![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
The Company
At our October 26 session, we had Bonnie ("Xiang Wen," a.k.a. "Wu Xie Zhi"), Marc ("Anabel Windsor," a.k.a. "Abigail Wilson"), Martin ("Zhu Zhang," a.k.a. "Harold Lee"), Mike ("Vincenzo Calliente," of many aliases), and Stéphane ("Hamid Fassal"). And please welcome Torsten ("Qoqa Ramazanov," a.k.a. "Zoya Petrovna Sidorov"), who joined us for the first time.
Time: September 13, 2009 (wee hours).
Place: Le Marais safe house, Paris.
Last Event: Observing Kirill's inner circle meet Georgi's "Red Army."
After a hard night's work, the Agents decide to grab a bite to eat and unwind some before trying to sleep. Anabel goes right back to listening in on Kirill's phone, while the other four plan the next step. So much for not working! Wen states that she wants to call Chaturvedi and update him, but decides to wait until daylight, as the handler is presently in Amsterdam with Röttwalkyr, and probably asleep.
By around 09:00, everybody is awake and more-or-less functional. Wen calls Chaturvedi and reports in, explaining what the squad saw last night and mentioning that they might have useful physical evidence. Chaturvedi tells Wen to get Sharkmeat to Amsterdam by evening, owing to recent developments at Röttwalkyr's end of the investigation. Wen acknowledges the order, hangs up, and fills in her teammates.
The Agents waste no time. They pack the van, clean the safe house, and get on the road, with Vinnie at the wheel. Before leaving, Hamid sets up a recorder for the bug he placed on Kirill's phone, rigs it to a phone, and stashes it in a safe place. On the way to Amsterdam, the only stops are for food. A little past 18:00, the squad is pulling into the courtyard behind Röttwalkyr's safe house.
Klas greets Sharkmeat at the back door and shows them inside. There, they find Ben, JB, Jili, and Lev seated with Chaturvedi and a woman they haven't met. Introductions reveal the newcomer as "Qoqa," a new Agent brought in to reinforce Sharkmeat in response to their recent request for more manpower. Qoqa is apparently a medic, cleaner, and interrogator out of Chechnya. Her other details are sketchy, as is standard for Company employees.
Conversation then turns to business. Chaturvedi explains that Röttwalkyr has been following the arms-dealing side of the Russian gang that Sharkmeat is dealing with in Paris. The recent appearance of Georgi and mention of "Grandfather" provide near-certain proof that the two teams are following different threads of the same case. However, the only other information that the Company has on "Grandfather" is that MI5 has an open file on his organization. With two Company operations that could benefit from learning more, Chaturvedi feels that it's worth pursuing what the British have on the gang.
The catch is that the Company has nobody inside MI5. All they know is that an officer of that organization – one Terence West – has spent years building a case against the Russian organization headed by "Grandfather." Apparently, West is frustrated with his inability to act, and might be willing to do a little more sharing than his bosses would like . . . if this would mean action against horrid arms dealers and human traffickers. The surveillance records and physical evidence gathered by Röttwalkyr and Sharkmeat may be enough to convince West to share his own files.
Both Company teams conclude that it's time to cross the Channel and follow their investigation to London. Vinnie will pack their electronics in instrument and amplifier cases stamped with band logos. The firearms will stay behind in Amsterdam, and Klas explains that he has plans for them: He and Lev will leave them all – including the guns Sharkmeat used in Paris – where the Dutch police will find them and associate them with local Russian gangsters. Apparently, Röttwalkyr's investigations have provided enough intelligence to pull this off.
One final matter is that of body armor. With both squads having been shot at recently, and with operations against gangsters on their home turf immanent, the need for personal protection can no longer be put off. Chaturvedi promises a fitting before the Agents depart for the U.K., but notes that this means a wait of five or six days. Lev says that's probably just as well, since he and Klas will need that long to set up their plant.
Thus, time passes. Hamid and Anabel call into Hamid's remote recorder to keep up with Kirill's dealings, but nothing new transpires over the next few days. On Wednesday, September 16, though, Anabel catches news of a disturbing development in Paris: Late on September 15, there was a huge gas explosion at the Le Marais safe house. Given that the gas wasn't on, this is a decidedly suspicious event, and all indications point to Kirill's gang – or, more likely, Georgi's people.
Anabel is a little concerned that the Russians tracked her back to the safe house somehow, given that she was the only one in close contact with them. She asks Hamid to sweep her and her luggage for tracking devices, but Hamid finds nothing. Wen mentions that the Chinese tried isotope tracking, so the Russians probably did, too. Ben confirms that this is possible, if unlikely. He runs some tests on Anabel; she seems clean. In the end, it's chalked up to Anabel's cabby having been bribed or threatened to talk.
A few more days pass while the Agents await armor fittings. The crews decide to keep busy by cleaning the Amsterdam safe house and leaving evidence that points to American spooks. The theory is that if the place is clean enough, paranoid elements in the Russian crime organization – like Anton – will suspect the CIA. It's a long shot, but Qoqa rises to the challenge. With Zhang's help, she gradually eliminates clues until everyone is forced to live in two rooms. For good measure, she also cleans both teams' vehicles.
On Saturday, September 19, a man named Dieter comes to the door. Chaturvedi says that Dieter will look after the armor fittings. Dieter is a little strange, but he appears to know what he's doing. He assures the Agents that he represents makers of "the finest armor in Europe," and that he wears his own product. Everybody is measured for concealable armor. All but Hamid and Vinnie want it in a matched skin tone; those two want it in black, and Vinnie requests smuggling pockets in his. Dieter promises the armor in about a week, and then leaves.
That night, Vinnie drives Klas and Lev out to plant the van full of guns. That goes well, and they're back inside of two hours. Klas states that he will call in a tip to the police after everybody is safely out of Amsterdam and on their way to London!
The morning of Sunday, September 20, Sharkmeat (now Anabel, Hamid, Qoqa, Vinnie, Wen, and Zhang), Röttwalkyr (Ben, JB, Jili, Klas, and Lev), and Chaturvedi cross the Channel. They're in London by late afternoon. The new safe house is a pair of dingy-but-serviceable flats not far from the Soho district, one per team. The plan is for Sharkmeat to take the lead on the Terence West matter, with Röttwalkyr serving as their backup and "B team."
Everybody agrees not to leave the safe house until Anabel has had a chance to alter their appearance some. The morning of September 21, Anabel gets some cash from Chaturvedi and heads out on a shopping trip. She picks up makeup, clothing, wigs, etc. – everything she needs to disguise any of her associates as almost anyone. While she's out, the others do what they can to research West, but he appears to have an unlisted phone number and isn't a public face at MI5.
That evening, Sharkmeat has a meeting over dinner. The topic is how best to approach West. Since it appears that the only lead they have on him is his employer, the plan is to deliver a DVD-ROM with some surveillance data on it to MI5, along with a note that it's for West. The note will mention a disposable e-mail address that Hamid will set up, and indicate that if MI5 wants more intelligence, West can set up a meeting via that address.
Hamid gets straight to work. First, he sets up an anonymous e-mail account. Then he runs off a digitally "clean" DVD containing audio and video clips that tease at the information collected from bugging and surveillance of Kirill's gang – especially the bits that establish that Georgi and "Grandfather" are involved. After he's done, Qoqa physically cleans the disc and puts it in an equally clean envelope. Vinnie then drives across town and sends the packet to MI5.
It doesn't take long to get a response. E-mail arrives the afternoon of Wednesday, September 23. It's very short and direct:
When Vinnie and Qoqa return, Hamid e-mails West. He asks West to be free at lunch the next day, and says that he'll be contacted by phone and told where to meet regarding further intelligence on the Russians. West replies within moments. He confirms that he can be available the next day. He includes a phone number, and indicates that he'll answer it himself and follow directions if they don't seem unduly dangerous.
Anabel is the designated contact person for the meeting with West, so the evening's business is establishing her cover. The consensus is that it would work best for her to pose as a member of the FSB – a Russian counterpart of West, more or less – operating undercover and possibly without official sanction in the U.K., in an effort to track down organized crime activity. Her goal will be to enmesh West in a little under-the-table interagency cooperation.
The morning of Thursday, September 24, Anabel alters everybody's appearance a little, making liberal use of makeup and wigs. At Hamid's request, she disguises him as a BT technician. Hamid wires Anabel with a microphone in a pendant. Then he hands out disposable cell phones to everybody, grabs his tools, and heads out the door.
Hamid goes to the phone box that Qoqa and Vinnie picked out. He disables the phone, places an "Out of Commission" sign on it, and tapes one of his many cell phones out of sight nearby. Then he heads back to the safe house. As he does, he calls in to signal Vinnie and Wen to move out. Their destination is the general area of the phone box. They arrive there around when Hamid returns to base. Once they're in position to observe undetected, they call Hamid, who gives Anabel, Qoqa, and Zhang the high sign.
Anabel e-mails West and tells him to go to the phone box and await further instructions. She then dons her best guess at what a female FSB officer would wear in London, makes sure that her makeup hides her features, and finishes her look with the microphone pendant. Once she's done, she grabs a cab and heads directly for the restaurant. Qoqa and Zhang leave separately and arrive within moments of Anabel. They make sure that they can see her table from their own.
Wen and Vinnie soon spot a group of five men closing in on the phone box. They're clearly covering each other and watching the area. They take care to circle the box and do at least a cursory scan for danger. Vinnie and Wen are fairly certain that this is West and friends – or at least West's designated hitters – and fill in Hamid by telephone. They also try to get a few photos with their cell-phone cameras, but these tools prove inadequate for the job.
Hamid calls the hidden cell phone on one of his many disposable phones, using a voice modulator just to be sure. Wen and Vinnie see one of the men they're watching find it and answer. The man identifies himself to Hamid as Terence West. Hamid asks West to lose two of his four babysitters immediately. West does, and when Wen and Vinnie confirm this on the other line, Hamid tells West the name of the nearby restaurant where Anabel, Qoqa, and Zhang are waiting.
West and two of his men head off at once. As far as Vinnie and Wen can tell, the other two men really aren't following. Wen calls ahead to Anabel to fill her in on the appearance of the three men that are on their way. Vinnie, meanwhile, reports in to Hamid, who sends an SMS to Qoqa and Zhang with much the same information that Wen passed along to Anabel. With all of this calling and messaging done, everybody ditches the phones they used; any further calling will use Company smart phones.
Shortly after Anabel, Qoqa, and Zhang get their alerts, Anabel sees a man who fits the description Wen gave show up at the restaurant door. She stands, smiles, and signals to him. West doesn't seem especially surprised that Anabel recognizes him, and greets her fairly cordially. The fact that he's meeting an attractive woman in a very public place seems to put him at ease, but he makes clear that he's here on business: "No doubt we're both wearing wires. The difference is that mine brings half of London if anything funny happens."
Anabel does a decent job of convincing West that an exchange of information on "Grandfather's" gang would help both sides. West is clearly frustrated by missing links between mob activity on the Continent and in the U.K., and believes that the surveillance records that Anabel is offering – along with evidence possibly containing prints and DNA of specific Russian mobsters – might help his case. For his part, he has no qualms about sharing information that could get gangsters strung up in Russia; all he asks is that Anabel's people don't carry out any kidnappings or assassinations on British soil.
Eventually, Anabel and West arrive at a deal: Anabel will give her word that there will be no funny business in Britain, on pain of damaging future interagency cooperation, and will turn over all the surveillance data and physical evidence she has on the Russians operating on the Continent. In return, West will provide Anabel with copies of his case files, pointing to possible bases of operation of "Grandfather's" gang that fall outside MI5's reach. West will need about a week to cut through the red tape that stands in the way of his part of the bargain, though.
With that, the meal ends and West takes his leave.
Time: September 13, 2009 (wee hours).
Place: Le Marais safe house, Paris.
Last Event: Observing Kirill's inner circle meet Georgi's "Red Army."
After a hard night's work, the Agents decide to grab a bite to eat and unwind some before trying to sleep. Anabel goes right back to listening in on Kirill's phone, while the other four plan the next step. So much for not working! Wen states that she wants to call Chaturvedi and update him, but decides to wait until daylight, as the handler is presently in Amsterdam with Röttwalkyr, and probably asleep.
By around 09:00, everybody is awake and more-or-less functional. Wen calls Chaturvedi and reports in, explaining what the squad saw last night and mentioning that they might have useful physical evidence. Chaturvedi tells Wen to get Sharkmeat to Amsterdam by evening, owing to recent developments at Röttwalkyr's end of the investigation. Wen acknowledges the order, hangs up, and fills in her teammates.
The Agents waste no time. They pack the van, clean the safe house, and get on the road, with Vinnie at the wheel. Before leaving, Hamid sets up a recorder for the bug he placed on Kirill's phone, rigs it to a phone, and stashes it in a safe place. On the way to Amsterdam, the only stops are for food. A little past 18:00, the squad is pulling into the courtyard behind Röttwalkyr's safe house.
Klas greets Sharkmeat at the back door and shows them inside. There, they find Ben, JB, Jili, and Lev seated with Chaturvedi and a woman they haven't met. Introductions reveal the newcomer as "Qoqa," a new Agent brought in to reinforce Sharkmeat in response to their recent request for more manpower. Qoqa is apparently a medic, cleaner, and interrogator out of Chechnya. Her other details are sketchy, as is standard for Company employees.
Conversation then turns to business. Chaturvedi explains that Röttwalkyr has been following the arms-dealing side of the Russian gang that Sharkmeat is dealing with in Paris. The recent appearance of Georgi and mention of "Grandfather" provide near-certain proof that the two teams are following different threads of the same case. However, the only other information that the Company has on "Grandfather" is that MI5 has an open file on his organization. With two Company operations that could benefit from learning more, Chaturvedi feels that it's worth pursuing what the British have on the gang.
The catch is that the Company has nobody inside MI5. All they know is that an officer of that organization – one Terence West – has spent years building a case against the Russian organization headed by "Grandfather." Apparently, West is frustrated with his inability to act, and might be willing to do a little more sharing than his bosses would like . . . if this would mean action against horrid arms dealers and human traffickers. The surveillance records and physical evidence gathered by Röttwalkyr and Sharkmeat may be enough to convince West to share his own files.
Both Company teams conclude that it's time to cross the Channel and follow their investigation to London. Vinnie will pack their electronics in instrument and amplifier cases stamped with band logos. The firearms will stay behind in Amsterdam, and Klas explains that he has plans for them: He and Lev will leave them all – including the guns Sharkmeat used in Paris – where the Dutch police will find them and associate them with local Russian gangsters. Apparently, Röttwalkyr's investigations have provided enough intelligence to pull this off.
One final matter is that of body armor. With both squads having been shot at recently, and with operations against gangsters on their home turf immanent, the need for personal protection can no longer be put off. Chaturvedi promises a fitting before the Agents depart for the U.K., but notes that this means a wait of five or six days. Lev says that's probably just as well, since he and Klas will need that long to set up their plant.
Thus, time passes. Hamid and Anabel call into Hamid's remote recorder to keep up with Kirill's dealings, but nothing new transpires over the next few days. On Wednesday, September 16, though, Anabel catches news of a disturbing development in Paris: Late on September 15, there was a huge gas explosion at the Le Marais safe house. Given that the gas wasn't on, this is a decidedly suspicious event, and all indications point to Kirill's gang – or, more likely, Georgi's people.
Anabel is a little concerned that the Russians tracked her back to the safe house somehow, given that she was the only one in close contact with them. She asks Hamid to sweep her and her luggage for tracking devices, but Hamid finds nothing. Wen mentions that the Chinese tried isotope tracking, so the Russians probably did, too. Ben confirms that this is possible, if unlikely. He runs some tests on Anabel; she seems clean. In the end, it's chalked up to Anabel's cabby having been bribed or threatened to talk.
A few more days pass while the Agents await armor fittings. The crews decide to keep busy by cleaning the Amsterdam safe house and leaving evidence that points to American spooks. The theory is that if the place is clean enough, paranoid elements in the Russian crime organization – like Anton – will suspect the CIA. It's a long shot, but Qoqa rises to the challenge. With Zhang's help, she gradually eliminates clues until everyone is forced to live in two rooms. For good measure, she also cleans both teams' vehicles.
On Saturday, September 19, a man named Dieter comes to the door. Chaturvedi says that Dieter will look after the armor fittings. Dieter is a little strange, but he appears to know what he's doing. He assures the Agents that he represents makers of "the finest armor in Europe," and that he wears his own product. Everybody is measured for concealable armor. All but Hamid and Vinnie want it in a matched skin tone; those two want it in black, and Vinnie requests smuggling pockets in his. Dieter promises the armor in about a week, and then leaves.
That night, Vinnie drives Klas and Lev out to plant the van full of guns. That goes well, and they're back inside of two hours. Klas states that he will call in a tip to the police after everybody is safely out of Amsterdam and on their way to London!
The morning of Sunday, September 20, Sharkmeat (now Anabel, Hamid, Qoqa, Vinnie, Wen, and Zhang), Röttwalkyr (Ben, JB, Jili, Klas, and Lev), and Chaturvedi cross the Channel. They're in London by late afternoon. The new safe house is a pair of dingy-but-serviceable flats not far from the Soho district, one per team. The plan is for Sharkmeat to take the lead on the Terence West matter, with Röttwalkyr serving as their backup and "B team."
Everybody agrees not to leave the safe house until Anabel has had a chance to alter their appearance some. The morning of September 21, Anabel gets some cash from Chaturvedi and heads out on a shopping trip. She picks up makeup, clothing, wigs, etc. – everything she needs to disguise any of her associates as almost anyone. While she's out, the others do what they can to research West, but he appears to have an unlisted phone number and isn't a public face at MI5.
That evening, Sharkmeat has a meeting over dinner. The topic is how best to approach West. Since it appears that the only lead they have on him is his employer, the plan is to deliver a DVD-ROM with some surveillance data on it to MI5, along with a note that it's for West. The note will mention a disposable e-mail address that Hamid will set up, and indicate that if MI5 wants more intelligence, West can set up a meeting via that address.
Hamid gets straight to work. First, he sets up an anonymous e-mail account. Then he runs off a digitally "clean" DVD containing audio and video clips that tease at the information collected from bugging and surveillance of Kirill's gang – especially the bits that establish that Georgi and "Grandfather" are involved. After he's done, Qoqa physically cleans the disc and puts it in an equally clean envelope. Vinnie then drives across town and sends the packet to MI5.
It doesn't take long to get a response. E-mail arrives the afternoon of Wednesday, September 23. It's very short and direct:
Sounds interesting. Where do you want to meet?The Agents decide that an ordinary restaurant would be best. Qoqa, who happens to know London well, directs them to a promising area with a lot of mid-range establishments, commonly used by those who need to meet about "sensitive matters." Qoqa and Vinnie head over there immediately and pick an establishment that doesn't look obviously like a hangout for police or gangsters, and that has decent exits. They also locate a nearby public phone, the plan being to direct West there first, and then to the restaurant.
-- TW
When Vinnie and Qoqa return, Hamid e-mails West. He asks West to be free at lunch the next day, and says that he'll be contacted by phone and told where to meet regarding further intelligence on the Russians. West replies within moments. He confirms that he can be available the next day. He includes a phone number, and indicates that he'll answer it himself and follow directions if they don't seem unduly dangerous.
Anabel is the designated contact person for the meeting with West, so the evening's business is establishing her cover. The consensus is that it would work best for her to pose as a member of the FSB – a Russian counterpart of West, more or less – operating undercover and possibly without official sanction in the U.K., in an effort to track down organized crime activity. Her goal will be to enmesh West in a little under-the-table interagency cooperation.
The morning of Thursday, September 24, Anabel alters everybody's appearance a little, making liberal use of makeup and wigs. At Hamid's request, she disguises him as a BT technician. Hamid wires Anabel with a microphone in a pendant. Then he hands out disposable cell phones to everybody, grabs his tools, and heads out the door.
Hamid goes to the phone box that Qoqa and Vinnie picked out. He disables the phone, places an "Out of Commission" sign on it, and tapes one of his many cell phones out of sight nearby. Then he heads back to the safe house. As he does, he calls in to signal Vinnie and Wen to move out. Their destination is the general area of the phone box. They arrive there around when Hamid returns to base. Once they're in position to observe undetected, they call Hamid, who gives Anabel, Qoqa, and Zhang the high sign.
Anabel e-mails West and tells him to go to the phone box and await further instructions. She then dons her best guess at what a female FSB officer would wear in London, makes sure that her makeup hides her features, and finishes her look with the microphone pendant. Once she's done, she grabs a cab and heads directly for the restaurant. Qoqa and Zhang leave separately and arrive within moments of Anabel. They make sure that they can see her table from their own.
Wen and Vinnie soon spot a group of five men closing in on the phone box. They're clearly covering each other and watching the area. They take care to circle the box and do at least a cursory scan for danger. Vinnie and Wen are fairly certain that this is West and friends – or at least West's designated hitters – and fill in Hamid by telephone. They also try to get a few photos with their cell-phone cameras, but these tools prove inadequate for the job.
Hamid calls the hidden cell phone on one of his many disposable phones, using a voice modulator just to be sure. Wen and Vinnie see one of the men they're watching find it and answer. The man identifies himself to Hamid as Terence West. Hamid asks West to lose two of his four babysitters immediately. West does, and when Wen and Vinnie confirm this on the other line, Hamid tells West the name of the nearby restaurant where Anabel, Qoqa, and Zhang are waiting.
West and two of his men head off at once. As far as Vinnie and Wen can tell, the other two men really aren't following. Wen calls ahead to Anabel to fill her in on the appearance of the three men that are on their way. Vinnie, meanwhile, reports in to Hamid, who sends an SMS to Qoqa and Zhang with much the same information that Wen passed along to Anabel. With all of this calling and messaging done, everybody ditches the phones they used; any further calling will use Company smart phones.
Shortly after Anabel, Qoqa, and Zhang get their alerts, Anabel sees a man who fits the description Wen gave show up at the restaurant door. She stands, smiles, and signals to him. West doesn't seem especially surprised that Anabel recognizes him, and greets her fairly cordially. The fact that he's meeting an attractive woman in a very public place seems to put him at ease, but he makes clear that he's here on business: "No doubt we're both wearing wires. The difference is that mine brings half of London if anything funny happens."
Anabel does a decent job of convincing West that an exchange of information on "Grandfather's" gang would help both sides. West is clearly frustrated by missing links between mob activity on the Continent and in the U.K., and believes that the surveillance records that Anabel is offering – along with evidence possibly containing prints and DNA of specific Russian mobsters – might help his case. For his part, he has no qualms about sharing information that could get gangsters strung up in Russia; all he asks is that Anabel's people don't carry out any kidnappings or assassinations on British soil.
Eventually, Anabel and West arrive at a deal: Anabel will give her word that there will be no funny business in Britain, on pain of damaging future interagency cooperation, and will turn over all the surveillance data and physical evidence she has on the Russians operating on the Continent. In return, West will provide Anabel with copies of his case files, pointing to possible bases of operation of "Grandfather's" gang that fall outside MI5's reach. West will need about a week to cut through the red tape that stands in the way of his part of the bargain, though.
With that, the meal ends and West takes his leave.