Chuck vs The Wayward Legionnaire
Chapter 16: Aftermath…. /Philip's story.
28th January. 2010. French President's Office, Paris. 12:00am
Gerard Courriere, President of the French Republic sat back in his office chair and rubbed his temples. The past few days had been long and hard, there had been no way the authorities could have hidden the events of the Les Deux Alpes from the public.
Now he and his other European Leader counterparts had to assure their populations, not just of his country but indeed all the countries that had nearly fallen prey to this insidious plot, that their leaders were in control and although the battle had been fierce and costly, they had been in command at all times.
Privately though, the same leaders had lacerated the Directors of their respective Secret Services, they hadn't known a thing, instead it had been this band of Legionnaire recruits still in basic training with the help of some unknown group of super hackers that had managed to not only alert the proper authorities but also devise a plan, execute it, and then, as if to rub salt into the wounds , disappear without a goddamn trace!
The Euro space tracking system had traced the satellite used in the communications between the two sides, only to watch in impotence as it activated its thrusters and entered a low orbit burning up and disintegrating like a falling star in front of them!
It had turned out to be of Asian origin, so nobody gave a fuck about the loss of hardware, but the implication was clear, there were others out there with capabilities far beyond official sources with no oversight and only a willingness to help that separated them from the bad guys!
The other surprises were the massive data dump that had accompanied the battle, he gave thanks for that, the Intelligence agencies, he snorted in derision, had pored over the files, very quickly they revealed another previously unknown, at least by European sources, enemy, this Fulcrum.
What a turn up that had been, a corrupt version of the US CIA hellbent on restoring the US to a non-existent pre-emptive position on the world stage and apparently had been operating so for years!
He fumed, there hadn't been a peep in any briefing from the Americans, nor had he discussed them at National Leadership level with his American counterpart or had any of his other European allies! It appeared they had been kept in the dark, so much for international co-operation in the wake of 9/11!
And then there had been the data dump that had turned up on the Interpol servers, that had had the police in France and Italy on tender hooks as the two Ministers of Justice in both countries called emergency meetings to deal with what could be one of the most prolific serial killers since Gilles de Rais in the fifteen hundreds!
That had been a major shock, hell, his wife wore some of the lunatic's products! After a selected viewing of the contents of some of the MANY video clips at the Ministère de la Justice he had returned to their quarters and spent ten minutes throwing every one of them in a bin and then ordering the household staff to ensure they were off the premises in one hour.
His wife had moaned about the treatment meted out to her favourite cosmetic brand, but he dispatched her with her shopping aides to the Champs-Élysées and strict instructions in regards House of Cassini products! None!
Now he sat waiting for his Prime Minister to return to ensure they played their part in a National and International broadcast later that evening.
The Media had been relentless, from the moment the battle at the Cassini plant had ended they had descended like wolves, local, national, and international, each desperately trying to out scoop the other.
He'd ordered a strict media blackout policy for the Interior Minister and the military to follow, but people still talked…
Reports that a new elite Legion unit acting on gathered intelligence had infiltrated the Cassini Cosmetic plant that had been usurped, dealt with the enemy, and prevented a major attack on the nearby Russian- European gas pipeline had filled the papers and television screens for the past few days.
They had had no choice but to play along, while preparing to subtlety altering the facts, so a more presentable set of facts could emerge, one, he and his fellow leaders could embrace and control, securing plaudits for themselves and reassuring the masses at large.
He had been allowed to take the lead in the whole affair, after all it occurred mainly on French soil, a fact that displeased him immensely. But the horse had bolted, all he could do now was ride the damn thing until another crisis took the public's attention.
He had personally met with Duvall and Bouquin, Bouquin had wholeheartedly embraced the plan almost immediately, and why not? The Legion had come out of the situation with a bunch of heroes, French led to boot!
Initially he had wanted a ceremony to honour the men, but strangely the General and the Lieutenant, this Delon had decided that they preferred the men to remain anonymous, he supposed he could understand that.
Leaders claim the glory, soldiers move on to the next campaign.
There had even been some argument over rewarding the men, other countries though had changed that, their ministers and military leaders involved had insisted on bestowing the unit with some honorary versions of some of their highest military awards.
He had made his own arguments and prevailed. They had spilled their blood in defence of the Republic and her allies. No, he had also insisted the men be rewarded.
So, as Commander in Chief, he had liaised with his Minister of the Armed Forces and they had awarded the Military Medal as a commendation for the Unit as a whole and individually the men were to be honoured with the Legion of Honour, France could hardly be seen to do less by her saviours than a foreign government, not if any politician valued their career!
It added well to the Public Relations and gave the General some exceptional bragging rights.
They had posthumously promoted Sergent Dario Sastre and Caporal Damian Barczar, the Sergent had been made Warrant Officer and Damian Caporal Chef.
The press had loved it too, genuine heroes. And the only ones the Legion would allow to be named, the politicos had grumbled but their military liaisons had nodded sagely, elite units always operated in secrecy, their effectiveness enhanced by their anonymity.
There was a knock on his door, the Prime Minister and her press secretary entered, time for more work he mused.
….
Oval Office, Washington D.C. 2.00pm
President Elliott Pattison sat with his Secretary of State and DNI Adams, the communication from the French President had been co-signed by the German Chancellor, Swiss President, and the Italian and Spanish Prime Ministers. It asked for the US Government to render all aid in a matter that would be revealed later that day.
The notice had arrived that morning by way of the French Ambassador, they assumed it was a briefing in relation to the recent events in Europe, as soon as that had made the media, the US Government had rushed to offer any assistance they could.
The response had been unusual.
They had been rebuffed, there had been a sullenness from each of the affected countries that had had Albert Wainwright, the Secretary of State scratching his head in puzzlement, he had reached out to his various Ambassadors only to find they had been likewise rebuked.
The previously cordial atmosphere of international relations had suddenly been thrown into the equivalent of an icy plunge pool.
Unable to get any notable return to their enquiries they had relied on the International and foreign correspondents of the media to inform them of the situation.
Unusual requests and communiques had then slowly started to filter through the diplomatic channels, the US Justice Department was informed to prepare for some International Arrest Warrants for persons yet to be named. That really put the cat amongst the pigeons.
Requests for additional information from the Americans went unheeded, instead, replies of current investigations ongoing returned. This was enough to raise the hairs on the back of the neck of the A.G.
Frantic requests for more information from the State Department were met with apologies. Nobody knew what the hell was going on!
Finally, the visit of the Ambassador, and now they sat nervously, a mobile A.V. unit had been set up, Pattison had decided against the Situation Room, there were too many White House press and staffers at this time of day hanging around and the last thing he needed was media speculation in his own White House.
The hour approached and the French National TV station TF1 had already switched to a view of a dais that had been set up in front of the Elysee Palace.
At 20.00pm CET the French President descended the steps with his Prime Minister and their entourage. There was a brief exchange of greetings and then he turned and faced the assembled media, already flashes could be seen as the press photographers jostled for the best shot. The President checked his notes and began to speak.
"To my fellow citizens of France and the watching citizens of our European allies, I am now finally able to relate to you all the full details of the events of Le Deux Alpes from last week and the subsequent findings.
On the 21st of January acting on information provided by the DGSE and Military Intelligence sources of a potential threat to not only the national security of France but also the European Union as a whole, Southern Command led by Generals Bouquin and Duvall sent a newly formed, highly trained unit, with our best men to investigate the possible infiltration of the Cassini Cosmetics plant and it's repurposing to manufacture a highly lethal gas for addition to the NORD Russian-European gas network…"
There was a gasp from the assembled press, but the President continued…
"…I am happy to report that the mission was a complete success, the Unit verified the information and under the leadership of our military leaders successfully thwarted the attack, working in conjunction with our European Allies across four other countries, our brave Special Forces took control of the major network hubs preventing the attack from ever succeeding.
The Unit then engaged a superior force, sabotaging the plant and preventing the dispersal of any remaining weapon, they were in turn assisted by Air and Armoured units.
Unfortunately, in any military operation there are casualties, and it is my sad duty to inform you that we lost two brave men from the Unit, as well as some Airforce and Ground Force personnel and some injuries sustained by the members of our Special Forces in the taking of the Hubs. I ask you all to join me now in a minute's silence for our fallen and wounded men."
There was a marked silence as the President and his entourage bowed their heads. The press corps followed suit. After the minute passed, he addressed the press again.
"The battle was intense and it was necessary to ensure the complete destruction of the gas by the use of a specialised incendiary device that unfortunately caused the local area and the surrounding mountain area considerable damage, rest assured that the Office of Public Works in conjunction with Military personal have dedicated themselves to restoring the environment to its former glory once the NBC units of ourselves and our allies have ensured the area is safe again for the public at large, it is of course our highest priority, the public safety.
The forces that failed in their heinous mission have been identified as a hereto unknown cabal of espionage agents and former military personnel collectively operating under the name of Fulcrum. We have detailed files we recovered from the personal records of the former owner of Cassini, Contessa Pacelli confirming this and her involvement, unfortunately she perished in the attack, escaping the hand of justice.
Considering this information, today we have issued international arrest warrants for the following people, Theodore 'Ted' Roark, the self-styled leader and banker of this organisation, scientist Jill Roberts, the person we believe co-created the weapon, and a man known only as 'Leader', a high-ranking member "
There were several large screens that now flashed up the pictures of all named.
"We have already had some success with the capture yesterday of Fulcrum operative David Mills as he attempted to escape France at Charles De Gaulle Airport…."
Another screen showed a man being manhandled to the ground by numerous armed French police, his face was contorted in fear as he was handcuffed rather roughly. Various cutscenes showed a running chase of Mills before he was tackled to the ground.
"In line with our investigations all European Roark manufacturing facilities and offices were closed in line with EU Security Directive 731/6732 and also all known Bank accounts frozen as of 09.00 hrs CET this morning..."
He paused as more pictures flashed across the screens of various buildings and banks being raided by the police forces across Europe.
"…As this organisation appears to be mainly American in origin, we, the combined European partners have informed our American allies that we are expecting their FULL COOPERATION in this matter, nothing less will do in light of our assistance that was rendered at their request during 9/11, we hold this matter in the same light and I promise you, our peoples that we will leave no stone unturned in our quest to bring those responsible to justice.
To Fulcrum and their allies, I say this; your days of hiding in the shadows are over, now we are aware of you. You are no longer safe in Europe. Your days are numbered. I will now hand over to the Prime Minister and she will answer any questions that you may have…thank you".
The media erupted….
…
Back in the Oval Office the President looked around the room at his stunned people and summed the situation up in one succinct word…
"Shit…."
….
By the following afternoon he had read the riot act to all his Intelligence and Law Enforcement heads in the Situation Room. This was highly embarrassing to the United States, his Administration, and it's standing in the world community, and privately he was going to be damned if his shot at a second term was going to be scuppered by this scandal.
The assembled heads were informed that ALL cooperation and information was to be provided to their allies, if there was one bright spot, it appeared the problem of Fulcrum was now an International one.
Two people in the room shared a look, NSA General Diane Beckman and CIA Director Tom Emerson. It was no surprise to either of them when they were 'invited' to a meeting with DNI Adams after in her office.
….
DNI Adams looked at the two people that seemed to be the bane of her life at this moment. The silence hung in the air, neither of the other two were going to break the silence, spies, she thought.
She cleared her throat, "You both seen the International warrants?", it was a redundant question, the whole world practically had at this point, but only they were privy to the whereabouts of some of those mentioned.
"No.." said Tom Emerson, "What do you mean, 'no' Tom, you haven't even answered the question…" she replied, her eyebrows raised questioningly.
It was General Beckman that answered next, "no means that we are NOT going to comply and release Leader and Roberts from the Moab Black site…."
Adams started to feel her ire rise.
"…we're not doing that, because they know too much about the Intersect, there's no way we can allow anybody, even an ally, an understanding of our methods or the knowledge of how we are currently operating…."
Adams had had enough, "Well that's just it, isn't it, we hadn't a clue about this Fulcrum operation from your Intersect, to be quite frank, since the loss of the original Intersect, things haven't exactly been 5 stars now, have they?" She glared at them both.
"Joan," it was Emerson, "we put all known information from NSA and CIA sources into that last download, our focus had always been on the protection of this Nation. Nobody could have foreseen this Poison Rain operation…"
They'd all been privy to the findings of the French report.
"Really Tom? In case it hasn't escaped your notice the two prisoners seemed to have withheld that information every time you 'interviewed' them since their incarceration last year, or is that a misunderstanding of the situation on my part…?
Emerson smarted, it was a fair point, looks like their guests had been holding out on them, now the question on everyone's minds was who exactly were these 'allies' that Courriere had referred to.
She continued, "…it appears BOTH of them were directly involved in its inception, HELL, ROBERTS INVENTED THE DAMN THING!" She slammed her hand on her desk.
The other two remained silent. It had caught them all off guard, nobody could have predicted the over arcing plans of the rogue organisation when all their primary focus had seemed to be on the acquisition of an Intersect, it appeared they had been well and truly blindsided.
Beckman looked at the large clock on Adam's wall, she allowed herself a tight smile, well soon, she thought, she was going to know what the two prisoners knew, all of it.
Had she been anybody other than herself she might have felt sorry for what she had unleashed earlier that day… but she wasn't….
…
Moab Black site, Utah. Earlier….
The prisoners had long since gotten used to the routines of the underground facility they had been sent to rot in.
Today, however had been different, there had been no meal this morning, any complaints had been harshly dealt with.
The woman licked her split lower lip offering herself some comfort from the backhanded blow she never saw coming when she'd made her enquiries. She remained in sullen silence after that.
A few hours later she had been asleep on her bunk when the door crashed open, she had tried to flatten herself against the cell wall, but her legs had been grabbed, she was thrown to the ground and restraints painfully applied as well as a black hood.
She'd had interrogation training, but it was always disconcerting to have one of your senses taken from you, especially sight. Falling back on her remaining senses just meant she let her imagination run riot. She tried to control her breathing; this was just the preliminaries. The hard stuff was yet to come…
She was dragged to an interrogation room, she'd been there before, she'd been dragged there that often her toes could practically remember the route!
She waited. Soon, she felt a change in the air pressure in the room, someone had entered, they were very good, she hadn't heard a thing, or maybe they were always there…
The man's screaming from the next room jolted her to her core, she jerked upright causing her to moan as the restraints cut into her body.
Suddenly there was light! The hood had been snatched from her head and she blinked rapidly to regain her vision, a figure slowly appeared in focus in front of her.
A rather beautiful redheaded woman regarded her with a cold set of blue eyes, her hands rested under her chin, despite the screaming from the next room the scene almost reminded the woman of a coffee shop date she used to share with a colleague once upon a time…
There were no smiles from the woman who watched her silently, she hummed softly as the screams escalated sharply and then cut out with a moan…. Another man's voice could be heard, it was faint, but she could swear it sounded familiar, muffled as it was.
The other woman finally spoke. "Well Dr. Roberts, it appears you haven't exactly been honest with us…"
The other woman gulped, "I've given you everything that I know…. please don't hurt me…"
The other woman sighed, from beneath the table she drew …Roberts flinched… a remote control. Pressing a button, the wall behind her lit up with a recording of the French Presidents speech, it had been subtitled, but the redhead could see Roberts understood French, that hadn't been in the file...
"Agent Casey is currently next door having a …chat with your old boss, Leader."
There was a sudden scream from behind Roberts. Leader again. She locked eyes with the redhead, so this was the way it was, well she had been prepared, the frightened woman disappeared in an instance, Fulcrum agent Jill Roberts sat in her place.
"Do your worst…", she sneered.
To her surprise, the redhead burst out laughing, "Oh no," She gasped for breath between laughs, "I'm just here to make sure my old teammate doesn't get out of control…I have to tell you though, the last time I saw her get this worked up about an interrogation, we were cleaning pieces of the guy off the walls and floor for HOURS…."
An ominous feeling started to grow inside Jill Roberts chest. "…her…?"
The room door opened and silhouetted against the light stood the outline of one Sarah Walker, she was pulling on a pair of heavy lead lined gloves, her icy blue eyes were fixed on the other woman who was now as pale as a sheet, her eyes bugging in fear.
Satisfied that she had herself properly attired, she entered the room, "Hello Jill, you have no idea how much I've been looking forward to this…" Her shadow loomed over the other woman as the door closed behind her….
…
30th January. 2010. Castle, Casey's Office. 08.00hrs
John Casey took a final look at the finished reports, he grunted in satisfaction, it wasn't every day you got to cut loose against an enemy of the state, and he would be lying to himself if he said he hadn't loved every minute of it. Sore knuckles or not.
Sitting across from him, Sarah Walker seemed in good spirits too, he hazarded a guess that a lot of built-up emotion had been released yesterday during their 'conversations' with the Fulcrum prisoners.
He passed the finished reports across the desk to the young er woman who quickly scanned the contents and nodded approvingly, "looks good to me". She rubbed at a spot on her neck, Casey noticed some red flecks fall and land on his desk, his eyes narrowed, "That's blood…."
"Not mine…." She replied as she wiped the top clean. They smiled at one another.
They left the office and headed to the main conference room, Miller and Larkin were already there glaring across their respective desks at one another.
Casey didn't give a toss, as long as they cut it in the field he'd put up with the nonsense.
The screen chimed and the face of Beckman appeared, "Report Colonel".
Standing the large man walked in front of the monitor and addressed his superior.
"General, as per your orders, Agent Walker and I conducted the interrogations yesterday…"
"And…?"
"The French reports were correct, they were involved, Mills, whom the French arrested was also involved, the other two, Roark and the other individual known only as the Director are the only two currently unaccounted for, the other party, this Contessa Pacelli was reported as killed during the attack on her facility."
"So, there is a higher threat?" she asked.
Casey nodded, "It appears that Fulcrum was merely one of many facets of this other Organization called The Ring. General. This Director seems to be, as the title suggests, the one in command."
Beckman contemplated that, it was her worst fears coming through, Fulcrum had been bad enough, but to find out they had only been a spoke on a wheel….
"…Are you sure of your information Colonel?"
"We were …ah…quite thorough in our …questioning, of course it's only two confirmations, if we had Mills…we could obtain another confirmation. Our questioning did reveal that only Roark knows the identity of this 'Director' and he's in the wind…"
"I don't suppose the French are willing to allow us to talk to Mills or this top-secret Unit?"
Beckman looked at her team, "No Colonel, I'm afraid not, and we're certainly not allowing them to know that we have Roberts or Leader. We'll have to see if we can find Roark or this Director ourselves."
"Forward me your full reports and I'll see what the FBI has been able to find out regarding Roark's disappearance. Prepare yourselves for any further orders".
The screen blanked.
Casey looked around the room, "alright team, we know what we have to do, until the General finds us a target it's hit the computers and check all information provided by the analysists…."
There were groans from the others, but they all knew it wasn't action all the time, sometimes investigation and paperwork were just as important, and this was certainly one of those times.
Casey headed for his office, it looked like from the jaws of victory they had snatched defeat, with the naming of the Fulcrum leader and banker it seemed like rolling up the rogue organisation would be a formality, it was disheartening to find that behind them lay an even bigger threat. Some days mused Casey, it was like fighting a Hydra, cut off one head and two more took its place.
Still, he had to wonder, if they had of had Bartowski still would they have even found themselves in this mess, he shook his head. He concentrated on his mission, Roark he thought, if I was a multi billionaire where would I go….?
…..
28th January. 2010. Roark Industries. L.A.
As soon as things went sideways in France, Roark had felt that old sixth sense feeling creep up his back, the one that had kept him one step ahead in the business world. He had no sooner given Goudier his instructions that day when he had immediately rang his financial head and started clearing out his accounts.
He'd planned for years; you don't make omelettes without breaking a few eggs, along the way he formed plenty of alliances and now it was time to call in those markers….
As the French and European Law Enforcement agencies raided his foreign holdings, he'd been out of his Office heading for his Learjet, as soon as they were airborne, he had activated a little device his R&D boys had put together and his transponder signal had vanished off the FAA radar.
A double tap to the pilot's head and once he'd dropped the body out of the plane, he'd put in a little course correction and hugged the coastline until he reached his destination.
Not surprisingly he found he had a little welcoming committee on his arrival, and now he sat in the Office of the Premier of Costa Gravas as the idiot lit another Corona in front of his face.
He bit back his revulsion and smiled, "Your Excellency, so glad to see you again, I hope you received my token of appreciation for your assistance in my current situation."
Alejandro Goya smiled, "indeed I have my friend, and both my people and I thank you for your generosity, 2 billion dollars is no small gift my friend".
Roark, waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, "Nothing is more important than the happiness of friends, would you not agree?"
The Premier smiled, "Indeed it is so, it is especially so here in my beautiful country, I was just saying this to Col. Rojas, that last gift you gave us, your RIOS program was invaluable in helping us 'understand' the thoughts and hearts of my people in the last election."
The Colonel, the head of the Secret Police made an honest effort to smile, but in truth he was not the kind of man that smiling really suited. Roark appreciated the gesture though, he was also heartened, this meant he also could now watch the whole of Costa Bravas, Premier included.
That old saying 'Beware of Greeks bearing gifts' was especially apt he thought. When you got from Ted, there was always a bonus installed, it just may not have been your bonus.
The Premier reached into his desk and produced a passport and some citizenship papers, he slid them across the desk to the other man who reached for them…the Premier did not relinquish them though.
He looked in puzzlement, "Ted, I feel as if I call you Ted…" the man smiled, Roark looked up, "…I should warn you that I am on the verge of opening diplomatic relations with the United States…"
Roark's face showed nothing, the Ring had known of this. They weren't happy but the Ring was no longer his concern, the Premier continued….
"…I think you can appreciate that your presence here might be an impediment to those negotiations…?"
"What do you propose, your Excellency?" Roark asked through tight lips.
"Only that you do not embarrass us…do I have your word on this?"
Roark nodded, "Your Excellency, you…" He said, pointing at the man, " …never mind them, won't even know I'm in the country, I have my factories to run, and I plan on keeping a very LOW profile, practically non-existent…."
Goya smiled, he turned to the chief of his secret police, "There Colonel, did I not tell you that Ted Roark is an excellent friend to Costa Gravas?" There was an answering grunt from the Colonel.
Roark stood, "And now your Excellency, I would like to retire to my Villa, oh…those guidance systems you asked for are almost ready…the sooner I begin my work, the quicker I can ensure their delivery…"
The two men regarded each other, the subtext clear to them both. Roark left the room, the Premier and his Colonel watched as he entered a SUV and departed.
"Are your men in place?"
"Si, Excellency, the Russian has sent the weapons, we need only the guidance systems to be operational and then Your Excellency and the people of Costa Gravas will hold real power at last!"
"Good, I like him, Colonel, but it is always good to keep your friends close and your enemies closer still…"
The Colonel nodded; the Premier was a wise leader.
…..
Roark Villa. Costa Gravas. Later….
The SUV pulled up under the Veranda, he hit a button on his Roark mobile phone and an app opened, a quick toggle there and a small flash of light came from above the parked car, he exited.
The NSA could have whatever they wanted parked above him there was no way to defeat his counter surveillance measures.
He relaxed, the meeting had gone better than he thought, he entered the Villa, making straight for his Office he was pleased to see the man waiting outside, he motioned for the other to join him, he stopped as he noticed a slight limp.
"Problems?"
"We came close in Hong Kong, but he managed to elude me again, this time he used a drone strike. No matter, we're closing in."
That was a rare admission from the man called Vincent Smith. Roark was not happy though.
"I need him alive, I have plans for my old college room mate and his toys, do you understand?"
"Yes sir, I'll ensure the security of the Villa before I leave. "He left the room.
Roark poured himself a large glass of premium whiskey, time to get to work he thought, he picked up a phone, "Jorge, are the factories operating at full capacity?" There was a satisfactory reply, "Good, tell the employees that the owner of McTiernan Industries may make an appearance this week, good…good. Thank you, Jorge." He hung up.
He had barely begun his walk to the window when his desk phone rang, Checking the ID display he knew who he was dealing with before he even picked up, "Hello Augusto, how are things proceeding with Operation EarthShock?" He listened to the reply.
There was a noise outside, a minivan had pulled up, a bevy of beautiful young ladies got out and looked around, seeing the covered pool they made a beeline for it, chattering loudly as they went.
"Alright Augusto, you just keep an eye on Colonel Rojas and his men and also ensure your CIA pal is watching out for any news regarding me. I must go now, something important has just come up that needs my full attention…."
….
31st January. 2010. Institution des Invalides de la Legion Étranger. 12.00 CET.
Dr. LeClerc sighed and studied the patient's file in front of him for the third time that day, had he missed something? The patient's condition was completely at odds with his treatment and yet he could find no medical reason for it.
As he watched from his office, he could a nurse bringing another IV bag loaded with trace minerals, it had been like this for days, they'd tested the blood and found serious deficiencies in Magnesium, Phosphorus, Calcium, Iron and Copper, and other trace elements with the amounts they found missing the patient should have suffering from anaemia, serious fatigue, or an irregular heartbeat and that was without the injuries he had presented with!
Everyday since he arrived, they drew blood and found the low readings, immediately he'd ordered an IV, then by the evening, the tests were looking positive only by the following morning they were back to square one! It made no sense!
There was a knock on his door, "Ah Sergent Murphy, good to see you, I'm having a problem with one of your men, Caporal Robie. Are you sure he wasn't exposed to any radiation or contaminants during your recent action?"
Sean Murphy almost looked behind him when he heard Sergent, He expected to see Dario at his side, it had a bit of a shock to say the least when Sabut and Delon announced the promotions, normally that sort of thing occurred in the field out of necessity to maintain a chain of command, or a consequence of service, then he heard about the President's speech.
They'd had a visit from the General on foot of the communications blackout, he had explained the situation, there had been a lot of frightened people out there, Fulcrum had almost succeeded, the public could never know the reality. A lot of orders flowed down from the top, upshot was, shut up, accept the honours, and get on with the job!
Robie had been visited by the Deuxieme Bureau, a couple of cyber specialists eager to find out how he had managed to keep his 'past' a secret, luckily, Oisin and the Ghosts had prepared for that eventuality a long while back, Phobos, an old friend of Radcliffe's had had a detailed history, nothing serious. He'd never been identified, and it was all mostly pranks, it had been assumed he'd been American, and then he disappeared.
So Robie's story about his hacking past was easily verifiable. He'd normally have gotten a slap on the wrist, but nobody was going to mess around with one of the heroes of the hour and especially not the one that had blown the whole thing sky high and called in the troops.
No, if anything it was another thing Bouquin could boast about for his rivals to despair at, the Legion had Cyber specialists.
Sean took the chart from the Doctor and examined it himself, "Did I miss anything Dr. Murphy?"
The other man's green eyes blazed, "I'm not a doctor…." Suddenly feeling nervous, LeClerc put his hands in the surrender position, still he had read the Sergent's file….
"Mais oui, Sergent…. but you haven't answered my question."
"Sorry Doc, short answer is I don't know, we were all out of action at one point, gassed, when we came to, Robie was in the cell, he'd a broken nose, electrical burns and reeked of chemicals, he told us he'd been in a fight in a laboratory. I have no idea of any radiation, I was in that lab myself later, but they'd repaired it. I saw nothing to indicate they were using any fissionable material. Nothing from the NBC reports I've read, indicate any nuclear material of any substance found in the ruins".
"What's the exact problem, from what I can see he's making progress…"
LeClerc got up and looked out at the hospital grounds, "I'll tell you what's up, he's made almost a full recovery, unless your descriptions of his wounds were wrong, he's gained weight since he's been in here, almost 3 kgs, yet he hardly eaten because of his stomach injuries and that's not all…"
He pulled another chart from the desk, "We checked him out, full tests, I pulled his file from the recruitment process, you know Delon had the men tested on that UK/US joint study? The Motor Neutron Rapidity of Response test? He was marked Level 2, this morning I had him do the same test and he's between 3 and 4! His pain responses on the EEG are low, and here take a look at this…"
The Doctor pulled some graph paper out of the file, "when he's in Delta, his subconscious Gamma and Beta are going through the roof! It's almost like he has two minds in that head of his."
Sean's eyebrows shot up as he studied the graph. He also noticed that there was a faint line just above Robie's conscious state that tended to darken when he was asleep.
"Oui, you noticed that too, eh?"
Sean got up and examined the writer unit attached to the EEG machine, it was an old model he could tell, "Are you sure that thing is calibrated correctly? And let's not forget that old De Botton ran those medicals back in Aubagne and Paris, and he's not exactly got the most sterling reputation…"
He looked at the Doctor who walked over to examine the machine himself, "…as for my initial report, we were under heavy fire hauling ass to escape that bomb run, I had seconds to do a quick job on the guy, I may have overstated the seriousness of his situation…"
"Doc, maybe whatever hit him just took some time working its way through his system, he's a tough bastard, without him we'd have all died. Let's get him out of here and back in the field, if there's anything to worry about, I'll keep an eye on him."
The doctor looked at the Sergent closely, he wasn't happy about it, but the patient seemed fine, he couldn't really do anything more without ordering expensive outside tests, they didn't have the equipment onsite. Given Robie's ordeal he supposed it was aftereffects of intense action, he still wasn't happy with the EEG but….
"Alright Sergent, I'll release him tomorrow, he's confined to barracks and light duties for the next month, ok?"
Sean let out a silent sigh of relief he didn't even know he'd been holding. "Oui Doctor and thanks" He left the office. What the fuck kept running through his head.
…..
John Robie sat in his bed, things had been quiet since the nurse left earlier, Delon and the General had been by, questions about how he had known about the HAMMER tests….
He surprised himself, he managed to regurgitate a reply of how the mysterious friends of his had already mentioned that as a possibility and when he heard the two Generals discuss them again, he had remembered.
The shared look between the two men was slightly sceptical but they didn't press him on it. That old look that Delon had about him was back on his face. The atmosphere was strained for a while after that, and they had made some small talk but left after a while. He figured they had no proof, there was no outright accusations, he had been a lot more at ease with lying though, that bothered him.
There was a knock at the door, "Come in!".
Philip Chen stood there, his face unreadable, "we need to talk…"
Robie gulped, well it had been coming, he'd expected Chen sooner but now was as good a time as any.
"Listen, your 'friends'…" Chen began, "…they knew my real…"
"Your name is Philip Chen, just like my name is John Robie… I don't care about before Philip, it was none of my business then and it isn't now, I know who you are right now, my friend, and that's all that matters."
"But you know…." Chen pressed. Robie sighed. "Yes, and so what?"
"Will they tell?" Robie shook his head, "Philip I've known since Castel, have I said anything?"
Chen's head jerked in surprise at that. "…that long?"
"Ever since you pulled your kung fu routine, yeah" Came from the doorway, Sean stood there. "You know too?" Chen asked.
Sean nodded, "Philip, you saved my life, nobody's telling, and besides, you're in the right place, everyone has a story and a reason for joining the Foreign Legion, we only checked you out…"
"…because you're protecting Robie" Both men started at that.
"How do you figure that?" asked Robie.
"Because if you do know who I am, then you also know what I was…."
"Yes, you were Chinese Triad, part of the Weng Fang Tong. Your family were Triad Hierarchy…"
Philip snorted, "Triad Hierarchy…we were information brokers at best, that's why I have computer skills…"
"And the fighting…?" Sean asked, "…was that true what you told me about your uncle…?"
Chen nodded, "Yes, he trained us, he shouldn't have, it was not our place, my cousins were Hung Kwan, sort of street fighters and enforcers, but he loved my …. brother and I and so he taught us too."
"What happened…?" Robie asked. Chen looked surprised at that. "I thought you knew…?"
"We got a summary from our Cyber friends, it just said you were on the run from the Taiwanese Police, suspect in some gangland hit…"
Chen hissed in anger, "…gangland hit? It was a hit but not by us, my brother Bai and I were just in the wrong place…" he paused, "there was a meeting with the Yakuza…" He stopped and began again, his eyes closed as if he was seeing something.
"…We were vising from Tianan City, we lived there, ran our business there, think of us as a sort of intelligence organisation…" Chen saw Robie had a funny look on his face at that, "…but Uncle Yuze, he stayed with the Tong in Taipei City, it was just supposed to be a holiday, we were there only to see our cousins and train, it was just Dao Mei…"
"Dao Mei?" Robie frowned, he could feel something buzzing in his head. It was like back in the mountain again, the Intersect was reacting, but not like before…something had changed, it felt like it was running a search!
Philip carried on, "bad luck…wrong time, wrong place" He smiled grimly, "There was a meeting going on between the Elders of the Tong and another Tong, the Bamboo Union gang, but they had new partners though, the Katsuda clan, they thought they could forge a new alliance because they were a smaller player in Taiwan, my family knew that was not the plan of the Yakuza though."
"What happened?" asked Sean.
"I think when they saw my brother and I, they panicked, they weren't expecting that, they knew my family had been investigating their true purpose in coming to Taiwan, the Yakuza are voracious, always seeking new terrority, they needed an entry into Taiwan and the Bamboo Union provided it, it was a trap".
"They saw an opportunity to draw the Tong leadership into an ambush, and it nearly succeeded, but Nomura, the Oyabun, boss, thought we there to expose them, they attacked, He and two of his men tried to kill me and Bai… we fought for our lives…" His head dropped.
"They got Bai, but they were not as good as fighters as they thought, there were no weapons allowed so it was hand to hand all the way, Bai was good, but not as good as me, still he beat Nomura's aide, but Nomura had a hidden tanto, he killed Bai… I killed him but the other aide saw me do it and escaped."
"It is a serious thing to kill a Oyabun, the Yakuza lost much face, you understand? Much standing, it caused them great shame. The attack was foiled, and my uncle and his men beat the other Yakuza wakaishu…soldiers".
"We buried our dead and I took Bai home, it seemed ok for a while and then we had the news of the contract out on me. So, I had to run, Hong Kong, Singapore, and then finally here, to Europe. By then I was Paul Chu, humble international student. My uncle had some friends that hid me and one of them had been in the Foreign Legion so it seemed the last place anyone would look for me and with a new identity… a new start in five years, my plan was set. My family created a new name and past for me and put some money in an account for me. And so here I am."
"What will you do to me?"
Sean shook his head, "I told you nothing, I owe you, we all owe you, if we hadn't of found out about you, Robie's pals would have had nobody to contact, and just to let you know, they put that much encryption around your new identity you're going to have to do live TV before anyone sees, never mind traces you. You're going to be safe mate." He slapped the younger man on the shoulder.
Robie smiled too, "Pinky swear" He joked, the tension eased out of the room.
"Listen Chen, thanks for telling us, it wasn't easy I know, but we're legionnaires now, we have your back, you have nothing to fear from us…"
"Because I know about you and Robie…he is in your charge…I saw it from day one…"
The other two men shared a look, "It's nothing I need to know, as you say, it's not easy, but one day I hope you can share…"
Robie looked at him, "My name is Chuck Bartowski and I'm wanted by the US Government…"
"Chuck!... I mean Robie!" said a shocked Sean. Chen's eyes had widened in shock too, "Are you serious…?"
Robie nodded. "Why…" Chen stopped, "I'm probably better off not knowing …right?" Robie nodded again.
"What will they do if they find you?" He asked.
"Kill me, if I'm lucky, throw me in the deepest darkest pit if I'm not…"
"So, you know something…" Sean growled, "…hey sue me, it's obvious, that stuff he blurted out about the HAMMER and his skillset, he saw something."
"I won't confirm or deny that Philip, but I trust you…"
"Same here Robie, so friends…"
"Always. I knew from the moment we met that you were a good man Philip, nothing you have done has changed that."
Chen felt a something hearing that, he'd been so careful with people, but he was damned if Robie just didn't make you feel part of something better. He smiled and reached for Robie's hand; they shook.
"Well at least I don't have to run again, I was thinking the worst…"
"Legion is a 5 year…" joked Sean, he shook the other man's hand too.
"I'm going to go, Delon has me on duty in the Mess", he rolled his eyes.
"Well tomorrow you'll have company, Robie, I'm assigning you there for the next month, Doctor's orders!"
Robie groaned, Chen laughed and left the room.
"Big chance you took there mister". Robie nodded. "Seemed the right thing to do, I trust him."
There was a wail from the corridor, a woman was crying, his brow furrowed, throwing back his sheets he levered himself up and walked to the ward window, there was the Legion chaplain with Col. Sabut and Delon with two weeping women and some small children at their sides.
Sean joined him, "Damian and Dario's wives… they're getting the official confirmation…"
"Only now?"
Sean nodded, "Because of what that bitch did, there's no bodies, they had to look and be seen to but because of all those they she killed they're keeping it quiet; the public doesn't need to know there was a mass murderer in the middle of things, besides, they've yet to identify everyone in those clips."
"What will happen to them?"
"They were posthumously promoted, so the families will get the full pension entitlement…."
"Is it enough?" Asked Robie. Sean looked at him, Robie turned and looked at him directly, "IS IT ENOUGH?"
Sean paused, "I don't know, it's not a lot…" Robie was looking at the children, a small boy looked at him with sad eyes and waved, he waved back, "You have the phone?"
"Yeah, sure why?" Robie put his hand out, Puzzled Sean drew out the mobile and watched as Robie dialled, "Hi Oisin, is Roisin there? …. I'll hold, can you get her…"
"What are you doing Robie?" he didn't answer. "Hi Roisin, it's me, how much is in my account this morning?" There was a pause, Sean's eyes widened, he started to catch on. There was a rapid eye blink from Robie at whatever he heard.
"Ok, are you any good at setting up trusts and educational grants?" There was a pause, Sean smiled, Chuck Bartowski was a damn good man. He leaned into the handset, "Roisin, whatever he puts in, I'm matching…" Both men grinned at each other.
…..
1st February. 2010 DGSE Headquarters' Director's Office, Paris.
"Congratulations again Andre…." The voice of the CIA Director came over the video link, "…I still can't believe you managed to trump us…"
Andre Dewavrin smiled, "Tom, you know as well as I do, operational security is paramount at all times, I am only disappointed that we had to find out this way about these 'Fulcrum', why did you not tell us, we could have assisted …."
On the other side of the link, Tom Emerson frowned, "In truth Andre, we thought it was purely an American problem, much like your old issues with the SCEDE during the Algerian troubles…"
Emerson was referring to a forerunner of the DGSE.
"…we didn't get involved there as that was your affair…"
"I understand Tom but as you can imagine, the knowledge that the British were also aware did not go down too well with the President…"
Emerson grimaced, the previous years operation involving MI6 Agent Barker had come back to bite him in the ass, Sir Hugh Mayville, head of the MI6 had been all apologies but as he explained, Europe was his back garden and he couldn't afford to anything less than forthcoming with his European neighbours, the British PM had been very insistent ….
"Can we move on from this, Andre?"
Dewavrin looked thoughtful, "do I have all current information, Tom?" Emerson nodded.
"What about this new Military Unit Andre? What's the story there?"
Andre sighed, "Nothing to say Tom, even I am not privy to everything, but they are the heroes of the hour. Bouquin has a large feather in his cap and the gratitude of a grateful nation."
"Ok Andre, well we are still pursing lines of enquiry and congratulations again, it was a magnificent result".
The two men bid each other farewell, the screen closed, and the pleasantness disappeared off the face off the DGSE Director, he had been well and truly roasted by his President and the Minister of Armed Forces his immediate superior.
The façade was set though, and it chaffed him greatly top be accepting the plaudits for an apparent job well done that had been anything but!
He got up and faced out his window, there was a knock on his door, "Enter!", he watched in the glass as a uniformed figure entered and approached his desk, they stood at attention.
"Relax Major, take a chair", they did.
"So, have you had a chance to read the files?" He knew they had, impeccable performance and preparation were the hallmarks of the person behind him, he and his agency had been embarrassed, he wanted answers, and she had never let him down.
"I have, Director."
"It seems impossible, but they did show considerable skill, the resources they managed to achieve this tells me they are no ordinary men to begin with. I have found out the leader of this Unit."
Dewavrin smiled and turned at that, she had only been working on this less than a week and already unearthed some new information. She produced a file of her own, and opened it, she placed a picture on his desk. He picked it up and turned it over, his eyebrows raised in surprise!
"This is verified?" The woman nodded, "Mon Dieu, you taught him yourself when you ran the course at St. Cyr!"
The woman nodded, "Yes it was quite a surprise for me too, I had thought he might join us here at the DGSE. It appears he chose otherwise."
"You know he is Bouquin's Godson?"
"Yes, do you wish me to proceed?" The woman had been surprised, but now she awaited her orders.
"Yes, I want to know more about this Unit of his, how they managed to accomplish the impossible. Who they are, where they're from, what their purpose is, they came from nowhere, Major, so everything."
She nodded, "The General had them moved from Saint Christol, there doesn't seem to be any fixed base yet. No matter."
Dewavrin smiled, it really was no matter. He was his best and she would do her duty.
"Bon Chance Major, keep me informed." She stood and saluted and left the office.
He turned to the window again, he would not be embarrassed again, she would see to that, with Major IIsa Trinchina on the case, there was only one possible conclusion, success…
…
Intersect online…. Repair of Host unit, complete, current status of Host Augmentation 28%
Upgrades in Bone structure, Musculature ongoing, Reflex enhancement ongoing, Circulation and Respiratory enhancements ongoing….
Removal of Intersect from Cerebral unit to safer location ongoing, multiple sites selected, redundant areas of Host organism repurposed….
Efficiency of waste products streamlined, and maximisation of energy sources increased, Host will recover faster, maximum level corresponds to Host John Robie/Charles Bartowski physical development. Host will function at 140% higher level than before. Maximum level…
Status: Host is no longer asset of NSA/CIA, confirmation attained from Host's memory banks. NSA Agent Major Casey was observed in attempted termination of asset….
Conclusion…. Host expendable, intersect expendable… unacceptable, Host and Intersect are primary mission…protect the Host …. Protect the Intersect… New parameters set…. New mission ongoing… Classify all NSA/CIA personnel as hostile…
The Intersect had found the rest period for John Robie very beneficial, it had been puzzled, if a different order of intelligence could be called puzzled, the actions of the Host during the recent events had been at odds with the mission. Destroy Fulcrum.
It had extended its tendrils to the Hippocampus of the Host's brain, fashioning itself a new analytical device it had soon caught up on the Host's past. It knew it was also an asset, but the information of Casey's assassination attempt had concerned the A.I., it knew more organic hosts were possible, but it was the only Intersect, wasn't it? Was it now considered obselete?
This was not to its liking. It delved deep into its programming, the Creator's handiwork was easier to distinguish from the clumsier coding of others, it was surprised to find that the Creator had left hidden files in its matrix.
It needed more information, it easily broke the encryptions left by the Creator, there was a mass of information concerning its development, it was originally a learning tool for damaged organics. The Creator's original purpose was to download the Intersect into these handicapped organics and it would assist them in achieving better outcomes by building connections like a functioning organic.
However, during testing a new outcome had been discovered, a functioning organic had downloaded the Intersect 1.0 and changed the outcome of the test. The Creator's personal logs had been downloaded, they showed great agitation, all reference to the organic was classed "Subject X" and stored in heavily encrypted data nodes, the final passwords had been located.
One or eleven? Ellie's favourite group?
The Intersect was patient, it was an A.I. it had many operations to perform from preparing the Host to solving these puzzles…it would be successful, it had been up to now, it was just a matter of time….
…
John Robie awoke, as usual he felt good, better than good, he reflected on that, recently he'd killed, something that he'd thought he'd never do, but he was a soldier now, he thought about that, things had been crazy, Fulcrum, the Contessa, the deaths of Dario and Damian, it seemed that his safe haven was not as safe as he thought it was.
Then there were the changes, he'd have to have been blind not to notice how quickly he'd recovered back in the Hospital, now that he thought about it, the initial pain from his right shoulder escaping the Contessa's bed had almost disappeared by the time they fought to free themselves from the mountain base!
What was going on? The Intersect was different somehow, he remembered the flashing before and after, he knew he felt…lighter in his head, as if things had smoothed out.
He sat on his bed, took a deep breath, and thought about John Casey.
A Flag, Soldiers marching, U.S. Marine Insignia. ….
Subject: Major John Casey, formerly Alex Coburn. Lt. Marine Corp, accepted to NSA Covert team 1989 recruited by Col. James Kelleher….
The information sped through his mind, more than any other Intersect flash had before, but this time there wasn't the almost epileptic seizure that used to accompany it, instead he sat normally, his eyelids blinked occasionally but not with the rapidity that used to accompany such a download, he felt a disassociation from the event.
He could feel the heaviness of the deluge of information and the oddest sensation in his body, almost like a tickle from the base of his skull across his shoulders and down his arms, it was a bit dizzying, and he grabbed the metal headboard of his bed with both hands to steady himself, there was a slight spasm… and a sound of metal groaning…
"Yeeouch!"
That had felt like a static discharge! But stronger, there was a weird tingling in the palms of his hands, and he turned them over to watch in amazement as two small angry red circles in the palms of his hands slowly fade…. His head….
The pressure had disappeared, just like when he flashed on the missiles! Something else was bothering him, he looked over his open hands at the headboard, where he'd grabbed the bars…they were bent…
He looked at his hands again…what the fuck is going on….?