Bloody Summer [Closed]

[United States of Conner]

The 1993 Emergency Powers Act, also known as the SHIELD Powers Act, was a notable piece of legislation passed by the [x] Connerian Congress. A direct response to the [[Bloody Summer]] of 1992, in which criminal and specifically gang violence reached unprecedented levels, the Act was primarily directed at the [[Special Homeland, Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division]], although it also addressed aspects of the Connerian justice system and began reformation of Connerian law enforcement.

The Act granted emergency powers to SHIELD without an end time. These powers included, but were not limited to: the absorption of all local law enforcement organizations into SHIELD, increasing SHIELD's powers to detain without cause, waiving certain rights typically afforded to prisoners if the prisoners had been convicted of certain crimes, and ability to carry out sentences on some convicted criminals. It also shifted oversight of the agency from the Congressional Oversight Committee to the Executive Branch. In addition, the Act authorized the growth of the Connerian court system, adding more judges and courtrooms.

Along with the Criminal Organization Combat Act and the Drug Smuggling Prevention Act, the Emergency Powers Act is often seen as the start of the [[War on Crime]]. The Act was highly polarizing - many saw it as an abuse of power and exploitation of a crisis while others defended it as a needed measure to combat crime. The Act has been challenged in court more than almost any other law in Connerian history. In 1998, much of the Act was repealed, although the oversight structure remains today and all local law enforcement bodies were permanently put under the control of SHIELD.

--------------------------------------

The air was crisp. Leaves were falling. Fall was here, but that didn't concern the people huddled in the little shop. Their minds were on practical matters. Like the allegiance of the three men who had just walked through the door.

It was August 17th, 1993. The shop was in the middle of the Flood neighborhood, one of the roughest parts of Valcom. Most of the people here lived on low incomes. They shared homes; shared rooms; shared beds. When there wasn't enough to go around, everyone had to make sacrifices. Well, everyone that was willing to. Some others turned to more selfish methods. Ironically, these selfish bastards were drawn to each other - and that's how you got gangs.

Their membership spanned backgrounds - the only common link was a lack of money coupled with some other unfortunate circumstance. Maybe they were exposed to violence early, or maybe they only had one parents or maybe nobody at all. Wherever they came from, though, there was no question what they were now - brutal groups of thugs. That aptly described the three men mentioned previously.

The three had sat down at a table near the back of the shop, but everybody knew who at least one of them was - Mario Fontanelli. Intimidating, powerful, untouchable. Whispers had begun to spread as he stood, his posse of two standing behind him. "I hope you all know, this is Damned territory. Pay your goddamn fees." "Protection" fees, of course, were common in this area. Blatant extortion was all it was. Nevertheless, the people paid up, knowing their lives were worth more. One man refused initially and was whipped in the head with a pistol. Fontanelli took the money from his wallet as another customer tried to stop the bleeding from his head.

With their business concluded, the three men left the shop. Some of the customers were shaken, but the older ones, they weren't fazed. This was just life. Not many had been keeping up with the news, so they couldn't know what had passed Congress on August 15th. What could change the dominance of these gangs? These people saw more of the Damned than they did the government.

As the wounded man sat holding a rag to his head, he heard some odd sounds - a couple bangs, a short bark, a door slamming, wheels squealing on pavement. Must have been nothing.



The next day, the man came back to the restaurant. Same place, same time. Only this time, there was a large crowd gathered in front of the little storefront. Curious, the man peeked in to find a large group of armored ... soldiers. There was no other word for them. Instead of gang colors they wore black body armor, and instead of pistols and knives they carried assault rifles with grenade launchers. Their helmets obscured their voices, making them look almost alien. Six of them stood there for a while, menacing in a way nobody living here had ever seen, until one tapped the side of its forehead. The figure's mask retracted to reveal the face of a man, who immediately spoke, his voice magnified with no megaphone.

"Citizens of the United States of Conner. You live in an area under siege. Your bravery in these trying conditions is to be commended - you have not fallen prey to your baser instincts. You are an example of what a Connerian truly is."

"However, some among you have indeed fallen. They prey on the weak, the disadvantaged. They would see everything you have built destroyed, all for their own personal gain. Their betrayal will not go unpunished."

The man made a signal with his hand, and two other figures open the door to a waiting armored vehicle. They were close enough now that the man could see the insignia on their black sleeves - a bird, clutching a shield. Nothing he had ever seen before. These weren't cops - cops didn't come around this part of the neighborhood, except for corrupt ones meeting with gangsters or off duty cops looking for a score. These people carried themselves with an air of authority, and they were outfitted in a way that suggested they were well funded, but they definitely weren't cops.

Out of the vehicle came six men and two women. Among them were Fontanelli two associates. A few gasps came as they were recognized. It took a while, though, because all eight were beaten and bloodied. One by one, they were walked up against a nearby brick wall. Their name was read, and a black hood was slipped over their head. One tried to escape and received a stock to the head. He was dragged into line, a hood put over his swollen face.

Another six figures came out of the vehicle, carrying the same weapons. The man with his visor up spoke again. "These eight individuals have all been found guilty multiple felonies. They are known members of the Damned street gang. They would destroy you for their own benefit! They must not be allowed to succeed in any way. Continue to stand up to them, fight against them, and know you are not alone."

He then turned to the Damned, lined up against the wall. "You have been found guilty of crimes against the United States of Conner. You have been sentenced to death. Under the Emergency Powers Act, the Strategic Homeland, Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, will carry out your sentence. Attention!"

Eight of the soldiers formed into a line parallel to the Damned, while the others stood guard around them. The man continued. "Ready!" There was a click as safeties were turned off. "Aim!" Some movement as the figures raised their guns. The crowd began to murmur as they realized what was about to happen. "Fire!" The crack of weapons fire filled the air as the eight Damned twitched and fell to the ground. The crowd gasped and yelled, but nobody tried to stop the soldiers as they each grabbed a body and placed them back into the armored vehicle. As the rest of the figures loaded back up, the one with his visor said one more thing. "The control of the Damned will no longer be tolerated. We are here to help you take back your neighborhood. There is hope on the horizon."

He got into the vehicle and it sped off. All that remained was some blood on the sidewalk and the crowds that had been watching. What would happen next, nobody knew. Going to war with the Damned was a death sentence for anyone in the neighborhood, but these people looked like they were ready. Not everyone was confident, though - as the man walked out of the crowd, he heard someone say, "Fontanelli wasn't there."

Someone else responded, "He's untouchable. They won't be able to get him. They grab him, someone comes and hits their family up. He ain't going to be up there soon."

Maybe he was right. Maybe Fontanelli couldn't be touched. The cops knew that, that's why he could walk into the police station and be fine. He had too much power here to be arrested, and especially not hurt.

The next day, when the man came back again, there was an even larger crowd gathered around the shop. After the man squeezed his way to the front of the crowd, he found none other than ... Marco Fontanelli. He had lacerations all over his body, a clearly broken leg and arm, a bloodied face, and a noose around his neck.

He was hanging from a street light.

The lamp was still on - but modified. Cutting into the evening darkness was the symbol from the previous night, one that had never been seen before now - a bird, its talons wrapped around a shield. People around the man were clapping, smiling, crying tears of joy. This was a direct challenge to the Damned's control, but also to the gang control of the poorest Connerian neighborhoods. These people, who saw this as the status quo, saw this symbol and felt something they hadn't felt in a long time. However, for the few Damned in the crowd, they felt something very different.

This was a symbol of hope - but also one of fear.

[North Timeria]

The morning was always quite for Aris. He lived in a suburb on the outskirts of Valcom where he had just bought a very modest house. As he got up he went through his daily routine, which always started with his company emails. He owned a multinational shipping company that operated here in Valcom. He imported mostly produce from North Timeria, where he was born and raised until moving to the USC after graduating from Univesity. While many people saw him as an honest businessman they had no idea about the loads of drugs he smuggled into the USC. While checking his emails he made sure he did it on an encrypted network on one of his cheap computers. He changed computers often and never kept a hard drive for more than a few months.

As he finished up his breakfast he turned on the news for a brief moment and as expected they were discussing the ongoing violence in the city. Aris tried to stay away from the violence of the streets and keep things strictly business but with crime rates on the rise, his smuggling operation would soon be on police radars. Aris liked to keep things surrounding his business low-key, he knew that too much attention would be bad for business and the money flow would slow down.

He left the house and headed to his office just outside of the Flood neighborhood. He liked to stay close to his clients but the neighborhood was far too dangerous for him to set up shop. As he drove through the city he noticed a large crowd had gathered around a light pole. As he looked up he was shocked by what he saw. He hit the breaks and looked in disbelief as Marco Torresarpi was strung up to a street light. He shut off the engine and stepped out of the car; still looking in disbelief. They had worked together before and many deals had been made with him. This was no doubt a significant road bump that would have adverse effects on the entire Damned gang.

Before anything else went down Aris left the scene and headed to his office. He checked all of the current orders and talked to a few people back home in Timeria. Things were looking to be on track but they were still in the early aftermath of what was going on in Valcom. He spent his time trying to get in contact with someone from the Damned so he could get a meeting in his office as soon as possible. They need to discuss this and figure out what would go down after this.

---

The gangs in the USC were buying drugs faster than they could produce and money was coming in at alarming rates. All along North Timeria's Misty Mountain ranges, Coca farmers were getting rich and the entire area had transitioned to growing the cash crop. Marijuana was also grown but Coca brought in the money fast. Hidden deep in the rain forest were processing plants and shipping yards. Most of the drugs were shipped to the USC to fuel the gangs they were rampaging across the country. With this came a new opportunity, a conglomerate of recently wealthy coca farmers came together to invest into a new business. North Timeria was one of the world's largest arms producers and they were fairly simple to come by. They had decided to buy arms in North Timeria and sell them to gangs in the USC. With all that was going on in the USC, they knew their product would be needed and they just needed a way to make their pitch.

[United States of Conner]

SHIELD Agent Julian Carpenter closed the door to the observation room, looking around the cold grey hallway as he did so. If it weren't for the soundproofing in the cell, he could have heard the screams of a man as he was interrogated by a pair of Agents. Carpenter had been watching, along with half a dozen other men and women, as the two beat the captured man to within an inch of his life. He had been picked up earlier today, along with a couple others, selling drugs on a street corner on behalf of the Damned. Now, he was shackled to a table, unable to do anything more than scream.

Carpenter walked into the hanger of the SHIELD base, looking out into the wilderness beyond. It felt ... odd, to be engaged in such activities. SHIELD had recruited Carpenter out of SWORD a couple years after the Division had been formed. When he was in SWORD, he had operated in dark places, hellholes with tyrannical governments that had been very fond of torture. Similar practices, in fact, to what SHIELD was now doing.

Enough, he thought. These people weren't political prisoners or minorities. They had made their choice. Carpenter had seen the pictures of cops being tortured for weeks by these gangs before they were killed, their bodies left on the street as a warning for others. The pictures of the aftermath of gang shootouts, the dead civilians outnumbering the dead gang members as the streets ran red. The pictures of people lying in gutters, dead of a drug overdose or because they refused to buy from gang members.

They deserved it.

The intercom broke him out of thought. "Operational Squads G-7, G-8, and J-5, report to the hanger. G-7 and 8 and J-5 to the hanger." Out of the door behind him came his squad mates, dragging the Damned man behind him. He had a hood over his head - to prevent him from determining where he was being held - there was blood splattered over his white shirt, and his left arm hung uselessly from the handcuffs binding his hands. At each shoulder was a member of Carpenter's three-person squad. Lizzy Jacobs was at the man's left, and Matt Scott at the right. Carpenter turned and raised an eyebrow. "He talked?"

Jacobs gave a grin and slapped the man on the back, eliciting a gasp and a low groan of pain. "Yes he did. Get prepped, wheels up in five." Carpenter nodded, and then gave a nod to the members of G-8 and J-5, Agents that he knew well. A pair of Agents from the Security Division took the Damned man to a waiting helicopter that would take him to prison. Carpenter moved, walking quickly to his gear and swapping his jacket and dark jeans for a black bodysuit. A black bulletproof vest and black webbing followed. Carpenter clipped a couple of grenades, a cutting torch, and a grappling hook to his belt. He slipped a sidearm into his holster, clipped a shotgun to his back, and grabbed an assault rifle in one arm and his helmet in the other. He was back in four minutes, and he found a black armored van waiting for him. He boarded, and after a minute or so, the van left the hanger, with nine Agents inside.

About an hour later, they stopped. The nine had all been briefed, and they knew what they were to do. The driver of the van, also dressed in full operation gear just in case, turned and said, "We're a block off target. Code in when you need pick up. Good luck." The nine nodded, and the doors at the back of the van opened up. In the dark of night, they were almost invisible.

J-5 moved to the side of the building they had parked next to while G-7 and 8 moved down a back alleyway. The three Agents shot their grappling hooks, and J-5 was on top of a building three away from their target. They began to move across the roof, and when they reached the edge, they used their hooks, dropping off the roof and pulling themselves onto the next one.

When J-5 was on the roof of the target building and G-7 and 8 had stacked up outside the two doors inside, they broke radio silence. Carpenter called out, "5 on the roof, moving down."

"Copy that. 7 at front door. Power is cut."

"Copy. 8 at back door. Target is confirmed to be on second floor, marking location now. Move on my go."

Squad J-5 attached their grappling hooks to carabiners on their belts and began to climb down the wall. When each of them had reached a window, Carpenter activated the thermal camera on his visor and made another call out. "5 in position. On your go, 8."

"3, 2, 1 ... execute."

As soon as the leader of Squad G-8 gave the word, Carpenter opened fire on the two men sitting in the little room. They both fell to the ground, dead instantly. Carpenter pushed off the wall and swung back, then burst through the window, the lack of exposed skin making the breaking glass a non-issue. He was on the third floor, their target on the second. He kicked down the closed door that led to the hallway and saw the back of a man holding a machine pistol. The man had just turned around when a round hole appeared in his forehead, and blood splattered against the wall behind him. He crumpled to the ground, dead. Carpenter checked each room, only finding one person, who he disposed of quickly. He was moving down the stairs to the second floor when something came swinging at his face.

Carpenter ducked the pistol-whip and brought the stock of his rifle up. He heard a crunch and a scream as a man fell back down the stairs. Without hesitating, Carpenter put three bullets in his chest, then stepped over the body. He was on the second floor now, and saw his squadmates coming down stairs on the other side of the hall. The three stacked up by the door they knew to contain their VIP. Carpenter nodded, no communication necessary, and Scott pulled out a flashbang grenade. He kicked down the door and lobbed the grenade in. The three waited for the bang, and then they moved.

Four men were inside the room, their VIP indeed among them. They were all holding their ears and rubbing their eyes, but one clearly noticed the soldiers entering the room and made for a weapon. Carpenter put two rounds in his center of mass, and the three soldiers barked out, "Hands in the air! Hands in the fucking air!"

The men complied, the wounded one writhing on the ground. Carpenter heard movement outside the door, but a voice shouted "Friendlies coming in!", and he lowered his weapon. Squads G-7 and 8 flooded into the room. Carpenter turned to 7's commander and asked, his voice flat and filtered like everyone else's, "Status?"

"You guys got the easy gig. Had a full firefight downstairs. One wounded, 7-2 took one in the shoulder. I've called for medevac in a safer location but he'll be fine. You?"

Carpenter gestured. "Got VIP and three others. One tango wounded. All good."

8's commander joined the conversation. "I've got lights on in the street. Bag 'em and lets move."

The two nodded and started to give orders. The three unharmed VIPs had hoods placed over their heads and their hands bound. One of them started to complain, but Scott hit him with his sidearm and he was silent. The wounded man had a hasty splint applied to the bullet wounds, and then he to was bagged and bound. The soldiers led the four down to the first floor, into a scene of complete carnage. Bodies covered the floor and blood was all over the walls. Furniture had been destroyed and countless holes littered the wall.

The SHIELD Agents ignored it. The prisoners were roughly led out the door and into the street, where three of the SHIELD Agents were standing guard. An ambulance and a couple police cars had arrived on the scene, and the injured Agent was already inside. Carpenter led the wounded gang member to the vehicle as well, and as soon as the two were inside the ambulance and a police car pulled away, sirens blaring.

A local police officer from the other car had walked up to the men in black body armor as they led the hooded men into the waiting exfil van. "You're SHIELD, aren't you?"

Carpenter nodded. "You're supposed to have pulled out of this neighborhood, right? What are you doing here?"

The man shook his head. "We were, but we came to escort the ambulance. Anything you want us to do with the scene?"

Carpenter gestured to the building. "Do your job. Secure the area. More forces will be here soon, they'll secure evidence and get out of here. Play it safe."

The cop nodded and Carpenter moved to get back in the armored van. He saw some of the other Agents walking back as well, and because they weren't holding the crowds back anymore, they began to move about, taking in the strange sight of military-looking figures moving around. They had all heard the gunfire.

Carpenter twisted a dial on his belt and spoke, his voice both projected and filtered digitally to be untraceable. "Please stay away from this active crime scene. Your cooperation is appreciated. Thank you."

With that, the SHIELD forces loaded up into their armored vehicle and pulled away.

---

Johnny Waters sat back in his chair and sighed. He could hear the low chatter out in the room next to his: "Torresarpi's dead. Hung from a pole. Who the fuck did this?"

"Who knows, dude. All I know is we stuck to our fucking guns. Whoever it is can't do shit then."

Waters shook his head as he stared at his laptop. He had been placed in charge of running the Damned's drug smuggling operation, and specifically getting the goods in from North Timeria. Torresarpi had been in his seat, before he was dragged from his apartment in the dead of night.

Waters clicked through a few emails and saw one from a man named Aris. Waters vaguely knew who this was - Torresarpi had done a few deals with him, and Waters had been one of the men sent to get the product. Waters read the email quickly, and then put in a call to Aris. He would try to get things straightened out here.

---

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Stop it! I'll talk."

Carpenter smiled from behind the one-way glass as the man finally broke. He had been through eighteen hours of hell since he had been whisked away from his safehouse and it was almost admirable he had made it this long. Everyone has their breaking point, and the SHIELD interrogators had found it.

One of the men took the wet rag off of the prisoner's mouth, while another helped him into a chair. They were almost gentle now, a stark contrast to the manhandling the prisoner had received not five minutes before. One of the interrogators sat opposite him, while the other leaned against a wall.

The prisoner began to talk.

When he was done, the interrogators nodded and thanked him, as if they had just concluded a simple business deal. Based on what he had seen, Carpenter knew they had some research to do. However, if they could figure out where the Damned were getting so many drugs from, they might be able to take some action.

This stuff was coming from somewhere overseas. SHIELD just had to find out where.

[North Timeria]

Aris worked in his office trying to get things together after the death of Torresarpi. He couldn't risk things getting out of hand and he knew he had to stay ahead of the curve. He made a few calls back home and even called some local dealers he had connects with. The phone he used was very complex and used various methods to protect his phone calls. One of the biggest Coca farmers had called him and they spoke for a while. Vycter Imp was the head of the new White Dragon conglomerate, the largest producers of cocaine in North Timeria.

"Aris... It's Vycter." Aris immediately knew exactly who it was and fumbled his pen in shock.

"Vycter... What can I do for you today?"

Vycter paused for a moment "I'm actually calling to help you. Word going around is that Torresarpi is dead and there's about to be a major crackdown in the USC. This is gonna cause problems for our operations... a lot of them." ]

Aris had to interject to ensure everything was still under control. "We don't need to worry about that... The smuggling operations are still profitable and there hasn't been any major bust in I don't know how long... They're just trying cut down on the crime."

"We are aware of that... but soon they're going to attack their money and we are both well aware of how these gangs make money."Vycter explained in a very calm demeanor.

"I'm working on securing the operation and making sure that when shit goes down the money keeps flowing."

Aris looked over as his other phone started to ring.

"Hey Vycter I got a very important phone call coming in so we're going to have to discuss this later."

Before he could hang up Vycter stopped him.

"With the situation right now... You're going to need guns. We want to arrange something with you to get guns into the USC and sell them in bulk. Talk to your bosses about it and get back to me." Vycter hung up and Aris slowly placed the phone back onto the hook.

Before the call disconnected he picked up his other phone "Hello? This is Aris speaking."

---

Deep in the rainforest along the misty mountains, the agents of the NPF were looking out onto a road that was just paved a few days ago. This road wasn't authorized by the government and it wasn't connected to the national highway system in any way. Alaysia Ferris was the lead agent on this assignment and had been tasked with investigating cocaine production in the area. The NPF had no idea what they were about to get into. As Alaysia watched the road a call came in over her radio.

"This is Fox 2-1... Reporting one black truck with no plates headed in your direction at 30 MPH. One driver and an armed passenger. No intel on cargo. Proceed with caution."

"Copy that Fox 2... Fox 1 moving in to investigate."

Alaysia turned to the rest of her team.

"Alright we got a black truck headed this way...just passed Fox 2 ETA 3 minutes. Blue I need you to deploy that arresting device and everyone else setup a perimeter. We're going to stop this truck and detain the driver and the passenger who is armed so keep it frosty. Log a reckless driving and a driving without a license plate."

As blue made his way down the small hill onto the road he placed the trap along the road and crossed over to the other side. The rest of the team lined up a few yards ahead and waiting in the brush for the truck to come around the corner and hit the trap. The NPF team was armed with MP5s and aimed down the road waiting for the truck to approach. As the truck came around the corner the headlights shined bright along the road but before they had a chance to see it they ran over the arresting device and the wheels were locked into place. The truck came to a stop and the passenger jumped out of the truck with his rifle in hand.

The NPF team jumped out of the brush and started to yell orders.

"Drop the weapon and don't move!" As they surrounded the truck, Alaysia kept her weapon locked on the driver. "Place your hands on the steering wheel and don't move!"
As the rest of the team secured the weapon and detained the passenger they moved into to snatch the driver out of the truck. With both men in custody, the team moved around back to clear the cargo bay. Using bolt cutters they cut off the lock and as a team, they cleared the bay. Alaysia jumped in first and was surprised to see crates of canned vegetables.

"What the hell is this?" she picked one up and tossed it onto the ground down below. As it hit the ground it broke a bit and a white dust burst from the seams. Using the but of his rifle, Garcia pressed down on it harder and broke into it. "I think I'll run this through a test."

To no one's surprise, the white substance was cocaine. 20 minutes later 2 choppers had arrived and they had already recovered 300 pounds of cocaine. The NPF had called the local police department and they were on their way to help secure the crime scene. The 2 suspects were of course not willing to talk and the NPF took them away a while later. As the sun started to come up Alaysia boss Nia Andersson had arrived on the scene and she pulled her aside to talk with her.

"So they want us to lead an operation to put an end to the cocaine production in this area. We'll have to partner with a few other branches but I want you to lead this one. I see how hard you've been working over the years and this is a chance for you to make a big break. You've got skill and it time you had your chance to show it on a national level. Tuesday 1400 at headquarters... Director Harrison will be there also and I want you to be ready."

[United States of Conner]

Waters heard the man's voice on the other end. A guy named Aris. He was the Damned's contact for smuggling drugs into the USC from North Timeria. They ... needed to talk.

"Aris. My name's Johnny Waters. I was tight with Torresarpi, until yesterday. I wanted to link up with you, make sure everything was still good. Any trouble you've had that we need to deal with?"

---

Carpenter and the commanders of Operational Squad G-7 and G-8 stood before the head of the Director of SHIELD.

As he did, Carpenter did his best not to squirm. Their evidence was solid, and he knew he had nothing to fear here, but the Director's steely gaze could turn the legs of the toughest criminal to jelly. As he looked across the desk at the three Agents before him, he gestured to the four chairs on the other side of the glass desk. Relieved, all three sat down, leaving a chair empty.

The Director spoke first. "So, lay it out for me."

Carpenter looked at the other two, who nodded. "Sir, our three squads assaulted a known Damned safehouse two days ago. There, we took four targets of interest, who we took back to interrogation."

G-7's commander took over. "One of them started talking pretty quickly. What we got from them, along with another Damned picked up on the street yesterday, is that their main source of drugs is North Timeria. Misty Mountains area, sir."

The Director nodded. "I assume you've got a plan, Agents?"

G-8's commander nodded, and she slid a file across the Director's desk. The Director began to leaf through it as the spoke. "Sir, we'd like to go to North Timeria and work with the local forces there. We believe we are uniquely prepared to fight the threat at the source."

The Director finished reading the file, took a second to think, and then looked back at the three Squad commanders. "I agree. Your three squads are going to now be at the head of Operation Mist Strike. Your goal is to cut off the flow of drugs from North Timeria to here. However, I can only send one of you to NT. I need two of you hear to lead the op."

The three turned to each other and conversed quickly. After a few seconds, they turned back and Carpenter said, "I'll go, sir. I haven't had a vacation in a while."

The corners of the Directors mouth flicked almost imperceptibly up. "I suspected not. Agents Morrison, Willis, I need you back with your squads. You have the rest of the day off to plan and get your op set up." The other two commanders nodded, stood, and exited. When they had, the Director continued. "Lieutenant," and Carpenter realized he was getting a promotion, "Agent Jacobs will lead your squad while you're gone, and I'll get him a temporary third. As for you, I'm attaching you to squad S-4, a joint SHIELD-SWORD Task Force. Meet in the hanger, I'll let you know when you leave."

Carpenter nodded. "Thank you, sir." He left the Director's office, his mind racing, and then went to his quarters to pack his things.

Meanwhile, the Director asked his secretary to place a call to his Timerian counterpart in the NPF. He waited a second for the call to connect, then spoke.

"Director Harrison, this is the Director of SHIELD. I have a request that I think you'd like to hear."

[North Timeria]

Director Harris was approving the final plan for Operation Mist Stike when he got a call from the Director of SHIELD in the USC. He wasn't sure what the call was about but with the state of crime in both nations, it was sure to be something important.

Operation Mist Stike was a comprehensive plan to end the profitability of Coca farming and arrest a majority of those involved. The National Police Force had been assigned the mission and would use the support of the local police force. The Central Regional Police force had been aware of the situation but wasn't fit to tackle this kind of operation alone.

"Director... What can I do for you? Rather interesting that you're calling at a time like this."

---

Aris was a bit shocked at the sound of Johnny Waters and he fumbled a few papers on his desk.

"No trouble yet... I've been trying to stay ahead of this and keep everything running smooth. Orders are still on time and none of our dealers have backed out. We just need someone to take over Torresarpi's post but I'm sure that won't be a problem for you."

Aris looked over his schedule today and found a good time for them to meet.

"Anytime after 2:30 is good for me... We can do it at my office or somewhere else if you'd like. My office isn't in the best of neighborhoods."

[United States of Conner]

The Director responded, "Director Harris, I've heard about your plans to go after Coca farmers in the Misty Mountains. As I'm sure you're aware, this Coca often makes its way to the USC, where we're having a pretty major problem with it. I was hoping you would allow some SHIELD Agents to join a Task Force to take action there. I can have them fly to North Timeria right away if you like."

---

Waters glanced at a map of the city before making his decision.

"Your office is good. We'll slide there at three. See you then."

[North Timeria]

Director Harris made a few adjustments to the operation before signing off on it and handing it to his secretary.

"I'm aware of the drugs being poured into the USC from North Timeria and we're working to cut that supply. Our operation is being led by Alaysia Ferris an NPF officer, she's been operating in the area a couple of years now and should've been promoted years ago. Your men will be under her command and they can meet Tuesday 1400 hours. We're holding a briefing at our headquarters... Send them over and I'll make sure they get through security without any issues. This should be a good chance to build relations between our forces."

---

"Great...See you then."

Aris spent the time to get his information together and straighten up his office a bit. He made his assistant aware of the upcoming meeting and resumed his business as he waited for the arrival of Waters.

[United States of Conner]

Tuesday, 1200 hours

The tires on the Connerian military transport squealed against Timerian tarmac as the plane ground to a halt. Inside the plane, along with the flight crew and security detail, were six Connerians.

Lieutenant Carpenter was the first one off the plane. He winced as the sun assaulted his eyes, and slipped on a pair of sunglasses. In one hand he held a black duffel back, filled with all the gear he would need on any sort of operation while he was in-country. Carpenter turned around and smirked as the rest of his team exited the plane.

Next off was Lieutenant Laura Stroud. Another SHIELD Agent, she had been running search-and-destroy operations in the inner cities to help cut off the flow of drugs that were funding Connerian gangs. Command had figured she made a pretty good pick.

Captain James Williamson came next, the veteran SWORD operator carrying two bags - one probably filled to the brim with all sorts of weapons. As far as Carpenter knew, he was a marksman first - top of the class out of Sniper School - but he had read the man's dossier and knew he was capable of more than long-range support.

Their Squad commander, Jack Darcy, shielded his eyes from the sun as he exited, clearly having neglected to have shades ready. The third SWORD Agent, his MO was undercover work. He had recently spent three months undercover with a Damned cell in Hyperion on loan to SHIELD, an op that had led to the capture of some of the gang's highest-ranked members.

Casting a massive shadow as he disembarked was Colonel Frank Lucas. Often called Frankenstein - though never to his face - the Colonel was a mountain of a man, his shoulders like mountains, his muscles with muscles. Carpenter had been both impressed and slightly sickened by his profile - Lucas operated in the shadows for SWORD, spending time in the darkest places the world had to offer and making it out with a remarkable success rate. No hesitation to get violent, either.

The last member of Squad S-4 to disembark was Lucy Morris. Another SHIELD Agent, she was first and foremost an assassin. She was sent to get in, get out, and leave nothing but bodies behind. Also remarkably good at what she did.

The six stood on the tarmac, the blazing summer heat beating down on them as their aircraft was moved off to refuel and return to the USC.

Carpenter spoke first. "So, what now? We boil on the tarmac?"

Darcy glared into the distance, where what appeared to be a convoy of vehicles was approaching. "Our contacts are supposed to meet us on the tarmac. I'm guessing this is them."

---

Waters and three of his men clambered out of the car outside of Aris's office. They moved inside slowly, taking their time. All four were dressed in the colors of the Damned.

Once they were inside, they waited for a while until Waters finally got a face-to-face with Aris. Waters nodded.

"Aris. Good to see you, man. Just wanted to swing by and get an update from you."

[North Timeria]

The 3 SUVs pulled up in front of the plane and came to a sudden stop. Before Director Harris stepped out his security secured the vehicle.

"Welcome to North Timeria... We're glad we could get you onboard. Let's go we'll talk on the way to headquarters. We've got about an hour drive but that'll fly by."

The director welcomed them into the SUV and the security handled their bags; placing them in the back of the 1st vehicle. Once inside there were 8 seats facing each other and a panel in the middle of the vehicle.

"Self-driving... I hope you don't mind."

Once inside and things got to rolling Director Harris started his briefing.

"Alright I hope you guys have done some research before coming here...I'm sure you have so let me fill you in on some things you don't know."

He handed files to each of the Connerians.

"Alaysia Ferris... National Police Force officer and Navy veteran. She worked on the NTS Malmo during an anti piracy operation down south, she's decorated and has experience. She's been operating in the region for the past couple of years. When things got messy with eased up on the leash and most of the shit she does isn't reported. I hope that's not a problem... No? Alright, good moving on."

Director Harris went in depth on Ferris a bit more before moving on to Operation Mist Strike. Their objective was to cut the drug supply and take major figures out of the picture. The details would be determined by Ferris's team whenever they got together.

"You'll meet Ferris today at headquarters... I think she has something planned for tonight so talk to her and get the details."

---

"Waters glad you could stop by... We keep on top of things and everything should flow over smoothly without issue... Have a seat. Now, what can I do for you?

[United States of Conner]

"Isn't reported? That's good."

Lucas's low voice was nothing more than a mutter, but Carpenter, seated next to him, heard it nonetheless. He felt the same way. Much of what SHIELD did was allowed by the Emergency Powers Act and nothing more, and would have been illegal in peacetime, but knowing that they could do whatever was needed to get answers and get the job done was comforting.

Soon, the car was at the headquarters of the National Police Force. Carpenter recognized it from the short briefing he had had while on the plane. It was a building that ... demonstrated the competence of the NPF, to say the least. The inside was a hub of activity, quite like SHIELD headquarters.

The Connerians were escorted, by the Director himself no less, to a briefing room, where they found Alaysia Ferris, along with a couple other Timerian officers. Carpenter nodded, and the team did a round of brief introductions. Carpenter looked at this woman who was reportedly capable of quite a bit and said, "The Director told us you have something planned tonight. Will we be hearing more about Operation Mist Strike there?"

[North Timeria]

The convoy had arrived the NPF headquarters just outside of North Kai's city limits. Inside things were going by as usual and Director Harris led the Connerians through the building. As they took the elevator to the 2nd-floor things were a bit more serious.

He led them into a large room where a number of people were already awaiting their arrival.

"Good afternoon everyone... How are you doing today? I hope everything is well as we get things started."

Director Harris briefed everyone on the operation and what was to go down. As he did so Alaysia Ferris spoke with the Connerian team.

"Yea we do. The team is getting together tonight at 2200... I got your contact information from command so I'll shoot you the details... Be there."

They were to meet at a bar in North Kai which was pretty high end.

[United States of Conner]

The team nodded. All of them knew the drill. They each took notes, and eventually, each agent was handed a folder with only preliminary details of Operation Misty Strike. They all took it and went over it together for a brief minute. After they were done, and the Director and Agent Ferris dismissed them, they left, talking quickly and quietly amongst themselves.

When they found the garage of the NPF headquarters, among the cars, were eight Connerian vehicles. A couple of luxury vehicles, a few muscle cars - clearly sent by SHIELD command. Carpenter chuckled lightly.

"At least they want us to be comfortable. Dibs on the Stallion."

The keys to all eight cars were in their ignitions. In the glove compartment of each were a few handy things, including a device that could be used to communicate with SHIELD without the NPF knowing. Just in case. The eight cars peeled out of the NPF garage, and soon they were into North Kai.

They hadn't all been assigned housing in the same building. It would have been pretty clear something was off if eight people checked into eight apartments at almost the same time. If more than one of them were in the same building, they staggered their arrivals. Being fairly nice buildings, the Agents were pretty sure the people working there were clean, but one could never be too safe.

The rest of the day was spent as one would normally spend a day on leave. All of the Agents committed the preliminary briefing folder to memory and then burned it. After that, they went out into North Kai. Splitting up into smaller groups or just going solo, they did some sightseeing, ate, and just relaxed around the city. It would likely be the last leave any of them got for quite some time. Then again, that was what they had signed up for.

When the time came around, the Agents all began the drive to the bar where they had been instructed to meet - an upscale bar in North Kai. Each of them had dressed nicely, jackets and maybe ties for the men, dresses and heels for the women. First impressions were everything, of course. When they got to the bar, they had already received instructions from Ferris telling them where to go. Tonight was when Operation Misty Strike would really begin.

[North Timeria]

Downtown North Kai was filled with people at night especially now with all of the drug lords and Coca farmers bringing in money by the boat load. The city was experiencing a change in culture as new money flooded into the area, although illegal the businesses never complained.

The bar where they met was was pretty nice and on the higher end of things, you could find in downtown North Kai. Inside Ferris had a fairly large and private booth for the team to sit down and meet. She had ordered food but she would let them handle their own drinks. As Ferris's team settled in the Connerians had arrived right on time.

"Excellent they're here." Ferris stood up and waved them over to the table where her 6 teammates were also seating.

"Glad you could make it... You've already met me of course but this is the rest of the team. In order, we got Julian Blue, Rea Timoti, Kalia Akamu, Lono Iokina, Hanad Dualeh. We've been together for about a year now on the NPF and were happy to add you to the team."

[United States of Conner]

The SHIELD Agents all took their seats, shaking hands with and nodding to the Timerians. They all quickly ordered drinks - nothing too fancy - and then went down the line, quickly introducing themselves. When they had finished, Jack Darcy looked at Ferris and said, with a charming demeanor that didn't fit at all the man who was known for interrogating and killing gang members, "Ladies and gentlemen, good to meet all of you. Agent Ferris, we both know why we're here. Operation Misty Strike. This is a pretty private booth - let's hear some details, yeah?"

---

Waters took his seat and studied Aris carefully. "We just wanted to make sure nothin' was going wrong with any of our shipments. We don't know who got Torresarpi, but we're thinking it's government somehow. We're going to hit you up with any more info we get. Other than that, just wanted to make sure you felt secure where you were. Wouldn't want you getting into any trouble."

[North Timeria]

As the Connerians sat down and introduced themselves everyone settled in. The Connerians sat down ordered drinks and were ready to get right to business.

"Slow your roll cowboy... We'll get to that before the night is over. Let's just chill out for a minute, I've been and work all day and I'm in no rush to get to that." Alaysia sipped on her drink and laughed.

"I don't know why she acts like that... Once we get off she acts like she has the worse job in the world." Blue interjected.

"I have to bring my job home with me so every second I get to forget about it I'll capitalize on that." Alaysia finished off her drink and ordered another round for the table.

"So tell me something... I read your files and background reviews but that didn't give me much, standard stuff a few black lines, and more patriotic shit. I wanna hear some real stuff, those files were boring I wanna hear some interesting stuff... And it would be great if I knew a little about your personal life." Alaysia sat back and got comfortable with her drink in hand.

The rest of the team let out sighs and settled into their seats.

---

"Everything is fine right now... but I do have an opportunity you might be interested in. My contacts in North Timeria are interested in selling some firearms... Big stuff. Our credit and reputation with them are all good so they came to me first. I told them I would ask my bosses about it and see if they were interested. I'm sure I could cut us a deal to get them at the lowest price."

[United States of Conner]

Darcy shrugged. "Fair enough. As you probably read, three of us are from SHIELD and three from SWORD. SHIELD operates inside the USC, while SWORD does operations internationally. Both recruit pretty heavily from the regular Armed Forces - most of us came from there somehow. Me, personally, I joined the Navy during the quote-on-quote peacekeeping operations back in 1980. Started doing underwater demo ops, but when the conflict ended Navy didn't have a place for me anymore. SWORD came in, having been founded not too long ago, and asked me if I wanted to keep doing what I was doing. I said hell yeah."

Darcy threw back his shot. "They had me start doing undercover work. Loved it. Used to act a lot, played in a couple movies while I was in college. Guess I'm suited for it. I have two kids back home ... my wife died in 87. Cancer is a bitch."

He paused awkwardly for a moment. "Anyways, Frankie. Tell them about yourself."

A small smile creeped across Lucas's broad face. "Call me Frankie again and I'll rip you limb from limb. I'm Frank Lucas, also of SWORD. Basically all of what I've done the past ten years or so is classified, which is probably why my file is mostly blacked out. I was in Timeria not six months ago, although officially I haven't been here before. Most of what I do on leave is watch Jack's kids - we go way back, I trained him when he first joined SWORD. I've been a lot of interesting places for work, although I can't tell anyone about them. What's declassified isn't too interesting. Stroud?"

The woman sitting next to Lucas took a drink from the large glass in front of her. "Laura Stroud. I'm on search-and-destroy with SHIELD in the inner cities. Unlike these fuckers, I actually have an active social life outside of work. Roll your eyes, Carpenter, go ahead. I'm dating a guy in Conner City, which is where I still live, although I spend most of my time in Valcom running ops. I like to laugh a lot, which might seem odd given my profession, but a girl can still live, right?"

Carpenter cut in. "She does standup comedy. Shitty standup comedy."

Stoud glared at him. "Laugh it up, yeah, yeah. Tell these fine people what an asswipe you are, Carpenter."

Carpenter laughed; despite the seriousness of this op, it felt good to have a little fun. "Julian Carpenter, SHIELD Agent. I'm a detective, first and foremost, which means I'm the brains of this team. I was an Army Ranger before I joined SHIELD, though, so I run ops as well. I have a girlfriend at home as well - I'm from Conner City, but now I live in Hyperion. I haven't had a day off in a long time - if I'm not running ops, I'm doing casework. Not much else to tell, really - I play in a basketball league in my time off, though I'm afraid I'm not that good anymore. Even Morris kicks my ass, although that's not really surprising."

Lucy Morris rolled her eyes and punched Carpenter lightly in the shoulder. "It's just because you're shit. Lucy Morris, SHIELD Agent. I've been given the title of Threat Neutralization Officer, which basically means I kill people. No detective work, sadly - I get my targets, plan, and shoot. I have the mandatory nightmares and flashbacks, of course, though I figure these are people who really do deserve it. Wow, how long has it been since I had a day off? I literally live on base. Not healthy, I know, I know. Jack, take the heat off of me."

The final member of the team, Jack Williamson, sat up and nodded. "Jack Williamson, SWORD. I'm first and foremost a sniper. I was an Army Ranger once too, running what we call Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols. Lots of marksmanship, living off the land, that kind of thing. SWORD thought that made me a perfect candidate for a sniper. Unlike Darcy over here, I don't really see the people I kill most times, which makes it easier. I have a wife at home that just told me a couple weeks ago she's pregnant. I live in Hyperion, and unlike some of these motherfuckers, I actually go home on my leave. I like to try and keep a work/life balance, you know?"

Carpenter glanced at the Timerians, who had all settled into their seats. "How about you guys? Our dossiers on you were pretty detailed as well, but all professional stuff. Who are you guys? If we're going to be working together, might as well get to know each other."

[North Timeria]

Julian Blue, Rea Timoti, Kalia Akamu, Lono Iokina, Hanad Dualeh. We've been together for about a year now on the NPF and were happy to add you to the team.

Alaysia was pretty satisfied with their answers and she saw that they could actually have a team dynamic.

"I live a simple life here in North Kai but I grew up outside the city. My family owns a fishing company so I spent most of my life on a boat...Joined the coast guard at 18. NPF at 24 and I haven't looked back. I'm on the front lines keeping North Timeria safe." Alaysia rambled on a bit before everyone sighed.

"Yea ... Yea ... You complain every chance you get."

"Yea but I still love my job... I mean would it be a job if I didn't complain a little, and they defiantly don't pay me enough for a little complaining." Alysia finished off her second drink and started on the food a bit.

"Well anyway enough of her... I'm Kalia Akamu an NPF officer and juvenile counselor. When I'm not on assignment with the NPF, I work with at risk kids at the local high schools and the juvenile detention center. I've spent so much time with other people's kids I'm running out of time myself. I've been trying to get Blue to give me some kids but he reports me to HR every time."

Julian interrupted her and slapped his hand over her thigh. "I think you've heard enough from her... If you don't stop her at some point she'll talk forever."

Kalia rolled her eyes.

"Anyways I'm Julian but you can just call me Blue... As you can see I'm the oldest out of the bunch but I'm not too old only 36. I worked narcotics for a while before I was recruited and I've been serving as a specialist within the force. They move me around a lot but this is my home base with these guys... God help me. Hanad what about you? I can't wait to hear what drama you add to the story this time."

Hanad laughed and closed his eyes, breathing really slowly.

"Well I use to live further south in a suburb outside of Infinity... The South launched their attack when I was 8 and my family was killed in the initial artillery barrage. Without anyone to help me I marched North 100 miles-" Hanad was interrupted by Blue.

"100 miles ... bullshit last time you said it was 50." Blue laughed and shook his head.

"When they make the movie about my life it'll be 100... More sales. Anyways I was alone for a while until I met my wife Yuliani, who I have a son with. On the job, I'm a weapons specialist...While I'm off I coach youth track and field."

"How convenient..." Julian finished off his drink and slid it over to the other end of the table.

"All part of the plan for that movie deal."

"Well anyways I'm Lono... I'm as you can see I hope, I workout a lot and I mean a lot. When I'm not at the gym I'm at work or the range. During most summers I work at a summer camp but Alaysia took me away from that...She calls and I come... that and the pay check for this assignment was looking pretty nice. To the right is my brother Rea."

"What's up guys ... Me and Lono came up through foster care together back in the day when we use to get in trouble and all kind of shit. Don't tell Harris about that he'll try to get me demoted or something."

"Harris does not have it out for you Rea... You're not even that good." Kalia pushed some drinks down the line and skipped over Rea.

"Hey, he knows I'm gonna take his job sooner or later. Look at the direction the NPF is taking, we kept integrating more tech by the day sooner or later they're gonna need a guy like me to lead things. As you probably guessed I work tech."

The group kept talking for about half an hour and the chemistry was starting to come together. As they kept the conversations going and the group got more settled in and the drinks loosened them up Alaysia spotted him and he group come in through the door.

"3 o'clock... I'm sure you guys can keep this same energy going... Don't make it look obvious but that's Victorin Achee. To be frank... He's a Coca farmer, well he runs one of the Coca farmers were targeting. Actually the most important one. I'm sure you Connerians will be interested in this one. He deals directly to the and has probably contributed to thousands of deaths back in the USC. His farm handles the lower grade mass produced stuff they can ship overseas."

[United States of Conner]

Carpenter subtly glanced to his 3 o'clock. Sure enough, there was a hardened, tough face that he recognized from various intel photos. Victorin Achee. Coca farmer extraordinaire. What a way to start this op - a major Coca farmer before they had even officially begun work.

Darcy had clearly confirmed the man's identity as well. Almost unconsciously, his hand brushed against the silenced pistol in his waistband. He turned to the group and in a light, carefree voice as if they were still having fun, he said, "Someone should tail him when he leaves the bar. Find out where he is going, put the place under surveillance, see what we can listen on. If that group splits up, maybe we can grab one of their guys. Figure out what they can tell us."

[North Timeria]

"Nah... One of you has to go over there and get his phone right now... Call this number with it and erase the evidence." Ferris slid over a number written on a napkin.

"As long as he doesn't notice I don't care how you do it. While you do that Lono is gonna step outside and search his car..." Ferris slightly checked back over and sent the security a signal. They were working with Ferris for the night and would make sure nothing got out of control.

Victorin Achee was bringing in more money than he knew what to do with. At 19 he inherited his parent's farms after they passed away in a freak accident. Achee wasn't bringing in the money hew anted so he changed the crop. He started growing Coca and a lot of it. When the money started coming in he expanded his business and took a step back from the actual operation. Keeping his distance he spent a lot of his time in the city partying and such. The new found riches had also made him arrogant and a bit of a jerk.

[United States of Conner]

Darcy nodded slightly and glanced back at Achee. "I'll take care of the phone. You need help outside, let me know."

The veteran SWORD operator waited for a minute, then saw his window. Standing up, he began to walk towards the bar's bathroom and crossed paths with Achee.

The two bumped shoulders, and in that moment, Darcy's hands deftly swiped through Achee's pockets until he found a phone. A glance at the coca lord's face confirmed he hadn't noticed. Darcy slipped the phone back inside his jacket pocket and put his hands up. He slurred his speech slightly as he glanced at Achee, feigning confusion. "My bad, man. Sorry."

He heard Achee mutter "You're goddamn right...", but the man continued his walk off to wherever he was going. Darcy walked quickly to the bathroom, pulled out Achee's phone, and dialed the number Ferris had given him. Once he was done, he erased the call from the phone's log, wiped the phone for fingerprints, and stowed the phone back inside his jacket before walking back out.

As he was walking back to the table, he casually dropped the phone to the floor. It bounced softly off his foot, not making any noise - not that could be heard anyways over the din of the bar - before Darcy slid it underneath the barstool Achee had been sitting had.

Darcy had just sat back down when Achee, followed by two of his men, came back in. As Darcy had expected, Achee had gone to make a phone call, and was now demanding that his people tell him where his phone was. They searched for a couple seconds before one of his partners picked the phone up off the ground. Achee grabbed it in a huff and went back outside. The whole deal had taken less than a minute.

Darcy turned back to Ferris and nodded. "It's done. How is Lono doing with the car?"

---

Waters nodded. "I like the sound of that. If your guy is reliable, and we can trust he won't get us popped, we should definitely talk. How soon do you think we could set up a face-to-face?"

[North Timeria]

Ferris watched closely as Darcy picked the phone from Achee pocket. She was impressed with the swiftness and kept an eye on things as Darcy went to make the call.

"Got it." Blue marked the number and reported his findings to Intel back at base.

As Darcy made it back to the table Ferris did a light applause for the work she had done. "Kicking the phone under the chair... That was nice, I think you'll fit in well here."

Outside Lono walked around the corner where a valet driver was waiting around the corner. Inside the car was a phone right beside the passenger seat. Lono thought for a moment before deciding to install a wiretap into the car. As he installed the wiretap he looked through the glove compartment and other parts of the car. He found a machine pistol and a few baggies.

"Ehh... I think we can leave that for now." he finished up and hopped out of the car. "Thanks, Briss... Now when you take this car to the parking deck install this somewhere for me. Somewhere they won't find it." he handed him a tracker that would connect to the NPF network.

Briss was an informant that worked with the NPF and kept tabs on the people that came through the club.

Lono returned to the group and squeezed back into the seat. "Asshole has a phone in his car... I tapped that and our informant Briss is gonna put a tracker on the car. We'll be aware of any moves he makes."

Ferris sat back and wrote 3 address onto a napkin.

"This right here are our current safe houses. I guess I can trust this won't fall into the wrong hands. Tomorrow we start team tactics and formations while we collect intel. Once we gather enough and the time comes we'll take down Achee but only at the right time. Command doesn't only want Achee so everything we do has to lead to a new target."

"For now we can enjoy the night...Then tomorrow work starts."

---

"Yea I'm sure I can get something set up soon... I think they want to start moving shipment soon so I'll work out a bargain deal. I don't know much about guns so I'll need a partner on this. Somebody that's business savvy and not batshit crazy."

He slid over a folder to Waters.

"This week's reports... Profits are still increasing and there haven't been any major bust...But sir we're going to need someone to replace Torresarpi. I don't mean to be rude and I don't know the relationship you guys had but I do know this business and it would be best if you found a replacement sooner rather than later."

[United States of Conner]

Darcy passed the napkin around to each of the Connerians, letting them memorize each of the addresses. When they were done, he dipped the napkin into his water, letting the ink run until it was illegible. "Never want to keep anything in writing, right? Better safe than sorry."

Darcy stood quickly and deposited the wet napkin into a trash can nearby, ripping it up as he did so. When he sat back down, he sighed softly. "Let's enjoy tonight."

---

Waters nodded. "We're gonna have someone to run this shit - looks like it'll be me, but we'll hit you up ... tomorrow, probably. Let you know. Business savvy will be real good. And trust me, the sooner we have those guns the better. Warriors breathing down our damn necks. Anyways, we'll have a replacement. You got my number, call me when you got a spot for a face-to-face. Anything else you need?"

[North Timeria]

The team had been running together for a week now and things were starting to come together. They had managed to get the basics down quickly and get to operating as a team.

"You guys getting used to the Timerian summer?" Blue laughed as sweat dripped from his forehead. They had been training outside in the rainforest at a house Ferris had setup as a base of operations. It was deep in the narco territory and was surrounded by Coca farms which Ferris kept tabs on regularly.

"Let's go guys run it again." Ferris watched the team run through formations while she observed. As they worked together a message came in from HQ. They had been keeping track of Achee and sent their collection of intel directly to Ferris. They had discovered the location of one of Achee safe houses that he had checked into recently and wanted the team to try and capture him before he relocated.

"Everyone get up here, we just got an intel package from HQ and its got some stuff we need to check out."

As the team rallied up on Ferris they looked at spread she had worked out on the board. There was a picture of Achee entering a house outside a small village. There was also a floor plan and a map of the surrounding area. They had tracked him down to his safe house where they believed more intel could be stashed and give them probable cause to raid Achee's other assets.

"So we got a location and command wants us to move in ASAP... They don't know how many days before Achee plans to move so they want us to move in and grab him. We'll have civilians in the AO so we'll be moving in with caution... No big flashy operations."

---

Aris had managed to setup the meeting and his contact in Timeria had arranged to come to Conner tomorrow.

"Tomorrow? That's a little fast. I don't know if we'll have time to prepare."

On the other line, his contact sighed. "Prepare what Aris? You trying to set me up?"

"No. It's just sudden and a little unprofessional."

"Aris we're criminals... Nothing professional about it... Tomorrow we'll meet at your office... 3 o'clock." He hung up and Aris tossed the phone across his desk.

"ugh whatever ... The deals good, we can't miss this chance."


Aris called up Waters to give him the simple details on the meeting.

"Hey Waters, it's Aris... We have a meeting tomorrow at 3. New contact wants to make everything final and sign the papers in my office."

[United States of Conner]

Darcy rolled his eyes. "Timerian summer, huh? I miss being able to run these ops without sweating. Hell, this might not even be sweat - just moisture sticking to my skin. Goddamn."

Stroud glared at him. "You're probably getting out of shape, Jack. Feeling old yet?"

Darcy moved with an almost frightening speed and got Stroud in a playful headlock. "Let the beatings begin."

Stroud might have started to fight back when they got the message - meet on Ferris ASAP. They all complied, slowing walking over, still carrying all their gear.

The Connerians listened to Ferris's briefing, nodding occasionally or interjecting to ask a question or to look over the intel. When the Timerian was done, Carpenter looked around.

"Well, I for one am happy to get out of this fucking heat. Roll out in ten? We can draw sticks or something, figure out who gets civ control and who gets the fun stuff. All good?"

---

Waters had been sitting around in a Damned house, smoking some shit and having a good time, when his phone rang. Shaking himself out of the stupor that came with these parties, he flipped open the phone and took the call. That Timerian's voice came over the speaker. Arin ... shit ... Aris, that was it.

"Ok, that's good news. I'll be there. See ya then."