[TWI ONLY][IC] Shadows of Diplomacy

[Baumes]

Shadows of Diplomacy

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IC | News

In the bustling capital of Uprea, the life of renowned Baumish political activist and writer Emilio Duartes met a short and tragic end. The world was shaken by the horrifying incident that unfolded on the busy Vasca road - a high-speed collision that claimed the lives of Duartes and two others. Initially, it appeared as a simple accident, a tragic twist of fate that stole a powerful voice for freedom and justice from the world.

However, whispers in the shadows suggest that Duartes' death may have been no accident at all. The crash that claimed his life had all the indications of a deliberate act, a dark and twisted conspiracy designed to silence his powerful voice forever. International leaders and governments paid their respects to Duartes, mourning the loss of a figure who had dared to speak the truth. But as speculation grew, the Uprean authorities promised to pursue a thorough investigation into the incident.

Behind the scenes, a high-stakes diplomatic exchange unfolded. The government of Baumes, fearing the revelation of their involvement, engaged in covert talks with Uprea. Tensions escalated, secrets threatened to be exposed, and the fragile strings of diplomatic relations hung in the balance. Political interest, betrayal, and the high cost of speaking the truth in a world where powerful forces conspire in the shadows. As Uprean investigators dig deeper and discover even darker and twisted truths, the world waits for answers. In a world where diplomacy is a dangerous game and the truth is a deadly weapon, who will pay the ultimate price?

[Baumes]

Gabriel Basquez sat in the dimly lit, inconspicuous hotel room in Vasca, the capital of Uprea. The news report on the death of Emilio Duartes played on the television, the words painting a picture of tragedy and loss. He watched without a flicker of emotion, his face masked in coolness. Just hours ago, he had executed a mission of utmost secrecy, one that should only remain known to him, his superiors, and no one else. He had been tasked with eliminating Emilio Duartes, the Baumish political activist and writer who had been a thorn in the side of the Baumes government for years. The mission was a top-secret operation, sanctioned by his superiors, and to be executed with ruthless precision.

Gabriel's thoughts rewound to the events leading up to this moment. He had been in Uprea for months, living under an assumed identity, patiently waiting for the right opportunity. He had studied Duartes very carefully, learning his routines, his preferences, and, most importantly, his vulnerabilities. It was during one of his latest scouting missions that he had noticed a major weakness – the aging tires on Duartes' car. The perfect cover up for an accident. The intelligence had come in that Duartes would be traveling that day, and the mission was a "go."

With his heart pounding, he had approached the car while Duartes was inside a café, exchanging pleasantries with a friend. It had taken only moments to discreetly deflate the aging tire, and then he vanished into the bustling Uprean crowd. Moments later, Duartes' car had accelerated down the busy Vasca road, and Gabriel's heart was heavy with the knowledge of what was about to happen. A few blocks away, he watched as the car lost control, veering dangerously close to other vehicles before slamming into the parked truck. The impact was catastrophic, and the outcome was as expected – Emilio Duartes and the others in the car lost their lives.

Now, with the news report replaying the accident scene, Gabriel knew he had to act quickly. He picked up his encrypted satellite phone and dialed a number known only to a select few.

"Mission accomplished," he reported in a low, composed voice, devoid of any emotion.

"Good work, Basquez," a gravelly voice responded from the other end. "Now proceed with your extraction protocol. Disappear, leave no trace, and maintain your cover."

Gabriel nodded to an empty room. "Understood."

His superiors had warned him that the mission's success depended not only on eliminating Duartes but also on ensuring that no trace of foul play would be found. He knew that his own life depended on it.

Acting quickly, Gabriel began to erase his presence from Uprea. He burned false identification documents, changed his appearance, and left a trail of fabricated evidence suggesting he had left the country. With the authorities already pursuing an investigation, he knew that staying in Uprea was no longer an option.

As he slipped out of the hotel room, he couldn't shake off a feeling. He knew what he had done was terribly wrong, a dreadful sin, but he knew that as a loyal servant of the Baumish state, it had to be done. As the world mourned a hero, Gabriel Basquez vanished into the shadows, haunted by the hidden agenda that had led him to this point.

"It'll just be a matter of time before the world forgets about Duartes, right?"

[Uprea]

12th of October 2023
Vasca, Federal Republic of Uprea
Taskforce "Lettercrash"
NBCI Local Office

"What does the NBCI with this? Its just a car crash.", Botelho picked up the file that was laying on the temporary desk given to him upon arrival in Vasca. It wasn't particularly thick and Paolo took out the photos from the crash site and looked at them with the help of the sunlight shining through dirty windows of the office.

"Is there any actual indication of foul play besides the media reeking havoc on this matter. I get that he was kind of a big deal but imagine the family. Say this guy really just died because he lost control of his car, what do you think the family thinks looking at the media headlines. ", Paolo shook his head in disbelief.

"Well to say the car was in a bad state, would almost be an understatement. Just be glad it did not burn out or otherwise we wouldn't have anything. We have had non-stop calls coming in on the tip-line, but as usual most won't turnout to be the break in the case. Everybody thinks they heard or saw something suspicious, but most will have interpreted the sound of the crash as a gunshot. I even had one guy calling in saying he believes he saw a remote-controlled pigeon crash through the front window. ", Officer Direlli said standing in front of Botelho's desk. The police sergeant had done his time in the force and was contemplating retirement. His already grey hair had receded to the point where he had decided to go bald a couple of weeks ago and now stood as a testament of his age reminding him everyday that it may be time to let the younger guys take over. He had seen all kinds of cases throughout the years and this was not gonna be anything new. Ha had known Paolo for quite some time and although he himself was much older than Paolo he had grown to like the guy. Paolo was ambitious and had reached the ranks in the NBCI Direlli had always gunned for. The fact that it didnt play out was mostly due to his own fondness of the beer bottle and he knew that. Although it was a hard pill to swallow he eventually had accepted this a while ago and was content with his position as local detective. Despite this difference in ranks Paolo had never been demeaning and was even down for a few drinks after work if he had had a good day. Direlli liked that.

"So nothing concrete?"

"Well the crash indicates he was going somewhere fast. Where he wanted to go we don't quite know. There where two other people in the car, both of them also died in the crash. We interviewed a few eye witnesses and most said the car made weird sounds, couldnt really describe the noise though because most were sitting in a running car themselves. We could not really determine the cause of the crash, the car was pretty much just a few pieces of metal. Most likely he lost control of the car for some reason."

"So a shitty car, anything else?"

"Well we did find something that might be of interest, we traced back the location where the car started. It wasn't particularly hard, Duarte always attracted a crowd. There is a security tape covering the street which shows a suspicious person standing next to the car for a short while before exiting the scene. "

"Now you got me Direlli", Botelho threw the pictures back on his desk and laid back in his chair, arms crossed and listening intently.

"The quality is real blurry so we could not identify the person or what exactly they are doing, but it seems as if they are doing something to the car."

"Interesting, send me the tape, will you. Have you checked with the owner of the camera, or with the people present at the location?"

"No, the tip came in this morning, haven't had the time"

"Alright then, I'll head down there myself, keep me posted should something happen here", Botelho stood up and headed outside.

[Uprea]

12th of October 2023
Vasca, Federal Republic of Uprea
Taskforce "Lettercrash"
Location of the video recording

"Alright lets see what we got here", Botelho parked his black dodge right across the street from the location where the videotape had shown the suspicious person next to Duartes car. The scene was not taped off, regular people had parked where Duarte had parked his car just days ago. The fact that the videotape had just been viewed this morning had led to the scene being potentially ruined by non-suspecting civilians. Paolo didnt blame the uniformed officers, they had enough on their plate these days. Nevertheless, they wouldnt show up here until he was probably finished anyway.

Paolo opened the door of his car. Immediately the warm air circulating above the black concrete of the street rushed into his cooled down dodge. Although it wasnt summer anymore, the uprean heat had still not calmed down. With the shutting of his door and the clicking of the automatic lock, Paolo made his way across the street, holding out his hand for cars to come to a halt as he was hit with several car horns.

"Alright, alright calm down!", he shouted angrily at the drivers whos faint curses from inside their cars led to Paolo speeding up his journey to the other side of the road.

Once on the sidewalk again, he orientated himself in search of the camera covering the street. The silver metal reflected the sunshine right into his dark sunglasses as he spotted the camera just above a small pharmacy. He then turned his attention back to the cars parked alongside the curb and located the spot where Duartes car used to park.
The spot was now occupied by two cars leaving a small gap in the between them. Paolo made his way over and lowered his face. Beyond the curb, fallen leaves and street dirt had not been washed away into the manhole cover as it hadnt been raining for quite some time.

"What have we here?", Paolo mumbled as he picked up a small black object from in between dirt. Using tweezers he looked at the object. Paolo looked and turned the piece of plastic for about a minute until he was sure of what he was holding here. It appeared to be a valve cap, like the ones used for bike or car tires. Judging from the size of it, it most definitely was coming from a car. It could not have been laying in the dirt for long because it overall appearance seemed pretty new. Paolo put the object into a plastic bag and proceeded to look at the parked car tires. All of them still had their tire caps.

Paolo picked his phone up from his pocket and dialed the number of the crime lab. After a few rings someone picked up.
"Vasca Criminal Laboratory, Gabriella speaking"
"Agent Paolo Botelho, NBCI, can you check for me if the crash vehicle from the Duarte Case has all of his tire caps?"
"Sure Agent Botelho. Hold on for a minute while I check.", the line cracked as the phone on the other side was put down.
Paolo reached into his back pocket and drew a cigarette from his pack. After a few minutes the line cracked again.

"Agent Botelho?"
"Yes yes, I am still here.", he said discarding his cigarette bud.
"So for one the tires on the car where quite above their expiration date. Secondly the back tire indeed was missing its tire cap. "
"Thank you for checking. Any chance the cap could have blown off during the crash and its still on the highway?"
"Its possible yes. We did search the crash site quite extensively but I couldnt rule it out."
"What about the tire itself. Are these rather common tires?"
"Quite the opposite. They were custom made."
"So if I have the matching tire cap it would be a direct link to the car?"
"Lets just say it would be very unlikely for another car to have lost this exact tire cap."
"Thank you, thats all I needed. Could I come by right now to view the car?"
"Sure no problem"
"Thank you"

[Uprea]

12th of October 2023
Vasca, Federal Republic of Uprea
Taskforce "Lettercrash"
Vasca Criminal Laboratory

Paolo looked at the completely wrecked car in front of him. Placed into a empty white room, different markers on the floor mimicking the site of the car crash. Different smaller parts were placed into a trail leading to the car. Some were also scattered around the car, reconstructed from crime scene photos. Each item had been exactly were it had been found.
Walking around the car he paid special attention to the tires. Each had a small black cap on their respective valve, except for the one on the back left tire. Paolo closed his eyes and imagined the car parked in the location he had just visited. The tire would have faced in the direction of the curb, right were the mysterious person was standing he saw in the video recording.

"Any success in determining the cause of the crash?", Paolo turned to Gabriella.
"Well, the car is significantly damaged so we cant be sure 100%. We did not find any abnormalities. Seems like he just lost control of the car. However the back left tire seems significantly less inflated than the others, but that could have also occurred during the crash. No cut wires or similar other than that."
"All I needed to hear Gabriella. Thanks", Paolo turned around and aimed to leave the lab after just arriving, leaving Gabriella a little baffled. She had known Paolo for a while and knew that if he was onto something he would just get lost in thoughts, but this was odd even by his standards.
"Wait! So you are not even gonna fill me in on your thoughts!?", Gabriella shouted in Paolos direction as he was already at the door.
"Nope! How about coffee next week huh? I will tell you then, okay? ", without awaiting a response he left.

[Uprea]

15th of October 2023
Vasca, Federal Republic of Uprea
Taskforce "Lettercrash"
NBCI Local Office

Paolo was sure the suspicious man next to the vehicle was the guy that ultimately caused the demise of Duarte. Too many signs pointed in the direction of this just not being a regular car crash.
He stared at his coffee mug in deep thought. The fact that it contents had already gone cold didnt bother him. The ping of his computer alerting him of a new e-mail ripped him out of his trance-like state. He clicked the small pop-up on the bottom left corner of his screen to enter his E-Mail Homescreen.
A new E-Mail from Gabriella down at the Crime Lab. He was hoping it would be concerning the valve cap he left there for analysis.

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to: paolobotelho@nmci.com
from: vcrimelab@icemail.com

visa_application_joaquim_rodriguez

passport_copy_joaquim_rodriguez

Hello Paolo,
Gab here regarding the valve cap you left me with for further analysis. I have confirmation that this valve cap does in fact match the tire from Duartes car. Per se this does not mean this is the exact valve cap from this exact car, but the fact that it weas parked exactly where you found the cap does make it highly probable.
I do however have even more good news. We managed to get a fingerprint from the valve cap and matched it to a man who recently entered Uprea by the name of Joaquim Rodriguez. I have attached copies from his passport and visa application which were saved upon his entry by border control.

Might want to look into him,

- Gabriella

PS: I am still waiting on our coffee date....

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Paolo was excited. This was more than good news. Maybe this guy, whose passport photo was now up on his screen, was really the guy he was looking for. He leaned over his desk and got to work, now even more dedicated.

[Baumes]

Gabriel Basquez slipped through the shadowed alleyways of Vasca, his heartbeat pulsing like an engine. The whispers of the cobblestone streets seemed to echo his hasty footsteps as he made his way towards Vasca International Airport. In the crowded terminal, he pulled the brim of his hat low, obscuring his features as he blended into the stream of travelers. With his mission complete, all that is left is a seamless departure from Uprea, an untraceable exit from a job well done. Every move and every second mattered. Even the slightest mistake could ruin the whole mission in just a single second.

The departure gate loomed ahead, promising an escape from the consequences of his mission. Dressed inconspicuously in jeans and a nondescript jacket, he approached the security checkpoint, sweat beading on his forehead as he clutched a fake passport in the name of Joaquim Rodriguez. The uniformed airport security officer, scanning the passengers with little indifference, motioned for Basquez to step forward. He felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he handed over his identification.

Her fingers drummed on the counter as she glanced from the passport to a digital device in her other hand. The seconds stretched into eternity, each one amplifying the pounding of Basquez's heart. He felt the noose tightening, the gravity of the situation escalating beyond his control. Suddenly, a subtle shift in the officer's demeanor signaled trouble. The computer screen displayed an alert, a message pulsating in red and a large beep went off which echoed throughout the room.

"Mr. Rodriguez," she said, her voice cutting through the ambient noise of the airport. "Please step aside for additional screening. We have a minor issue to address. It won't take very long."

Basquez's mind raced. Panic surged through Basquez's veins. The authorities must be onto him. He shivered upon that thought. Everything up until now, could go awfully wrong. Nevertheless, he maintained a cool face, a skill cultivated after years of covert operations. The officer led him to a small, sterile room where uniformed personnel awaited. The hum of fluorescent lights buzzed in the background, casting an eerie glow over the proceedings. The security officer carefully compared his fingerprints with a database and Gabriel held his breath, hoping for the best. As the seconds ticked away, Gabriel fought to maintain his calm. The fake identity he had crafted was hanging by the thinnest of threads.

Then, like a thunder rolling in the silence, the security officer's eyes widened. The device had found a match – a match that tied him to the crime scene. The illusion of Joaquim Rodriguez had burst.

The security officer's voice cut through the room. "Gabriel Basquez, you are under arrest for further questioning regarding the Emilio Duartes' case."

Gabriel's heart shattered. The weight of the false identity lifted, exposing who he truly was. Gabriel, now cornered and vulnerable, was led away from the airport security checkpoint. The once-covert operative was now at the mercy of the Uprean authorities, his carefully constructed deceptions now unraveling with every step. It was just a matter of time until they are exposed for the whole world to see.