Note: Character's thoughts will be denoted in cursive.

Onto the story! This will be the first official chapter - the previous chapter functions as a prologue of sorts.

Italy, Social Welfare Agency Compound

"So? Where will I be inserted? " asked Sam to Jose whilst he was cleaning his pistol and performing a final check-up of his gear. Spread out on the desk before him were his utility belt, multiple magazines for his pistol and his combat knife.

Jose, who had just entered the office, walked up to him and answered the question, stating that Sam would " enter an adjecent building. From there on, you'll have to find a way onto the roof of the target building yourself. " Sam nodded as he put on his tactical vest. "And after I've infiltrated, I confirm the targets, exfiltrating via... the front door? What the hell? Who came up with this plan?!" exclaimed Sam with an exasperated sigh.

Jose held his hands up and shot Sam an apologetic look in return. "There is a reason for that, but at this moment I am not authorized to inform you. We will, however, cause a distraction for you in order to facilitate your safe return. The only thing required from your end will be a signal, in the form of a confirmation via your radio. " Sam acknowledged Jose's words and continued prepping for the mission whilst Jose took care of some paperwork. Both men appeared to be quite used to this silence - therefore, neither felt the need to utter any words.

Having finished preparing his utility belt, checking his sidearm and input the mission's coordinates on his PDA, Sam stood up in and as just about to leave the room when Jose called for him. "Wait a second, Sam. The Agency wishes for you to perform a field trial for a new gadget that was developed. " Turning back around, Sam threw a questioning look at the Agency operative who in response signalled for Sam to follow him as he left the office.

Italy, Social Welfare Agency Compound - Armoury

"For a group that is supposedly rather lightly funded, you carry a lot of impressive firepower. I would have expected more weapons such as the AK47, not newer stuff like these F2000 rifles. " Jose let out a small chuckle and walked towards a security post. "Good morning Jose. Here to have our guest outfitted? " Jose smiled and nodded. "Yes. We will need clearance to access Vault B5. If you require verification, contact my brother. " The guard looked at Jose with surprise written all over his face. "Ah. So this means that this is the new... " Jose nodded once more and interrupted the man before he could finish his sentence. "Never mind that. Can you get us what we need? " The man typed away at his computer, presumably to log the visitors and gestured the two men to follow him through the security door.

Taking careful note of his surroundings, Sam realized there existed a few rooms that had not been included in the intel he had received. He mentally made a note to complain to Grim about the incompleteness of the intel she provided for this op, and carried on. One thing he noticed was the existence of multiple extra security posts along the route, all placed near hardened steel doors. That could mean a couple of things - either they had a secret they wanted to keep from spreading around, possibly connected to the rumours Third Echelon had been picking up - or they were just really, really paranoid about their research and arms being stolen.

His musing was ended, however when Jose called his name. "Sam? Are you ok? You were spacing out there. " Sam took a couple of seconds to refocus his mind and answered with as neutral and convincing an answer he could muster. "Hmmm? Sorry. Just impressed by your security. " Both the guard and Jose looked at him with a rather apprehensive gaze, but appeared to have decided against any further prodding. Instead, the men continued to walk in silence until they reached a security door labeled B5. "Experimental? Don't tell me... you guys are searching for the secret of immortality in here? " The guard had a light chuckle as he swiped his keycard through the reader and stepped aside so the two operatives could enter.

Italy, Social Welfare Agency compound - Vault B5

As Sam stepped inside he was greeted by a big, open room. Inside there appeared to be multiple vaults, each requiring their own keycard to open. In addition, some also appeared to require an accompanying person of rank to use a retinal scanner located next to the card scanner as well. Jose motioned for Sam to follow along as he walked towards a vault in the back of the room, labeled 'MOTIONX1'. "Well, here we are. Fresh from R & D, I present to you our latest gadget designed for infiltrations - the grappling gun. It's been tested on our training courses on multiple surfaces, including brick walls, but has yet to undergo any field testing. "

Sam took the device and gave it a look-over. "So... let me get this straight. This is the same type of line used in my utility- " Before Sam could finish, Jose stepped in, took the tool and aimed it at the ceiling of the room. As soon as he had pulled the trigger, a hook on a cord - the same type he was accustomed to using whenever he had to rappel up or down during an infiltration - shot out, embedding itself in the ceiling. Sam whistled in amazement. "Now that actually is a pretty useful tool. You guys have any idea as to when you'll have a variant that retracts as well? " Jose shook his head. "Unfortunately, not yet. The hook gets damaged if you try to pull it out, meaning it's a single-use only for now. Still, if your aim is good you can actually avoid having the hook enter any surfaces and just have it cling on an edge. It won't be as safe or be able to support you that well in that case, however. " Sam jumped onto the rope and performed a couple of his trademark moves, alternately hanging off of the rope at varying locations and climbing up and down whilst shifting his weight in multiple differing directions, as well as swinging on the rope and checking how well the cord held under duress. The Agency operative meanwhile looked on with great interest - observing Sam's every movement.

"Well, it appears the cord is pretty strong even if I can only embed it once. A great tool... I really could have used something like this a long time ago, " uttered Sam after jumping off the cord. "Also... I don't think your boss is going to enjoy that hole in the ceiling. Are you sure that was a good idea? " Jose started laughing out wholeheartedly. " Haha, I think the boss will be quite annoyed indeed. However, we'll just attribute it to a little workplace accident... it'll be our little secret, hmm? " Sam was starting to like this man more and more. In a way, he reminded him of William Redding, one of the other people who worked with him - serious to a fault, but also capable of quite a bit of snark and humour once you got to know him a little better.

"Well, this one obviously can't be used anymore but you'll be happy to know we commissioned another one to be created for you. It should be dropped off on site by now - we'll send the coordinates to your PDA once you are near the building from which you wil commence the infiltration. " Sam gave Jose a thumbs up, and as the two men returned to the entrance of the vault they went over the potential uses for the grappling gun. "We hope to improve it based on your feedback, so please do be sure to tell R&D what you think of it. " Sam did get the distinct feeling that they were forgetting something, though.

Later that day ( 30 minutes later to be precise ), when the guard on duty was asked to check the state of the room as always, a lot of swearing could be heard. The reason? A cord hanging from the ceiling spooked him when the lights came on, and when he tried to remove it, the hook nearly bonked him on the head.

Italy, Hotel La Rue - Dropoff point

Stepping out of the car, Sam took a few moments to familiarize himself with the building he would be using to infiltrate the appartment. It was an old and decrepit hotel situated right next to the appartment complex he would be infiltrating. Its placement virtually guaranteed there would be terrorists patrolling inside, and that was not even mentioning the fact that he would have to find a way to sneak into the hotel without attracting too much attention as well. "Great. Looks like Murphy still likes spamming me with friend requests. "

As it was getting dark, there were not that many people on the street, simultaneously making it both easier yet harder for him to infiltrate. More people would have meant that there would be crowds he could blend into. Conversely, less people meant less risk of civilians being endangered, as well as less risk of said civilians endangering the operation.

"Well, let's get this over with... Keep the engine warm, will you? I might be coming back with angry friends... " said Sam to the driver, who responded with a nod and a salute, afore driving off to find a place to hide. After making sure nobody saw him, he started making his way towards the decrepit old building, ducking behind mailboxes and unattended street stalls whenever someone passed by.

After what seemed like an hour of walking, Sam checked his PDA and noted that it had taken him ten minutes to reach the insertion point. Huh. Must be getting sloppy... better pick up the pace, Sam thought to himself. Let's see... the front door is not an option. The balcony is way too visible... I could use the rainpipe to get on the roof, but... Whilst Sam was considering his options, his earpiece started to buzz - signifying an incoming communication.

Italy, Hotel La Rue - Infiltration

Answering the call, Sam was greeted by an unfamilliar voice. "Mister Fisher? This Jean Croce speaking. I will be handling any tactical duties and decision-making for this op. " So...this was the person who was supposed to be his original contact? "Operative Fisher here. Nice to meet you, mister Croce. " There was a brief silence during which the sound of documents being shuffled could be heard. Sam let out a small sigh - he was crouched in some bushes next to the fences surrounding the hotel's perimeter. Not exactly comfortable, but if it ensured success he would even hide in a toilet. Finally, the earpiece started buzzing again.

"My apologies for being so late to introduce myself, mister Fisher. You may call me Jean. Are you at the insertion point yet? " Sam had just jumped out of the bushes and was now sneaking alongside the hotel's side, using the shadows as cover. The fact that he hadn't seen any security at all so far greatly worried him. "Yes and no. I am within the perimeter of the hotel. However, it appears that there is no way in without comprimising the operation. Can you check the blueprints for me? " Jean took a couple of seconds, presumably to check the blueprints and think it over.

"Fisher, continue heading north from where you are. There should be a way to get inside from an old emergency exit in the Staff Dormitories somewhere. If all else fails, contact us and we will arrange for a distraction. Can you proceed or have you run into any difficulties? " Sam, by now stopped at the corner of the wall and crouching again, peered around the corner. In his view were big hedges, a fountain... clearly the hotel was quite a reputable one before it failed. "Affirmative, Jean. I have eyes on what appears to be a rather big garden with a hedge maze. Will check it out. As for difficulties, I have yet to run into any form of security. No automated systems, no patrolling guards, nothing. Place is like a haunted hotel. And that bothers me... " "Very well Fisher. Take care and exercise extreme caution... the Padania are known for their cunning and guerilla tactics. "

Sam gave an affirmative roger and started to survey his surroundings once more.

By the time the call ended, Sam was standing with his back to a hedge and peeking around yet another corner. "You have to be kidding me. Who the hell builds their Staff Dormitories inside a hedgemaze?! " Sam desperately looked for a way around, but the maze itself was also completely walled off - the entrance appeared to be the only way to access it.

Sam considered his options - he could of course climb along the wall. That, however, carried the risk of leaving him easily spotted and vulnerable. On the other hand, if his gut instinct was right ( and it usually was ) the Padania will likely have concentrated their outside security here. Going on from that train of thought, it would be safe to assume that the rest would be positioned near the other entrances.

Which means I will have to avoid both the lobby and the balcony for now...

Creeping along the hedges, towards the entrance of the maze he heard the one thing he was hoping he would not have to hear in the maze. Wincing, the one thought that entered his mind was "Great. Dogs. Looks like this confirms my theory... I really should get back to Lambert on that raise. Not getting paid enough for my job. Yup. " Taking care not to make any more sound then necessary, he proceeded through the maze. Hopeful that the right-hand rule was working, he turned the corner - only to jump back behind the hedge when he spotted a turret. It did not appear to be an automatic turret, nor did it appear to be manned, but Sam knew from experience appearances could be deceiving.

After waiting for a bit he spotted a man armed with a M4 carbine, alongside a big dog. Sam could not exactly gauge whether or not the dog had smelled something, but the guard did not appear to be alarmed by any spotty behaviour the dog might have been showing so he was probably in the clear for now. Opting to stay behind the hedge a bit longer in order to discern whether or not the turret was a threat, Sam eventually saw the guard reach for something. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a communications device of some sort.

"Bloody hell. Ivanoshka, you lazy bastard. Why are you not at your post dammit! We told you that the turret is not an automatic one that detects intruders! Get your carcass over here you runt! " Sam, who was listening in on the conversation decided he would have to be quick in order not to waste this opportunity. Reaching for his pistol, he checked the inserted mag and cycled the chamber just to be sure. Taking a deep breath, he sprinted out of his corner, making a beeline for the turret. Luckily, the guard had passed by already and did not seem to notice. Unfortunately, the dog did pick up on something and started to bark.

Dammit... Looks like I will have to do this the hard way.

As both the dog and its owner came to investigate he jumped from cover and took multiple shots at them. It was apparent that at least two of the four bullets fired miraculously hit the targets - straight in their heads even - because both the dog and its owner went down without a single sound, leaving Sam free passage. Cautiously moving forward, he could hear footsteps from behind one of the hedges. Looks like lazy bastard number two has arrived, thought Sam whilst ducking back behind the turret. As if on cue, a man could be seen rounding the corner and hurrying past the turret, with gun raised and speaking into his communications device.

This is bad. I need to shut him up before he alerts the rest...

And with that thought in the back of his head he once again darted out from his cover. "Yes, this is Ivanoshka. Send immediate reinforcements to sector - " The guard did not manage to get out anymore words, because a certain 'SIGINT ninja' grabbed him and pushed a knife to his throat whilst making sure he could not speak anymore. Sam could feel the man freeze in his tracks - not many could keep their cool in a situation like this. He decided he might as well make use of this unlucky bastard.

"Knife to meet you. Unless you want to see how well my new knife shaves, call off your guys and tell them there is nothing. " If the knife didn't do the trick, his deep, gravely voice usually did. The man squirmed uncontrollably, whilst mumbling something incomprehensible. Sam removed his hand which, at the time, had been pressed against the guard's mouth so as to allow him to speak. "Ivanoshka, come in. Ivanoshka? Report dammit! " Sam growled. "Do it. Now. " The guard choked down a scream, letting out a large gulp and responded. "This is Ivanoshka. False alarm - continuing patrol... " The guard's comm-device sprang to life once more as the unlucky guard was chided for his perceived incompetence. Sam slowly growled in approval and decided to use this opportunity to acquire some more info whilst still keeping a watchful eye on the corners of the maze. "Good. I can feel my wrist relax already. My apologies for walking you around like this, but I'm a contractor hired to take a look at the Dormitories. Mind guiding me around? " The guard looked like he was contemplating answering no, but survival instinct appeared to have kicked in and made the choice for him - thus a slow trek through the maze began. Thankfully, it appeared Sam's hunch about the maze being infested with terrorists was wrong, because it only took the unlikely duo five minutes to reach a clearing.

Pulling his hostage along and ducking behind a tree in order to remain unseen, Sam observed the complex - it appeared to be about the size of two football fields, with multiple windows, airvents and doors that could be used for infiltration. The entire building looked like it could collapse at any time - paint was flaking off, windows were broken, wood was rotting away. Sam found himself praying the Dormitories had carpet covering the floor and not wooden boards, as those would be hellish to have to sneak across - not to mention dangerous, considering the amount of rotting he was seeing on the wood from the outside of the complex. A path made of gravel could be seen twisting around the complex, presumably leading to an outhouse or something alike.

Italy, Hotel La Rue Hedge Maze - Terrain surrounding the Staff Dormitories

"Well well, looks like this might be your lucky day after all. Now... your answer to this next question will determine whether you live or die. Understood? " The guard, still as docile as can be, gulped and nodded. Sam flashed a menacing smile and continued interrogating his hostage. "Good boy. Tell me how I can get in undetected, and I might consider not shanking you on the spot. Any other useful info you give me may up the odds - emphasis on may. " The guard started talking, though rather reluctant.

A minute later, Sam had learned that the terrorists were being backed by a mercenary company from England called Ad Victoriam. The guard had also stated that there were at least seven heavily armed mercenaries inside the Dormitories and that none of them knew why they were posted there - having only received the order to keep any intruders away from the janitor's office at all costs. The janitor's office could be reached unnoticed by following an airvent on the roof of the complex, but said vent was locked with a passcode. Fortunately, Sam was able to persuade ( or rather, his knife was able to persuade ) the hapless guard to give him the code as well. When all was said and done, Sam had to weigh his options. He could slit this man's throat and be done with it, but the Agency would likely lose out on valuable intel this way. On the other hand, if he knocked this man out the Agency could come and pick him up for interrogation. This however carried the risk that his buddies could find him, and alert the rest - potenially endangering not only Sam, but the entire operation. It was in that moment of indecision that his earpiece sprung to life once more and Jean could be heard. "Fisher, status report. Have you made any progress yet? "

Sam decided in that moment he would have to take the risk - the rewards far outweighed the risks. Whilst knocking out the guard with a firm blow to the back of his head, Sam responded. "Fisher here. I've reached the end of the maze and am now near the entrance to the Dormitories. I have a package that requires extraction, in the form of an unconscious guard. Are you capable of extracting the package within fifteen minutes? " A brief discussion could be heard on the other side of the line, before Jean answered. "Affirmative, Fisher. Rendezvous on top of the roof of the Dormitories in fifteen minutes - we'll send two of our operatives to pick up the package. They'll also be bringing along a gadget we wish for you to test... something went wrong and we couldn't deliver it to the dead drop in time. " Sam couldn't help but grin at the news he had just heard.

Now that IS good news. If that grappling gun works, I can make my way to the roof of the hotel and use the grapple to get onto the roof of the appartment unnoticed!

Sam confirmed the coordinates for the exchange and started making his way towards the building whilst carrying the unconscious guard on his shoulders. Creeping alongside the walls and making sure he ducked underneath any windows which might have any nosy guards looking out of them, he managed to reach the back of the building in three minutes. He had decided to check for a fire escape there, and it would appear that luck was actually with him this time around. The only thing left between him and the roof was a guard standing underneath the fire escape, but he was easily taken care of by distracting him with a thrown rock. The guard, as Sam had expected, decided to check it out without signalling his comrades and thus made an easy target for Sam's knife.

If Sam had to make a guess, he'd estimate that the people standing guard in and around the hedge maze were the so-called 'fresh meat' of the company - set up to be an early warning and meatshield in one for the veterans of the company, meaning that the people inside the building were likely to be the actual veterans. That's not to say these guys were not a threat, however - Sam knew better then to underestimate his opponents, and as such he kept his eyes peeled for reinforcements whilst climbing the fire escape, eventually reaching the roof - which, thankfully, was free of guards.

Italy, Hotel La Rue - Staff Dormitories Roof

Sam decided to take advantage of the temporary lull in the action to catch his breath and survey the intelligence that the Agency had managed to acquire once more, checking every so often whether or not the package was still out cold. The package in question was slumped up against the same vent that he would have to trudge through once the operatives from the Agency had met up with him. Ten minutes passed in this manner, when he heard a call from an unfamiliar voice. "Bella! " Sam, remembering that the call 'Bella' was used to verify whether or not an unknown person was an ally, responded appropriately. "Verdandi! " He could hear whispering as two men came sneaking up onto the roof. In the resulting short exchange he was passed both the grappling gun and, much to his surprise, his custom-made FN2000 assault rifle. Where they got the weapon from, the two men could not say - instead advising him to speak to Jean for details. After thanking them for their service and describing the safest route to exfiltrate the terrain with the package, the men parted ways as soon as they arrived, with Sam staying on the roof for a while longer to provide overwatch with his assault rifle.

Turning around and heading for the vent, he noticed movement in the corner of his eye. Inputting the code as fast as he could, the vent clicked open - just in time for him to duck inside. "Keep looking! The bastard has to be around here somewhere. The boss offers 10,000 euros to the person who brings in the spy, dead OR alive. Check that damn vent, get reinforcements to the lobby and for fuck sake, relocate the VIP's to location B! If he manages to get within one bloody mile of the VIP's the boss'll have our head... "
Damnit. Should've known the op was going too smoothly...

Switching to a heavily encrypted channel on his earpiece he attempted to contact the Agency. The signal was stuttering and unstable, and it took a couple of tries before he came through. "Command! My presence seems to be compromised, please advise. " "Fisher, good to see you have managed to stay out of their hands so far. We have the package, but it came at the cost of the lives of the operatives that performed the exfil. We believe there was a mole that tipped them off somehow - we are looking into it, but we have to deal with our signal being jammed at the same time - as well as assaults on several of our hideouts. Continue on with the mission, but make survival your priority for now. We will contact you again on this channel when we have a plan to get you out o... " A loud blast of static could be heard from the other side.

Great. Stuck in a duct kneedeep in enemy territory, hell is breaking lose at HQ... just another day in my life. Well, no choice but to trudge on I suppose. On the plus side I won't be getting bored...

Carefully moving on whilst making sure he kept his pace up as much as possible without being too noisy, Sam reached a junction and a drop down. Voices could be heard, scouring the rooms for an intruder, as well as... gunfire?

What the? Huh. I must be really damn scary if they already are paranoid enough to be firing at shadows... I might be able to use that to my advantage though.

Checking his ammunition and prepping a smoke grenade, Sam prepared himself to breach the room beneath him.

Author's notes

And thus ends the first true chapter of this fanfic. Hopefully, those of you who were waiting for it will not be disappointed.
The next chapter will mark the beginning of more screentime for the GG characters, so please - do look forward to it.

As always, please review / favourite / follow if you liked this story. I'd also be interested in any criticism or suggestions you might have to offer - I need to get better
at the writing trade, after all.

Also, one major point for me is keeping the characters... well... in character. I'd appreciate it if someone could tell me their thoughts, as I am not quite sure if I'm doing a good job right now.

Gamedon out!