| "The Yin and the Yang" | ||
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June 9, 2008 Safehouse 1, Manhattan Main Conference Room 1600 hours Paige's eyes flicked up towards Gray at the sound of his voice. It wasn't like anything he'd say would be different than what Paige expected. There was introductions however, or at least, she'd hope he make introductions. "I know this is somewhat of a reunion for most of you and I apologize for the lack of any notice." Apology not accepted, she thought back to him. She'd always been a forgiving person, so she thought, and look where she ended up. It was time to be a little more unforgiving, a little more selfish, a little more self centered, egotistical, and demanding. A little bit more like Joshua. After all, look where he was in comparison. She stifled a snicker at that thought. The bastard wasn't even present and still he managed to be in her thoughts more often that not. "But," Gray continued, "time is time and I don't have a lot of it, so I'll make this brief." Good, she thought, brief was good. That would mean more time to find out what Jaime was doing here. "You know me and Rebecca, the gentlemen over there is Jackson Wellington, Homeland Security Advisor and the integral part in making this organization function." So, that's what you do, she thought to Wellington, though she did not turn or move an inch from her seat. Neither did the other agents and she assumed, neither did the two operatives. "Simon is our communication and systems expert, he will be providing comm and technical support. Paige, Safara, Jordan, and one other comprise the Alpha Team, the charter team for this organization." One other? Had he just referred to Baz as one other? The fucking nerve. Baz was it, the man was Alpha, he was the glue that held them together, the fiber that bound, the tic in the tock, the yin of the yang, he was everything to them. He was the best thing that ever happened to the three of them. He was their anchor, their stability and righteousness in a very evil world. He was their best friend. And to refer to him as one other was simply insulting. Gray should know better, should have known a lot better... "Bella is the newest member of the SIA..." Member? Bella's SIA now? A small smile crept up the corner of her mouth. How cool was that? Another Section warrior freed from their chains, another voice heard, another soul saved. Just how many people did the SIA plan on recruiting out of Section to fill their nooks and crannies? "...and will be joining the Alpha Team on a temporary basis until a suitable team can be arranged." What if...what if the SIA was merely a front and really what the PTB were after was an organization that didn't carry the stigma of the Section name. Maybe the SIA would just be Section. Paige suppressed a shiver...never happen. And if Bella was now SIA then maybe...just maybe... "Jaime is on loan to us for various missions, most notably, this one, and will function as a field agent." It took a considerable effort to suck a breath in as that news hit hollowly off her chest. On loan. What the fuck was that? Ok, she calmed herself with a raised eyebrow, just break down what he said. Various missions. Well, that could mean anything, but, it was plural...which meant more than one, particularly more than one mission...which meant she would be seeing Jaime again most likely. Whether that was a good deal or a bad deal she chose to reserve judgement on. This one. Alright, she had pretty much figured that one out already and he would obviously fill the role of 'sniper' the former 'Agent B' had occupied in her war games scenarios. "Questions?" Yeah, Paige thought, could she be the one to keep an exceptionally close eye on the loaned agent? Because she could. She really could keep a very close eye on him, so close he might just squirm a little bit, or be close enough to touch. Through her 'quickly going into the gutter' thoughts she registered the silence in the room. No questions, no problems. "Good," Gray nodded then gestured to his right, "Simon." Gray paused for a moment as Simon tapped at his laptop dimming the room lights and bringing up various pictures on the vidscreen near Gray. "As you most likely know, 11 days ago the American embassy in Paris, France was bombed killing 58 Americans and wounding 112 civilians. Intelligence sources in the area traced two sets of funds used for the attack and they both led to one man, Rodion Yegorovich Petrenko, 53 years old, member of the Russian politburo, well protected, and well funded. An attempt on his life was made two days ago and as a result, Petrenko has moved locations, to this Dacha, located in Savvinskaya Sloboda, a small village about 2km west of the city of Zvenigorod." A map now took the place of Petrenko's face. "The objective of the mission is simply eliminate the target. Paige." That's me, she thought. Paige grabbed some papers sending them down the table, through Jordan, who was closest to her, and to Saf who sat across from her. The papers had a map and layout of the Dacha as well as clearly marked ingress, egress, and emergency routes. Saf had already seen these papers a thousand times so she just looked at it with a bored expression on her face. "This is probably familiar," she mumbled before nodding to Simon. "From our staging area, we've got a half hour or so on foot with adequate coverage. The Dacha is cleared around the building so we'll have to be quick getting inside without being seen. We'd like to complete as much as the profile, if not the entire profile, before losing the element of surprise. Unfortunately, intel is sketchy at best as to how many guards are actually there with the target." That's right, call it a target, because he is no longer a man, a human being, a living, breathing creature. He is an object now, an obstacle, something to be removed, something to be eliminated. Without skipping a beat from the thoughts in her mind as she reduced Petrenko into an inanimate object, she continued. "My proposal is to split up and drop thermal detectors so we can get an idea of who's in there and where they are. We'll adjust as necessary but I'm guessing the target's room is on the fourth floor, middle of the building. Saf and myself will go inside and when the target's eliminated, we'll egress on the west side. Bella, you'll protect our egress route and Jaime will provide sniper. Jordan, we need you to rove on the east between me and Saf. Questions?" It was a simple plan, then, the best laid ones usually were. That it was one of Section's classic tactical responses was simply beside the point. "Simon," Gray motioned to him to continue. "Bella, I don't think you've seen one of these," he said as he rolled a small device her way. He then rolled one across the table to Jaime, "I know you haven't seen one." Jaime just picked the metal globe up casually. "These can be tossed pretty far. You just have to activate it," He depressed a few buttons on the one in his hands, "and toss it. Easy as that. No lights, no sounds, virtually undetectable. Three of them combined can pick up 90% of any given area providing us with a thermal reading of anything that's warmer than a given fixed temperature. The best bet will be to lay them about 30 yards from the Dacha at these points," he directed their attention to the papers and vidscreen, "west, northeast and southeast. Once we get some readings we'll adjust our ingress. The egress, barring any unusual circumstances, will remain on west. Jaime, we've picked out a nice little tree on a hill for you to work off of. It will give you maximum view of the building and pretty much all of egress." Jaime nodded his understanding as Simon looked to Gray. "Okay," Gray said, "you've got about 45 minutes to get changed, get your weapons, and get on the roof for transport. You will be flying into Myachkovo cargo airport on the east side of Moscow where a van will be waiting for you. You'll stage app 8 miles from the Dacha. Simon will be in constant contact with me here." He then nodded, his attempt at a good luck Paige supposed as she stood. Wellington had already gotten Gray's ear so she turned to Jordan, "c'mon, let's get the newbies situated." "I'd hardly call them newbies," Jordan muttered to which Paige acknowledged the underlying sarcasm with a quick grin. "Bella," Paige said offering her hand. Bella took it as she stood up. "It's been awhile," she said with a small smile. "Yeah," Paige smiled back, "Gray never said anything but it's good to have you on board. When did you get into the city?" "About two weeks ago, upper east, working as a fashion designer." Paige nodded her head, "that's perfect." "And you?" "Unemployed at the moment. I'm mostly concentrating on making Gray's life exciting and action packed." Bella shook her head, "that doesn't surprise me." "Yeah, well, you know. This is Jordan, I don't know if you guys worked together or not." "Good to meet you," Jordan said shaking Bella's hand. "Good to meet you, too," Bella replied. "Jaime," Paige beckoned for him as he still sat watching the trio. She was not off guard anymore, not surprised, or stunned. She had had time for her mind to absorb the reality of his presence, of his suddenly being near her, breathing the same air, and she was more tolerant to being in his presence without, well, basically freaking out. She watched as he stood lazily and approached them. "Pimping out your services?" Paige questioned with a sly grin as she extended her hand. He shrugged, "some of them." He still had his sense of humor. She didn't know how he managed to keep it being confined by Section walls and surrounded by dull people like Michael. "We'll have to discuss those details privately," she winked playfully at him, "but for now, this is Jordan," Paige introduced Jordan to Jaime. They said their hellos, as Paige was surprised Bella had not met Jaime before. Perhaps the Section walls were as empty as she'd imagined them to be and operative contact fewer and further between. "We can chat and play catch up on the ride over, if you guys will follow me I'll show you to our lovely and spacious ready rooms." Safara and Simon joined the four, with a few more casual introductions, and they all proceeded to weapons and locker rooms. Return |
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