Love Struck Eternal
Chapter 34 - A complete change.
Sam's POV, A few hours later, The white house.
I never would have guessed I'd be here right now if I looked back at my life choices. Sitting in probably the world's most famous room next to the very president of G.U.N and two others. One of them was Captain Royce who sat down towards my left side and another decorated officer who I had never met before this meeting. He was a Major and he just arrived. Ajex sat behind his desk and the second he had walked in he looked up at the man to say.
"Good to see you were able to slip away."
At this moment I was looking back at the man he addressed. The Major was another fox. He had to be a red fox. The fur and facial features matched. Even his eyes were brown. Yet he stood close to Ajex's own height and he couldn't be that much heavier than him also. Taking off his beret, the fox replied to Ajex with a small laugh behind his words.
"I'm kinda surprised I was even able to with the state of things around here being the way they are."
I stood up to salute the Major as any good soldier should and the moment I had he looked right at me to beg.
"Please don't worry about the formalities Lieutenant. I appreciate the gesture and the respect towards your fellow superior, but please…..it isn't necessary."
Lowering my hand, I gave the Major a small chuckle and instead offered him the same hand in hopes to shake his. Walking right up to me to take my offer, the red fox said to me happily.
"Major Chester Fenning. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise sir." I replied as we cut our handshake short and proceeded to refocus on Ajex who went forward while explaining the presence of this man to me.
"Fenning is one of G.U.N's best strategists. He's the head of this operation we're gonna discuss Lieutenant. I asked him to come in person because as we all know this is a serious problem that needs to be handled the right way and because of that fact I wanted him to head the project. Take a seat Major and settle in while I get some questions answered. Starting with why this meeting had to be moved here to DC?"
Fenning got himself seated along my right side and we all focused on Ajex who went on to state.
"Intel is lacking. The group we're dealing with knows things we don't. We can't assume anything when it comes to dealing with them. We don't know who it is plotting against world peace and we surely don't know who could be backing them. They have military grade training and the hardware to match. If a single country is with this group of terrorists then that means war could easily come if it is made public once we have evidence to support the claim. It'll make any country out to be scum to the rest of the world, simply because I've already talked to everyone and no one claims allegiance. Which has me all concerned. We can't trust anyone. Moles could be anywhere and I'm not taking any chances with the development of a counter operation like this. That's why I wanted to do this here. We have peace of mind here and can talk freely. These guys can't learn of this, which gives us an advantage to work with when it comes to finding them. Which I believe we have a lead on, correct Fenning?"
Royce and I looked at the other fox as he nodded his head and replied while leaning up to grab one of the many folders Ajex had on his desk.
"Yes sir. Thanks to Commander Voltz saving the witness from the first attack, we have a rough idea where to start. The helicopter they used to leave left the country, that's for sure. But thanks to camera footage and plenty of eye witnesses; we tracked the bird to a small airfield that borders Iran from Azerbaijan. There we found the same helicopter torched and stripped. Nothing was left for us. Just scraps."
Handing me the folder to look at, Major Fenning said to me confidently while pointing also at a photo that was displayed at the top of the one interior pages of the folder.
"The team we had investigating found no signs of any other vehicles leaving the area. The area itself is too small to land a plane and if there was another helicopter there then maybe that's how they continued the journey, but I'd like to doubt that being the case. It makes very little sense to ditch one helicopter for another. It would be easier to just refuel and continue."
"Now if that's the case though Major, should we assume they went on foot from there?" I asked the fox as he nodded and replied a moment after hearing the question.
"It's a possibility I've considered, but the area surrounding the more major cities and towns consist of nothing but long mountain ranges and grassy hilltops and from where we found the helicopter it's at least a day's walk to the main city."
"People like this aren't gonna just be walking out in the open like that though." Royce stated as he looked over the photos in my lap.
Nodding his head, Fenning went on to suggest.
"You're probably right, Captain. They have military hardware. I doubt they walked from there, but our trackers couldn't find anything to suggest otherwise."
"Is that where the trail ends?" I asked as my eyes looked back up at Ajex who nodded his head. Giving him a somewhat concerned look back, I listened on as Fenning replied to my concern.
"It's all we have unfortunately, but at least we have a general idea where to start looking."
"We also managed to identify one of the assassins. The one who we think led the operation. He's also the one who killed the M.E.A.F's president." Ajex informed Royce and I as we both looked back at him to question.
"Really?" Handing me another folder, Fenning replied while opening it.
"The guy's name is Dusk. It took some work but I think I found our man."
My eyes rested on a white and brown patched terrier. The file had his date of birth so I knew quickly his age was thirty five. He looked like a troublemaker just judging from his eyes. He was a nasty looking fellow. His glare just had a cold presence to it, I thought to myself as I stared at his two brown eyes. In fact it looked like he hated himself.
"Grew up in the US. Expelled from nearly every school he attended during his first eighteen years growing up in South Dakota." Fenning informed us as Ajex jumped in to add.
"This kid grew up without parents. A street orphan until he did a four year sentence for beating his ex-girlfriend's father nearly to death over a twenty dollar hockey bet."
Nodding Fenning went on to say.
"After his term he left the country for god knows what reason. Maybe he got tired of the US, but that's not the topic we're here to discuss. The guy has no home and the last official sighting of him was back in 2010 at Iran's airport boarding a flight going to where you ask? Azerbaijan."
"Nothing else though?" Royce questioned as he took the folder from me to look over the details.
"Like I said Captain, intel is slim. We don't have anything solid to work with, but this."
"So what's the mission?" I came forth to ask my superiors who instantly turned their focus onto me as I asked for the main course to this meeting.
Ajex looked at Fenning to urge him to tell me. My eyes went to the fox as he went on to say to me.
"Mission is to figure out who and what we're dealing with. We need someone to investigate this in private. It's safe to assume if the people we want are in Azerbaijan then they will have eyes looking for anyone G.U.N related."
"It's safe to assume we aren't dealing with normal terrorists, Lieutenant." Ajex said to me bluntly as he leaned up to go on.
"These guys are military in nature and they have connections. Who? We don't know the extent, but they managed to destabilize everything G.U.N has worked to achieve over the last two decades. They even managed to get another assassin in place to attempt to kill the only witness they left behind from their first attack and that is something that shouldn't have been allowed to happen considering how tight security was around the event."
I was focused on listening and my gaze went back to Fenning who said to me next while handing me a third folder to look at.
"This isn't gonna be a quick or easy task to accomplish and we know that; so we're preparing for the long haul when it comes to dealing with this right and that starts with assigning this to our best active operator. You Lieutenant."
"I don't want to sound against this sir, but Lieutenant Diskov is still fresh out of boot. Are you sure she's ready for something this big?" Royce questioned as I looked over the documents inside the folder that went more into detail about the mission itself.
"We're sure. G.U.N doesn't have any other people with the Lieutenant's abilities. She's ahead of the generation and the matter has already been discussed among the proper channels. Everyone wants her to give this a shot and we don't have any time to lose to put out a search for any other options." Ajex stated as Fenning added a second later.
"We've looked over everything Diskov. We're positive you can handle this task. Will you do it?"
"Yes sir." I replied instantly which got Royce to wonder for my behalf.
"This doesn't sound like a sweep and clear mission. What exactly is she doing?"
With Fenning sitting back down he replied.
"We want the Lieutenant to investigate where our leads began and ended. Then we want you to head to Azerbaijan to see if you can learn anything relating to Dusk or the organization itself."
"Yes. It's an undercover operation. Lieutenant Diskov, you'll be by yourself for this in order to prevent any intel leaks from happening. Captain Royce will be your handler and any information you get will be relayed through him. Now you're a user and that comes with the title of being a deniable asset. This is a black op and we want you to do whatever it takes to get the job done." Ajex said to me calmly as I then decided to ask.
"And if and when I learn of the location of this group….am I tasked with killing them outright?"
"No." Fenning replied as he shook his head to then explain.
"We don't know how deep this runs. We might be screwing ourselves if we act too soon. Your assignment is simple. Learn anything you can involving these terrorists. Figure out where they operate from and who they have backing them."
"Lieutenant?" Ajex called to me as I took my eyes off the folder I was reading.
"This isn't an operation where you will have backup. You have the authority to act as you see fit, but if you end up in trouble you can not bring G.U.N into it. We will deny any knowledge of you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes sir." I replied as Royce jumped back in to ask.
"Am I staying stateside for this sir?"
Nodding his head Ajex replied.
"You are. I'm not taking any chances. I don't know how well this group can see, but I'm not giving them any advantages in learning about our operations. Lieutenant Diskov will forward you any information she learns via a secured line. I don't even care if you have to write letters, Lieutenant, but no personal contact between you or the Captain here at any time."
"I understand." I informed him as I looked back at Fenning to wonder.
"When you said to do whatever it takes…..did you mean that literally?"
Nodding, he replied.
"Whatever it takes. This is bigger than anything we've had to worry about before. Not since our last real war with the middle east anyhow. We don't care what you do to get the information so long as you keep G.U.N and your affiliations with us at bay like Ajex just got done saying."
"Fenning also has some advice for you Lieutenant." Ajex informed me as the other fox nodded and went on to say to me.
"I do. It's just a theory, but it might be worth your time since you'll be acting on your own."
Fenning adjusted himself so he was facing me directly now. Leaning in a few inches, he said to me carefully so I wouldn't miss a word.
"G.U.N has access to some of the best informants in the world and trust me, we've called in all our favors and no one knows nothing about these people. It's safe to assume they lay off the grid, but I doubt a group like this isn't looking for more talent to add to their arsenal and since you're gonna be solo going in; I'd suggest mixing things up once you get a good handle on where one of their operators might be working out from."
I began to nod my head because I was picking up on what he was trying to tell me. Once I had a good idea of what he meant; I said back to him calmly.
"I get it."
Giving me a small smile and placing a hand on my shoulder, Fenning whispered.
"If anyone has the ability to do something like this; it's you. I trust your talents and your judgment. Do what you feel is best, but don't get yourself killed doing it if you can help it."
"Is there anyone else working on this?" Royce asked curiously towards Ajex who quickly replied.
"Nothing to this measure, but I have other operators working on getting us any intel they can. But we expect this to take a long time to accomplish; so for now our official plan is to focus on the health and safety of the peace talks we had developing between our borders. Commander Voltz is putting all his effort into keeping the middle east at bay while I'll be focusing on making sure the rest of the world keeps its arms down and away from another potential war on terror. A war we don't need."
Royce seemed okay with that answer and quickly took himself back down as Ajex then went on to say.
"Unofficially we'll be doing this. Lieutenant Diskov? Consider yourself our first attempt at retaliation for what they did to the world, but listen to Fenning. You keep yourself together and focus on gathering intel. Once we know what we need to know; then we can form a proper plan for wiping these scum off the face of the earth. Understood?"
"Yes sir." I replied as Fenning then said to me.
"The operation will begin tomorrow night. We're gonna have you move back to Fort Sorrow in the morning and that is where you're gonna get the gear you need to get started."
"Then you'll be taken to the airport by the Captain. Make your way to Iran from there and to the location where the chopper was stripped." Ajex ordered me as I took a look over the chopper's coordinates that were inside the folder.
"Then I'm solo?" I asked as my eyes went between Ajex and Fenning.
"You're on your own from there. We're trusting you to get us some answers." Fenning replied as I quickly nodded my head and looked back at Royce who seemed somewhat concerned with my mission even though he was my biggest supporter since day one of training.
"I'll get you what you need. I promise." My voice came off soft despite my intentions. I couldn't help but think about this guy who killed my uncle. Dusk? I don't know what I really felt about it, but I wasn't jumping out of this seat to kill him despite what he had done.
Maybe my father would be different, but I had a job to do and one I honestly was happy to get. I'd be on my own and actually doing something that mattered. I'm sure if anyone knew who I really was this wouldn't be happening. My dad would lose his shit if he knew what I had been doing with my life, but again it was another reason to do this. I wanted to be different. I wanted to do what I loved and being this fucking good at it made me happy. Even these idiots in front of me had no clue they were getting played. The only thing that could go wrong is if Ajex mentioned my name to my father; if and when they discuss this business. Yet I had enough faith that Ajex wouldn't address me by name if they talked about it. If he was this concerned with intel leaks, then he wouldn't dare let that slip through the net."
Ajex put out his hand from across his desk for me to take and with my eyes leaving the folders, I took it and smiled as he said to me happily.
"I'm sure you will. I have faith you're the right person for the job Lieutenant. Thank you for doing this. You're doing what's best for the world. Now if you'll excuse us, I need to talk with the Major in private. Please take the folders with you and find yourselves a place to lay down for the night. One of the receptionists in the main lobby can get you sorted. The flight back will be leaving early tomorrow morning. Have yourselves up and ready around six. Okay?"
"Yes sir." I replied as I stood up alongside Royce who took the chance to collect all the intel we had for my travels. Once he had everything, we made our way out of the office where the jackal let out a small sigh of relief. Giving him a quick chuckle, I wondered as we began to move down the hallway.
"You good?"
"I'm okay."
I don't know if it was his voice that gave it away or if it was Roslin's new power kicking in, but I got a strong feeling that he was bullshitting me, so I questioned.
"Are you sure? You didn't seem okay back in there. What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" He replied in disbelief that I would even ask that seriously. Royce took a few moments to gather an answer and by the time he did we were already well on our way to the main lobby. Keeping his voice together, but low, he said to me.
"I'm just concerned for you. I know it's not any of my business since you're the one going in alone, but it's your first assignment out of user's training and they have you doing something this dangerous this early?"
"My training was intense sir. I wasn't being put through those for no reason. I'm not trained to sit and do the easy shit. Normal troops can handle that. We both know that this is what I want to do." Royce stopped in his tracks with me to now just listen. He was focused on my words as I went on to state.
"I asked to be the best. I asked for all the training. In fact, I begged. It was my intention to reach this point. I know there aren't many people out there that want to put their lives on the line for something they believe in, but I do."
Royce was indeed taken by my words. Even though I was playing him the same as everyone else. Regardless of how I really felt, I had to play a role if I wanted to keep my true intentions and identity hidden. I had to win over everyone. Royce included.
"I can do this and if I can't then who can? No one. I'm gonna be fine and I'm gonna do what I have to. I'll get us some answers and I swear to you I won't die doing it. You have my word and I trust you with that. So please Captain…..trust me back. I need all the support I can get and I'd like to think you aren't gonna sway now just because of your lack of faith."
"I have no lack of faith in you Sam. I swear it." He said back to me confidently. Raising his arm up and offering me to take his hand, I grabbed onto him and together we squeezed each other for what felt like ages, but it was only a matter of seconds. During which he whispered.
"I got your back with this. I promise. I'm just trying to look out for you."
"Thank you." I replied as we disconnected from each other sharply before continuing our way to hopefully the end of our long day.
I needed some sleep. Despite my speech and my strong acting, I was getting tired from all the moving around. My eyes were burning a little in the back of my head and I figured that was a sign that meant I needed to rest. After maybe another hour of looking over all this intel I had now, I could do just that.
The next morning.
I got a lot of sleep last night and I was grateful since today was my first official day on not so official business for G.U.N. I spent the course of my morning going over all the intel again that we had and I was quick to memorize it all. If I was good at one thing it was remembering details. Even if they didn't really mean shit in the bigger picture.
Letting out a small sigh as I read over Dusk's small file again, I asked myself what I would do when I found him. I doubt I would kill him. Judging from what his file read; he seemed like a pretty rough guy. I doubt he would be easy to talk to and at the very least he looked like he might be able to take care of himself in a straight fight. I'd be better off just keeping my distance from a direct confrontation. I doubt I'd learn much if he knew I was with G.U.N. In fact he might just try to run and then I'd have bigger problems to worry about. Locating his exact position was the first of a few I already had in mind.
Captain Royce was thankfully back to his cheery self after some much needed rest and he just allowed me to continue my reading as we were already halfway through our flight back to Fort Sorrow. Another hour and we'd be back in full. Reaching over with his one hand, he tapped my knee to get my attention away from the documents. Once our eyes met he asked me.
"What do you make of it all?"
Leaning back, I replied while parting my hair to the side.
"There isn't enough to work with yet. My first concern is confirming that Dusk is even where we think he is."
"And if he is?" Royce mumbled as I took a second to shut the file before replying again.
"If he is then I got a few ideas for how to make contact."
"Contact? You plan to talk to him face to face?" Nodding, I went on to say.
"I plan to work him. Chances are he's just a hired gun. He doesn't have much of a profile here to support any claims that he could be a figurehead or even a leader among the group and if their military then there has to be plenty of others working with him. I don't plan to just go up to the guy Captain. I'm not an idiot."
"Never said you were. I'm just trying to get a handle on your plan is all."
"I don't have a plan. Not until I'm sure where to get started. If Dusk is there then I'll take it one step at a time and I'm considering what Fenning mentioned as my main method for execution."
"About these guys looking for talent?" Royce wondered as I nodded and went on to say.
"I'm sure a group this low to the ground doesn't advertise tryouts if they're looking to bring new blood in. I'm almost certain I'll have to get my hands dirty and it won't be in a good way. These guys are scum and I'd be willing to bet they don't appeal to someone doing good deeds, especially in they're turf. They might be more inclined to come after me if I start fucking with their business, but I don't want to travel that road considering that course could lead to a shootout and cut off any chances I had at getting a better look at the bigger picture."
"But?" Royce asked me curiously sensing I had another intention for going about the situation.
"A group like this would probably come after me in a more conversational way if I start helping them out unintentionally. Or if I just start fighting the system in general. It really all depends on what I learn about during my first few weeks. I'm gonna start by tracking them down from the chopper site. From there I'll have a rough idea of where to start looking and if luck favors me; I might learn more about the group and what they're reputation is like among the locals. If it's all bad, then I'll just be bad and hopefully within a few weeks I might draw some attention."
"You might draw a lot of attention." Royce said as if he was correcting me. Giving him a somewhat confused look back, I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"The middle east is a much more civil place nowadays when compared to years past. Almost all the countries have their own police force and military. Laws are different everywhere and so are the punishments for breaking them. You start throwing your weight around and get caught? You're liable to get killed, Sam." I nodded but kept quiet as he asked me a moment later.
"Are you sure you want to chance getting so involved so fast? It might be better to just take things slow before taking any drastic measures; like becoming a criminal to merely hope you'll get they're attention."
"I know." I said back to him as I went on to say.
"I'm not gonna do anything stupid before I have a solid plan Captain. I promise you that. I took chances in my past life before joining G.U.N and it cost me a lot. I'm not gonna fuck this up a second time. I swear on my mother." Royce saw that I was clearly being honest now with him and myself. He even seemed somewhat sad that I had such emotion suddenly come to me. I didn't know what to say as I looked away from him though. After a few silent seconds I cupped my hands and leaned back in my seat to look up and let out a small sigh towards the roof of the plane.
"I've been a loner my whole life. Despite what you may see right now, I never was able to keep any friends. It's always been hard, but I did have a dog. Her name was Mocha. I can say confidently that she was my best friend. She belonged to my father."
Royce was just listening as I took out my phone to attempt to find a picture of her. The ones I did made me smile almost instantly and it made the jackal too as I handed him my phone and went on to say.
"I joined the army because of my family, but I also joined because I had made a mistake. I was selling drugs for a pretty big guy. You probably would know him if I told you the name."
"Try me." He urged me as I looked back into his eyes to reply.
"Vincent Cora."
"The mob boss?" He questioned in disbelief as I nodded and replied.
"Yeah. I sold for him for only a couple weeks to make some money. Now this was before I had any intention of really joining the army, but I took advantage of the system he had going and tried to skim some of his product off the top for myself; since most of what I earned went to him anyway. As you can imagine I was an idiot and it cost me in the end. I lost her and nearly myself when he found out I had been robbing him."
"Jesus Christ Samantha." Royce mumbled as I just nodded and whispered.
"She would still be alive if I had given my actions even the tiniest bit of thought. I thought I was smart enough to get away with it. I thought no one would notice my plan."
"When was this?" He proceeded to ask me as I calmly replied.
"Just a couple days before I enlisted."
Nodding, Royce handed me back my phone before stating.
"You're lucky to even be alive. I don't know if you heard, but the major families who ran the mob here in the US got dealt a major blow a few weeks ago. For some reason the heads of the families and the top made men all got together for some kind of dinner meeting. During the meeting they were all poisoned. It was done so fucking well that whoever did it got away clean and G.U.N isn't gonna investigate it. Main reason why is because the mob was a criminal organization. They broke the law to make the money they did and they killed countless people to do it for years. With all of the families dead that means the US can finally try to recover from what they've done. It'll take years, but there sure as shit won't be another mob to come. Not if we have anything to say about it."
I just kept silent because I knew this all already. What could I add to it? What would be the point? Royce however decided to continue his rant by telling me a moment later.
"Cora however was killed by some other psychopath. I'm sure you heard about that though. Fucking full assault on that prick's compound and it ended in a bloodbath. Cora was shot to pieces. Authorities claimed they could only identify him because of his fingerprints. Whoever killed him really had it out for him. Crazy son of a bitch. Had to be ex-military that did it. Ain't no normal person walking out of that solo. Fucking wish we knew who did it. I'd give them a medal."
Telling Royce the truth wasn't gonna help me. It wouldn't hurt, but I'd rather not get too close if he can't figure it out himself. It would be easier to work with. So I forced myself to laugh and play along with the conversation till it's very end. After a few minutes Royce said to me as sweetly as he could.
"Whatever mistakes you made before are gone now Sam. You made it through the bullshit and look at what you are now because of it. You're a goddamn soldier and I'm proud to call you my sister in arms."
I smiled slightly but took my eyes off him to look down into my lap. I just felt a little confused. It was hard to find a balance between my two lives. I knew who I was and that wasn't what Royce thought of me as. I was a soldier now, sure, but I wasn't worth any kind words. I did some good with my abilities, but in reality I was the bad guy. It wasn't because of who I really was or what I was trying to hide. I honestly didn't really care anymore when it came to hiding from my family. That wasn't what made me bad. I was just a killer and internally I was wired to be what I knew I was.
That wasn't going to change and I didn't want to change it. But balancing what I loved with what I thought I loved was the hard part. Pretending to be a good girl was difficult now. Now that I knew I could kill and do whatever I wanted without the threat of death, that made me dangerous. Even now part of me wanted to just drop this G.U.N thing I had going on. It's not like I really cared about Ajex or the world's problems. I just wanted to be feared and make some money. But fear? Yeah that's what I was now addicted to.
Royce during my thoughts had collected some of his own after saying his last piece to me. Once I looked back at him he said to me directly.
"That's why the world needs you right now Sam. Peace? World peace? That's something the world needs. It's needed it for a long fucking time now and we were just about to take our first huge step since ending the war with the middle east. At least until these fucking clowns showed up and ruined everything. We don't have any answers. We don't have any plans to fight back. We probably won't for the next year or so. I guess that all depends on us now. On you. Even if you can't fathom the weight of it all, it falls on us to be the spear that starts the end of it all. The world needs us to do this and I know we can do it. Together. I know you can do it. Just take this slow. As slow as you need to. Ajex isn't asking for answers tomorrow. We have all the time we need; so let's make the most of it, yeah?"
I nodded and that clearly made the man happy to see. Giving me another smile, Royce handed me one of the folders he had in his lap and urged me a second later with a calm tone.
"Take your time. We'll learn all we need to if we do this right and god damn it we will do it right. Now I say we get some rest before we land. We got what? Another hour or two? Wake me when we land if you can't sleep. If you can? Well we'll see who comes yelling when the time comes. Hahaha."
Royce was thankfully capable of seeing the bright side of the situation. He was right though with all he said. We had time and if I planned correctly, I could do this right. Yet at the end of the day I was allowed my freedom. I can do whatever I want and I know for a fact that I'll have to learn to be strong. Even if I didn't care about G.U.N in reality, this was still my job and I had nothing more important to do. This was at the top of my list and at the very least I wanted to get some more answers. I wanted that and to meet the man who killed my uncle. Hopefully in time I would have both. I thought to myself as I put the folders back into my bag before leaning back in my seat to shut my eyes.
Royce's POV, Four hours later, Fort Sorrow.
"Here." I said to Sam as I handed her an old looking flip phone. It was old enough to be mine when I was a kid, but what it looked like wasn't important. She took it and gave it a quick flip up to check the screen. As she did, I said to her calmly.
"It's a burner. This is how we're gonna keep in contact. I'm not gonna call unless it's absolutely crucial. I'll call you according to Major Fenning's suggestion. So once a month. You give me an update on your mission status and your personal health. I wanna make sure you're taken care of out there."
Sam nodded and once I saw that I went on to say.
"No personal calls on this. No text messages apart from us. We want this kept simple. You ever get put in a tight spot; you break the fucking thing. The chip inside is designed to wipe itself once the phone takes enough damage. So unless a point in time comes where you need to consider that, I suggest not dropping it."
"Understood." She replied as she quickly went back to her bags. I just shut my mouth from there as I looked over her gear. She had two bags going with her. A backpack and a small duffel she could hang from the side of the backpack. The duffel was for her weapons and that she had all sorted out. I questioned where she got her rifle, it was a complete custom job, but she insisted that she made it herself; which amazed me. The gear on the thing alone was top quality and the metal she had for it looked perfectly colored and forged. I had no reasons to be concerned with how accurate her claim was considering I knew what G.U.N would give a perfect user such as her if she asked. I've seen even crazier jobs from the team's past. Even that asshole Gorgon Zetes had a custom rig.
The rest of her weapons were clean and in perfect working order. I issued her a standard K-bar to have at her hip and once she was ready to go she zipped up her duffel and went back to focus on her backpack which carried the essentials she needed to get started. Paperwork, passport, all the intel folders Fenning gave us, and of course a change of clothes.
Currently we wanted her to look the part, but as of right now she was mission ready and stowed a small combat harness within the bag with the rest of her clothes. No markings were anywhere to be spotted. No one would know she was G.U.N if she played her cards right. Even the clothes she had on were more civilian than anything. Just enough to be suited for the weather over there. This time of year Azerbaijan is pretty cold so she had herself a full set of thermals under a tight pair of blue jeans and an even tighter looking maroon red thermal hoodie. I warned her to always keep her thermals on. You never want to get cold out there. Even if she was a wolf; it still wouldn't be easier working if her body numbed up while in the field.
Once she was done with her final inspection, she asked me out of curiosity.
"Are we gonna have any problems getting these guns through customs?" Shaking my head I replied.
"None at all. Ajex has already given us clearance ahead of time and the plane you're gonna be taking to Iran is owned and operated by the military. No civilians will be with you for the ride and because of that we get to slip you past all the bullshit with customs. Don't worry about any of that."
Sam looked more than ready to get going, so with time of the essence, I instructed her next.
"Once you get to Iran there will be one of our guys waiting to take you across the border and into Azerbaijan where the chopper is. Ajex has the spot secured from any civilian interference thanks to the help we got from the local military. From that point on you'll be on your own. Take all the time you need to see if you can figure out where they might have gone, then do what you do best."
"Yes sir." She replied as she threw on her gear and proceeded to stow her new phone in her front pocket. Once that was done, she looked back at me to state.
"I'm good to go." Smiling, I replied.
"Bet. Let's get you out of here. Follow me."
This was gonna be it. I wouldn't see this wolf for god knows how long after this drive. I pray that she is looked after and comes back home safe and sound, but I knew better than to wish for that. This mission was gonna be hard. She knew it, I knew it, even Ajex knew it. I'm sure to a degree he wasn't even expecting much to come from it, I'm sure this was just his way of keeping Voltz happy. Yet I still had faith. If anyone could do this solo it was her.
A short walk later we got piled into my car and began our drive to the airport which was short itself. Thankfully the base was close by to the place. We didn't really even have to talk during the drive and I liked that. No need to say anything dumb at this point to her. Even though I'm sure her mind was elsewhere. Knowing her I bet she was already thinking of her first move; if not ten.
Pulling up to the main terminal, I stopped the car and looked over at her to ask.
"You ready?"
She nodded and together we got out of the car. From there it was another short walk to the private terminal we would be using to move around. A few soldiers were already stationed there and thankfully they were ready for us. I got Sam through without any trouble going down and when we reached the flight I stopped in my tracks to wish her the best of luck with a big hug. Leaning over her shoulder, I shut my eyes and whispered.
"Take care of yourself out there. You need anything you don't hesitate to call me. I'll do whatever I can to help you. Even if you just need to talk, okay?"
"Thank you. It means a lot, Captain."
Pulling off her, I chuckled and replied with a wide smile.
"It's Dominick to you. Got it?"
"Yes sir." She replied happily with a laugh of her own. Gently hugging her one more time, I soon found myself taking a foot back and ordering with the same stupid smile.
"Good. Now get the fuck out of here."
She gave me another chuckle before turning to follow one of the soldiers onto the flight. Once she was out of sight, I let out a small sigh and looked towards my watch to check the time. If everything went well she would be on the ground tomorrow morning.
Raptor's POV, Iraq.
With my head down and down on one knee; I looked over Char's grave to pray for him. Yoga stood right behind me with his own head down and eyes closed as I'm sure he was doing his own form of prayer. I haven't been able to do something like this for quite a few days and I've been meaning to visit. I wanted to do this at least once a week just out of respect for my brother and if god was willing, I'd make that happen. Yet I had one outstanding problem left to deal with and that was dealing with this man's children whom he was forced to leave behind in his death.
Two kids that were barely old enough to walk, let alone understand why both of their parents were no longer gonna be coming home. We did everything to prevent them from learning the truth, but sooner or later we had to do something more suitable and beneficial to their lives. I've had the time to work it out with what remained of Luna's family and thank god we now had an answer. The kids would be moving in with their grandparents after today was through and I crossed my fingers it would be enough. I couldn't feel any worse for them. No one deserves to grow up without parents.
After a few minutes of silence between us, I felt my phone go off inside my back pocket. Yoga was thankfully on top of it and from behind he handed me my Bluetooth earpiece.
"It's Ajex." He then informed me as I stood up from my knees to begin walking away from the grave site. Once a few feet apart from the grave, I said to the fox on the other end of the call.
"Voltz here."
"I'm sorry to call. I know you're busy, but I just wanted to touch base. You got a minute?"
"Yeah I'm okay to talk for a little. What's going on with your end?" I asked him back as Yoga followed me back to the car.
"My end is good. I started making some moves." Ajex informed me as Yoga got my door for me.
"Anything useful yet?" I asked as I got in to wait for Yoga to take the wheel.
"Nothing yet. I have some of my best working around the clock looking for anything to help us, but it's gonna take some time before we're ready to really do anything."
"How long?" I wondered back as he went on to reply.
"I'm not rushing this Raptor and I'm not going to lie to you about the truth. It could be months till we learn anything about this group. Years even, but I have us going in the right direction at least." I nodded to myself when he said that. I knew this was gonna be the case. The way the world is now we can no longer rush head first into battle. There are too many things on the line and doing anything without information and evidence to back us up could lead to war with so many people and that would ruin everything Char died for. I had to accept this and move with the times. I was useless.
"Do you remember when we last talked? I told you about the new operator I have?"
"Yeah, you mentioned it." I replied as he quickly informed me.
"I've taken the opportunity to assign them the case. If everything goes to plan we might learn something soon."
"Regardless Ajex, whoever it is you have working on this is up against the odds. It's what? Their first real mission? And I'm gonna assume it's a fucking kid on top of that. I'm sorry, but I'm not convinced this will work. In fact, I have no faith at all. You're wasting time when we should just be sending a team in to investigate. A solo operation isn't the play."
Ajex always knew I was doubtful. However when it came to this he defended himself.
"We have no leads other than the strip site to work with. That and a general idea where to start looking for these people. I can't just act blindly and make a major move without knowing anything Raptor. This is why I said it'll take a long time. We fuck up and jump the gun we'll have more then this to contend with in the form of problems."
"I know." I mumbled as he went on to state.
"I trust the people I have working for me and I trust the operation. I trust it and all the other people I have tasked to this. So please have my back and work with me here. Now how are things on your end? What are you planning?"
"Planning? You think I have a plan? Hah….nah Ajex, I don't know shit about what I'm gonna do." I admitted back as Yoga leaned over slightly as he got in the driver's seat to ask.
"Back to the capital?" I gave him a nod as Ajex came through my phone to wonder.
"We need to focus on rebuilding what we may have lost thanks to the loss of Char and all the other signatures that were supposed to go on the treaty. Now I doubt we lost trust among the other countries, but you would know better than I if that were the case. Has anyone branched off yet from the plan?"
"Not that I know of. Everyone is thankfully doing their best to stick together through this. I just need to confirm it with a few more people, but we should still be okay if we want to give the signing another try."
Taking a moment to adjust in my seat, I looked over at Yoga as he began to drive. I couldn't help but look over his face closely as Ajex said to me bluntly.
"We aren't going to try that again. Not until we know more about these people. We can't trust our security. That's why I think it would be best if I stay in the US for the next few months. The less we have to get together the better."
"I understand." I mumbled back as he then urged me.
"Once we know what's happening we can consider another meeting. For now I suggest we both just play the political route for the time being. You keep building relationships among our benefactors while I focus on handling the intel operations. Of course I'll have your back when it comes to promoting the situation and we're gonna make this work in the end, but for now let's keep our business strictly on peace. It should also make us look like less of a threat if the people gunning for our operations see we aren't trying to cut another deal anytime soon. They could lay off for a bit and give us time to figure out their goals."
"Agreed, but we might just be wasting our time." I stated as he then asked.
"Do you have any operations of your own going on under the radar?"
"I have a few of Zandro's men looking for what they can, but that's the extent of it. I just want them focusing on Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. I'm leaving the rest of the world in your hands." I replied as Yoga took a second to look out his window to check and make sure no one was tailing us.
"Good. Focus on your borders. I'll handle the rest. That I can work with." Ajex said back calmly as I then decided to change the subject by asking him.
"I've been meaning to ask you Ajex, but…..well you know I'm getting married right?"
"I got your invitation, yes, but I'm afraid I can't make it. I'm sorry, but with the way things are I don't want to risk anything. The last thing I want for you is to ruin your big day."
"It's Zeta's big day. I've done this twice already before. I can't say I'm gonna be moved for a third time by getting married." I admitted as Yoga chuckled to my comments. However I still had to put this question to rest nicely, so I went on to say to Ajex who listened.
"I understand though. I just wanted to be sure. Don't worry about it. No hard feelings."
"I'm gonna send you two something to show my support. That I promise you. Did you invite Hecan? I'm sure he would love to go. It would get him out of the house." Nodding my head I quickly replied to his curiosity.
"I did. He said he should be able to make it."
"That's good news then Raptor. Now I should let you get back to your business. We're both very busy people now. I'll keep you up to date if I learn anything new." He informed me as I nodded my head and replied.
"Same. I'll keep in touch as best as I can. Stay safe."
"You too." He finished as we both hung up. Yoga glanced over at me curiously as I let out a sigh and slowly put my phone back in my front pocket. With his eyes on me for a moment I asked the ferret.
"What?"
Showing no signs of concern, he asked back.
"Where are you guys having the wedding?"
With my eyes looking forward at the road, I replied.
"Zeta is looking at a place in Iran, but it's a little worrying since the people who killed Char already managed to sneak into the country once. I don't want them doing that again and not when it's supposed to be her big day. I'd rather have it here, but it's officially gonna be left up to her. Either way it's going to be a public event and I'm not gonna pretend like I feel safe. Security is gonna be as strict as it can get and I'm not sparing any resources to do so. Everyone is gonna be there making sure we're one hundred percent safe and covered from all sides. I'm not letting anything happen that day. Not over my dead body."
Yoga had something else on his mind it seemed and what it was became clear when he asked me back.
"It's her big day right? You sound like you don't care. Don't you really want to marry this woman?"
Looking over at the man, I replied confidently but calmly.
"I do, but I'm not gonna allow myself to be blind. It sounds cruel, but I really have become desensitized by this kind of thing Yoga. I hate saying it like that, but I have. I love Zeta and that's a fact."
"Your relationship beforehand was a fact too." Yoga muttered which got me to ask him in confusion.
"Excuse me?"
Keeping his eyes on the road, he went on to say.
"You two were in a pit right? Char told me that you guys were fighting a bunch. Ever since Samantha left. Right?"
I just went silent as he then asked me.
"And I mean try not to take this the wrong way, but you weren't really itching to marry her before this right? I get that you already did this twice and all that, but after eighteen or so years you decided to do that now of all times? Is it because you really wanted to? Or is it because of your relationship? You might have been close to losing her right? The way Char described things; you two didn't sound good for a time. If you don't mind me asking, but is this your way of trying to get things back on track? Buy yourself some more time?"
For a long moment I had to think about how to answer that. He was on the money with his assessment and that bothered me. If he had that kind of hunch then that could mean even Zeta could deduce that if she tried. Hell she might have already and knowing her I bet she won't say a thing so long as we finally tie the knot, but Yoga? Giving him a small smile I asked him back.
"Do you want to lose your job asking me something like that Yoga? If you're aiming to get reassigned I could put you on the task of finding the people who shot Char. You seem pretty confident in your detective skills."
Giving me a wide stare back for a moment before seeing that I was kidding, the young ferret began to laugh before replying.
"I'm sorry! I know that shit is personal, but you…..?"
"But you asked anyway?" I questioned as he continued to laugh to avoid giving me another answer. After a few moments I said to him nicely enough.
"Don't worry about it. Char didn't hide anything from you huh? Did he trust you that much?"
Nodding once Yoga replied.
"We were tight. As tight as you could get I would like to think. I wish I had asked him."
I felt the pain emerge from his voice when he said that, so I decided to finally answer his question by lightly saying back.
"Well we were fighting. A lot. What happened with Sam was all my fault. I deserved what happened and I don't ever expect to have the same daughter I had back then ever again. I'm sure she still has bad feelings about me to this very day and I know I can never regain the trust I lost for hitting her. She has every right to hate me. I can't change that. So yeah the wedding idea came from that."
"I'm sure she loves you man. Regardless of the fight. She's still just a kid. Give it some more time and I'm sure you guys will work it out." Yoga urged me as I went on to state.
"I don't know. She's supposed to be coming back home for the wedding and I'm both excited and scared for that day to come. I don't know how she'll react once we're in the same room again. I don't know if she'll even be willing to hug me. Let alone talk to me after all this time."
"She'll definitely fucking hug you man. Have some faith. It could have been worse. What if you shot her or something? Hahahaha!"
Yoga was a fucking trip. It was no wonder Char decided on him to be his bodyguard. Fucking guy didn't care about what he had to say. He just said it and it was clear he was indeed a brave jokester. I had to fucking laugh because of his stupid idea of a joke question. I saw that it made him happy and to be honest it helped me feel happy. I just prayed that he was right. If I wanted one thing more than to find the people who killed Char, it was a hug from my only daughter.
Sam's POV, A few hours later.
"I'm sorry Sam, but I got nothing on these guys. Dusk? The network spent a good bit of time looking for anything on him and what Ajex gave you is all the intel we managed to allocate. If we knew anything more you would know already." Minky informed me over my phone as I had a plane to myself for the next ten or so more hours. With the intel all in my bags again, I laid back in my seat to ask the cat back.
"So this guy doesn't have a contract on his head?"
"No. We can't sanction a contract without solid proof he was behind the murder of your uncle and all those other dignitaries So it's all speculation for now and this guy has stayed off the radar for nearly his whole life. I'm sure he's done a lot of bad shit, but he's good at what he does and that goes for all the people in his group. If the network doesn't know shit then it's safe to assume they are pros."
"Hmm." I mumbled as I contemplated what to do now. After a few moments, I asked Minky calmly.
"What are the chances of finding him?"
"That depends on you I think. They won't come looking if they take their security seriously; which it looks like they do. So you'd probably be better off doing what G.U.N suggests. Get on the radar and get some attention."
"I've thought about it." I informed him as he then asked me.
"Any ideas?"
Nodding to myself, I gently took off my hat and laid it on the seat next to me. As I went to move my hair out of my face, I replied.
"A few, but it's gonna go down one way or the other. These guys probably aren't good guys. Judging from what I know they could have killed my dad and Ajex if that was their goal, but it wasn't; so that leaves me to believe they have other motives for just stalling the peace treaty itself. Regardless they don't like the idea of world peace so they must be terrorists of some sort, which means they don't like the law or those who obey it or enforce it. I think my best chance at getting noticed is by doing the opposite. I need to help these guys and if where I'm going is their home then I'm sure there are somethings that I can do to help their cause. Whatever that is. What's going on over there? Anything major?"
I heard Minky typing and after a moment or two he replied.
"Let me see what we got here on file. One minute."
I gave him the time he needed and during which I decided to focus my efforts back on honing my new power. The only people on this plane were the pilots, two attendants and me. I could easily sense who they were species wise, what they looked like, and I could slowly get an idea on what they had on their person. It was a slow progression system, but I was picking up on the gift a little more each time I used it. Hopefully I'd be a master not before long and maybe I'd continue to learn more with more practice.
"I got something for you." Minky then informed me over the phone as I broke out of my trance to refocus on him as he went on to state.
"Currently the country is going through a pretty heavy reform thanks to losing a few diplomats during the assassination. The military is out in force protecting the country's federal and judicial installations. Doesn't look like they will be taking any chances with any of the remaining political figureheads they have left in office; seeing as all of them side with your father. Taking one or two of them out would probably be a good start."
"I'm not looking to do anything like that till I know what I'm truly getting myself into Minky. For now I'm just curious what's happening around the place. I plan to spend a good bit of time getting to know the area first and that starts with picking a place to hang around for my time over there. I need a place that won't draw any attention. I'm sure I'm gonna stand out a little; so until I'm adjusted I need to lay low and play tourist."
"I'm not suggesting you jump right onto something like that. I'm just stating facts. Hitting the country hard like that will draw the right kind of attention if they operate out of the city. I'm sure they must be laying low themselves." Minky said back to me as I went back to adjusting myself in my seat.
"I agree with you though. Take all the time you need to get a proper layout of things. It's easy to get lost though so I suggest you take it a little at a time. Tons of people and tons of security. Laying low shouldn't be a problem once you get settled somewhere."
"Any low level crime to worry about?" I asked my friend next as I took a moment to scratch my chin.
"It's the same as it is everywhere else Sam. Plenty of things going on."
"Like?" I asked to show my peaked interest.
"You got drugs first of all. The middle east is drowning in it. You should know that. I'm sure if you wanted to get involved you could easily find a way into the business. Now besides that you have some other things happening that are considered organized and that's the selling of weapons and other illegal goods. From what I know it's more focused on the lower end of the city. Lots of people selling to the poor and desperate. It makes for easy business considering most of those guys are buying with the plan to kill either themselves or someone else. Not much room for business with the higher class since firearms are illegal and can net you a sentence in federal prison."
"Any organized crime?" I then wondered aloud.
"Not to the extent of the mob in the US, but there is a group or two operating around the city. Unlike the US, this country has organized crime almost solved. There typically isn't anything major happening apart from a business or two being extorted once in a while." Minky stated back which got me to sigh a little.
"So all and all there really isn't much to work with." I said to myself which then got my friend to suggest.
"I'm sure the people you're looking for are going out of their way to sell drugs. Not to mention weapons ether considering they apparently have a line on military hardware for themselves. Your best bet might be taking a look at some of the politicians. But let me warn you first Sam that the people on that list all have closed contracts. You won't be getting paid anything for killing them. In fact if you kill them you'll probably be the one getting a bounty yourself. So take that into consideration."
Nodding my head, I jumped in to wonder.
"That's if they even know who did it in the first place right? Say I stay off the grid and get out clean. You think they'll figure it out?"
"Not likely, but it's also extremely unlikely you'll be able to do something that serious without any attention being drawn. And I'm sure if you do somehow get away clean the military will put out a request to have you tracked down. It would take some time, but someone would probably figure it out if you're not careful while covering your tracks. The network also has operators everywhere and once we get paid to figure something out we promise to always deliver something the buyer can work with."
"Could we feed them false intel if that were to be the case?" My question got the cat to start really thinking about an answer. He took some time, but in return replied a moment or two after he had gone silent.
"I could probably throw them off, but it wouldn't be a safe gamble on my end considering where my jurisdiction lies. The network isn't blind and it would look bad for me if I was the one personally putting forth the effort to locate someone halfway across the world for no good reason other than curiosity."
"Hmmm." I mumbled back as he then said to me.
"I'd recommend changing up your look. G.U.N hasn't opened a profile for you since your black ops and that is gonna stay the same I'd like to believe. So I'd take advantage of that and if you think you're gonna wind up being made by the network or the military for whatever reason, I'd mix things up by changing your fur color, hairstyle, or whatever you can to throw people off on who you really are. Maybe even start going by a different name. I can get you a fake id to match it to so it looks official. Whatever you need to make sure no one knows your Samantha Diskov."
"I'll consider it and get back to you Minky." I replied as I had some confidence I could maintain a good neutral cover during my operation. I wasn't even sure yet if I wanted to pretend to be someone other than myself. It's not like anyone would figure it out now that I was on my own. I could bullshit a story on the fly and I was still thinking about what I discussed with Roslin. I wanted people to know my name. I wanted a reputation and I didn't care for it to be a good one. I just wanted to be feared and that I knew I could accomplish. I thought to myself as I soon refocused and said to the cat.
"I'm gonna have to let you go for now Minky. Thank you for the advice and the info."
"Anytime Sam. Be careful out there and give me a call if something comes up." He urged me as I kicked my legs back to smile and state.
"I will. Goodbye."
Hanging up the line, I took a small second to put my phone down on my lap and look up at the ceiling. All I could think about was my upcoming plan. I really didn't know what to do just yet. I wanted that reputation, but maybe it would have to wait a bit. If I drew too much heat and wound up on the news or on the network's website, I'm sure my family would catch wind and that would put me in a hole. It would be safer to spend the next few months planning ahead or at least wait until my mom's wedding is finished. After that I wouldn't have to go back home ever again. I don't wanna imagine how weird it would be going home with my family knowing my reputation and knowing my parents; they would get in the way to stop me and I can't have that.
I'd wait then. I had more than enough time to burn and no one was rushing for results. After the wedding I'd make a real move. I said to myself as I looked back at my phone to ask myself if I wanted to make one more call, but this time to my mother. I wanted to know more about the wedding at the least. I'm sure she wanted me as a bridesmaid or something if I was really planning to come. I even had problems thinking about that though. A person like me would look dumb acting like a stupid girl and deep down I didn't want to be that. I heard it enough.
"That I'm a stupid fucking kid."
mT Shadow.