke.

To her slight surprise, Tina just shook her head. "Don't be." She responded. "You didn't know, and like I said, I didn't consider him a friend. We may have trained and been acquaintances, but that was it. I didn't have to get over it when I'd already knew it was coming."

It was bluntly spoken, and cold-sounding. Monika knew that as soon as she heard it as Tina's eyes looked back to the box, but after the first instant of processing those words, she thought it over. The man had actually meant more to Tina than she portrayed, and as per how own admission, she'd braced for his death - and forced herself to move on. "I see." Monika said after a few moments. Tina said nothing in response.

"What's in there then?" IQ questioned, moving the topic along.

Frost's expression cleared up as her gaze moved from just placidly staring at the box as an object to actually looking at what was in it, before reaching both hands into it and withdrawing the weapon to expose it into the light. "The C1 submachine gun." She announced with a balanced tone.

Pulling out the weapon to allow her friend to look at it - Monika was taken aback. It was an old looking weapon. Much unlike most modern day weapons which had a vertically aligned profile, the submachine gun Tina held in her hands looked flat in its mostly horizontal profile. The two grips on the gun were the only things beneath it, with the magazine to the weapon curving away to the left side of the gun. It even had the holed profile of a barrel that was most popular to weapons in the 1940s-50s that was supposed to help with heat diffusion.

"Wait. I know that profile." Monika stated as Tina looked to her in curiosity. "That gun belongs to the Sten submachine gun group developed by the British, doesn't it?"

Frost nodded at her mostly accurate proclamation. "Yes, although this particular variant, the C1, is the Canadian version."

"It looks like a high damage weapon." IQ thought aloud as she looked at the weapon, crossing her arms. "Though I've heard such weapons don't particularly have a high rate of fire."

"Exactly that." Tina affirmed in agreeance as she held up the submachine gun to hold it closer for analysis. "It's the only submachine gun I've ever fired, and to be honest it's all I've wanted in such categories of weaponry. High damage with slower rates of fire for ammunition conservation and sustained combat for when it is needed."

"Well." Monika started as she eyed the weapon, and Tina knew from the considering gaze she was levelling at it that it wasn't a look of approval. "I know it must mean something to you, Tina, sentimentality and all. But have you ever actually used that in a combat scenario?"

"No." Came her friend's instant answer. "To be honest, it's a very reliable weapon with its low recoil and simplistic make, but its now unreliable in the sheer sense of the weapon has stopped being in use since the 1980s and it can't exactly compare to the statistics of some weapons today. It'd require an extended barrel to propel the bullet a far enough distance to what most assault rifles can manage today, the 9mm ammunition is a highly powerful type, but its factors are a complication in a weapon that I've said is of a simplistic make. The reason I've got it is because a man who served in the 1980s passed it down to me."

IQ still had a thoughtful gaze that was clearly curious, as she asked her next question. "What's on your mind, Tina?"

Frost lowered the weapon she was holding as she looked to her friend. "I need more diversity in weapons arsenal." She put bluntly. "My experiences in Canada were mostly CQB barring some true long range engagements, but since I've joined Rainbow, I've seen a lot more. So many situations I've heard of require a gun that can handle a mid-long range that eclipses that of a shotgun - from the mission in Germany, I had to go to a pistol a few times to achieve a longer range. I've had training on submachine guns - but I lack the actual weapon to utilise that everyone else on this base seems to have."

"So you're not going to use the C1 you have?" Monika questioned.

Tina looked to the weapon with a considering gaze for a moment, even a bit of pride from what the blonde could see. "You know, I considered it. I really did. It would be a great pleasure to." She spoke softly, before then shaking her head in the negative. "But no." She answered seriously. "Whilst your LMG is based off a weapons model from the 1960s, it is a more modern variant than that. I'm afraid this one is just a bit too old."

Nodding her head at the assessment she agreed with, IQ then stated a proposition she had been thinking up for a little while then. "Well, I can help you with that then, if you like." She offered.

That got Frost's attention, as she lowered the submachine gun to be held in one hand as she looked over to the German with a raised eyebrow. "In what capacity?" She summarily questioned.

Monika let out a snort at the technical wording that was quickly becoming a familiar quirk of her friend, before responding. "What else but in finding you a weapon? I've got an assault rifle you might just like."

The intrigue on Tina's face made it clear that she was going to follow through on this.

MONIKA'S ROOM.

"I've got it here somewhere..." Monika mumbled as she poked about quite a few of the boxes beneath the workbench of her room, occasionally tossing one out from beneath to make way for more space and visibility.

Tina just looked at her friend and the beneath of the workbench with a surveying gaze, which flickered to even atop the workbench which was littered with tools, parts and electronics all haphazardly piled and strewn around. "Truly." She mused out with a sarcastic tone. "Your workbench is an accurate reflection of your mind. Genius, and enthusiastic, but also chaotic and random."

The boxes containing the tools and other parts she used for her work paused in being shuffled around as a blue eye poked out into the light from under the table, before IQ huffed the hair out of her face in something that may have been akin to slight exasperation to her amused friend. "Is that meant to be a compliment?" She asked.

Frost's own expression was carefully schooled to be even more blank than the regarding gaze IQ was pinning her with. "But of course, Monika." She replied with a level tone.

The blue iris looking to her with a regarding look only narrowed scrutinisingly, before Monika went back to juggling the boxes around. It was a few moments later that she pushed out a box of a bigger size than most of the others, before then picking it up and depositing it upon the desk.

"A box. Just what I've always wanted." Tina stated in an enthusiastic tone that Monika ignored, given the evident exaggeration that gave away the sarcastic element of it. Just as she had gotten used to by now.

Ripping apart the tape that bound the box with a simple pull given her stronger strength than most others, she opened the box up to simply reach inside and pull out the singular item within. Which turned out to be a black, reinforced case of polymer and steel lining - the German pausing for a moment to look at the combination lock near the handle and recall the code.

"An even sleeker box. You're spoiling me now, Monika." Frost interrupted her thoughts then.

"Keep up with the sarcasm and I will hit you over the head with the verdammt box!" IQ retaliated with a huff and singular glare in the direction of her friend only to be met with an eye-smile, before turning back round and inputting the code into the weapons case. Clicking open the case and pulling back the lid, her right hand then reached in and scooped the assault rifle out from its nestled position amongst foam sponge without further ado.

Tina had already set eyes upon it, her hand flexing slightly in an indication of thought as if the analytical look in her eyes couldn't have informed Monika about that. "Another custom job of yours, Monika?" She questioned.

In response, her friend just snorted slightly. "Yes and no." Monika responded as she had already begun the idle motions of putting the assault rifle in her hands through the weapons safety and functionality test. The click of the firing mechanism spoke to them both of its continued functionality. "The SIG 553 variant, or 552 commando as some call it, is among some of the standard issue in the GSG9 special forces. But yes, I have tinkered with it some - added a few of my own modifications since I'm able to. Why do you think it was underneath my workbench?"

Just as she finished saying that, her hand pulled back the bolt of assault rifle and secured it into position, before then holding it out for Tina to observe. Looking to the German for a moment with pondering eyes, the Canadian soon found herself taking the weapon as Monika pushed it closer to her in an obviously urging motion. Falling back unto standard protocol, it was almost automatic to shoulder the weapon into her right arm and flip it onto its side to look down at it, into the firing chamber to observe it was indeed clear.

"Congratulations, its yours now." Monika's words made Tina pause, brown eyes flickering to look up to her friend as she smiled to her friend. "I told you I'd repay you."

Tina said nothing as she looked to Monika for a moment more, before then just looking back down to the weapon and completing the safety test upon it. Only once the test was over and the safety proven to be applied did she look back up and speak. "Yes, but there's a difference between a knife, however custom made it was ordered to be Monika; and then an entire assault rifle."

Monika just laughed at that, with Tina getting the distinct feeling that there was only one way this was going to go.

THE FIRING RANGE.

Indeed, Frost had been press-ganged into accepting the weapon.

The single buzz of the claxon sounded out, enabling her to flick off the safety, align her sights, inhale and prepare to fire. Slowly inhaling over the course of the five seconds she counted down mentally, her finger tightened to provide increasing amounts of gentle pressure on the trigger. Before at the apex of three, squeezing it in a controlled motion for an instant burst of fire before her finger slackened instantly to shut off the mechanism.

Counting down from four seconds for the next target, the same trick applied as the finger slackened again after a split second burst of gunfire. The target that popped up next received three seconds of gunfire, as did the next two follow the same sequence.

Flipping the safety on an almost spent magazine, she put the submachine gun down on the ledge and then looked left to see IQ fiddling about with the Spectre scanner on her arm. Brief curiosity prevailed before she got a look at the screen, and saw that it was the computerised scores from the firing range. Taking them in for a second to see that she did quite well for her first time back firing such a gun for the first time in two months, her eyes then flicked back to Monika to wonder just how the firing ranges' software was compatible with the scanner on her wrist, powerful CPU in it or not.

Her curiosity remained unsated as Monika temporarily took off the ear defenders she was wearing to point at the scores to her friend. "Nice try, Tina!" She congratulated her friend. "It certainly looks like you can make the directional aim of your weapon, but we do need to work on your average groupings. They're not bad, but fixing a couple of flaws in your stance I spotted should mean we can have you at least combat ready by the time you leave."

Tina's eyebrow rose in suspicion of that, which was obviously evident as the blonde's gaze became slightly puzzled at the questioning gaze. "Correcting my flaws with such a weapon shouldn't require too much work given my overall somewhat familiarity with this category of weaponry, but that would still require a matter of hours of practice." She stated then, tapping a finger on her elbow from the crossed arms stance. "Just how long did you book this place for?"

Monika's expression cleared up as she eye-smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Nobody else had it down for today, so - five hours!"

Frost's expression remained in a schooled motion of neutrality as she responded to that. "So I'm supposed to spend five hours in an underground firing range with only you for company?"

"And the two hour sessions I've booked every day for the rest of this week, yes." IQ responded, before turning back to her scanner. "And before you glare at me, or remain staring at me, or whatever you're going to do, just remember that you did say you needed practice."

"No." Came Tina's voice, making Monika look to her again. "I was going to thank you."

THE NEXT DAY.

The phone started buzzing suddenly, drawing Tina's attention to it. It was a rare occurrence for her to receive a phone call, given how she operated her life. Picking up the device and staring at the 'unknown number' flashing across the screen, she snorted and denied the call, before then going back to her tinkering at the workbench in her room.

Only to then grunt in annoyance as it rang again.

Answering it this time, she held the device to her ear and awaited whoever had disguised their phone number to talk. Given the highly secured nature of the devices handed out to them upon joining Rainbow, having left much more easily hackable commercial devices behind, Frost figured that whoever was able to disguise themselves on such a network would be interesting.

"You know, it's rude to put the phone down on somebody like that." Came a chastising, feminine tone from the other end of the line, making Tina look to the phone held to her ear strangely out the corner of her eyes. Before rolling her eyes and putting the phone down on them. They may have disguised themselves, but that didn't shoo away the big red button at the bottom of the screen.

Instead, getting up and wrenching open her door, she knocked hard on her neighbour's door. "Monika!" She called out with a raised tone, given the only person she knew that was both technologically savvy and would be tenable to getting her back for her sarcasm. "Are you playing a prank on me?"

Crossed arms and a finger tapping on one such crossed elbow greeted the German as she opened the door, Monika's face became one of puzzlement as she looked to the Canadian. "What are you talking about, Tina?" She asked.

"I'm asking if you-" Tina's question was cut off as the phone she clutched in her other hand began to buzz once more, making her look to it. "Never mind." She stated without looking back up to her friend. "It can't be you."

If anything, IQ was now even more confused at the proceedings that had happened in the span of only half a minute. So, she followed her friend to stand in the doorway of Frost's room as the mentioned operator picked up the phone again.

"Who is this?" She answered bluntly.

"Straight to the point, I get it. Operator Nøkk is what you can call me." The person on the other end of the line stated, getting a raised eyebrow from Tina as the implications were clear. The fact that they were (potentially) a fellow operator would resolve a few questions that had arisen. Even Monika could see that she wasn't going to just end the call abruptly again this time.

But in honesty, Frost was slightly confused by that. "You must've put a lot of effort into disguising your call, only to then give me your codename anyway." She commented.

The nonchalant tone that was taken on by 'Nøkk' was obvious to the extent that Frost could almost visualise the other person shrugging. "Not like I care, see who believes you. This is more to stop other people from believing you."

"What, unpopular with the masses?" Tina shot at them.

"You mean like your friend, Miss Weiss?" The voice on the other end of the phone quipped back, stilling any further comments from Tina. "Don't bother denying it, I've got dirt on everyone. Miss Weiss just happens to be the one with the largest pile."

A seconds pause elapsed as Frost just slightly pulled the phone away from her ear and glanced to her friend, before speaking with clarity. "I've never denied it." She stated. "But nor am I interested in knowing."

A light chuckle came from 'Nøkk' as she seemingly found that amusing. "I knew that something about you intrigued me, Tina. Any other operator in your shoes would've wanted to know."

A small exhalation of air through the mask that not even the mystery person on the other end of the line could decipher the emotion of was released by Tina. "I don't care to be like the other operators."

"And you aren't." 'Nøkk' smoothly responded back, as if in assurance that the both of them knew wasn't meant. "Given how even I can't dig up your past, you are quite literally the only operator I don't have a full background on at the moment."

"You won't find it." Frost shot back. "And besides, that is none of your concern."

"Oh no, not a concern, I wouldn't put it like that. Just curiosity." The voice replied. "If it was a concern, Six would never have recruited you."

That captured Tina's attention the most out of all that had been spoken thus far. Breaking apart and analysing situations had always been a forte of hers, which was what made her such a good tracking and trapping operator, and to splice apart the meaning of that particular sentence was of no issue. If this phone call was legitimate, then Six wasn't just treating Rainbow as an international counter-terrorism force that its stated aim was.

"I see." Was all the Canadian softly spoke.

"Not really." Came another chuckle from 'Nøkk'. "You still don't know why I've called you."

"Enough games then." Tina spoke forcibly into the phone then, making Monika look concerned to her as her friend's attention was abruptly turned. Anger wasn't present, but more like a willingness to get straight to the point. "If you want something from me, you meet me face-to-face. I don't care to entertain this charade any longer."

A moments silence passed, before the person on the other end sounded even slightly impressed. "Very well, operator Frost, for that was actually my second reason for calling you." 'Nøkk' acquiesced as she then outlined her proposal. "I've got a mission in which I need tracking expertise, something I'll happily admit is not my strongest suit. You'd make a fine choice, if you'd care to join me. Feel free to invite Miss Weiss if you like, it'll only make things more interesting."

Tina's eyes met Monika's for a second as the German heard her name being spoken, before the Canadian turned back to the phone as the conversation was being wrapped up. "And how do I even know that any of this is legitimate?"

"Ask around." 'Nøkk' responded as her last statement. "Just as you have been doing. You're not that bad, believe it or not. You should even be able to get the meeting location that way - in an hour and a half." The phone went dead in Tina's ear, making her pull the device away as the monotone, continuous symphony of the dead line was cut off as she pushed it into her pocket.

"What on Earth was all that about?" IQ abruptly questioned then, drawing Frost's attention to her as she looked over to see her friend looking back impatiently, arms folded.

"We're going to see Six, that's what. It's no use asking around, only one person on this whole base for sure will have the complete answers to anything that goes on around here." Tina responded. "Then we can both get answers on what that phone call was about."

Monika's eyes narrowed in scrutiny at the lack of explanation, before replying. "Very well."

AURELIA ARNOT'S OFFICE.

The woman known as 'Six' paused in the scribbling of her pen to paper as her eyes drifted upwards, darting from the telecom device on her desk to the door, and back. The door naturally had been made as soundproofed as feasibly possible for such a high-ranking leader that the office belonged to, but that didn't stop the microphone feature on the telecom from alerting her to the fact that people were outside her office. Given how her secretary had strict orders not to disturb her during her mission allocation time as she was doing, it was peculiar.

Thumbing the button on the device and activating the microphone, she spoke aloud in a stern tone. "What's going on out there?"

The type of silence that seemed to permeate a room when people are caught doing something descended for a moment, before the secretary cleared their throat and spoke. "Ma'am, a couple of operators are currently here saying they need to talk to you."

An eyebrow rose on Aurelia's expression, before her tone got even stricter. "Everyone on this base knows not to disturb me during core hours, and given how I grant my operators the privilege of walking into my office outside these hours without an appointment, I expect that one request to be respected. Do you mind telling me why the two operators there seem to be making an exception?"

Frost appeared confident, however, as she crossed her arms and leant back in her stance, speaking up before the secretary could. "Ma'am, this is about the mission in which a specific other operator requested tracking expertise, but refrained from providing other details. I'm here to please request those other details in turn."

Her confidence was promptly proven right as Aurelia's tone changed. "So, they requested you, operator Frost? Please come in." The electronic lock on the door audibly clicked open, followed by a last instruction from Aurelia. "And Michael? Please take your lunch hour now. Lock the door behind you."

"Yes ma'am." The secretary answered, shuffling a few papers about their desk before standing up.

Tina had already made her way to the door of Six's office, Monika behind her as they stepped inside and closed the door behind them. Six, whilst having always given off the façade of a business-like woman, now looked simply different in the characteristically serious pose she had adopted at her desk. Hands placed together on the desk, leaning forwards in her chair and an inquisitive expression clear in the eyes of an otherwise set-in-stone expression.

"So, Captain Lin Tsang." Aurelia began. Monika glanced to her friend as that was spoken, before looking back to her superior - and in that moment couldn't decide which one was the more analytical with their expressions. "Just for the sake of confirmation, what was the codename given to you?"

"The only name I was given was that of Nøkk, ma'am." Frost responded as both operators had assumed the 'at ease' stance in respect for their commander, but her thinking approach was seen as she began tapping a finger against her other hand.

"In that case, operator, I can confirm that they really do want you on this mission." Aurelia informed them, a little strangely to IQ as throughout her longer stint at Rainbow, she'd never seen her superior brief them like this. There was confidentiality in not giving away more than necessary, but Six drew right up to that line - making sure to tell her operators all of what she thought was necessary. It was strange to keep playing the secrecy rather than cut right to the chase as the leader of Rainbow normally did.

To Frost, she'd obviously been satisfied with her response as she withdrew her hands from the desk, body language clear in thinking about what she had to divulge. Obvious in retrospect to Frost given the undeniable covertness of the situation, but strange in that her superior did know the details, but still had to think on how she was going to respond. Thus far, she'd analysed that it wasn't about concealing mission details for the sake of confidentiality in a military sense, but a more individualistic factor that caused a delay in Six's thinking. Given the context of it all, the more glaring answer would be the person on the phone playing cloak and dagger.

"What do you mean by that, ma'am?" Tina requested.

Six glanced to the two operators before her, before opening up a drawer in her desk and scooping out a piece of paper. "Operator Nøkk is one of our premier stealth specialists, especially good at infiltration and concealment." Aurelia stated as she folded her arms together in a stereotypical business look, evidently choosing her words carefully. "I'm sure the both of you have gathered by now that the situation is that of an isolated one to the normal status quo of Rainbow's operations, further so than receiving a call from an unknown number. Given the fact that you both now know far more on this matter than anyone else bar only a few other individuals on this base, I'm afraid your silence on this matter to anyone else is not being asked for. It is mandatory."

"The secrets act, ma'am?" Monika asked aloud, eyebrow quirking slightly as she asked it. Her curiosity in the situation wasn't outweighed by military protocol, but distinctions could be asked for.

"This isn't a matter for any government, if that's what you're asking Lieutenant Weiss." Aurelia responded, satisfying the German who also got the distinct impression from her superior's glance to not ask any more on that specific channel of questioning. "This is a sanctioned matter between me and operator Nøkk, of which you two have been at least informed of now." Taking a moment to glance to the sheet of paper she held, Aurelia didn't wait for a response to her order for silence on the matter. "Speaking of which, given the operational procedures of Nøkk, I'm afraid I don't perceive how much they want you to know."

IQ was getting more confused by the situation as more revelation was put onto some matters, for it seemed the mystery element to it all had more than one shadow. The act of being introduced to a situation naturally meant they had to know some things, but that seemed to only be revealing how many other things they didn't know.

Tina came up with a solution to save any further contemplation on the matter. "Ma'am, you've vouched for this operator so whatever mission this is should be official." She merely stated. "They said they'd meet face-to-face, so a location to meet at in an hours time where we can be briefed in person should be satisfactory for all sides."

Aurelia glanced to Frost with a considering expression, before nodding. "That would be a satisfactory compromise, Captain."

ONE HOUR LATER.

"This is ridiculous." Monika let out a grumble as she sat on the plastic chair with folded arms. Considering the fact that they were currently sat in a small room with all their combat equipment, it wasn't an unfair complaint. "I get the need for secrecy on some operations, but there's confidentiality and then outright mystery in a situation that we've been told to possibly prepare for hostility on."

Tina just blew a strand of hair out of her eyes as she fiddled with the one of the welcome mat contraptions in her hand, her multitool rotating ever so often as she made sure the differing moving parts worked correctly. She knew it already did, but her eyes still never wavered as she just lost herself in the ever-reliable mechanical tinkering of her own inventions. She showed her ability to give her attention to multiple factors, however, as she still responded. "You make a fair point, Monika." She spoke in an even tone. "But there isn't much we can do unless you want to go back to Six's office to request more intel."

"OK, I'm not that impatient." IQ let out. "But still, you have to admit that this is all weird."

"This whole place is weird." Frost countered, eyes still remaining on the spring-taut mechanism that held back the serrated blades of the trap. "You can't just expect to invite the operators of many different nations together and expect it to run without some sort of diversity. You can expect discipline, yes, but not synchronicity."

"Tina, you know what I mean. This is another cut above-" Monika began to voice her thoughts before she saw her friend's hand twist something in the mechanism. "OK, I can't stand watching that anymore! I know damn well enough about that mat to know where the safety device on it is, and you haven't touched it once! Put the safety on before you trigger it!"

That was also a fair observation that IQ had made, given how her friend was poking about close enough to the springs that were linked to the triggering mechanism that it could very well activate. Nevertheless, Frost knew just how to counter her point again. "Monika, it's a bit hard to activate the mat if the spring that triggers it has been removed." Her expression was clearly one of dry humour, eyes amusedly staring at her friend as she put an elbow onto the mat, lazily leaning onto it as she held up a small, metal spring in that same hand.

Monika appeared slightly embarrassed at that, but Tina just continued forth with what she was doing, tucking the spring back into her hand and turning back to the mechanism - speaking before she could. "Anyway, as for what you were saying, yes, I'll agree with you there. There's more cloak and dagger surrounding this than there normally should be, considering we were never told the confidentiality level surrounding this in the first place."

"Always the technical stuff with you, Tina." IQ stated, which this time did draw her friend's attention from her tinkering as she looked up with a raised eyebrow. "How about the fact that you got a phone call out of the blue that even I couldn't trace, nor the fact that Six knew exactly what you were talking about based on nought but the briefest description of something?"

Frost looked like she was going to respond, before her mouth evidently closed from the way her mask moved as a thought obviously occurred to her. She spoke up after a second. "What did you mean by trace, Monika?" She questioned with a calm tone of voice.

A red tint appeared above Monika's own face mask as she was caught. "Er-" She let out, before chuckling awkwardly. "I have equipment that can track phone calls?"

The dry, narrowed look in her friend's eyes showed she had done just as good a job convincing friend as she had nervously delivered it - as in not at all. "Whilst I would not put it past you to have such equipment given your expertise in technology, you are nonetheless a horrible liar, Monika Weiss." Tina responded to her friend. "You installed something on my phone." Whilst it was a statement that both knew to be the truth, it was still a sentence that invited a response.

Scratching the back of her head in how she had been so obviously caught, she just nodded. "Yeah." IQ admitted. "Just to improve the device though, I promise!"

Frost's eyes just darted to the phone she pulled out from her trouser pockets, before looking back to her friend. "Given how you've only held my phone twice, and both for only short periods of time, I can only conclude that it's something you sent me. Which would make it a type of virus program." She mused aloud deliberately for Monika to hear, tilting the phone slightly and thumbing it on just to see the lock screen - which predictably showed nothing out of the ordinary. "Pretty impressive given the levels of security Rainbow put into the operating system they install themselves on this thing."

That was an understatement to the technologically adept German, who between the two of them was the person who fully understood the complexity of the operating system. It was wrong to even call it just that, for it was actually perhaps two that ran in synchronicity to one another - a normal phone operating system to both disguise the system and give their operators the functionality of a normal phone; and the installed program which added untold levels of security to the device and the tools needed to be securely communicated with and other applications needed for their jobs.

"It wasn't easy to create a program to hack that system Rainbow puts in the phones, you know." She stated with an introspective tone. "I really had to work at it."

"You know, you'll have to challenge those Korean operators on the base as to who's better at hacking, from what I hear." Frost spoke then, before she put her head in her hand. "But what I'll have to challenge you on is to why you put that program on my phone in the first place. And to what it actually does."

IQ cleared her throat for a second to give her a second to think, before beginning to speak slowly. She wasn't being shy about it, given how she was going to admit it all from the way her friend had always accepted her blunders in the past couple of months they'd known one another, but her friend's methodology and personality meant she was a hard person to fathom at the best of times. "Well, I can promise you right now that I didn't mean any of it maliciously." She started.

"Monika, if I thought you actually had, or if I was angry with you, do you think I'd be taking this as calmly as I am now?" Tina questioned then with another raised eyebrow.

A seconds thought passed in which a few of Monika's feelings eased at the statement, as well as supplied her with an answer to that question. "You know what, yes, I think you would." She admitted. "That does seem to be your natural way of approaching situations."

Frost just stared at her for a moment, before amusement flashed in her eyes as she slowly shook her head. "Never mind, continue." She spoke.

"I did it because I sorta could, you know." Monika confessed with a shrug, feeling secure enough to now just speak her mind about it. "I figured it wasn't going to harm you, I wasn't going to breach your privacy and it was just meant to improve your device. That's essentially all it is - changes in code to improve security on it and to improve the efficiency of different areas of the device that I knew to be lacking from personal experience on these standard handouts." She pondered for a moment before then flexing her hand forward in a gesture to stop her friend talking as she made to answer the last big question. "As for why I didn't tell you, well, I didn't know how you'd react basically."

"And yet you just said you'd think my natural way of approaching situations is to be calm." Tina mused with a dose of sarcasm in her tone. "Quite a contradiction."

IQ just stared blankly at her friend for a moment. The nonchalance attitude was clear as day now, which was a contradiction to her original fears of how Tina would take the situation - she didn't want her friend to be angry with her. But once again, she was being as perplexing as usual. So, instead, IQ just huffed in slight exasperation, before voicing out her question to just end her paranoia. "You truly don't care that I basically breached your privacy?"

A light, airy chuckle came from the Canadian before her. "Nope." Came the amused answer, as Tina just eye-smiled at her. "Couldn't care less." Pulling out her phone to peruse again, before then giving a noticeable shrug as she waggled the device in the blonde's direction. "It's not like I noticed it in the first place, I wouldn't know how to remove it, and you can keep it there. Case closed. Besides, as for the whole... privacy thing, good luck getting any good blackmail material. You won't find anything worthwhile on here relating to my past, likes or interests, or anything like that on any device."

Monika nodded to that in acceptance, before raising an eyebrow. "You keep a diary or something?"

"Nope." Tina repeated herself. "I don't write or record any of that stuff anywhere." She stated with conviction. "I keep it like I always have done, along with all of my expertise and experience. Up here." She finished as she tapped the side of her beanie hat with a finger in synch to the last two words she spoke.

"What an intriguing admission. Sounds like you've got quite a memory there." A voice cracked out then, causing Monika to startle a little and swivel her head towards the doorway from where she had been focusing on her friend. "Unfortunately, people with such skills are the favourite of any competent interrogator."

Frost's eyes looked to the doorway slower than Monika had, as if she had expected the interruption to their conversation. Instead, she merely eye-smiled at the figure in the doorway. "I'd welcome them to try." Was all she said.

IQ could've sworn that an eyebrow was raised on the figure's expression, if it wasn't for the fact that a camouflaged face veil covered their entire head. "Bravery. An admirable attribute, but there are several types. You'll have to prove that you've got what it takes sitting in the chair before making such claims, however." They spoke, a feminine tone to the voice alerting them to a possible clue of the figure's identity, before a raised finger gave a singular wag. "Another time, however."

Monika couldn't help but think of how the figure before them was fitting well into the stereotype she'd built up in her head thus far - it all fit. From the secrecy and mystery, the attire of the figure certainly adhered to it. The uniform she wore was stripped of all identifying nationality or group affiliation, instead just a series of light-looking dark-camouflage schemed trousers and long-sleeved jacket which suggested a person who relied more on their speed. Certainly stealthy as she'd all but proven already, given the softened combat boot soles and the face veil, but what was strangest about the set-up was the device with a retracted aerial strapped to their back and a neon-orange activation button wired to the back of their left glove.

"Nøkk, I presume?" Tina questioned, having carried out her own such appraisal by then.

A single dip in the identified figure's head affirmed that. "That'd be my codename." She stated. "A pleasure to meet you both."

"Why's that?" IQ questioned then, with some curiosity in her expression. "Given how we've never met or known anything about one another."

"Ah, but I've heard of you Miss Weiss. It's not every day a police lieutenant gets to join their country's specialist forces, let alone then an organisation like Rainbow." Nokk countered with a smooth tone, before their head angled so it was clear their gaze fell on Tina. "Your Canadian counterpart doesn't have nearly as much intelligence on file, but being the supposed best trapping and ambush operator on the North American continent comes with its own notoriety."

A second passed before Frost gave a hum. "I can't say I'm much for notoriety as you put it, but that is one I'll be proud of."

Another nod from Nøkk was her response to that, before they walked over to a chair by the doorway they'd come through and sat themselves in it. "So, tell me, how would you like to come on a mission involving a thrilling chase and a lot of mystery?"

Tina seemed amused at the adjective description whilst IQ just gave a sigh and rubbed one of her eyes in frustration. "Scheiße, I've had enough of the mystery already." She mused aloud. "I feel like I've done enough chasing after you, let alone a mission for it."

Nøkk seemed to scoff at that. "I've heard of how you got here. All you did was ask the Commander."

"That's exactly my point." Monika fired back, a tone of disbelief permeating her voice. "The fact that we had to ask Six of all people just for the location of an operator - which is only a meeting point, not a location point I might add." She added. "That's already more confidentiality than anyone else on this base, let alone the fact that she couldn't say anything else. Now you make it sound like we're going on some sort of joyride involving even more!"

Nøkk just looked at her for a second, before a small chuckle came from behind the face veil. "My, you've got a bit of a temper there." She spoke, before shrugging. "Well, that is one way of putting it I guess. You in or not?"

Frost looked right back at the stealth operator. "You're not even going to give us a singular detail on this mission?"

Folded arms and a shaken head was her answer. "Not the way I work."

Monika saw a now-familiar dry expression settle its way onto what could be seen of her friend's face. "What, you'll tell us on the helicopter ride over will you?"

"Nah. Plane." Nøkk responded with quick gusto. "And good luck trying to peel the locational information of where we're going from that."

IQ already knew she was right, given how a short-haul flight could be anywhere within the same country, or a long-haul flight to the other side of the world. There was one satisfactory divulgence, however. "After all this mystery, you're actually going to tell us?" She questioned with a calmer tone.

"Well, it'd be a bit difficult to complete a mission if I didn't at least tell you the objective." Nokk responded, before pointing to Tina to silence whatever rebuke that would've emerged. "Enough sarcasm from you, your friend's look at you makes it clear that you seem to love it. So yes, I've done enough digging on the both of you to trust you enough that I won't just drag you around as support."

"You make it seem that we're already coming." Frost just commented, rebuke having clearly been transformed into an analytical comment. "And that we're supposed to trust you after we don't know anything about you." The fact that there had been breaches in privacy and protocol for Nøkk, somebody unknown to everyone, to have clearly looked through their service files didn't need to be said.

Nøkk just shrugged at that. "Weiss here at least knows where the runway is. See you there for a few minutes before four o'clock for take off." She paused on the way out, turning around briefly to deliver a last sentence. "Oh, and pack for a long term mission."

Tina just watched the stealth operator flit out the door after having said her piece, before looking over to Monika. The German looked back with curiosity at the scrutinising gaze sent her way, before questioning it. "What?"

"You say you don't know how I'm going to react, yet you knew I wanted to be sarcastic." Frost commented with an idle tone in response. "That's even more of a contradiction there."

"Tina, there's two things anyone can gather about you. The technical, and straightforward way you put things. And then there's the rebuking side of yourself." IQ stated. "Apart from that, unless they're your friend like I am, it's difficult to tell what you're going to do next."

A moments silence followed that, before Frost gave a nod. "Looks like Nøkk isn't the only one that can pull off the mystery act."

"Please don't go emo on me."

3:55PM.

"You know, I'm not surprised to find out she didn't tell us there'd be another operator coming along." Frost idly stated as they walked into the room, to see another person already there, cleaning a stripped down rifle upon a wooden table.

"Somehow, it doesn't surprise me either." The woman at the table stated either, the accent in her tone clearly matching her nationality which was identified as Japanese from the emblems on the operator's uniform. Already prepped for a combat mission in much the same way that Tina and Monika were, they were wearing black torso armour to which a full-body harness the likes of which only the SAS wore, rather than most other operators who wore the more out-of-sight harnesses. The military look complimented by black combat boots was ruined only by the blue jacket the woman wore beneath the torso armour, having strangely put up the hood to cover her head, even indoors.

"And who might you be?" Monika asked as she looked to the Japanese operator.

A pair of brown eyes, overshadowed on the right by a bang of black hair looked curiously to the GSG9 operator. "You know, in my homeland, it is considered rude to ask for a name or even oftentimes speak without introducing oneself first." She voiced out in flawless English. "But then I came to Europe, where mannerisms and culture vastly differ, and it is often the guest that is introduced first." She stated, before shrugging. "I do not know which system I prefer. The name is Yumiko Imagawa, codenamed Hibana."

"Tina Lin Tsang. Frost." Tina simply responded shortly in kind, getting a nod from Yumiko.

"I'm Monika Weiss, or IQ." Monika introduced herself, but she got a contemplative look from the Japanese operator as she did so.

"Weiss." Hibana repeated, before assuming a curious expression as it was clear the name was familiar. "I've heard about you."

"Oh, really?" IQ questioned, as a curse word in German also followed it, before her eyes just locked onto the Japanese operators'. "What've you heard?"

Tina did have curiosity about what this was all about, considering that it must've been more uncomfortable for her friend since the recruitment drive started and gossip would've been flying on everyone. But, it was also true what she said on the phone to Nøkk, in that she didn't care to go digging for it.

"Talk around the base. A lot of people here don't like you." Yumiko put it rather bluntly, making Frost raise an eyebrow as she got a sense that the Japanese operator must hold a stark personality. Monika's expression hadn't moved. "Mike though, he says your alright. Said that Seamus thought you were damn good at your specialist stuff."

"You've met Thatcher?" Tina questioned then.

"Had a training exercise with him last week, then he met up with some other British operator called Mark - invited me for a drink. Your friend's name cropped up." Hibana answered.

"And?" Monika asked.

In response, Yumiko just looked back to her before shrugging. "I don't know you, Miss Weiss. The first-year operators do." She replied. "I'll formulate my own opinions about you, simple. As a combat operator, whatever pettiness other people have for you has no bearing on me given how I might have to trust you with my life. I'm sure you'll find the same is true for my counterpart, Captain Enatsu."

IQ's folded arms and blank expression remained motionless for a second, before she held out a hand - which Hibana took. "I'm sure we'll get along fine then, Yumiko." She spoke as they shook hands.

"Thank you, Monika." Yumiko responded, before she looked over to Frost. "So, how did you guys get roped in by Nøkk?"

"Phone call out of the blue." Tina answered, readjusting the mask on her face so it sat more comfortably. "Had to go to Six just to find out where to meet them, met them, and still don't know anything about this mission."

"Sounds familiar." Hibana commented. "You still aren't going to find out anything until we're on the way there."

Monika had had curiosity on the entire situation this whole time, and so now utilised the time to ask a couple of questions. "It certainly sounds like you've done a mission with her before. How many others know about her?"

"I've only been on the one mission with Nøkk." Yumiko spoke as she turned back to the stripped gun on the table, picking up a part to clean it. "Given how it's apparently incredibly rare for anyone to go along with her according to the only other person who I know who knows Nokk, that's what makes this little set-up that bit more confusing."

Tina agreed with that. All that she'd heard so far pointed to 'Nøkk' being an operator with specialist infiltration and stealth abilities, who worked alone. A party of four was far from being alone, which meant that the mission was either going to be extremely difficult, or lengthy in requiring a versatility of expertise.

"And you don't much about Nøkk?" Monika questioned.

"No." Yumiko answered with a shake of her head. "From that mission I had with Nøkk, she'll treat you like a comrade, but finding out anything about them? It'd be easier to pull teeth."

With little else to find out about Nøkk seemingly and the fact that mission details would remain unclear, IQ changed the topic of the conversation. "So what's your area of expertise then?"

"I'm an explosives expert." Hibana replied, before shrugging. "Also good at military techniques, especially paramilitary and infiltration. Prefer long range to short range - exactly why the explosive pellets I carry are shot from a launcher."

That got Frost's attention as she looked over with more interest. "Launcher?" She inquired.

Hibana shot a glance to the Canadian, before nodding and reaching under the table to deposit a device onto it. "X-Kairos." She merely stated the name, as the two looked to the weapon placed upon the surface of the table. It was a bulkier contraption than a standard weapon configuration and shape, with a clear tube alignment to the weapon in its enclosed barrel, and cylindrical magazines that were actually loaded diagonally on the right of the weapon. It was probably not much heavier than a standard assault rifle, but the lack of a firing sight and for stability purposes, the secondary handle was held diagonally to the left of it.

"Not often you see such a weapon, especially not in a pellet format." IQ murmured in thought, some of her own expertise coming to mind as she assessed the contraption before her.

"A lot of its components are of my own design." Hibana stated as she picked up the launcher and put it beside her to begin assembling her rifle. "Maybe not as wide-reaching or accurate as a missile, but certainly a lot more versatile and cheaper, not to mention modifiable. It works better for me."

"Great." Came a sudden voice, interrupting the three of them and making them look towards Nøkk, who had entered the room without the three of them knowing. Whilst anybody could be caught unawares when not focusing, it did startle at least two of the operators at seemingly just how sudden Nøkk had appeared in the room. "Glad to see that introductions have already been done whilst I was away. I'll skip over that part then."

"You've skipped over a lot of things." Frost pointed out in a level tone as she calmly looked towards Nøkk. "What aren't you going to skip over?"

"I'll certainly skip over the sarcasm, and tell you that all will be revealed on the plane journey over. Who knows who's listening on the ground?" Nøkk responded with a light, clearly amused tone.

Monika crossed her arms as Hibana obviously just sought to move things along. "Then how about you lead the way?" She requested, with a serious tone to it that she clearly used when she wanted her requests to be accepted.

A small chuckle was her response. "But of course." Nøkk spoke, but merely turning round and exiting through the door she'd first arrived through. Though having not been said, the other three operators got the prompt and gathered what belongings they'd put down, before filing out the same door.

Catching up to the still strolling stealth specialist, Nøkk first spoke as she pointed to one of the two large metal fabricated aircraft hangars that sat on the edge of the base given to Rainbow. "You know, I was surprised when I first came here and saw that there was an aerodrome part attached to the base, but it makes sense when you think about it. The runway can take up to medium sized transports, meaning two or three such aircraft could transport every operator and their equipment anywhere they needed to be - something that can't be done with the limited range from the helicopters kept here too."

"So there's going to be a fifth person joining us." Tina spoke up. "Who's the pilot?"

Yumiko gave a laugh then at that, obviously having been amused by the question. "You should know she loves her secrecy." She stated simply. "She is."

Walking into the second hangar, IQ didn't really think it a coincidence that the large open space of the metal hangar was devoid of any staffing, with a singular small jet plane sitting in the middle of it.

"A Cessna Citation." Nøkk announced as she stood before the aircraft, merely snatching a clipboard off the wall and beginning to run through a list of presumably checks to the other three operators. "Not quite a military aircraft, but it has a nice anonymity to it with it usually being a private or business aircraft. Besides, good specifications aren't really necessary when time isn't a factor and it can reach the majority of Europe without stopping."

Tina could certainly see the appeal of the aircraft, having a sleek, small shape of polished matte white, with the glamour or usual private 'wow' factor of smaller aircraft that separated it from most other aircraft being the two engines up the back on the tail. Not really caring to do much else, she instead walked up the short steps to enter the aircraft. Taking a second to see what she had presumed to carry twelve passengers actually had eight seats plus two pilots, she gave a snort at the presumptuous nature of it all.

She didn't voice a complaint to the comfort factor of it though as she dropped into a seat facing a table at the back of the plane. It wasn't often you got such legroom on a plane.

Monika had joined her shortly after, choosing to sit in the seat right next to her as Yumiko too walked on, stopping just next to them.

"Would you mind if I assembled my rifle?" She bluntly asked, referring to the bag in her hand from which the barrel of a rifle poked out.

Giving a side look to Monika, Tina just nodded. "Go ahead." She answered.

"Thanks." The Japanese operator responded as she put the bag on the table and sat herself opposite them. "We'll still be another twenty minutes." She then spoke in answer to a potentially unspoken question as she began placing the parts of her rifle on the wooden table before them.

"I suppose." IQ spoke, before then pitching a question of her own. "So, want to take a stab at what mission we've got before she actually tells us finally?"

"Not a clue." Hibana replied as she slotted two metal components together. "There is a serious lack of context that means anything we come up with is nought but a guess."

Frost thought for a moment, before shrugging. "She's right." She agreed. "We've got an explosives and tactics expert, detection and urban clearing expert, stealth specialist and I'm a CQB and tracking expert. In some aspects it goes together, and in others it doesn't mesh together. Besides, some of the context we've got like the fact that we're going abroad only gives more questions than answers right now."

Time passed as simple conversation was made, before footsteps on the steps alerted them to Nøkk entering the aircraft, before then pulling up the stairs and sealing the door shut. Taking a second to survey the interior and then nod to the operators at the back half of the aircraft, she sat in one of the pilots' seats and began initiating the first stages of take-off. Tina in her observations of the stealth specialist completing tasks and occasionally pushing a couple of switches and buttons noticed that she actually only periodically checked the book in her lap. It was more used to snatch up a pen and tick something on a checklist before referring back to the couple of dashboards before her.

Possibly only two minutes later, Nøkk turned in her seat to look at them. "If you could buckle up and do all the safety stuff we all know, that'd be great. Just been told by the staff on lookout duty that we've only got ten minutes before our take-off slot is used up and they disappear."

IQ appeared somewhat surprised by that as she began to shout over the activating jet engines. "You mean there's no staff in a control tower?" She questioned.

"Of course there is!" Nøkk responded. "But they're usually only there upon an approved booking - too few trips are made from the runway to warrant permanent staffing."

It didn't take long at all to taxi from the tarmac strip beside the runway onto the dashed white lines signalling the very start of it, as the affirmations and answers Nøkk gave into her headset signalled the very last stages of questions and checks. Which were done in a very short time, as Monika then watched Nøkk push both throttles forward.

The jet engines seem to give a shrill scream at the sudden power boost given to them, before a rolling start ascended into a rocketing speed that the operators could feel initially try to press them into their seats. Indeed, the two hangars they had spent half a minute taxiing past blurred by in less than a second seemingly, as the aircraft began to tilt upwards and claw its way into the air.

It was forty five minutes later that they were flying North over a patch of sea, whether it was the North Sea or Norwegian Sea was what Frost was trying to decide as Nøkk finally turned her head in the pilots seat to talk to them for the first time since take-off. "I think it's about time I told you about the mission." She stated.

Monika glanced her way, before subtly rolling her eyes. "You think?" She murmured to herself, to which only Tina heard as she looked to her friend out the corner of her eyes.

"The objective is actually pretty straight forward." Nøkk announced as she turned back to the pilot controls and just shouted over her shoulder as she talked. "We're somewhat interested in a couple of convicted criminals in the country of Norway. You'll find their identities here." She paused as arm snatched a folder off the other pilot seat and threw it backwards into the aisle. "I only say somewhat because they're not the main objective - they're the people who will lead us to it."

"A criminal gang?" Yumiko questioned as she looked on with interest.

"You got it." Nøkk affirmed with a thumbs up stuck above her head. "The two are the only known members of a criminal gang rumoured to operate in a network across the north of Norway. They're the only two known because the intel we have on them shows that they're the face of it all - the only two known to buy and procure, and sell."

IQ had scooped the folder from the aisle and laid it down on the table before them, revealing the faces of a Norwegian man and woman. "Erik Jacobsen and Anne Fischer." She read out.

"That's them. That's why I needed operator Frost - they've got experience in evading the authorities, which is exactly why they were probably chosen to be the face of the criminal organisation they're a part of. We don't even know the name of it. But we do know that they were sighted in the airport of the town of Andenes. Norwegian specialist forces were called up, luckily enough in time to track them beginning to head further North."

The three operators were paying rapt attention to the situational briefing, especially Frost since her codename had been mentioned. To her, the puzzle pieces were at least beginning to fall into place as more context was given. "I take it they lost them?" She questioned over the droning noise of the plane.

"Not once, but twice." Nøkk spoke aloud. "They are good since they lost them on the trail up North, but they caught a break when CCTV identified them in region of Tromsø. This time, not wanting to lose them, the objective was moved from following them to actively bringing them in. Anti-terror police actually attempted to do so just three hours ago."

"What happened?" Yumiko asked, again seeking to move the topic onto how they fit in, sensing that they were nearing it.

"Two policemen were gunned dead and the criminals escaped in a resulting break in the surrounding of the hotel they'd been in. They were pursued for perhaps two hours according to the radio updates I've been getting before they were lost in the snow forests, but not before one of them was actually wounded by a bullet." Nøkk informed them.

"Wait." Monika interrupted her then as something she'd been pondering in the back of her mind finally came out in a question. "I understand that they'd want to call for help when they lost them the first time, but standard procedure in Rainbow is that only a singular operator is required to be dispatched to assist more local authorities. How come this mission is happening with four, that was approved before an operation was actually conducted only two hours prior to us sitting here now?"

"A fair question." Nøkk responded. "The kicker in this scenario is that the threat level was increased above your average mission once Norwegian special forces got involved and dug into their intel on who they were chasing. You'll see in that folder that they've been involved in worse than even stuff like gun-running - there's good indications of handling of biohazardous materials from who they've been seen with. Once they knew that, the call for help was sent directly to Rainbow."

Hibana read the relevant paragraphs as she then got to the mission objective. "If Six sent four of us with a variety of specialties to track down and capture just two criminals, she must want them bad. The materials in the hands of this organisation must be lethal." She stated, before then asking the question she wanted to know. "What's the prerogative?"

"Any means necessary." Came Nøkk's curt response, making Hibana's face turn more serious as IQ looked to Frost to see if she agreed with the conclusion she'd come to, which was a yes. Given the secretive nature of Rainbow, and Nøkk's earlier comments when with them, it wasn't that hard to assess that Nøkk wasn't just there to act as an organiser for the mission, but also a torture specialist.

"How will we know where they were last seen?" Tina voiced out.

"Somebody will be waiting for us at the airport near Tromsø where we'll be landing." Nøkk answered. "We'll get taken to the last site of where they'd been engaged, from where the operation will be passed formally to us."

"Rainbow's taken the lead on this?" Monika questioned.

"It's as you said, there's a reason four of us have gone along. The Norwegian authorities will be responsible for sealing off the area and roads, whilst we track them down. Once we have the intel we need from the criminals, we are to then track down the locations of the differing sites of the organisation, and shut it down. Permanently." Nøkk stated seriously then. "We'll have a priority for any Norwegian military assistance we require. It seems they're more anxious than Six in wanting them gone."

"That sounds like a long mission." Tina commented as she put her head into her hand as her elbow was placed on the arm rest of the seat.

"But of course." Nøkk responded. "This could take anywhere from two weeks if there's maybe just one base, or up to four months possibly."

"Four months?" Monika repeated back to her then with a tone of exasperation.

"You were told to pack for the long term!" Nøkk shot back. Frost could almost see the German's blood pressure pick up a notch from the sing-song tone it was delivered back in, which was only stopped short of expressing her annoyance as the stealth specialist turned round in her seat. "Cheer up though, you get extra mission pay for every day we're out here, which is a good rate. Plus, all expenses paid for, starting with an early dinner!"

A somewhat big box skidded down the aisle to their table, which upon being opened was revealed to be an actual decent packed meal for each of them.

"At least it's not a horror bag." Yumiko idly commented as she picked out a plastic tub.

FORTY FIVE MINUTES LATER.

"So this is Tromsø." Tina stated aloud as she was reading a map on a wooden noticeboard, before giving a snort. "Not the worst cold I've felt."

"Really?" Monika questioned then with some disbelief. "We're inside of the fucking Arctic circle - how much colder can it get?!"

It was a fair decree - if anything a bit of an understatement, given the light fall of the white speckles of snow surrounding them with the gentle breeze of wind drifting through. The German was sure that if it wasn't for the thicker winter equipment she'd be given to put over her operator gear, the 'breeze' against herself would've been an icy bite in her bones.

Giving a small shiver, IQ took her time to then look around as Nøkk was speaking with the representative sent to them. "At least it's somewhere I've actually heard of."

It also seems she had piqued Frost's curiosity however, as her friend looked to her. "You know of this place?" She questioned.

IQ glanced back with a nod. "I've read about it." She responded. "This is where the sister ship of the Bismarck was sank by the RAF in WW2."

Tina went back to studying the map with another snort, plucking out a paper copy to take with her. "I didn't know you were a history nerd, Monika." She stated.

That was met with some indignation on the blonde woman's side. "And what is that supposed to mean?" She questioned with an affronted tone that Tina could tell was being at least slightly put on. "I just read about things that interest me, that's all."

"So you just admitted that you do the most reading between us, Monika." Frost responded with an exaggerated victorious tone and a twinkle in her eye as she looked back up to the taller German, before eye-smiling as she made her declaration. "That therefore makes you the nerd between us!"

IQ stared back at her friend unblinkingly with a serious look of thinking, before just giving a huff that came out as a small, visible cloud of condensation in the chilly Norwegian air.

NIGHTTIME.

Given the advanced time zone and time spent travelling to the location where the criminals had last been spotted, night had already fallen in the woods. It was reminiscent of a desolate environment, with trees that stood tall and wide at their base, but with thin branches than began above their heads with needle dark green leaves. The only thing that could be seen on the ground was a layer of pale white snow several centimetres deep, when it could be seen in the moonlight rather than the pitch black night hat set in out of range of the moon and their torches.

Nøkk had sent away the Norwegian guide they'd had so they could re-join the unit they were from after she had been satisfied that she'd asked all the questions she wanted, leaving them to set up camp for the night. Given their opponent's wounded state and the expanse of the wilderness before them, it was agreed that they'd rest and begin tracking them down at first light - which wasn't far off in the months of the Arctic region they were in. For now, a fire had been set in the middle of camp to provide them with a measure of warmth as they set up shelters around it in the small clearing they inhabited.

"This is not what I expected of being North of the Arctic circle during its snowy period." Hibana commented, as she set down the torch she was holding onto the ground to better tie some of the cord she was utilising for her shelter round a tree.

"What were you expecting?" Frost questioned as she was doing the same thing.

The Japanese operator paused for a moment, before shrugging. "A lot more emptiness. We are a while away from what few towns are even out here now."

"That's fair." Tina responded as she began unfurling her role mat into the inside of the canvas sheet that was her shelter for the night - a Basha, as the British called it. "But that's more of a tundra environment. This is more like a taiga forest."

Yumiko gave a nod as she finished setting up her shelter, before then inquiring on her curiosity. "Speaking of environments though, Tina." She spoke aloud then. "How will you track down the criminals?" She questioned, as Tina paused before looking to her. An answer was not immediately forthcoming, as the Canadian instead raised an eyebrow - and Yumiko felt the need to defend her question. "I mean, we can't even see much from all this snow and bare environment, and what tracks they have will probably have been filled in by morning when we move."

Frost's face became more considering at that line of thinking, as she gave a nod. "I suppose that's fair." She acquiesced, before laying down her thinking - seeing even Monika had paused in her activity to look over and listen in. "Well, for one thing, half of tracking down somebody in a physical environment like this isn't actually scouring for evidence - it's to find the best route and thinking like somebody on the run. Whether that be to double back, take a different, longer turning you think your enemy will be fooled by, and so on. The terrain itself provides a lot of clues into how a human will trek it - we aren't specifically adapted animals to this environment, and so following the paths or trails provided is in itself oftentimes a good way to go."

"Very well." Hibana spoke. "But how do you confirm it? How do you actually know that the path you're on is the right one?"

"Sometimes it's a good guess." Frost answered with a shrug, admitting it wasn't always clear.
"But sooner or later, somebody who knows what they're doing will find the right path - because there's always evidence. Always, from a whole path of footprints to the smallest branch being broken in just the wrong way for it to be an animal." Frost looked clearly into Hibana's eyes as she gave her last verdict. "You just have to know what to look for, and what you're doing."

THIRTY MINUTES LATER.

"Tina, what are you doing out here?" Monika questioned as she looked to her friend sat on the forest floor.

"Hello Monika." Was Tina's response, as Monika moved in closer to see that her friend had once more picked out a welcome mat to tinker with it, in a habit that she knew was good thinking time for her friend. "Just admiring the view."

An acknowledging grunt came from the blonde, before she shook her head slightly. "I really don't get what you're doing here though, Tina." IQ stated with some curiosity in her voice, the wondering blue eyes being literally the only thing Tina could see as the German's mask had evidently been pulled taut across her face to try and stay as warm as possible. "It's warmer round the fire back at camp, but you skunked off."

"I'm used to the cold, Monika." Frost responded, some amounts of pride and resolution creeping into her voice with her next words. "To a better extent than most of Canada, even. I may've grown up in Vancouver and spent a large portion of my career in British Columbia where it can get pretty cold, but some of my best training was done in Nunavut. I've been further North than that. You don't get to claim you're used to the cold until you've survived the Arctic Circle as we're doing now. So, I'll be fine for a couple of hours at least like this - it's all in the equipment and techniques you use, like breathing."

IQ blinked at that statement, the interest clearly on display as she found out a lot about her friend from those three sentences alone. "You know, I didn't think you'd gone to such extremes." She spoke, before cocking her head slightly in thought. "So you took the chance to sneak off so you be around something familiar."

"Partly." Tina admitted with a level tone as she went back to tinkering with the welcome mat splayed in her crossed legs. "Though familiar isn't the word I'd use. More like... missed."

Monika looked to her friend, hesitating slight before posing her question. "Missed?"

The multi-tool in Tina's hand paused in its action for a moment before resuming twisting at a screw in the mechanism. "I'm sure you know by now that I'm a solitary person by now, Monika." She spoke aloud, the softly spoken words being carried in the absolute quiet ambience of the forest they were sitting in. "A lot of the training I did was solo, especially in the Northern regions. It makes one appreciate how much they can see and learn by themselves and a book, which is how I've become as good as I have through those times." A moments pause in her action once more occurred, but instead of resuming her tinkering, Tina finally looked up to her friend after having spent minutes just experimenting with the mat. "It also makes one appreciate nature and the beauty of the Taiga and Arctic forests. Join me, Monika, and I'll show you just what I mean."

A pat on the snow next to Tina invited Monika to sit with her, which she did so with a grunt and a forceful slump onto the ground as the snow crunched beneath her. The German looked to the Canadian with a curious gaze, but before she could speak, Tina had grabbed hold of the top of her head.

"This is the other half of the reason why I 'skunked off' as you put it Monika. I'll show you just what I mean - but I am surprised you haven't noticed it yourself yet." Frost quietly stated, before twisting her hand right to tilt her friend's head right and up. IQ could've broken out of the grip if she chose to given its lack in any forceful strength, let alone her own, but she just let her friend dictate her actions.

IQ couldn't help but gasp, the mask covering her expression slipping slightly down her face as her mouth did open slightly in wonder. Her eyes had widened as she took in the view of the startlingly clear, dark sky that was untainted by urban pollution and a shade of black that any artist would want for their canvas - with how the pitch black of the sky seemed to still emit a warmth to all those that saw it that cold night. The contrast of it was further pronounced with the popular global phenomena that slow danced across said black canvas - the Northern lights.

"Schön..." Was all IQ murmured out then, eyes fixated upon the scene before her.

"Beautiful, huh?" Frost mused then, breaking Monika out of her admiration of the night sky and looked to her friend, who glanced sideways at her. "I've been learning a bit of German, don't mind me."

Feeling the happiness of the moment then, Monika couldn't help but laugh slightly, a few chuckles making its way out into the quiet forest. "Thank you, Tina." She stated sincerely then.

Tina just tilted her head slightly in thought, before eye-smiling once more to her friend. "Not a problem, Monika." She responded, as she turned back to what she was doing for a little while, but not before they had closed the gap between themselves to conserve what warmth they could back-to-back. Some time elapsed as they sat like that, making small talk to burn down the time until they would actually want to go to sleep.

"We'll probably have to get back soon." Monika mused in a softly spoken voice then, some regret clear in it at the thought of leaving the experience she might never see again. But the shivers that now ran up her body every few seconds was making it clear that the cold was starting to settle in.

Tina had long since packed away the mat she'd been experimenting with, just taking in the view quietly in resolute observation already committed to memory as she leant against her friend's arm. "If that's what you want." She replied back after a moment. "But do bear in mind we'll be getting up later in the morning, given how it gets lighter in the sky later in the day the further North towards the Arctic you go at this time of year."

A chuckle came out at the same time as another shiver from IQ. "I suppose we've got enough time to do this then, if you'll indulge me."

Frost's eyes flicked from the Northern lights to looking at her friend's hands out the corner of her eyes as she watched the gloved hands unstrap the cover she'd put on the gadget on her wrist. Curiosity permeated her thinking as to why she'd brought her Spectre scanner, but refrained from asking as the analysis of the device in the cold conditions also revealed something else to her - that the device truly was robust if it switched on just as fast as normal in the frozen conditions that would've slowed down any commercial device. The reasoning for her friend's actions became clear anyway, as the camera option on the device was selected, and pointed to the Northern lights before them.

Given the no-holds-barred expense Monika had shelled out on the device and her own expert knowledge in putting it together, the resolution in the picture it captured seemed to be just as good as it looked in reality.

"If you don't mind." Monika's inquisitive sentence broke the silence then, further piquing Tina's interest at the slightly tentative tone within it. "Can I take a picture of the two of us?"

Tina lifted her head up then with a slight frown, not that it could be seen behind the mask as blue eyes just looked inquisitively into thinking brown ones for a moment. The truth of the matter was that nobody had taken her picture outside of an official capacity since the time of her education years, with the comfortability of her own anonymity only growing as the years spent in her military career passed. Monika's own concern into the moments hesitation was pushed aside, however, as it was clear when her friend answered without explanation. "Alright, Monika." She answered, before her eyes turned serious. "But no Instagram, you hear me?"

An instant, high-pitched chuckle was the first answer she received back. "Tina, I don't even have an Instagram account!" She assured her friend, before then giving a nod. "But it'll remain just between the two of us, I promise. I'll even get you a copy!"

An eye roll was what was returned. "I'll hold you to that, Monika." Frost spoke with a sarcastically scathing tone.

IQ just gave another laugh before then holding out her arm behind the two of them, angling it downwards and towards them so the night sky - and its according atmospheric dancing light show - filled up the screen on her Spectre scanner behind the two of them in frame. Taking a few seconds to make sure it looked perfect to her and that her friend was actually looking to the device, IQ then held a tentative finger over a button on the device.

"Jetzt bitte lächeln!" Monika called out with an eye-smile clear on her face, thumping the button as her hand then shot out to snake around Tina's shoulders to force her away from the side of the screen she'd been on and into the dead centre of the frame with her.

Tina had been slightly surprised at the sudden motion of being forced into the centre of the photo, only bothering to respond with a few words to the nonsensical German words thrown at her that she wasn't that far along in learning yet. "Whatever you say." She spoke out, before then in turn smiling slightly too. It may not have been obvious, but her friend knew she'd smiled as the five second counter on the camera reached zero, and the photo taken.

They may've planned to leave after that, but Monika's ensuing conversation meant they stayed there for a further half hour before the cold finally overcame the mental barriers of the German who wished to prolong that moment with her friend.