| "An Explanation" | ||
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Briefing Room One June 11, 2008, 1700 hours They were all arranged around the conference table, each deep in their own thoughts. All of them had been debriefed by Sergei in his office; each account had been recorded and checked against the others to see if there were any reoccurring events or anomalies that could indicate the presence of another faction or group in the proceedings. Apart from the SIA people there were none, and that made everyone feel a little bit safer, even though the appearance of the enemy team had all kinds of repercussions, not least in the political arena, if it got that far that was. There had been murmurings amongst the group as to just how many people within their own country knew about both themselves and their foreign 'cousins', and how high politically those people were. It was an intriguing topic of discussion, but one that could not be concluded satisfactorily amongst just themselves. And that was where Sergei came in. As if on cue Sergei entered the room. He took his place at the head of the table and sat down in his chair. They all feel silent and looked at him with expectant eyes; they had been told to meet here for an explanation. Sergei didn't address them, simply tapping away on the keyboard in front of him. The team all looked at each other, then back at Sergei. He didn't notice. Nikolai was about to say something when he heard the door slide open. Everyone looked up at that, apart from Sergei. Team Kinzhap entered, lead by Innokenteiy. He strode in purposefully, the recently completed mission giving him a spring in his step. Arkady Mihailivich Bukharin had proven to be a tougher assignment than originally intended, and that had a lot to do with the target's connections. The vast network the man had had taken a lot of time to infiltrate and assess, and had culminated in the postponement of the original takedown. Coupled with the fact that he had also had to `recover' Nikolai in between the mission only served to make the success all the more sweet. His team had performed flawlessly throughout all of the intelligence gathering and analysing, right through to the moment two days ago when they had finally taken Bukharin out of play. Despite being heavily guarded the man had not stood a chance: Kinzhap had cut a swathe through the opposition, and Smirnov had had the honour of ending the bastard's life with a double-tap. Satisfaction had definitely been achieved. "Sit," Sergei told the new arrivals, and they obeyed his command, finding seats next to their friendly rivals. Once everyone was settled Sergei gave a brief run-through of the Magic Blue mission, detailing the meeting between Nikolai and his American counterpart. "So who does she work for?" Innokenteiy asked, clearly shaken by the revelation of an opposing force as skilled as the one that had been described. "That has yet to be revealed to me." There were groans around the room. "But," he continued, "the answer should be with me soon. From what we can ascertain the American team is similar to what we have, and there is evidence that they work for a covert agency much like our own. The reason that our two teams met on this mission was due to an error in communications. This was not a planned action by any means, and thanks to the quick thinking of Nikolai and the American agent the situation did not get out of hand. Now, once the information on the Americans has been given to me it is possible that there will be a meeting of some kind between us. From what I can tell the American organization is not a direct threat to us; they are the American equivalent of us." A couple of them sniggered at that, partly out of patriotism, partly out of the belief that they were the best of the best� anywhere. This stopped when they saw the look that Sergei was giving them. "I wouldn't laugh at them. From what Myech reported they are expertly trained, and they certainly would have caused problems had Nikolai not managed to negotiate with them. Remember, it is highly possible that we will not be in direct competition with them, and we could even be working together. Do not jeopardize any possible working relationship with this `superiority' thinking. If you do then I do not want you to be part of this organisation." "Ok boss, we all hear you on that one," Maksim said. Sergei visibly calmed down. "Ok. When I find out more I will let you know. Until then normal procedures apply. Myech are still on active status. That means that Kinzhap are available to do a little training in Intelligence. Kovalenko will be expecting you tomorrow at twelve hundred hours, so make sure you are prepared." The relevant heads nodded at him. "Dismissed." Return |
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