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Entry tags:
The Company
On January 28, we had Bonnie ("Xiang Wen," a.k.a. "Wu Xie Zhi" and "Dot"), Marc ("Anabel Windsor," a.k.a. "Abigail Wilson" and "Vicky"), and Torsten ("Qoqa Ramazanova," a.k.a. "Zoya Petrovna Sidorova").
Time: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 (night).
Place: Casablanca, Morocco.
Last Event: Fleeing a bad situation, part two.
As the Agents prepare to flee the bloody scene in the stolen van, armed to the teeth with confiscated weapons, several of them press V on whether she had a contingency plan in the event that their meeting went pear-shaped. She explains that the additional, evidently traitorous FSB men were her backup. She adds that this almost surely means that the infiltrators in her organization who arranged this betrayal have already "erased" her and put a cover story in play. With a wry smile, V asks her saviors whether they have a way out.
Qoqa comments that right now, the plan is simply to escape the building alive – and she can't help but worry that someone might be lurking outside. Jili uses her high-tech phone to scan for signals, but she detects only civilian comms traffic. Asked about what the immediate surroundings look like, V replies that the area is poorly lit and sparsely populated. Paul remarks that if the neighborhood isn't crawling with police and pedestrians, then he would recommend flooring it, turning unpredictably, and swerving under overhangs and behind concealment instead of driving safely. The instant his allies agree, he tears out of the garage like a bat out of Hell.
As only Paul and Klas are up front (rather than in the blacked-out rear of the vehicle), only they can see what's going on. Neither man notices any signs of trouble, however. The area is deserted. The next task, then, is to locate shops where the team can score some supplies – especially medical gear. Fortunately, Paul has an excellent eye for cities, and soon spots a small cluster of businesses with shared entrance.
Though the building is dark, Paul takes no risks – he approaches cautiously, with the lights out, and parks in the shadows. Then Anabel, Jili, and Qoqa hop out, leaving Paul to keep an eye on the vehicle and his wounded friends. At the building's entrance, Jili swiftly neutralizes the alarm and Anabel picks the lock. After that, the three burglars plunders clothing and cleaning supplies, plus medical supplies from an attached doctor's office and pharmacy. As is the team's tradition, they leave ample cash to cover the goods. Qoqa makes sure the money is "clean" before setting it on the countertop, and also wipes down everything that she or her accomplices touched.
Upon returning to the van, the Agents decide that the next step is to find an abandoned building to use as a hideout. Paul sets out with this goal in mind, and it doesn't take him long to find the perfect place: a small hotel that appears to have fallen upon hard times and been boarded up. Once again, Anabel and Jili get the job of breaking in – and once again, this isn't much of a challenge. A quick look reveals that nobody has been here in a long time. With that confirmed, everyone but Qoqa and Paul sneaks inside, the healthy helping the wounded and everybody taking great care to keep their weapons hidden.
Once Anabel, Jili, Klas, Lev, Wen, and V are safely inside with the doors shut, Paul and Qoqa leave to dispose of the van. Paul selects an isolated spot a 10-minute walk from the hotel. Then Qoqa reveals a nifty FSB-developed denaturant-and-enzymatic-cleanser "grenade" that V quietly handed to her earlier, waves Paul out of her way, and pulls the pin. The van's interior is instantly wiped clean of biological evidence. After taking a few minutes to wipe down the door handles and any other exterior fittings the group might have touched, Qoqa is ready to leave. She and Paul make it back to the hideout without incident.
On their return, Paul and Qoqa find that their associates have covered the windows with drop-cloths snagged from the shop and done their best to prepare the wounded for Qoqa's ministrations. Qoqa turns on a few battery-powered lamps and gets to work. She extracts three bullets from Lev, stitches his wounds, and splints his arms. Then she pulls a slug out of Klas' side and sews him up. Finally, she takes two bullets out of Wen, sutures her injuries, and splints her leg. All three patients receive liberal doses of antibiotics.
In Qoqa's professional opinion, the wounded should heal up just fine provided that the group stays put. When everyone agrees, Qoqa decides to take advantage of the situation by checking up on everybody else, just in case. This leads to Paul getting a cold pack on his bruise. Qoqa also interrogates V about her gimpy leg and learns that after the London attack that nearly killed Anabel and V, the local FSB cell made sure that their officer got medical attention . . . but V's leg is held together by pins and plates, and she's lucky to have it at all.
With that done, it's time to lie low and recover. The next morning, Anabel disguises Qoqa and herself, and they visit a local market to buy food without attracting undue attention. Otherwise, nobody leaves the hideout. During the next week, the Agents rest, let Qoqa tend to their injuries, and do their best not to make noise.
The group does look over the documents in V's briefcase, however. These reveal that the FSB found evidence of organized covert operators using a consistent modus operandi in a variety of high-stakes situations worldwide. These mystery men clearly have good training that bears the signature of a variety of national services the world over, but aren't pursuing the interests of the associated countries. In the opinion of the FSB analysts, an independent or mercenary organization is pursuing the kind of agenda customarily associated with powerful political interests, not with terrorists or common criminals. V adds that she privately ruled out the Agents, though she stops short of admitting to knowing all about the Company. The sheer volume of data means it would be best to give Chaturvedi the files and have him pass them up the chain for intensive analysis . . . which makes the team's next task courier duty, and there are sure to be foes interested in seeing that mission fail.
Time: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 (night).
Place: Casablanca, Morocco.
Last Event: Fleeing a bad situation, part two.
As the Agents prepare to flee the bloody scene in the stolen van, armed to the teeth with confiscated weapons, several of them press V on whether she had a contingency plan in the event that their meeting went pear-shaped. She explains that the additional, evidently traitorous FSB men were her backup. She adds that this almost surely means that the infiltrators in her organization who arranged this betrayal have already "erased" her and put a cover story in play. With a wry smile, V asks her saviors whether they have a way out.
Qoqa comments that right now, the plan is simply to escape the building alive – and she can't help but worry that someone might be lurking outside. Jili uses her high-tech phone to scan for signals, but she detects only civilian comms traffic. Asked about what the immediate surroundings look like, V replies that the area is poorly lit and sparsely populated. Paul remarks that if the neighborhood isn't crawling with police and pedestrians, then he would recommend flooring it, turning unpredictably, and swerving under overhangs and behind concealment instead of driving safely. The instant his allies agree, he tears out of the garage like a bat out of Hell.
As only Paul and Klas are up front (rather than in the blacked-out rear of the vehicle), only they can see what's going on. Neither man notices any signs of trouble, however. The area is deserted. The next task, then, is to locate shops where the team can score some supplies – especially medical gear. Fortunately, Paul has an excellent eye for cities, and soon spots a small cluster of businesses with shared entrance.
Though the building is dark, Paul takes no risks – he approaches cautiously, with the lights out, and parks in the shadows. Then Anabel, Jili, and Qoqa hop out, leaving Paul to keep an eye on the vehicle and his wounded friends. At the building's entrance, Jili swiftly neutralizes the alarm and Anabel picks the lock. After that, the three burglars plunders clothing and cleaning supplies, plus medical supplies from an attached doctor's office and pharmacy. As is the team's tradition, they leave ample cash to cover the goods. Qoqa makes sure the money is "clean" before setting it on the countertop, and also wipes down everything that she or her accomplices touched.
Upon returning to the van, the Agents decide that the next step is to find an abandoned building to use as a hideout. Paul sets out with this goal in mind, and it doesn't take him long to find the perfect place: a small hotel that appears to have fallen upon hard times and been boarded up. Once again, Anabel and Jili get the job of breaking in – and once again, this isn't much of a challenge. A quick look reveals that nobody has been here in a long time. With that confirmed, everyone but Qoqa and Paul sneaks inside, the healthy helping the wounded and everybody taking great care to keep their weapons hidden.
Once Anabel, Jili, Klas, Lev, Wen, and V are safely inside with the doors shut, Paul and Qoqa leave to dispose of the van. Paul selects an isolated spot a 10-minute walk from the hotel. Then Qoqa reveals a nifty FSB-developed denaturant-and-enzymatic-cleanser "grenade" that V quietly handed to her earlier, waves Paul out of her way, and pulls the pin. The van's interior is instantly wiped clean of biological evidence. After taking a few minutes to wipe down the door handles and any other exterior fittings the group might have touched, Qoqa is ready to leave. She and Paul make it back to the hideout without incident.
On their return, Paul and Qoqa find that their associates have covered the windows with drop-cloths snagged from the shop and done their best to prepare the wounded for Qoqa's ministrations. Qoqa turns on a few battery-powered lamps and gets to work. She extracts three bullets from Lev, stitches his wounds, and splints his arms. Then she pulls a slug out of Klas' side and sews him up. Finally, she takes two bullets out of Wen, sutures her injuries, and splints her leg. All three patients receive liberal doses of antibiotics.
In Qoqa's professional opinion, the wounded should heal up just fine provided that the group stays put. When everyone agrees, Qoqa decides to take advantage of the situation by checking up on everybody else, just in case. This leads to Paul getting a cold pack on his bruise. Qoqa also interrogates V about her gimpy leg and learns that after the London attack that nearly killed Anabel and V, the local FSB cell made sure that their officer got medical attention . . . but V's leg is held together by pins and plates, and she's lucky to have it at all.
With that done, it's time to lie low and recover. The next morning, Anabel disguises Qoqa and herself, and they visit a local market to buy food without attracting undue attention. Otherwise, nobody leaves the hideout. During the next week, the Agents rest, let Qoqa tend to their injuries, and do their best not to make noise.
The group does look over the documents in V's briefcase, however. These reveal that the FSB found evidence of organized covert operators using a consistent modus operandi in a variety of high-stakes situations worldwide. These mystery men clearly have good training that bears the signature of a variety of national services the world over, but aren't pursuing the interests of the associated countries. In the opinion of the FSB analysts, an independent or mercenary organization is pursuing the kind of agenda customarily associated with powerful political interests, not with terrorists or common criminals. V adds that she privately ruled out the Agents, though she stops short of admitting to knowing all about the Company. The sheer volume of data means it would be best to give Chaturvedi the files and have him pass them up the chain for intensive analysis . . . which makes the team's next task courier duty, and there are sure to be foes interested in seeing that mission fail.