Mac losing his patience slaps the General across the face. Just tell me what was you know about the CAVE. What did the poor man you just eliminated know that was so dangerous?
The general glares at Mac. "Now that.. that was uncalled for. I was being cooperative. Listen. My people, the people I work for that is, they are bigger than this war. Bigger than the KGB, bigger than PIS, bigger than most intelligence services worldwide and they get things done. You like action right? No sitting around waiting for someone to tell you to go? They can help with that." He breaks for a moment. "Look, some of us aren't cut out for the job. I had to eliminate a leak. You want in on the stuff we found in the cave, you get me out of here and I'll have my people take you there."
Mac pulls Smith aside for a second whispering. What do you think Smith? He may be our only way to get in, to take the whole organization down. Look I don't 100% believe him but I think that he is making a sort of sense.
Mac tries to discern if the General is lying.
Smith says to Mac off to the side in a whisper, "We do not need him, we know where the cave is. If he does not start giving us real actionable stuff soon, we let the fingernail pullers have him. We got the Hind, we are looking at a promotion for that alone and then general is gravy. Also, I am not really in the mood to make enemies of the Pakistanis, unless we make a deal with Salahar."
The cave may be a dead end. Let's see what we can get out.
Smith turns back to the General and says, "Maybe your organization has a great deal of sway and maybe it is the greatest thing since sliced bread but I remain unconvinced. What I see is a bunch of incompetent jokers pretending to run the game but in reality get thwarted time and again by two soldiers. I think general it is time to give us some information and strengthen your sales pitch. Who are these people? Why are they so idiotic? What are their goals? I mean I can keep killing your operative ad infinitum. Got Majors, got the team in Paris, kidnapped the Captain's wife under your noses. See general, I have been killing since I was 18 years old. I quite enjoy it. I have run up and down two continents or wait now three. So give me some reasons, why I should not let my good friend AL-Salahar show you a whole new meaning to the word pain."
The looks Smith square in the eye. "While I would be interested to know your intrepid past, Mr. Smith, our time has grown short. There are things out there in the world that you may not be yet aware of. The Germans were on to something in that cave. We intended to make use of it. While you may have been able to dispatch several of our lesser trained recruits, I assure you, our operatives are far more capable. I have seen what they can do first hand. I am simply a recruiter for them. Nothing more. I acquire assets. Those that die on the job are simply written off. You have only helped me weed out the useless ones. I have never met the true leaders of the organization, so I can't help you there, but they call themselves the 'Mundus Tenebras'. The Dark World. They have fingers everywhere that I have seen. In every aspect of government. Most are unaware of their existence. I have used every resource I can from the KGB to find a source, but each of them has been shut down. I stopped trying and I was rewarded for it."
Just then there is a knock at the door. An aide walks in, "Director Al-Salahar just landed."
General Ourumov looks at the two of you. "You two would make fine additions to our local operative cell. Make them worth something and in exchange, I can put you on the program to finish the research at the cave, if that's what you want."
Smith says to the aide, "Great, I look forward to seeing the director."
He switches back to the General and says, "Ok, who is your direct contact? Because, you do not seem like a stupid man, so I won't treat you like one. The second our chopper crossed into Pakistani space you were doomed. Not to say my friend and I are not interested, which we are. So MT
can possibly have you freed through backchannels but we need a contact to get involved in the program, when we leave the base which will be shortly."
Who is a contact in this local operative cell?
Waiting for the aide to leave, General Ourumov looks at both of you. "I only have a codename, she goes by White Lily. The comm channel is 114.2. Once you make the call, give the password, 'last rites'. The contact will take you from there." At that moment, Director Al-Salahar and Lieutenant Mahsud enter.
"So," the director begins. "The commander here tells me you have a present for me. I must say, I am most impressed. A Soviet KGB General and one of the newer helicopters. You boys might have earned a ticket home for a while." He signals the lieutenant to send for guards to take Ourumov. Once they haul him out, he sends Mahsud out and it is just the three of you.
"This wasn't exactly a sanctioned mission, I know, but well done. I don't suppose you have a map to where you found that bird?"
Smith says, "Удачи!" to the general as he is taken away.
mith smiles, "Sorry for the subterfuge but the Hind may be a flying tank but those Migs could have taken us down. Sure, I can definitely draw for you the layout of the place and how to get there. As we in the SAS say, 'he who dares, wins'"
She handled like a beaut for us Director. Be kind when you take her apart and reverse engineer her.
Mac's thoughts are consumed by the experiments in the cave and their new lead.
Al-Salahar nods approvingly. "You can rest assured that your superiors will be notified of your efforts. The helicopter alone would be worth a promotion in my book. For now though, what are your plans while still in country?"
Smith says, "Maybe a little R+R in Karachi, take in a show I heard there is a great restaurant on Burns Road and maybe meet some ladies. Wait for Control, I guess. F+$& maybe we will steal a T72 instead."
Smith gives Mac a quick look as if to ask, Should we trust him?
I myself may go to one of your holy sites to meditate. As you can imagine life has been a bit stressful. Macomb says the last line with a soft laugh.
The Pakistani director looks at each of you. "Well, I can offer you a flight into Karachi, if you wish, then you are free to leave as soon as your Control dictates. " This last part he emphasizes, as if there is something else there.
He leaves to go and arrange for your flight to Karachi.
Once it is just the two of them Macomb says quietly to Smith.
What do you think Smith is it time to fly?
Smith says to Al-Salahar, "Sure, a flight to Karachi sounds nice, let me confer with my colleague."
Once he leaves, "I think we should go to Karachi first and then take off. We are in the middle of nowhere."
The flight to Karachi is as smooth as one can expect on a private jet, and your arrival is met with little fanfare. Al-Salahar nods at you and then leaves to deal with some other important business as an aide directs you to the exit of this smaller airport. You are free to leave, but Al-Salahar did emphasize not leaving the county just yet...
Smith nods to Al-Salahar and walks out of the airport, looking for Shashlik and brings back 6 large skewers of meat and goes to a hotel and tries to contact their new contact on a pay phone.
After a few clicks and static bursts, a muffled voice comes over the line. It speaks a dialect of Pashto. "What happens at the end?"
Crap they are looking for a password of some sort. Macomb says softly. Any ideas? Maybe "a new beginning"?
Smith says, "Last Rites"
You hear a slight pause before the voice returns. "As it is said, so it is done. Asset will be terminated. Remain where you are. We will extract in one hour. "
Smith says, "Affirmative" and then hangs up.
And then turn to Mac, "These people might be coming to kill us or this is legit. Or do we want to capture these people?"
I suggest we keep the act up as long as possible. If the moment comes to stop that and try to take anyone hostage mention Luxembourg.
Smith chambers a round in his pistol and says, "Understood."
The hour goes by rather uneventfully, unless you count Mac's pacing and Smith's constant unloading and reloading of his pistol. Right at the hour mark, you hear the engine of a car pulling up outside the hotel. A moment later there is a knock at your door. The peephole shows you a Pakistani man dressed in a fine suit and looking very impatient...
Right on time. I hate that. Shall we? Johnny says to Smith with a questioning look while heading for the door.
Smith nods and says, "Welcome! Would you like some tea?"
As you open the door, the man holds out a pair of hoods. "No time for tea. Put these on. We drive." There are two other similarly dressed men standing out by the car. They don't appear to be armed at first glance, but your senses tell you otherwise.
Smith says, "How about we drive and you wear the hoods? Trust is a two way street. You either trust us or you don't and we trust you or we don't." and then he walks down towards the car.
Two of the men go for their guns as Smith speaks, but the envoy motions for them to put them away. "These men are not just new recruits." He turns back to you. "You're right. Frankly, we don't trust you and you don't trust us. Otherwise, this meeting would not have happened and you would be dead. You're smarter than that. Since you don't know where we are going, it would be difficult for you to drive. So then, you can either follow orders, or we leave and the rest, well, you can imagine how that will go now that you've seen us." He holds out the hoods for emphasis.
What do you think here Smith? Take these three out and then put the hoods on THEM? Mac waits a few seconds to see their reaction then continues. How about this Smith. You stay here I go with these hood obsessed folks and then once I get where they want to take us I make contact with you. If you don't hear from me in 24 hours you tear it all down.
Smith laughs and says, "I do have to say I am leaning with the idea of us slottin' the lot but on the other hand, It might could be fun to meet with these folks and see what kind scratch is on offer. I do have to say taking orders is not our forte. I'll wear the hood but no other s#@$, deal?"
The man simply nods and allows you the time to place the hoods on before he leads you to the car. After making sure your are comfortable, the doors close and the car begins to drive. For a while, he says nothing, but after about 15 minutes or so, the car slows and then comes to halt. You can hear the sound of seagulls and waves splashing. The bells of small boats can also be heard. "Let's go."
They lead you onto what must be a boat of some kind. You feel it rock underneath your feet. Soon, you are seated in the cabin and the boat begins to move away from shore. After another 15 minutes, they remove the hoods. You are in a a small boat, sitting on a bench in the aft section. The envoy is seated across from you. One of the other men is piloting the boat and the other is watching you from the front. You can see the lights of what must be Karachi harbor behind you.
"You're going to want to have your eyes for this next leg." The man smiles and indicates the water all around you. "Enjoy the view. It'll be something to remember until your first assignment."
As the sun begins to settle below the horizon, the number of ships out here dwindle. At some point, he opens a container and hands you each a can of Murree. "Relax. The hard part hasn't even started yet."
When you can barely see the water, let alone the light of the harbor, the envoy checks his watch. "Right on time." Before you are sure what he is talking about, you see the waves about 100 meters from you start to churn a bit. That's when you notice the very large dark shape coming to the surface. The boat rocks a bit, water splashing inside, but the man seems unworried. Soon, the dark object looks more and more like a ship, or more specifically, a submarine. The conning tower clears the water and the fore deck is just above the waves. The thing has to be at least 70 meters long and 10 meters wide. The boat closes with the sub as a hatch opens in the conning tower. You watch as the man waves a couple of hand signals that are repeated back to him with a salute. The uniform the sailor is wearing is all black and has no insignia on it. The envoy leads you inside.
You climb down a ladder into the cramped gangways of the submarine and you hear the hatch close behind you. Eventually you are taken to a small room with a metal table and some metal chairs. Seated in one of the chairs is a woman wearing a white hijab that covers everything but her eyes. "You may leave us." She waves the envoy away and then points to the chairs. "Please, sit. I apologize for the less than elegant surroundings, but circumstances being what they are, I am sure you understand." She speaks in Pashto, but it is not her native tongue. "My people can be rough sometimes, they lack.. tact. That being said, you come highly recommended. Tell me about yourselves. Other than what's in your dossier."
That's a tough call to answer not knowing what you have in our dossier. But I have been really digging into Eastern Religious Meditation lately. My favorite ice cream flavor is Rocky Road and I really hate been in the dark about my missions. After a brief pause Mac continues But that last bit was most likely in your dossier.
Smith says, "I am a Black Sabbath fan. I am interested to see how Ronnie James Dio fits in with the group. I did like the stuff he did with Rainbow. I always loved Ozzy though. Tell us something about you."
She produces two folders from beside her chair and spreads them out on the table. "Let's see. John Macomb, usually known as Johnny, Razor or Mac. American born hotshot pilot and driver. Farmed to the American Intelligence services and sent here in an exchange program. Right so far? And then there's Timothy Smith. Known usually by his last name, probably due to the fact that he is former military, Rhodesian SAS. Everyone knows not to call him Tim. Expert in most firearms, wilderness survival and tracking, guerilla tactics and a history of getting things done, no matter how messy. Also farmed to the Americans. How am I doing so far?" She looks at each of you and you notice she has blue eyes. Not normal in these parts. She closes the dossiers and sits back. "Frankly, what we don't know is why you're here in the first place. While the Soviets are playing in the Afghani playground, the US has been pretty hands off. We thought that odd. Other than you two, we've seen no activity on their end. General Ourumov thought to bring you in by giving you a lead right to us, and so here we are. He also thought you would be useful playing with bigger fish. That's why you're not dead at my feet. It seems we have something right up your alley too. You boys interested?"
Smith waves his hand in the air and says, "Meh... If I were a Better man, I may be more concerned about your idyll threats. General Ouremov was pathetic... it is easy to kill people who are not expecting it. Majors also underestimated us. Are you going to Burn us as well... or better said try to burn us. You did not answer my question. I have survived over a decade in a hot war zone, so unless you become more candid with us, we are going to leave."
"More candid? Did they teach you nothing in spy camp? Give away nothing, take everything. It's a simple motto and an effective one. You are welcome to leave, though I'm not sure how far you would get, being that we are now 100 meters below the surface of the water. That's a lot of swimming, even for an experienced soldier like yourself.", she stands and takes the dossiers. "I'm going to leave. If you are here when I return, then I will explain what we want from you. If not, well, then the game is on." She goes to open the door and then hesitates, as if to say something more, but then leaves, closing the hatch behind her.
You are left alone in the small room, with naught but yourselves and the table and chairs.
Mac lets out a thin whistle. Damn Smith what did we get ourselves into now.
He then starts paying close attention to his surroundings. Does the submarine have any identifiable sounds or sights?
Before the woman leaves, Smith says, "Let's talk pay."
Smith says, "Good question. Wait or?" he gives Macomb a look like, You want to steal the sub
The woman gives no appreciable response to Smith's question. As you look around, you note that any writing is in Cyrillic and you can tell that this is definitely a submarine, considering the constant pinging of the hull as the water pressure squeezes on it. According to the Russian on the bulkhead of the room you are in, this is a debriefing room in the fore of the vessel. Its class is unknown to you.
Mac shakes his head in response to the mischievous look Smith gives him. He knew he was out of his element being below water, earth and air he could handle but this far under the surface he was as knowledgeable as Smith at guiding this vessel. Mac looks around the room for the unlikely object that could be used as a makeshift weapon if it came to that.