Chapter Thirteen
Panama, abandoned fishing marina near Caretto...
"Perimeter sensors set up. Nothing will be able to get within 500 metres of the marina without us knowing about it." - Ben Saxon reported, as he went upstairs to the balcony of the admin building, where Anna Kelso was currently sitting, a laptop on her lap.
"Not via land, anyway..." - the woman murmured, hiding her nervousness.
"Well, hopefully the EW jammer will take care of any Linksat detection. Or radar surveillance. And if anything gets too close, my own radar array should pick it up. Plus," - he nodded down at their van, parked just below, back doors open, "We're not exactly unarmed. AS-17's are on standby, hooked to the perimeter grid and my own pickups. Anything gets across without my IFF confirmation, will have a swarm of hunter-killer drones in it's face before I get there to finish the job!" - the former SAS operative grinned wickedly, tapping the laser rifle slung over his shoulder. Then he frowned.
"But...that's not the only thing bothering you, is it?"
The former Special Service agent shook her head.
"I just got the latest report, relayed from our New York mole through Panama City safehouse. Things are moving faster then anticipated. VersaLife has just sealed the deal with TYM, for the preliminary delivery of the chips, and the staff to man the Newark site. Looks to me like they want to be operational even before the official ratification."
Saxon shook his head.
"Ratification is just a formality for them. This is something they wanted for a while now, so makes sense that they'd want to get up and running as soon as possible. Look on the bright side – we'll do more damage sooner, when we deploy to Newark and fuck up their little party!"
"You make it sound so simple, Ben... but it may provoke even bigger crackdowns! Give them further justification for everything they've been doing so far, to our people." - Kelso glared, conflicted.
The man grimaced.
"They didn't need much justification so far. And who knows, maybe it'll inspire more groups to start active resistance. ARC doesn't have much presence on the continent, but if we could bring the New Sons aboard, in particular..." - he mused, but Kelso shook her head.
"You know how they feel about the augmented. They hate the establishment in the U.S, but they hate the 'hanzers' almost as much. A large percentage of the Sons' support base are former Purity First or Humanity Front castoffs. And many of the rest are cousin-humping bible-thumping rednecks from the Northwest. Not exactly the kind of people who anyone would call progressive. Not for the augmented, or anyone else that doesn't fit their narrow definition of proper society."
At this, Ben had to raise an eyebrow.
"Anna...! That's... rude, to say the least. And that IS only the one faction of the Sons, the ones stuck up there in the Northwest dreaming about secession! I'm talking about Joshua Korbin's guys. Ever since their boss was picked up by FEMA three years ago, they've been itching for payback. They just lack leadership and motivation." - he paused.
"When we meet up, I'm gonna bring it up with Irwine. I'm sure a decorated Sons' hero and ex-Squalnomie Ranger will have a lot of pull with splinter groups like that. Or even his old unit, if he can get in touch with them. That'll give us the numbers and logistics we need for a direct assault on Newark, to take out that facility, and preferably the whole TYM corps of biochemists and researchers that come to man it for chip manufacture. If we time it right, to make a clean sweep... we could throw a monkey-wrench in the whole program. Or at least make it too costly for them to implement the Act worldwide, by sending a message like that." - his eyes flashed.
Kelso sighed.
"And who do you think the United Nations will blame for that kind of incident? Who will they take it out on? The common people. If they were reticent to start putting us in concentration camps until now, this will definitely speed up the process. The chips were meant to be an alternative." - she glared.
"To what? Activism? Peaceful protests? How did the last peaceful protest go, over the pond in Paris? The cops opened up with live ammunition, on the crowd of augmented people! Then claimed they were 'aggressive'." - Saxon snapped, "Face it. We are already at war. We can fight it passively and adopt a victim mentality, hoping for public support, which won't come, thanks to media manipulations under Illuminati control. Or we can make a stand. Yeah, people will die. But they're dying anyway. Or being forced into the kind of lives that aren't worth living."
The woman bit her lip, but reluctantly nodded.
"I still don't like it, Ben. Any of it."
Saxon's rejoinder was cut off, by a specific pattern of Morse-Code flashes far out on the horizon, at sea.
"There they are... Say what you will about Fedorova, but she's punctual." - the man murmured, taking note of the watch in the corner of his HUD. Just about six hours had passed.
"Great. Speaking of things I don't like... let's get this over with. I can't promise I won't shoot her! I still owe her that, after Icarus..." - Kelso wisecracked, trying to lighten the mood, as she got up and closed the laptop.
"You two really need to kiss and make up! Bury the hatchet. Remember, I was there too, and I'm not whining about it anymore!" - Ben grinned, which got him a scowl.
The two walked down one of the piers, next to one of the two anchored, rusted-out trawlers, as the sleek black shape approached from the other side, clearly intent on docking at the same pier from the other side.
Ben whistled.
"A Jackhammer Assault Craft, eh? DA... 12? I think." - he peered closely at the shape of the front paired protrusions that extended slightly outward from the hull. They looked like short-range IR scanning pods, but he knew better...
Those were concelaed 23mm autocannons. If it were a DA14, there would be four of them. Since there were only two, that was a dead giveaway.
"That stealth-coating throws me off. Definitely not standard-issue on the 12's! Must've been refitted. We used one of these beauties back in the Aussie conflict. Not stealth-worthy of course. I'm jealous!" - he added.
"I'm more worried about how many trackers that thing's got in it, then what model it is... thank God we set up the EW jammer! Even with it, this is risky... they could've tracked it's course and would have a rough idea where it makes landfall, even if they won't know the precise location. We might have more company before too long..." - Kelso growled.
He nodded.
"That's why we're here. More specifically you, and your knack for digging out surveillance devices!" - he nodded at her laptop, and the bag she had over her shoulder, which contained some very specialised scanning equipment, "And if it comes to a fight, no witnesses. Not much cover for anyone coming in, by sea, air, or land. And we got surprises ready and waiting. Now let's meet our guests."
The ship sidled-in to dock, as a pair of unfamiliar people appeared on the top deck, to throw lines, while an anchor lowered from the rear well.
Behind the two, which Ben assumed were crewmen, appeared the familiar whipcord-framed shape of Fedorova, framed in the setting sun. It was strange seeing her out of her thermoptic armour, in what looked like male trousers – too short for her cybernetic legs – and a knotted T-shirt, exposing a solid amount of midriff. Despite his ambiguity towards her, the man had to admit she hadn't lost any of her exotic beauty.
"Ben! It is good to see you!" - she waved, with what might have been the first time he ever saw the aquiline woman smile. And it looked genuine, too.
Even during her brief stay in Panama, two years ago when she and Irwine delivered Chow and the research materials, she was more – guarded – then now. And he still remembered the tension between them, when he confronted her about Namir's family.
It was so much a surprise, that he blinked for a moment, before he grabbed one of the thrown lines, to wrap it around a concrete stump. Frankly, he would be lying if he was as enthusiastic at seeing her again. There was professional rapport, of course. And respect for her contribution to the cause so far, naturally – but that was pretty much as far as it went. And he refused to see their... not entirely consentual... one-night-stand, during his brief stint with the Tyrants, as entering the equation in any way.
"Uh, you too! I have to say, I wish this meeting is under better circumstances... we've prepared for your arrival, but even with blanket-jamming, there's no telling what could be on your tail." - the male cyborg got right to the point, hooking a thumb back in the direction of the parked van on the shore, and a dish sticking out the top.
Lightly, Yelena jumped down from the ship's conning tower, to land directly on the pier next to him, in a soft half-crouch. The sudden motion made Kelso who was standing next to him, start slightly in alarm, hand reflexively twitching towards her holstered Zenith.
"Damn it, don't freak me out like that, Fedorova!" - the woman hissed.
"Hello to you too, Anna. I see you're just as friendly as you were two years ago!" - Yelena smirked, then continued before the other woman could do more then glare, "And that makes two of us, Ben. We need to hide this vessel while we're here, until we run a full counter-intelligence sweep on it's systems, and the whole interior."
"That's the plan." - Saxon nodded, motioning at Kelso, who took over. He noticed Yelena had a pair of powered-blades in twin scabbards at her back, slung upside down for easy access, and only a Zenith as a sidearm in a hip holster. He frowned.
Interesting... a melee-primary loadout. Then again, it makes more sense for the kind of ambush tactics she likes to employ. Those look like ultrasonic-powered blades... wonder how well they play with her implants? I know she still relies on ultrasonics for spatial detection. That setup of hers can't really be updated easily. I mean, echo-location has it's good points, but I'm still glad I got a radar array. I'm glad I'm not stuck with second-gen architecture like that.
"What about the crew? Are they clean?" - The former Secret Service agent spoke, burying her animosity towards Yelena beneath professionalism. The aquiline woman shrugged.
"As long as kept at gunpoint, yes. Which is not saying much. Ideally I would like them off the ship, and replaced with reliable people, if you can provide any that are skilled sailors. If that's not possible, I will have to interview each one and decide for myself. There were also three Inter-Guarda troops aboard, we dumped the corpses into the sea en-route." - she explained.
"We've got some people who might cut it. It'll take them a day or so to get here from Panama City." - Saxon nodded, a brief flash in his eyes, as if he just came to an idea.
A minute later, the rest of the assault craft's crew were marched topside and disembarked, while Irwine and Marco brought up the rear.
"Who's this?" - the ex-SAS operative growled, eyeing the thug.
"Marco. He is with us. And he's clean." - Yelena assured him, glancing at Kelso at the last word.
"If you say so... he looks like a gangster to me." - the other woman eyed the mohawked thug suspiciously.
"You got it, chica." - the man smirked, giving Kelso a thorough, sligthly suggestive once-over, earning himself a withering glare, while Irwine and Yelena chuckled.
"Come on, Anna, we've worked with enough of his kind back in Panama City. And we learned to get along!" - Saxon reminded her, "Anyway, go ahead and start your sweep of this beauty, while everyone's off the ship, you'll get the least interference, right?"
"Yeah, that's right... you gonna be fine on your own?" - she asked, concern for him in her eyes as she glanced once more at Marco, then Yelena. So far, Irwine was the only one spared the latent mistrust.
"We're all friends here. And we've got things to talk about." - Saxon turned his attention to Yelena and Irwine.
"Mm... in your communique, you mentioned something about a favour for a favour, Saxon. I'm guessing this is where that comes in?" - the ex-Marine nodded, curious.
"Right... not exactly a favour, more like... an opportunity. We've got our hands on some sensitive intel, and I'm planning an... off the books op. But it's big enough that we'll need to combine resources to have a chance of pulling it off. And it'll get you closer to Rand in the process." - he finished, significantly.
"Let's talk inside." - he motioned towards the abandoned admin building.
But Yelena shook her head.
"You and Irw go ahead, and take the crew with you. I'll take the skipper and find a good place to hide this vessel for now. I do not like it being docked out here in the open. Yes, it might make the sweep take longer due to interference, but the ship is too exposed out here, to aerial surveillance."
"Good point. There's a littoral cave about... uh... twelve-to-fifteen kilometres down the coast, if our maps are accurate. Should be big enough to park this thing in, for now. Of course, you might have to swim to get ashore again... Anna, will you be ok with just Yelena and the captain for company?" - Saxon asked, even though he could guess the answer.
"Do I have a choice?" - Kelso countered dryly, then glanced at Yelena.
"Just stay out of the way. And try to keep your systems down to minimum, I don't need EM spikes all over the place while I'm sweeping." - trying to mask her unease with annoyance. Wasted effort, on Yelena and her pheromone-analyser, but the aquiline woman could appreciate the tough front.
"Don't worry, I'll be very congenial company. See you later, boys!" - she motioned the ship's skipper to get back aboard, as she followed, Kelso bringing up the rear.
"You think they'll kill each other?" - Irwine whispered under his breath with a chuckle, watching the trio disappear below decks. Saxon let out a guffaw.
"Let's hope not, mate! C'mon. You're gonna like what I've got in mind..." - Saxon clapped him on the shoulder, leading the way towards the admin building.
Inter-Guarda observation radar station, somewhere in Central America...
"Sir, I regret to inform you we've lost the trace on the hijacked vessel. They were on-approach to Panama coastline, near Colombian border, before the reading vanished." - the on-duty surveillance tech reported over a secure channel.
~"The ship is stealth-capable. Have you been using the modulation you were provided, for your arrays? And did you try to triangulate using VersSat uplink?"~ - Michael Zelazny's irritated tone came back.
"Yes, sir, and they were running in stealth mode before they vanished. We could see them just fine running VersSat protocols. This isn't a stealth-blackout, it's like the vessel entered into some kind of radar-scattering region. Possibly EW interference. We need low-atmosphere aerial surveillance to try and reacquire it by visual. Permission to launch an observation drone? It'll take about two hours for it to enter the region and begin sweeps."
There was a noticable pause, before Zelazny's voice came back.
~"Do it. But keep it as high as possible, while still getting good imaging. I want to know where they've made landfall. Keep me updated. Out."~
"Everyone, we're going to Panama. We may have lost them for now, but their course before they got under the EW coverage, leaves us with a few educated guesses to make. We knew that the Collective had a cell in Panama for a while now, given the pattern of past actions, especially the plane hijacking in Russia, two years ago."
Vande had to search her memory for a while.
"The one that took off from St. Petersburg after that big airport massacre or whatever it was? What does that have to do with anything? I thought it was that ARC that did that?" - she asked with a frown.
Zelazny had to remind himself that only he, being allowed access to Volkard Rand's personal sources of intel, had a full picture of what happened there. And that he was under specific instructions not to reveal any of it to anyone else in Inter-Guarda command structure.
"No. That plane was carrying sensitive materials for our employers, before the Collective got it's hands on it." - he explained vaguely, "...taking it over, and rerouting it to land in Panama."
The woman nodded slowly, but looked dubious.
"Meaning they have some kind of large-scale operation there. And now Fedorova's going there, probably to regroup, meet her contacts and plan the next move. Makes sense... but sir, operating in Panama will be tricky. Various cartels are very strong there, and it's likely that the Juggernaut Collective has built a relationship with them. I think SharpEdge tried to enter some kind of contract with Panama government three years ago, right? And they were kicked out? It's basically a Cartel-run country, the government is just a proxy. Same as Mexico."
Zelazny shook his head.
"Worse then Mexico, Vande. Because it's all a single cartel in Panama, so they aren't fractured like the ones in Mexico. But you're right. An official op is out of the question. I'm not worried about us being kicked out, we wouldn't be in there long enough for that, I'm worried about us being spotted, and our prey getting wind of it, and prepping another reception for us. This time with cartel assistance. We'd be walking into a hornet's nest, literally. But that doesn't mean we can't go in undercover."
"As... what? Civilians? Tourists?" - she asked in surprise. Zelazny shrugged.
"Why not? The country is a tourist hotspot, so it makes the most sense. You, me, and a small team, pretending to be on a guided tour of some Aztec ruins or something. Plus, even better, tourists are expected to ask a lot of questions. And not look out of place while sticking their noses in everything. Can you think of a better cover to have, while looking for someone?" - he smirked.
"Well sir... to be blunt... you don't exactly look tourist-y. I mean, the rest of us could probably pass for civvies, if dressed right, but... have you looked in a mirror lately?" - the Dutch woman couldn't help but point out. Then another thought occurred.
"Plus, Irwine knows you. And Fedorova knows you too now. There'd be no way for you to escape notice, no matter which cover you're under. And it's a safe bet that they'd infom their contacts about who they tangled with. As soon as anyone connected, sees you, word would get to them in a hurry." - she pointed out.
The big cyborg nodded reluctantly.
"Yeah.. that's a given. The Lord's trials and tribulations are never over. But that's where you come in." - he smiled at his second.
"You wanted a chance to lead a team of your own? You've got one. I don't have to tell you to be careful, you've seen first-hand the calibre of operators we're dealing with, back there on the Queen, and we have no idea who they'll meet over there." - he paused.
"When you locate them, do NOT engage. Call me in, and I'll deploy directly to join you for the attack, with another detachment. Consider your team an undercover recon unit. Blend in, act the tourist part, and find out where they've gone to ground in Panama. We've got a good lead, given their likely location of landfall, and we've got a long-range surveillance drone attempting to get a visual fix. I doubt they'll stay there long, so you and your team will take the first flight to Panama City, and await further intel there. Weapons will be delivered to you once in-country. Until you get actionable intel, you are to blend in as tourists, and try to pick up the trail on your own. Use your discretion, but do not step out of character." - he finished.
Vande looked a touch nervous, but nodded.
"So, a potentially long-term sleeper assignment? And what about our ship?"
Zelazny waved his hand.
"The ship's the easy part. If our drone spots it, I'll take a squad immediately to retake it. We'll be in and out before anyone knows we're there, and if our prey is still in the immediate area, we'll make a clean sweep and end this there and then. But that's the best-case scenario. If they've got any sense, the first thing they'll do is try to hide it. Plenty of nooks and crannies along the shoreline to do so."
"Right... do I choose my own team?" - Vande asked. She resisted the temptation to point out that none of this would be necessary, if they just counterattacked, and retook their vessel.
"Sure. And you get to brief them too. Remember – civvies, no guns, undercover. Sell the 'tourist' vibe, don't give airport security any ideas, not here, not on arrival. Panama may be a cartel shithole, but they don't like PMC types. Don't stand out. You'll get access to armaments once inside. I expect you guys to be on the first available flight to Panama City. Meanwhile I've got to confer with Rand. See if he's got some ideas or leads. Dismissed."
As the Dutch woman saluted and walked out, Zelazny's gaze stayed on the closed doors for a moment.
And don't bite off more then you can chew, Ena. Please. You're a firebrand, but you've got it in you to become a hell of an operative. If you live long enough.
Near Caretto...
"I'll give you one thing, Saxon... you don't plan it small, do you?" - Irwine bit his lip, once the ex-SAS member laid out his plan of direct assault on the VersaLife Newark facility.
The idea was tempting, to say the least. For the past five months in Antigua, they were a bit out of touch, but once he was brought up to speed on the implications of the Restoration Act, for the augmented, he couldn't help but agree with Ben Saxon's views, that it was only a facade for legalised oppression.
And now that he himself was augmented... and having a younger sister who was augmented to a much greater degree... Irwine knew she would be forced to have this – chip – implanted. So not only would she continue to be ostracised for being a hanzer, she would also lose the few remaining advantages of it, as the chip put restrictions on her limbs' performance. And atop of that, she would still be dependent on Nu-poz. And he wasn't naive enough to believe that that was all the chip did. It was a surveillance tool. Likely also capable of selectively inflicting pain or discomfort, to insure compliance, or even shutting down a person's entire augment infrastructure, making them a cripple.
He may have disassociated himself from his family, to avoid them becoming entangled in his new life, but this... Act... would hurt his loved ones. It was his duty to do whatever it took, to derail it, even for a time.
Saxon grimaced.
"Yeah well, we've been operating on half-measures for the past three years. But if this thing gets off the UN's floor, we can kiss all of our progress goodbye. We've been taking it lying down for long enough, and what did we get for it? All the peaceful protests, all the activism, all the UN's assurances that things would return to normal? All the while they planned this, and shoved us into ghettos. And we both know who's really behind this Act. This has nothing to do with restoring humanity. It's got to do with Illuminati control over augmentation technology and it's proliferation. They can't STAND the idea of anyone else having that kind of power." - he paused.
"ARC has some good ideas. But they fall apart on execution. Or get co-opted to prop up the enemy's agenda, like what happened in Prague. They're too impressionable. And don't even get me started on those Church of the Machine God lunatics. All they do is give traction to us being seen as crazy and un-hinged!" - he slammed his fist on the table.
"No arguments here... but isn't this the kind of op that we'd need authorisation from Janus and the Collective, to set in motion? I mean, it's a bit more flashy then our usual methods, and it could bring the whole organisation into bigger public spotlight? I don't think Janus wants that." - before his eyes narrowed slightly.
"And let me say it straight, speaking as someone still in touch with the Sons – Lebedev and Woods won't support this kind of overt attack. Not now, not yet. And hell... a lot of the old guard aren't exactly crying over the plight of the augmented. They wouldn't care to get involved. Especially with bigger things on the table right now. I think they're trying to form alliances with some of the groups in Idaho and Utah." - Irwine pointed out, confirming what Kelso assumed, back then.
"That's the beauty of it." - Saxon smirked, "We don't use Collective assets. And we don't even put the Sons in direct spotlight! Apart from the four of us, and we'll take care not to leave witnesses behind, we'll be using off-the-street forces. You know better then I, that Korbin and his guys aren't answering to the command in Montana, and he's made that clear during his trial. They take hanzers in, they've got their own thing going. Am I right? And ever since he's been captured, his crowd was itching for payback! All they need is a target. So we give 'em one."
Irwine mulled it over, conflicted.
"I mean, yeah... they're a wild bunch, and Korbin was never happy with the slow-and-steady approach. That's why he was kicked down to the East Coast, to conduct recon and make connections with the gangs. I suppose he made more connections then I would've guessed. Good for him..."
"And sure, I could get in touch with his guys, especially if I can get one or two of my old Squalnomie buddies aboard for this – make an impression. But a bunch of thugs and gangbangers, against trained corporate security? And maybe Zelazny's Inter-Guarda outfit backing them up, plus who knows what kind of bots and drones on patrol? I don't like those odds, Ben. And let's not kid ourselves, the moment the alert goes out, you can expect direct government response, within an hour or two, tops, with a big hammer! To keep that from happening, we'd need to cut off communications to the facility, in advance. That means someone getting in, unseen and undetected, and pulling the plug. Not to mention setting up shortwave jammers, to keep the cell nework down. Laying the whole groundwork down, before we strike."
Saxon nodded, significantly.
"Good thing then, that we have possibly the best infiltrator in the world, with us, right now."
Irwine sighed.
"We do... but there are strings attached. I can tell you right now, that Yelena's only gonna be aboard with this whole thing, if it gets her closer to Rand. Plus... we lost someone." - equally significantly. Saxon nodded again.
"Right. Miss Couture getting captured. Damn it... well, Anna is hopefully covering that base right now, with the informant she's got in New York. I'm sure she's bringing Fedorova up to speed, as we speak."
Almost on cue, Saxon's Infolink came on, with a transmission from Kelso. He raised a hand briefly, cocking his head to the side, listening to the subvocal message. Irwine watched as the other man frowned, as if in thought, and he guessed Saxon was replying subvocally. He'd seen the same expression on Yelena's face, at times.
The silence went on for about a minute, long enough for the ex-Marine to get impatient, before Saxon finally spoke again.
"Anna says Fedorova's aboard with the plan. But she wants us to insert her to New York first, to get in personal touch with Anna's informant. Something about wanting... details on Rand's family?" - he frowned.
Irwine pursed his lips, taking an educated guess, but careful to keep a poker face, since he knew Saxon wasn't aboard with Yelena's whole blood-vengeance thing. Truth be told – he wasn't really aboard, either, but... he knew how much it meant to Yelena. He could only hope she wouldn't go that far, this time.
You want a bargaining chip of your own, do you love? Someone Rand cares about, against Jamella and her life? You want to bring him to the table.
Out loud, he shrugged.
"Like I said Ben, there would be strings attached."