Italy, Outside the Social Welfare Agency Compound
"So let me get this straight Lambert - you are telling me that this so called Agency uses cybernetically enhanced children as their operatives? " Lambert grunted in response before answering. "Rumours suggest so, Fisher. As it happens, Third Echelon has close ties to this agency. However, we need someone to check whether or not these rumours are true and act accordingly. The upcoming joint op is going to be an excellent way for us to find out... get in, find out what you can, and get out. "
Sam Fisher heaved a sigh and acknowledged his superior's orders. He had an uneasy feeling about this operation.
In theory, it was quite simple - mop up the last remnants of a terrorist group called the Padania whilst working together with the Agency - also known as their public cover, the Social Welfare Agency - and acquire as much data as possible that might prove or disprove these rumours. In practice, Sam knew to trust his gut instinct and knew this would likely spell trouble for him. After all, whilst he always had the devil's luck when it came to surviving and completing his assignments, Murphy was also his best friend and an ever-present factor during his career.
"Alright. I'll be... discrete. One more thing Lambert - Fifth Freedom? Am I on a leash or am I allowed to bite instead of just barking? " The Fifth Freedom - the freedom that allowed Third Echelon operatives to revoke all other freedoms on any given group or individual, in order to protect the peace and freedom of the innocent. In effect, a " license to kill ".
"For now, you're going to be wearing a collar. Metaphorically, of course. During this op however, you will be functioning as one of the members of the group and thus, will be under the direct authority of our contact. This means that... " Before Lambert could finish his sentence, Sam interrupted him. "...when it comes to targets assigned to me by the Agency, Fifth Freedom will be in full effect unless otherwise specified. Speaking of which - Lambert? Just who is our contact? " Lambert fell silent for a second, whilst the sound of paperwork being shuffled around was heard. "One moment Fisher... the board is hounding me for details on the expenses for this op again. "
And yet again, a sigh escaped Sam's lips as he kept walking towards the Welfare Agency's main building. Swearing could be heard from the other side of the phone, as a desk jockey was getting chewed out. Judging by what he could hear, the poor sod probably forgot to file a finance report or two. Sam chuckled and counted his blessings - he thankfully didn't have to deal with the red tape much, considering his status as a mere operative. The best operative Third Echelon had, but still. Preventing three world wars in a row apparently didn't entitle him to a higher salary though... everytime he had raised the issue with Lambert, the latter suddenly had "important issues to attend to. " Not that it matters - he'd even do this work unpaid if necessary.
Italy, Social Welfare Agency Compound
After about a minute, Sam reached the gates to the Agency grounds - just in time for Lambert to resume speaking. "Fisher? Are you still there? " Sam stopped in front of the gate before answering. "Yes. "
"Judging by your sub-dermal implant you have reached the location, yes? Your contact is called Jean Croce. He is a high ranking agent and advisor to Section 2's Director. Request to speak with him: he'll be expecting you. " Sam took a second to memorize the details and finally spoke again. "Affirmative. Commencing radio silence. "
As soon as he had finished his statement he switched off his phone, removed the battery and pressed the hidden killswitch that would completely destroy all data on it afore throwing it in a trashbin. Taking a step forward toward the intercom, he was met with surprise when it sprung to life without his intervention.
"State your name and business. "
Sam stood up straight, looked into the camera and assumed a professional air. "Sam Fisher. I am a representative on behalf of Dynasecure Inc. and I have an appointment with Jean Croce. " The voice on the other side of the intercom went silent for a second, presumably because the guard was verifying the authenticity of his claim. After a minute, the gates opened and the intercom sprung awake once more. "Very well. Please head to the guest lounge and await further instructions. " Giving an affirmative nod to the camera, Sam proceeded onward. He already had memorized the layout of the compound from the intel he was given and thus arrived at the guest lounge fairly quickly.
Having entered the building and announcing his arrival to the secretary, he decided to grab a cup of coffee and a bag of crisps from the nearby vending machine while he still had the option to do so - lord only knows how this assignment might turn out. The last assignment that looked like a fairly routine job ended with him having to stay awake for four days straight without drinks or food, having to gather small bits and crumbs from within the embassy he had infiltrated. "Routine jobs don't exist in our line of work. I'd like to switch places with the idiot who coined that term... see if he still thinks the same after taking on my job, " Sam muttered to himself whilst finishing his snacks and coffee. Afterwards, he spent a bit of time ruminating on the agency and the rumours surrounding it.
As Lambert had mentioned, the Social Welfare Agency was only a public cover. The organisation was in fact part of Italy's Anti-Terrorism department, and as such regularly crossed paths with organisations such as Third Echelon, whom they maintained a functional relationship with. This also meant that at times they called upon each other for assistance, resulting in joint ops like Sam's current assignment. Third Echelon has an ulterior motive in this particular op, however - they wished to confirm whether or not the rumours about the supposed child assassins were correct. Sam did not know what would come afterwards if this were to somehow be true, but that would be a bridge to cross later on. Still, Sam figured the rumours about cyborgs were likely poppycock and horsefiddle - after all, cyborgs were a thing of fantasy and sci-fi.
As he took a look at the dormitory - where the orphans saved by the agency lived - through the window, he heard a voice call his name. Turning around, he saw a young girl with short blonde hair and boyish clothing standing in front of the coffee machine. Sam was surprised at her apparent age - she looked no older then nine... maybe ten?
"Mister Fisher? Jean told me to give a message to you. " Sam quicky recovered and answered with as warm a smile as he could muster - which wasn't hard, considering the girl reminded him of his own late daughter. "Just call me Sam. I feel old when people call me mister. And who might you be, young lady? Mister Croce's daughter? " The girl responded by energetically shaking her head, followed by a little bounce that was just as energetic. "No, Mister Fisher. I am Rico, his little sister. " Sam let the girl's words sink in for a bit. "Really? Does your brother make you work here then? " The girl nodded and smiled yet again. "All the girls who were saved by the Agency help out as much as they can. "
Sam was still processing the fact that the Agency would have these children work for them. "What do you kids do around here then? If you don't mind me asking, that is. Because in America it is rather... strange for children of your age to be working like this. "The girl's facial expression turned into a thoughtful one. " Well, we mostly help out with small things. Receive guests, guide them around. Stuff like that. " Sam nodded in understanding and flashed another small smile at the girl. "Alright. Well then Rico...can you give me the message? " As if on command, the young girl stood ramrod straight and cleared her throat. "Please go back to the hotel and await further instructions. " After speaking, the girl relaxed a bit and exhaled. Turning on her heel, she waved Sam goodbye and ran off, stopping only to talk to a blonde girl with pigtails.
"This is getting stranger by the minute. I'd best report back to Lambert once I'm back at the hotel... " Sam thought. Wondering what the cause might have been for the request to return to the hotel, he started making his way back, making sure no one followed him or saw him.
Italy, Safehouse "Alphonse"
Having arrived in the hotel room granted to him by the Agency - after having thoroughly checked it for anything suspicious, naturally - Sam grabbed his PDA from his suitcase and dialed Third Echelon's frequency. Whilst allowing the PDA to calibrate and start the dialing process, he grabbed both his utility belt and sidearm, slid on his holster, and holstered his custom Five seveN pistol. The weapon was, alongside the PDA, one of the few things he brought along - he preferred to travel light when on missions like these. Outfitted with a removable silencer and an integrated device for temporarily shutting down electrical hardware from a safe distance, it had served him wel in the past and it would continue to do so.
"Fisher! You there? Report! "
Sam checked the room for traps once more, and responded. "Fisher, checking in. " He heard a sigh on the other side of the line and chuckled a bit when he imagined the amount of red tape Echelon was going to be saddled with because of this small change in plans. "What is going on Fisher? GPS shows you are currently contacting us from within an Agency hotel... "
This time it was Sam's turn to sigh as he started to explain what had happened thus far. At some point during the debrief Lambert barked at Grimsdottir to " encrypt the connection dammit ", before turning his attention back to Sam. Anna Grimsdottir was Third Echelon's resident tech wiz as well as Sam's support during his missions, performing tasks ranging from hacking systems from a distance to digging up intel on the current objective - as well as being a critical part of the reason Sam was still alive today... without the gadgets she designed and the intel she delivered to him things might have gone differently in the past.
"Lambert... Are there any changes to my directives? " There was a short silence whilst the Director pondered what to do.
Finally, the silence was broken by a frenzied Lambert.
"Fisher, continue on for now. Break off any and all contact with us and don't report back in. We will contact you when the time is right - we have reason to believe our communications have been compromised by the Padania. " And with that, the call was abruptly ended. Well, my arrival should still be known only to our contact. Should get some sleep while I can... But just as he was about to head to the bed to catch some sleep, sounds could be heard in the hallway. Sam could discern soft footsteps that stopped short of the door. Grabbing his combat knife from his belt and putting on a coat so he could use its pockets to hide the knife, Sam snuck his way to the side of the door. "I'm telling you, Jean! There is no way he is going to be on board with this... " It would appear that the person was having a conversation via telephone in front of the door.
"Yes, brother. I will personally work with him to ensure this operation's success. You just make sure the homefront is guarded, alright? If something happens to Henrietta or the rest of the girls I WILL be holding you responsible... " Sam could hear a beep, signifying the call had been ended before the man knocked on his door.
"Mister Fisher? Are you there? My name is Jose Croce - I am an operative for the Agency. I - " Before he could finish his sentence, Sam opened the door, pulled him into the room and slammed it shut again after making sure the supposed representative was not followed.
"Sorry for my rough manners, mister Croce. But I have reason to believe this operation has somehow been compromised, and thus you will have to forgive me for being a little... on edge. Show me proof you are not just a terrorist, or I'm going to have to test how well my new knife shaves. On you, " spoke Sam whilst brandishing the knife. The man who claimed to be an operative for the agency let off a small smile and spoke after a short silence. "Yes, I just received word of a possible breach as well, so I do not blame you for being careful - it's what I would have done as well. As for proof - take a look at your PDA. Your commander should have sent you a file detailing your new contact for the time being a minute ago. " Sam took a moment to verify the man's claims. "Well, it appears to check out. Lucky me... I actually get to sleep tonight. My apologies, mr. Croce. You are my contact for the time being? " directed Sam towards the operative. "Indeed. It seems we got off to a rough start, but I can forgive you for that - if I were in your situation, I'd be doing the same. How about we start over? My name is Jose Croce. I am an operative for the Agency. " Jose extended his hand towards Sam, who accepted and the two men exchanged a firm handshake as Sam introduced himself. After introductions were done, they sat down to talk business.
"You sure you don't want a drink? The coffee is pretty good here. " Jose responded with a chuckle. "No thanks, mister Fisher. If at all possible I'd like to sleep tonight... the coffee here is a bit too strong for my tastes. " Sam sighed. "Suit yourself, I suppose. Also, just call me Sam. I feel old when people call me mister Fisher. "Jose chuckled once more. "Very well. You can call me Jose then. " After a short silence Jose assumed a more business-like manner. "We know you are here on a twofold mission, Sam. Third Echelon wishes to confirm the rumours surrounding our operation,correct? " Jose noted. "Well, bummer. And here I was, hoping I finally had an easy mission. " Jose gave yet another small smile, though this time around Sam thought he spotted a hint of... resignation and sadness? Before he could interject, Jose continued. "We will clear everything up in due time, you can be assured of that. For now, however, we have a job to do and we need your expertise to accomplish it. "
The rest of the night was spent pouring over the details of the operation. Apparently the Padania faction had several high-ranking leaders holed up and hidden in an appartment complex nearby. Sam's role in this mission would be to infiltrate via the roof, confirm whether or not the intel was correct and signal the Agency when done. Something bugged Sam, however.
"A question comes to mind though, Jose. Why not just allow me to assasinate them if I'm already in there? " Jose took a moment to deliberate his answer, before answering. " Well, the Agency has a twofold objective in this as well. We are looking for a capable operative, and wish to see what you are capable of, for one. " Sam took a second to absorb the information he was just presented with. " Fair enough. But why me? " Jose gave an approving nod and continued on. " Good question, yet the answer is simple. You are said to be the best of the best when it comes to solo operations. We need someone like you. Aside from that - Third Echelon wishes to strengthen its international bonds, and will loan you to us, in a gesture of good faith. " Sam groaned and downed another cup of coffee.
Of course. He should have known that not even Third Echelon was free from politics.
"I suggest you catch some rest, Sam. I'll be back tomorrow at one o'clock. Do you need any supplies? " After checking his inventory, Sam requested ammo for his trusty Five Seven and a pair of nightvision goggles. "Hmm... the goggles might be hard to come by, but we should be able to acquire a pair. With that said, have a pleasant night Sam. "
And with that, the operatives bade each other farewell, in preparation for the operation.