The Guild, Secretive U.S. Intel Operatives
Chapter 1 - The Players
Rick Castle, well known novelist, was finishing up his book signing tour at the Barnes and Noble in the D.C. area. This was the book signing of his latest Derrick Storm novel which is the sequel to his previous novel. He had left it doubtful in that last novel if Storm survived that mission. So the current novel begins with explaining how Storm had managed to survive the hit on his team that wiped them all out, except of course for Storm. Derrick had been taking a cell phone call so missed boarding the vehicle with the others of his team as he had moved away from the car to try and get a better cell signal. Having finished the call, he returned back to board the sedan. That is when it blew up right in front of him. He had been tossed six feet away by the bomb and sustained wounds from shrapnel and a concussion which left him in a coma for days. His whole team was gone and Storm vowed to bring to justice the people responsible for the hit. Had it not been for the cell phone call he would have also boarded the vehicle with the others and been killed by the bomb.
"Yes, all the Storm fans were waiting for this sequel, and it does not disappoint", was heard from one critic speaking to Castle's Publicist, Paula Haas. Paula had been working the crowd and talking to the many book critics attending the book signing. She was getting reactions to help with an article she was writing for the Castle Book Club. Just then Jackson Hunt appears. He is a top critic for the New York Review and also its Editor-in-Chief.
"Hey Jackson, pleasure meeting you here, aren't you a little away from home?"
"Oh, yes, but as I was in the area and thought I would drop by. Does he have a moment for me?"
"I'll see what I can do, in the meantime enjoy our free wine."
Hunt grabs a glass, takes a sip, and surveys the room.
Unbeknownst to all but a few is that being a writer is only a day job for Richard Castle. His other real job is as a secret agent for one of the most clandestine of organizations known only as ,'The Guild'. When the FBI or CIA could not get it done, the Guild is called in to do the job. Jackson Hunt is a book critic and a newspaper Editor-in-chief by deep cover. In reality he is also head of The Guild as his hidden primary job. He too is Rick Castle's biological father after a one night with Martha, Rick's mother. Hunt never married Martha to keep her safe should his cover be blown and his enemies take reprisal on his 'family'. This, even as Martha is the love of his life.
Hunt had avoided contact with them but worked in the background to protect them. This effort of keeping them apart from his professional life was for their own safety. Still Jackson Hunt had managed to guide his son, Rick, into a writing career and to becoming a famous author. This he had done so by giving Rick books to read that inspired Rick to become an author. Jackson had done this as a kindly stranger meeting with Rick frequently at the city library to share books with his son. 'Casino Royal' being one of Castle's favorite books given to him by Hunt and one that inspired Rick to become an author and then a secret agent.
When the time was right, Jackson recruited Rick into The Guild. Rick's much publicized so called 'research' with CIA Agent Sophia Turner, as role model for his character Clara Strike, was really a CIA training program, wherein Rick acquired his skills as a covert operative. After completing this training, Rick then did further 'research' with SEAL Team Six, to get his advanced training, qualifying in SCUBA proficiency, completing HALO training to further his Jump qualifications, hand to hand combat, and shooting all SEAL small arms, becoming expert with them. Again it was cloaked as 'research' for one of Castle's novels. His first missions had been with Agent Turner as the CIA element to his Guild Team. Turner and Rick had gotten to be 'close' from those first assignments.
Paula Haas returns to Hunt and directs him to a back room where Rick is waiting to talk to him. Prior to entering the room, Rick scanned it for electronics, and then used his phone which had a jamming function to block any of the conversation he was about to have with Hunt.
Jackson enters that back room and is greeted by his son, the relationship known only by Hunt, Rick, and Martha.
"Hey dad, what's up?"
"We have a mission of the utmost importance. Seems a British sub on patrol in the South China Seas was hit in what was thought to be an encounter with a Chinese Frigate. Most of the British crew escaped and the Captain claims their radar showed the Frigate in international waters before sonar warned of a torpedo launched at them. The Chinese of course deny any such action and claimed the Brits launched a torpedo first at their frigate and they acted defensively. When the Brits sent a recovery team to retrieve the sub, they found missing from the launch bay of the sub two nuclear tipped missiles."
"The Chinese took the missiles before the Brits could complete recovery ops?"
"That's the assumption, it is guessed that the Chinese were looking to steal not just the missiles, but also the latest tech from the missiles, to improve their missile design, and for counter measure technology".
"Did the British recovery unit see the torpedo damage to the sub?"
"That is even more strange. It appears the sub was sunk from an explosion originating from the interior of the sub itself. All logic says it was a deep cover sleeper agent embedded into the Brit Crew. That sleeper operative planted the explosive device that sunk the sub."
"Ouch, can MI6 or British Naval Intelligence confirm that it was truly an explosion from within?"
"They have."
"Any idea on the identity of the sleeper operative."
"Suspicion is he is one of the dead crew who did not make it out of the sub."
"Or….did make it out and the reported deaths conceals his identity and hides the real cause for the sub sinking."
"The Brits are doing an intensive look into all of the missing sub crew for possible leads."
"I take it our mission is to recover the missing nuke tipped missiles!"
"That it is Rick."
At The National Security Agency
"Analyst Beckett please have a seat."
"Thank you Director Peterson."
"I want to talk to you about this Report you submitted two months back on a possible attack on a UK sub."
"Yes sir."
"No one took it seriously, until now. It really happened."
"When Sir?"
"The report just came out from MI6, it happened nearly a week ago."
"In your report you cite increased internet chatter and satellite photos of a Chinese frigate at a base in the South China Sea preparing for some operation. You said that it could be related to intel you got on a splinter group working inside the CCP with a faction of the Chinese military."
"Yes sir, that would be a group that goes by the name "People's Front", a splinter group of the Chinese Communist Party. They supposedly control a segment of the CCP military now. Their goal was to incite the west to enter into armed conflict against the CCP. This conflict with a western power would disguise their real goal, which is to get rid of the current CCP leaders and take over the reigns of power. The CCP leadership knowing they did not approve a retaliatory strike to a Western antagonist would delay on further action to the incident. That hesitation will provoke anger with the Chinese populous. The Chinese public will want an immediate counter attack to the incident, despite resistance from the current CCP members. This provides the People's Front an opportunity to remove these dissenting members for cause and replace them with the Front's delegates. Their take over disguised by the armed conflict. The People's Front is far more radical and belligerent than the current CCP leaders and known in the past to have fomented unrest in other countries sympathetic with The Front's form of communism, most specifically in Latin America."
"I see. How long have you been monitoring this group?"
"Years now. I first ran into them when I was U.S. Naval Intelligence. I accompanied a group of U.S. Recon Marines into Columbia to provide assistance from a possible Front sponsored overthrow of the democratic administration there. The mission had been to assist that administration to thwart The Front who at the time were backing their communist counterparts in Columbia."
"Yes, I recall that from your record. You were a young Navy Lieutenant JG at the time. But in order to be imbedded with that marine recon unit, you had to complete Marine Recon training, the first ever female intelligence officer to do so."
"Yes sir. From that training, I am scuba qualified, have my jump wings, qualified in HALO parachute drops, am weapons qualified at expert level with all the small arms of the U.S. Reconnaissance Marines, from hand guns to assault rifles. Since college, I have been an avid enthusiast of hand to hand weapons fighting. I practice the Pilipino Martial Arts, Kali. Kali starts with teaching hand to hand weapons use. Starting with fighting sticks, poles, knives, such as the filipino butterfly blade, or any available item, a rope or chain, even non-threatening items such as a ball point pen. All can be used as lethal hand weapons. Once training in hand weapons is proficient, you graduate to empty hand fighting. This using the same tactics and movements you learned with the hand weapons. And although empty handed, I can easily defend against an opponent brandishing a hand weapon, as I've learned all the moves and counters from Kali."
"And yet you hold only an Analyst position at NSA instead of being a field agent. Why?"
"I chose to do that to be near my elderly parent. My mother had passed some time ago and it hit my father hard. He went into deep depression with alcohol abuse and then did a recovery. Sober now, he is almost the same as before his fall. An Analyst position keeps me home and close to him so I can care for him."
"Yes, I see from your Personnel Record you claim him as a dependent to get medical attention for him and he lives with you at home. A home you maintain jointly with your cousin Theresa Beckett."
"Yes the only child of my uncle and my father's one brother. Her parents were killed in an auto accident when she was nine years old and she came to live with us. My parents adopted her and she is both a sister as well as a first cousin to me. Terri and I both care for our father."
"I see. Would your current family situation prevent you from becoming a field agent, at least for this assignment. You know the implications of two missing nuclear tipped weapons. The world order hangs in the balance. It is so serious that a special agency has been called in to recover the stolen nukes. An agency known to only by a few and who are called in when such events lead to circumstances requiring them. Events with an almost impossible solution and as such sanctioned with a license to take extreme measures to correct. Measures taken in such a manner as to give plausible deniability for the current SECDEF. They need your help with The People's Front. You are the only Analyst from any of our three lettered agencies who knows about this relatively unknown group. Your assignment would be as a member of this recovery team. You would provide intel on these terrorists which at the present moment literally is not on the radar of any of our other major agencies, exception being the NSA".
"In that case Director Peterson, I think my sister Terri could be depended on to care for our father in my absence. How much can I reveal of this OP to her?"
"Limited info but enough to impress on her the need for you to become a temporary active field agent."
"I will give you a tentative 'yes' dependent on my consulting my adopted sister and cousin."
Langley HQ CIA
"Agent Turner, you are once again to be paired with your old partner Rick Castle, along with an agent from NSA."
"Why is NSA in on this matter, Director?"
"The NSA have a expert on the group who maybe responsible for this latest incident. The person has tracked them for years and is the only known expert of this group, The People's Front."
"Yes sir, I have heard some of the few whispered talks about this group in selective spaces. They are primed to take over the current CCP leadership and replace them. Supposedly this is a group much worst than the present CCP leadership."
"I see you have heard the initial data on this rogue faction of the CCP. Rick Castle also has been informed about them, but a full brief will be given to your team tomorrow, first thing. Our NSA element will share what she has on this secret terrorist faction. Briefing will be at NSA HQ, as Castle is finishing his book tour tonight. You still have to keep up pretenses on your deep cover identity. You and I shall ride to the NSA together."
"So our new team mate is female?"
"Yes, a copy of her personnel jacket is in the mission folder. Read and get acquainted with her."
As Sophia reviewed Beckett's record from her desk, the more she came to dislike her. The file picture showed her to be a very attractive brunette, just Castle's type, as Sophia too is quite a gorgeous brunette herself. Also Beckett's qualifications and field experience were top notch. How much of a competition would this agent be for Rick's affections? That remained to be seen, but Sophia had hopes to rekindle from this mission what she once had with Rick. The NSA agent just might get in the way of Sophia's efforts to win Rick back to herself!