The Threat: Episode 1 (TWI ONLY | IC)

[Athara Magarat]

THREAT

OOC

Episode 2

---

SHOCK is a notorious multinational threat which has carried out at least 50 documented attacks on 15 different countries around the Isles.

To combat this international menace, the Athara Magarati government has established a new counter-terrorist unit within the Armed Police Force of Athara Magarat. This unit, Deathstalker, is trained by Vancouvian Special Forces and C6 troops and their sole purpose is to hunt members of SHOCK, White Rise and other multinational terror groups. In March 2018, the Deathstalker unit began hunt after eight individuals with a USB drive containing classified information throughout the Isles.

This is the story about the event and the THREAT terror groups still represent to the Isles.

---

[Athara Magarat]

February 25th, 2018

New Libang, Athara Magarat

---

Pinnachan Chilly Bar and Restaurant was now a crime scene. The Pinnachan family patriarch was in panic mode. Some say the man in his seventies even had fainted upon hearing a customer had been shot dead in his hotel. The grandson, also the manager of the Pinnachan's, however had been if anything but cooperative with the police. Within ten minutes of the body being discovered by one of the other customers in the restroom, the New Libang Police Department's officers were securing the crime scene and taking various notes.

The thick pool of blood was still around the Euranian delegate's face down body. Danbir Sunuwar imagined the politicians being in a frantic mode on how to explain the death to the Euranian government when questions would be asked. His thoughts were interrupted by Chetan Nagarkoti's shouts.

"There was more than one person involved for our victim's death."

"Anyone can see that, Nagarkoti." Danbir rolled his eyes and stated the facts. "For starters, our diplomat here was stabbed cruelly at least thirty times. I am sure I did shout even in a single stab of knife. Yet almost no one heard any shouts. Hence two or more guys held our dead friend here while he was stabbed brutally multiple times. And CCTV footage showed a group of four men entering the washroom after our diplomat did."

"Who would do this?" Chetan Nagarkoti wondered.

"What can I say? Most likely his political rivals back home hired some hit-men on him. Very unlikely that he was mugged by thugs for money."

"Yeah, let's leave our speculations aside. We have to identify the murderers first. They look like Athara Magarati ci-"

Danbir Sunuwar hushed Chetan to keep silent for he had noticed something that the other investigators had missed. Lying near to the dead Euranian diplomat's body was a small peculiar object that seemed out of ordinary. Danbir picked up the object to discover what it really was.

"A USB drive?" Danbir was bemused.

"Maybe our answers lie here." Chetan's face showed relief that they had probably found an important clue for the case.

---

The green Uttar car was pulled to a stop as its driver picked up the call bothering her for the last couple minutes. She smiled as she talked for a while. After the phone call, the car went straight ahead and turned left to an alley. Four men had been waiting for her arrival and hurried into the car.

"So how was work?" the woman calmly asked the four men.

"Not much of a work than a side job. You know our work is much bigger than simply killing a small fly." The man with with thick-rimmed spectacles said.

The red-haired man in the front seat next to the woman answered. "I get agitated every time I get extra orders from the Speakers."

"Selling isn't even a Speaker!" The bearded man in backseat said as he opened the Kodo Company laptop that had stayed in the car while they were busy stabbing the Euranian diplomat.

"He is now in case you forgot.." The red-haired man turned back as he stated. He then turned his head to the woman in the driver's seat. "Play some nice music on our way, will you?"

"Those new kids called AssemBlaze?"

"Yep. Start with Bad Luck. Hearing Bad Luck brings me good - "

"Oh shit! What in the name of Yuma?" The shout from the backseat made the woman and the red-haired man gaze back. The man in spectacles looked terrified than anything as he had his hand in his jacket's pockets. "I lost the drive!"

"Damn you! What the hell, man!" While all other occupants of the car were angry at the sudden statement, but the bearded man with the laptop and the red-haired leader were boiling the most. Seeing no use of even working on the computer, the bearded man shut down his laptop while the red-haired man's eyes indicated that he would have struck the man in spectacles if he had been next to him.

"I - I think I lost it during the struggle with the damn Euranian." The man wearing spectacles stammered.

"Oh great! The place's already crowded with cops by now." The emo guy with dark blue hair who had been unusually silent made a sarcastic remark. But everyone else in the car knew his words to be true.

"See? This is what happens. One simple mistake and we are screwed." The red-haired leader's temper flared. He cracked his knuckles and then ordered the driver. "Let's go back to the hotel."

Although nobody said anything, the others knew this was a very, very risky task. For a while, they even thought if their leader had gone crazy but they too knew the value of the lost item and how their lives totally depended on it. If Selling found out they had lost the drive, he wouldn't be just shouting like their red-head leader. Hence it was probably wiser to take all risks, head back to the hotel and retrieve the USB drive at all cost. And who knew what the Athara Magarati government would they if the police found the drive and discovered its uses?

The car's engines were ignited and the hearts of the four men and the woman in driver's seat beat faster than ever in their entire lifetime.

---

Chetan Nagarkoti examined the USB drive with Danbir Sunuwar as they took short strides outside the hotel. Unknown to the two police officers in civilian dress, they had been spotted by the passengers of a certain green Uttar car. Even while being inside the car, the occupants were sure that the USB drive was their item. It was probable that the two men wearing gloves and examining the item had found it next to the man stabbed to death. The five nodded to one another inside the car. Except for a few passers-by and the two cops in civilian clothes, the hotel was surprisingly not crowded at all. No media personals recording anything, no over-excited kids filming stuff and certainly no heavily armed soldiers patrolling the streets. Heck, even the Vancouvian Special Forces, who were nowadays in almost every street of New Libang, were nowhere near the Pinnachan's.

This meant only one thing - the death of the Euranian diplomat was being covered for the time being by the Athara Magarati government for whatever reason. But the five people inside the green Uttar didn't give a damn about the reason. They were super relieved that this had turned out to be easier than they imagined. Armed with Noronica-made NA15 Semi-Automatic Pistols and Domanania-made M1-C8 Pistols, the five burst out of the car at their red-head leader's signal and began firing indiscriminately.

Chetan Nagakoti dropped the USB drive as soon as the shooting started and he was the first to fall. Immediately shrieks from passers-by filled the air and Danbir Sunuwar thought he definitely saw a couple of the civilians being shot at by the attackers as well. He immediately braced took out his dead partner's handgun and his own as well to jump to action. His first shot missed the target but the next hit a bearded gunman right in the chest.

Soon, the officers inside rushed out as well with their handguns ready to fire. An attacker wearing spectacles died of multiple shots as soon as the officers inside started piling outside. But the shootout continued for longer. The remaining three attackers kept firing with extreme professionalism and managed to down one more police officer. While the shootout continued, Danbir had sprinted around and in doing so, the three attackers were now within his mark. He fired and a red-haired man, probably scarlet dye, had a bullet piercing through his neck and another into his sides. The other two remaining attackers were now startled and aiming at Danbir but he managed to keep his calm.

"Drop down the weapons and surrender!" shouted Danbir with full authority. He repeated the sentence. And again. Asserting each time that no harm would come to them if they just surrendered. The emo guy with dark blue hair finally threw away his handgun towards Danbir.

"That's good, kid. That's the wise choice." Danbir tried to sound reassuring to the other man who probably just few years younger than him and it was probably the emo hair that made the guy younger-looking. He gently lowered his own gun as well as he took step after step closer. In all this action, Danbir had forgotten about the woman who was still armed and that was his mistake.

A gunshot rang in the brief moment silence. But the woman did not shoot Danbir or the other cops. Instead, the emo guy staggered and dropped dead after being shot by his teammate for surrendering. Before Danbir could do anything next, the woman had her handgun pointed at her own head. Shit! This crazy assassin woman just killed her own partner and now intends to suicide! No wonder someone hired these sort of people were hired by those dirty politicians to murder one another. We are never going to get any leads to this case if this happens. Danbir's mind raced with different thoughts and plans but neither he nor any of the other police officers took a single step forward. And in the next second, the woman pulled the trigger of her gun.

Click.

Nothing happened.

And that is how the police officers managed to arrest one of the few leads to the case of the Euranian diplomat's death.

---

She did not know how many hours had passed since her damn gun failed her. Now she continued solemnly cursing her gun, paying no attention to the questions being asked. And ask many questions they did. Why was the Euranian diplomat murdered? What is in the USB drive? Who were her group working for? How many others are involved?

And other unnecessary questions like if she had a family and relatives. She had no idea why her interrogators even asking this. If they wanted to know her name and history, they ought to look in their data bank. Perhaps they thought she would open up due to whatever psychology game or something. She kept her silent and was already tired of being questioned. She knew that the questions would be repeated the next day and the day after that and with each day, torture methods would increase as well. Exactly why she had relived her dark blue-haired friend of this hellish fate and intended to commit suicide.

If only her damn gun hadn't failed her.

[Athara Magarat]

February 28th, 2018

Myagdi Island, Athara Magarat

She was once again a free woman. She looked at her comrades who had rescued her out of that detention facility and the USB drive as well. Her hair was messy and her eyes burned but her usually stoic face gave little smile.

"Good luck to you guys," she shook hands with the Lortik man.

"Take care, Tara." The Lortik let go of her hand. He was a capable leader and she trusted him to take care of the job. The Lortik's four-man team was to be a diversion. They would head to Belle Ilse en Terre and led the Athara Magarati police away from Tara's team who were headed for Coventry and were in possession of the USB drive. Besides, there were other plans in the Ilsan kingdom that the higher-ups and Speakers wanted to be done in regards to rising Lortik nationalism.

"Come on, Tara. Let's move. They will be okay. The Lortik ain't gonna die so easily." Her teammate Miraj said as the two continued gazing at the Uttar that had taken the Lortik's team away from the ghostly silent dock.

"So they said about Milan..."

"I am sorry about what happened to him and the others. They are martyrs now Tara. The future generation of Isles Natives will revere them as heroes in our fight against the colonials. We have to be strong. We need to get out of this country ASAP. And you need to lead us."

"Alright..." she joined Miraj and the others.

"Say goodbye to Athara Magarat. Forever." Miraj smiled.

"Right after you, Townsider devil." Tara jumped into the boat as she remembered her childhood. The memories of red-haired Milan and others who died recently came to her mind as well and the memories of being locked up in the detention facility and how she had been rescued...

---

The boat rocked steadily as it moved. Miraj and Sheila were inside at the bridge. Tara on the other hand was at the deck gazing at the sea. Lil moved next to her.

"You are absurdly silent. I though the Townsider was supposed to be the silent guy." Lil spoke. "This Milan was a very capable man. I am sorry about his death? Did you love him?"

"We all did. And I loved all of my teammates." Tara finally started speaking. "I was asked the same questions again and again. At one point I thought I did give in but I did not. I knew Samir could not stand the torture and interrogation...Samir...the blue-haired guy...I had to shoot him before they had cuffs on his wrist."

Lil fished a packet of Surya out of his pocket, "You smoke?"

When Tara shook her head, Lil returned the packet of cigarettes to back his pocket. "Neither do I. Selling gave me this just in case."

"Selling...speaking of that bastard. What is that made him recruit you? What's your story, boy?"

"My story?"

Tara gazed at Lil making the young man feel her piercing eyes. "We all have stories of our own. You did not join SHOCK because it was cool to break law and become terrorist. We aren't a people without cause."

"It's a long one..." Lil stroked his chin and began.

---

Four Months Ago...

National Park, Jueverna, Covonant

The bike ride had been long. The air in the National Park was refreshing. People were clicking photos of the scenery. Lil Sitaula and Eric Kaike excused themselves from their group of friends who were busy with selfies and all that sort of stuff. Lil was gazing at Mount Sharon which at 4725 meters altitude from sea level was the tallest mountain in Covonant.

"In the homeland, anything below 3,000 meters is considered a hill." Lil stated as he kept his gaze on the red reflection in the mountain of the setting sun.

"I don't know exactly but Dura Danda where my grandma hailed from is around that figure." Eric said as he held the cross hanging around his neck. "I think it also has around 3,000 population. The people of Dura Danda are the last speakers of the Dura language. Even then only around a dozen or so are fluent. Even my grandma and I can only speak a few words. Sometimes I think that this all - our language, culture and traditions will die out - "

"I have done my research." Lil, who was know for being informative, stated. "Once upon a time, a warrior arrived at a lake and requested the goddess of the lake heal his injuries. He was a great warrior of strength and she was an angelic beauty of kindness. The warrior stayed around the lake even after he had been healed and eventually the two fell in and made love. That is how the Dura tribe was born - "

"I know this. My grandmother has said it all. I don't know what you are saying, Lil." Eric was confused.

"What I am saying is now you are the warrior and Anita Sapkota is the goddess of the lake. Together you guys can revive the tribe in Coventry."

"Lil, we are not even married." Eric blurted. "Besides I dunno if we will ever be together like that, man. My grandma is always sick. I need to look after her. I come from a poor family and I have two jobs. She on the other hand comes from a wealthy family. She is a model who always has to attend contests in Negarakita or Ainslie. I don't want to make her family mine yet. That would seem as though I am doing it just for the money. I genuinely love her and she understands. Which is why we need time. I really thank you and Nawang for arranging this all for us all to get together again but - "

"Lil, can I borrow Eric for a while?" asked Anita Sapkota who looked gorgeous even with her headscarf and sunglasses.

"He is all yours." Lil grinned like an idiot as Anita took Eric by arm away and started having some discussions. While Lil was gazing at Anita and Eric talking softly to one another and at Nawang and others time to time while also gazing at the mountain, he saw a Taurot man in hood leave behind a bag.

So did Eric.

While Anita was speaking to him, Eric tried to call the hooded man but it was no use and the stranger disappeared soon. Then it occurred to both Eric and Lil that the bag might have a bomb. Before he could warn others, Lil saw Eric approaching the bag.

"Eric you idiot! Get away from there! Anita, stop him." Lil shouted as he ran towards Eric. Anita was confused as to what was going on.

"Lil? Eric? What's the mat - "

Then the bomb exploded and Eric with it.

---

Now...

"He was a good guy. A firm believer in the Christ. You won't believe what happened next. He was branded a terrorist simply because he was a Khas and other witnesses in the National Park had seen him carrying the bag. The rest of us kept as suspects and held from a week. Eventually they let us go. His ill grandmother died the moment she heard what had happened. Anita wouldn't speak to anyone. The others tried to move on but not me. Had I taken the bag instead of Eric, my friend would have re-birthed his tribe in Coventry..."

Lil was ranting now that even Miraj and Sheila could hear what he was saying from the bridge. "A month after this, I met this bleached blond guy at a bar. He was looking for me. That was Selling. At first I was angry and nearly beat the crap out of him for the terror attack and then he said words that made sense. Covonant funds minor terror groups in foreign countries to de-stabilize them. Covonant is the Vulture of Isles. It feeds upon the weak countries either with so-called diplomacy, money or with covert actions. My friend, his dreams, his family and all were torn apart by scheming politicians who wanted to increase their defense budget. It was then that I gave up all my love I had for Covonant."

Tara was pleased. "So you know what you have to do when we arrive in Covonant?"

"I do not care for SHOCK's ideology. I do not know why you are here Tara. But Selling and you have made me a man with purpose. After Eric died, I tried to kill myself but there was no purpose. Now I have a purpose to die for. I am going to burn the Vulture to ashes even if I have to immolate myself for that."

[Athara Magarat]

March 16th, 2018

Coventry, Covonant

Servius Constantius went to the bar as usual. It had been a usual work day. He was a truck driver who earned for himself. He had no friends save for a drinking partners and fellow drivers he did sometimes chat with. And he did not meet with women much. But today was a different day.

The woman seated next to him was chatty one. She was frequently talking with the bartender other than about drinks. The bartender, who was one of the few people Servius ever conversed with, pointed at him when she asked him for a person who could handle cargoes. Well, Servius didn't handle cargoes by himself. He just did his job and half of the time, he didn't even care to know what he was transporting. But this was how the conversation started.

Servius wondered if the woman was a drug dealer. He had transported those items a few items in his seven years stint as a truck driver. And most of those who requested that had been shady folks he had met at the bar.

But it wasn't drugs. This woman was beyond anything he had ever imagined. She was asking about transporting refugees.

"The situation in Athara Magarat is a mess. There's a group of people I am in charge of. They are a mix of Imperial War refugees and Athara Magarati citizens who have lost hope for their nation. So far, I have managed to sneak them by boat through contacts. You only need to transport this small group to the docks and we will arrange the rest."

"It's risky." Servius stated. He had done work in drug transportation sometimes but human trafficking? This was a whole new level. But as the woman continued talking, he came to believe in her. Covonant wasn't that open to refugees. Maybe she was doing a greater good by helping these people sneak into yet another nation even illegally. What he knew was that the more she talked, the more he came to believe in her nad even like the way she talked. Frankly, this was in a long while that he was talking to a woman for more than an hour.

"We will pay for you handsomely. Even in advance. What would you like?"

"Anything." Servius said, his eyes slowly drifting to other parts of her body.

"Anything." She repeated what he said with a smile. And then closed into his ears. His was being played like a child. His cheeks red as her hot breaths warmed his ear. "Then let's discuss this in private. For now, I will buy you more drinks."

After two hours more hours of talking (some things even out of topic) and few more drinks, Servius and the woman were kissing at an alley.

"So what are you hiding?" Servius teased her after parting lips. "Why don't you show me what you are hiding?"

"Here?"

"Why not?"

"Well..." she smiled coyly. "My dress hides my modesty, a few cash at secret places and a gun."

At first Servius thought she was jokingly flirting with him but then her smile was gone and she produced a pistol almost magically out of nowhere. Before he could ask her why or curse at her, she fired the gun.

Servius limped and collapsed. But he did not feel anything. There was no pain. Heck, as far as he could see, there was no blood. But his vision was diminishing and he slowly blacked out before making out two more figures approaching him.

"It would have been better to just kill him, Tara." Miraj said as he and Lil picked up the unconscious truck driver. "What if he wakes up?"

"That is your problem. I have done my part." Tara replied back. Her coyness while talking with the truck driver was gone. Now she was a mastermind terrorist moving on her schedule. Then she went snarky again. "Next time, find me a more sexier truck driver. Maybe then I would do more than just kissing."

"I am glad Ms Suhang is not here." Miraj said, wondering if Tara had way more drinks then she should have. "Man, he is heavy."

"Where is Suhang?" asked Tara.

"The genius girl is busy hacking with Sheila and making full use of our USB drive."

"All according to the plan." Tara said. Miraj saw Tara's stoic face but he knew that deep down, she was smiling like a maniac for the plan was moving way smoothly than they had anticipated. Miraj looked at Lil who was helping him with the unconscious man. Miraj wondered how Tara and Selling found talented individuals like little Ms Suhang the hacker or angrily motivated ones like Lil who were ready to die. Miraj saw no fear on Lil's face despite the fact that he was going to die tomorrow.

---

Four Days Ago...

Somewhere in Belle Isle en Terre

"Please head to room number 11. You do not need keys." The woman at the hotel's reception smiled at the Lortik and said so in their native tongue. The receptionist was a Lortik as well but nobody knew the Lortik man's real name. Even his comrades in the SHOCK team of four that Tara had sent to Belle Ilse en Terre to work with the Legitimists who were a bunch of hardliner Lortik separatists trying to secede from the monarchy every time it was in turmoil.

The four SHOCK operatives climbed the creaky wooden stairs of the hotel. Stench of locally brewed beer reeked in the hotel almost everywhere but it was very strong in the stairs where some drunk had apparently left several empty bottles. Room number 11 was locked from inside. Toran, a large man holding dual Athara Magarati and Samuderan citizenship, knocked on the door very loudly.

"Who is it?" a female voice asked in Lortik.

"The Lortik from SHOCK," the Lortik man replied confidentially. Almost with pride.

The door opened to reveal two men and a woman. She looked at the other members of SHOCK with her sharp eyes.

"I wasn't expecting any others." The woman stated coldly.

"This mission cannot be completed without us, sister." The short woman in the four man SHOCK team said in fluent Lortik, surprising the Legitimist trio.

"You are Athara Magarati? Only in Athara Magarat do they teach our language as optional courses at schools. Your government said they did support us if we signed the damn protocol on indigenous rights. Why isn't Jrm Hangma helping us?" The Legitimist woman accused.

"Yes sister, I am an Athara Magarati. But nowadays I am ashamed to say so." Hema, the Athara Magarati woman, moved forward as she spoke in fluent Lortik. "The government is useless. It only started Arun Valley Protocol to earn points and show itself as a champion of the oppressed. How can you expect help from someone who oppresses others? You have come to witness what Jrm Hangma has done and what she really is. She has removed her political opponents, a couple of politicians have gone missing and nobody has noticed. She has dismissed her own parliament. She has betrayed her own people, how did you expect her not to betray you? She is a liar. She cannot be trusted. But we on the other hand, have always been fighting for you. Sister..."

"Fine," the Legitimist woman grunted.

"The details, sister." Hema urged and the Legitimist woman motioned every one to sit down.

"The Duke of Bellemon has been a constant thorn for our independence movement. Our informants have notified us that his luxury car will pass through Rockside Brooks on March 17. We need to plant a powerful explosive under the bridge there. We do not have the skilled people to assemble the explosives. Your organization, on the other hand, has plenty of people who play with bombs on daily basis. The Duke of Bellemon is our target but a few additional casualties are acceptable for us."

One of the Legitimist man pulled out bags from under the bed to reveal large containers of nitroglycerine paste, ammonium nitrate and sodium nitrate. A roll of electric wire and a few car batteries could also be spotted under the bed. "Tell us what you need more to blow up this bastard."

"This can be used for creating a bomb a hundred times powerful than a dynamite. We can even teach you the skills later but our task at hand is to complete this bomb." Hema said as the attentively listening Legtimists nodded. "However your objective is to demoralize the military and nobility of the monarchy then we will need a much powerful explosive. And an extra one in case, you know. Simple materials such as wood pulp and tapes are also needed. If I have to be specific, five buckets with sealed lids, twenty kilos of wood pulp and sealing tape."

The two Legitimist men then immediately went to fetch the necessary materials.

---

March 17th, 2018

"Is the recipe ready?" Tara asked from the hotel's telephone.

"Yes." The Lortik answered. "We will take care of our restaurant. You take care of your problem. What about the new boy?"

"He is ready. I hope our friends do not know about your business. They should not know that the schedule was fixed for our motives."

"They don't. They think I am helping them in starting a new partnership. Sort of, I am but only because this is a common goal."

After hanging up, Tara gazed at her team. Sheila and Miraj were already saying goodbyes to Lil. Even the reclusive little miss hacker Suhang came to shake her hands with him. There was no fear in his eyes but confidence and anger.

"You don't have to kill yourself." Suhang muttered.

"I fear that I might not be able to contain my guilt of this bombing if I live. And like I said earlier, I do not care about SHOCK's ideals or whatever. I just want to die a satisfied man who completed his revenge on the Vulture who ruined my friends and their family that they could have had." Lil spoke, instilling confidence in others.

"This is all yours." Tara handed Lil the keys of the driver's truck. "You drove well yesterday. We will be in contact till your last breath if it helps you. Who is the target again?"

"Deputy Director of the Intelligence Data Centre. Josia Semis. Selling told me he had a huge hand in funding terrorists to increase the Vulture's wealth and defense budget. This man is an asshole, a devil incarnate, and it pleases me to think that I might actually be doing good by taking bastards like him with me."

"Suhang, what's the reply from the Townsider government?" asked Tara. She knew what the reply was but she still asked.

"They still do not agree to our terms. And we have only fifteen minutes remaining," Suhang said making it clear that the Townsider government was busy with a hostage rescue. SHOCK hackers had sent this message to the Townsider government two hours and forty-five minutes earlier.

To the Government of the Land of the Town Beside the Sea,

You know very well of the New Year Hostage crisis. Congratulations on defeating us then. However we still demand an Ipachi state. The Ipachis are one of the largest nations of the Isles. However they do not have a nation of their own. They may be highly represented in countries like your or be the majority in Samudera or Ainslie but there are many sub-branches of the Ipachi who disappeared into history. There are many Ipachi tribes who are disappearing today in nations who do not care about them or their rights. Your nation does. Hence we request you to agree to our demand of the formation of an Ipachi state. Or else three will die within three hours.

From,
The Second Horde of Crusader Khas-Kiratis

Tara's team now departed into different directions. Sheila and Miraj were accompanying her to find ways to either leave Covonant or test the USB drive. But it was sure they wouldn't be staying at the same hotel anymore. Ms Suhang the hacker was to return to her home in Jueverna as a Covonantian citizen like everyone else and continue teaching to disadvantaged junior students from Khas-Kirati and Taurot backgrounds. Lil was to blow up the Caelian Bridge in a suicide bombing.

Fifteen minutes later, at exactly 5:00 pm in Covonant, the a civilian purpose HT4 Heavy Truck made in Corindia would collided with the Athara Magarati-made green Uttar car of a certain Mr Josia Semis in the Caelian Bridge which was the oldest steel bridge in Coventry and somewhat an unofficial national monument. Mr Semis happened to be deputy director of the IDC. The collision resulted in the bombs loaded inside the truck to explode. Several other vehicles at the bridge were caught up in the large fireball and sank into the river below as the old steel bridge fell.

Fifteen more minutes later, the 481 meters long Budathoki Bridge in Myagdi Island was blown in a similar explosion. A man in a long overcoat had stood in the middle of the bridge before the explosion. His overcoat had apparently been packed with multiple explosives. People screamed in pain as the narrow bridge meant for transporting motorbikes collapsed with bikes and pedestrians alike falling to their doom.

Ten minutes later, somewhere in Rockside Brooks in Belle Ilse en Terre, two men continued watching the bridge in front of them and at their watches while also listening to their earpieces. The Lortik smiled and pointed the target to the Legitimist man.

"There is a bus approaching alongside our target. They may be civilians and even Lortik nationalists in there. You sure you want to do this brother?" The Lortik from SHOCK asked the Legitimist man.

"There have to be sacrifices for the greater good." Tears welled up in the man's eyes as he said so.

The Lortik from SHOCK on the other hand smiled like a maniac and set off the charge just as the passenger bus and the Felix Automotives (a company in Alteran Republics) luxury car carrying the Duke of Bellemon tried to cross the bridge. Within a second, the deafening blast from two bombs placed under the bridge ended lives of the Duke of Bellemon and countless others in the bus which was at the at the wrong time.

[Athara Magarat]

March 18th, 2018

Coventry, Covonant

"Damn it!" Miraj hit the wall of the alley with his fists in anger. He was angry at himself. Tara was more angry.

"The last time we lost the drive, all of my teammates died and I was tortured without water." Tara glared at Miraj. "How could you have lost it so easily?"

"I don't know. I didn't even realize I had lost it till just now." Miraj replied.

"I can predict that we are all going to die like the last time it happened." Tara laughed cruelly at what fate had done to them again.

The argument went on for a while. Luckily, no one was walking to this alley and Sheila finally broke the argument by shouting at the other two to knock it off. Sheila, usually the silent one, suggested that since Miraj had kept the USB drive in a box before they had checked out fro the hotel, they could go back and search for the box.

"High chance of the box still being there." Sheila spoke her thoughts.

And when the trio returned to the hotel, the woman at the reception made a quick call to the manager who arrived to escort them to the room they had stayed earlier. The manager opened the door and led them in. The box was neatly placed at the table.

"One of our waiters saw this item falling from your bag yesterday. He tried to call you but to no avail. We were sure that you did return to seek your item." The manager was smiling much more than any normal human being.

"That is sweet of him. What would we have done if he had not seen this box fall?" Tara tried to keep a smiling face. "By the way, can you give his phone number and maybe even address so that we can thank him personally?"

"His name is Gallus Flavillus. He lives in..."

For the next ten or so minutes, the manager kept on praising the waiter and kept on mentioning he wished his own son was honest and diligent like the boy. Tara took note of the waiter's number and address as the trio thanked the manager before exiting the hotel.

A few blocks away from the hotel, Tara's smile vanished instantly.

"The drive is gone!"

"What?" Both Miraj and Sheila were shocked. "But the box - "

"Is empty!" Tara opened the box and sure as she said, it was empty. "Made no sound while I shook it inside the room. We have to find this Gallus before he or someone opens the drive's contents and ruins all our plans...Taxi!"

The empty cab stopped and the trio went inside. The taxi driver was a middle aged Taurot man with a cigarette in his mouth. "Where to?"

"This place." Tara handed the waiter's address she had noted down in a piece of paper to the taxi driver.

---

Amber Team of the Deathstalker Unit were finally in Covonant after much deliberation. There were ten personals in the team. Eight Athara Magaratis and two Vancouvians.

Mesder Team was en route to Belle Ilse en Terre. They would be doing the same thing that Amber Team would be doing - getting to the bridge that the terrorists exploded and get in contact with local authorities.

Eight innocent people had died with the suicide bomber in Budathoki Bridge, Myagdi Island. Six death casualties and more than twelve had been injured when the truck laden with explosives had struck a car in the Caelian Bridge and at least twenty people had died in Rockside Brooks. The terrorists were going to pay for these heinous crimes and Deathstalker unit was to ensure that.

[Belle Ilse en Terre]

4 April 2018

Ridderkerk Palace, Stagsted, Belle Ilse en Terre

The Lortik walked through the streets of Stagsted, receiving a number of doffed hats and muted bows politely, but without especial attention. He walked towards the palace, nodded to the knights guarding, who bowed ceremoniously, and entered. He walked through the anterooms, decorated with the Red Horse of Ridderkerk, past the liveried servants and a number of persons seeking audiences. Lord Ridderkerk was a busy man.

As he crossed the final portal, into the private chambers of the lord himself, he fleetingly glanced over the familiar finery of the room, decorated thoroughly with game and weapons of divers nature, and everywhere the livery of the House of Ridderkerk.

“Eadwine, come”, said Lord Harald Ridderkerk heartily, “I am sure you know the good news, the removal of Bellemon?”

Eadwine bowed, and embraced Harald, “Aye Uncle, I had the honour of witnessing it.”

“O, did you now? What trouble have you been getting into, my boy?”

“We were hunting, laying ‘traps’,” smiled Eadwine euphemistically. His uncle had been in good spirits, especially after humiliating Pierre de Bellemon, the new Duke, by disarming thrice during their duel.

“Well”, continued Harald more seriously, “you know that the revocation of Arun Valley Protocol has gone to George’s head. He has decided to make us all renew our oaths, and I am going.”

“I thought removing Bellemon was enough.”

Lord Ridderkerk shook his head. “We have too few in the parliament to block any of the Anglishman’s attempts. He will soon be king in more than name.”

“We have outside help.”

“The Magarati government will do us no good.”

“But SHOCK...”

“Will destroy the very legitimacy we rely on. Eadwine, use discretion until we take our oath; save your energies for winning over the other people. I cannot win without support from the Frenchies, and possibly the House of Maximilien.”

6 April 2018

Fosseury Hall, Belle Ilse en Terre

In the high meeting hall, with vaulted ceilings and glorious windows, with long tables, the Lortik nobility assembled. The assemblage’s reluctance was initial great, but on hearing of a similar event occurring in the south, followed by anther in Fort de Belle Île, their fears were relaxed, and fully subsided when the were served before the oath taking with a glorious, wholesome meal, with cooked boar and deer, and many staples of a good Lortik feast. Seating was arranged by rank, with land ownership compensating for a single level of ennoblement. King George II sat at the head of the first table, laughing, joking, and boasting with the highest Lortik nobility, with Ridderkerk to his right and Daalgard to his left. Eadwine sat near the in one the middle tables, being a landed knight of high status. As the feast was winding up, King George II walked up to a higher level, and began a speech, praising the Lortik victories over the Forani and with the Khas Kirati empire. This vexed the assembled nobility, especially since it hinted at the Arun Valley Protocol, which King George had removed. He then pronounced the fatal statement.

“Your treason will not go unpunished.”

The king turned heel, and the royal knights around the perimeter of the room drew their swords and guns, and opened fire on the assembled nobles. Several Lortiks pulled out pistols and shot back, but many charged with their swords, obliging the mixed royal and Faulkner knights to do the same.

Eadwine was sitting on the inside of a table, and the bullets meant for him were stopped by a Lortik of particular girth across from him as well as the uneaten boar between them. Eadwine drew his and as the massacre devolved to a general melee, he ran to protect his uncle, who, if he survived, could soon call himself King Ridderkerk. He then saw Pierre de Bellemon, pistol in hand, carefully take aim and shoot Ridderkerk thrice from a portal that led to the balcony. Eadwine surveyed the confused battlefield, saw clearly that the Lortiks would never win, and chased after de Bellemon, ignored be the Ilsan knights, who assumed that he was engaged in a matter of honour, and gallantly did not interfere. Rushing up the curved stairs, Eadwine realised suddenly that escape was mor important than vengeance, which was aided by the sight of more Ilsan knights entering the hall through the main doors, and by the death of Daalgard, amidst the bodies of four slain Faukner knights, brought to death by his hand. Eadwine followed a staircase down, arriving in a garage under the castle, where a large collection of cars, and dead Lortik servants, equerries, and lowly retinue guards. The knights who had slaughtered them had already joined the melee above, wishing to not be delayed by the odious work of exterminating peasants. He quickly located and started his car, and drove off through the unmanned gate, and away, to the open arms of SHOCK.

Though Eadwine had loved many of the men in the hall, he put off his weeping until safe, when he arrived in Lortik country, two hours later, at Grundjag mountain, where the armies of King Ewald II had been defeated by King Maximilien almost three hundreds years before, where thousands of widows made a pilgrimage to honour their lost, loved ones. Eadwine spent an hour wandering the forested mountains in solitude, and then moved on.

He wanted to alert Stasted, but realised he knew no one. They were all dead.

[Athara Magarat]

April 8th, 2018

Coventry, Covonant

"We have been in this damn city for more than two weeks already. See, this is what happens. O, Masto, what have I done to get surrounded by idiots. Lil will have died in vain. My former teammates will all have died in vain. And no, what is more embarrassing is that we lose the drive not to the police but to a waiter? Hey, Yuma, why are you putting us through this? Darn the..." There was no end to Tara's rants. She raved and pointed her fingers at Miraj; who took the blame and silently drove the car.

For a week, Tara, Miraj and Sheila had been ransacking Gallus Flavillus's rooms. The fact that this trio of strangers appeared to the missing waiter's room every day had startled next door neighbors and the trio had been lucky to avoid the Covonantian police in the nick of time. Flavillus had left his room in haste it seemed; apparently knowing that the drive was not a normal thing and knowing it's owners would be chasing him. In doing so, the waiter had left behind his Kodo Curiosity smartphone and the trio had been trailing people on the contact list. Sometimes they would claim to be friends worried about his sudden disappearance and sometimes they spoke half-truth by saying he had ran away with their item. Flavillus's father had been their first target. Even he did not knew where the young man had went to. His sister and her husband said the same thing. They tried drinking alongside a few close friends of the missing man but no relevant information arrived.

Then Sheila had the idea of returning to the hotel and asking his co-workers. The security guard sent them to the manager, who was apologetic as usual and surprised that these guests kept on visiting his hotel for odd reasons. After listening to the manager's lengthy story on how he had raised Flavillus like his own son and his heart had broken to hear a fine lad missing, one of the receptionists kindly interrupted by stating that Vrikan Han-Tsuma could possibly know where Flavillus was. The manager also nodded that the Xrevaran writer was looked upon highly by Flavillus - an aspiring writer himself. The manager provided Vrikan's number and Tara thanked him while noting it down - not revealing that she was in possession of Flavillus's phone and this was not necessary at all.

On the gentle Sunday morning, the car parked at a cafe named Almond's Brewery where Sheila and Vrikan decided to meet. Miraj wanted to observe what would happen next but Tara berated him for wasting precious time already and they sped away.

Sheila checked her watch and realized that she was ten minutes late despite the speed at which Miraj had brought her to the cafe. As soon as she entered inside and looked around, a man raised his hands and waved her towards him. Sheila was a little surprised to find that Vrikan looked way younger than she had imagined. She had imagined Vrikan as a bespectacled graying man with crooked fingers reading a newspaper and oblivious to his environment. Instead, he looked like a pop star without all those fancy dresses. He had bleached blond hair and a boyish grin; and at first glance he looked eerily similar to Selling - one of the Speakers in SHOCK and the most wanted man in Athara Magarat.

"Thank you for coming." Sheila bowed as she seated.

"The pleasure's all mine." Vrikan smiled as they shook hands.

On the next table, a girl waiting for her date was playing with her smartphone.

"Kodo has been in business," smiled Vrikan, referring to the Athara Magarati electronics giant which held sway in Covonantian market and was regaining its business after suffering setbacks due to the San Montagnan Invasion of Athara Magarat. "And what is your business with me, dear? You sounded so urgent."

Sheila lied immediately that she was a friend of Gallus Flavillus worried about his safety and why he was missing. She wanted to tell that she was pregnant with the waiter's child but that would be a bit too much dramatic. Vrikan asked only a few questions here and there; it was mostly Sheila who asked questions about Flavillus. As the topics started to change, Sheila felt she needed to bail out and that nothing important had been gained here as well. Even Vrikan was a dead end.

Luckily, the boyfriend of the girl in the next table arrived and started smoking before even seating properly. That gave Sheila the excuse to leave but Vrikan offered to drop her to her destination and Sheila reluctantly agreed.

Unknown to them, their actions were being closely monitored. The smoker youth who had arrived in the cafe was a member of Athara Magarati Intelligence (AMI). Though he had been to the cafe due to normal circumstances and pure coincidence, he instantly recognized the fugitive Sheila from the Drive X incident and the bleached blond man next to her as Selling. He made several fake coughs and excused himself to the restroom where he contacted his higher-ups and they in turn notified Amber Team of the Deathstalker unit. Amber Team had been in Covonant to just investigate the Caelian Bridge bombing incident and now they had a different mission: to assassinate Selling.

---

April 14th, 2018

Coventry, Covonant

The entire week, Amber Team chased after Selling instead of Drive X. The higher-ups reasoned that Selling was a much more of a threat to Athara Magarat and her allies than any flash drive.

"Special Officer Sigmund Acharya, keep in mind of how many terror attacks in Athara Magarat and other Isles nations this bastard has master-minded. And no, he is not to be arrested. He isn't any low-ranking SHOCK member that can reveal information of the higher-ups in the organization. He is brains of the organization. You are aware he is the head of SHOCK's Athara Magarat department and cyber division. Almost all Athara Magarati members of SHOCK joining after 2009 were recruited by him. He is a corrupter who has the special ability to transform normal men and women into suicide bombers. He must be eliminated for everyone's sake." Major Rakisha Pahari, the Sub-Director of AMI, had directly ordered Amber Team to forget everything else and focus on eliminating Selling.

Amber Team also didn't waste any time. They wanted to be the ones to assassinate Selling; the man behind everything that SHOCK did in Athara Magarat. Sigmund Acharya checked the photo of Selling and gazed at the bleached blond man walking with his friends to a movie. As he steered the car slowly, Sigmund had no doubt that this was Selling.

Amber Team had ten members but ten more AMI agents and informants within the city had joined them for this operation. Five, including Acharya, were in the car at the moment. They had been tracking this bleached blond man for a week and every passing moment, they became more and more sure that this was him. However, Acharya was getting a little unnerved with his junior agents at their slight incompetence. The residents of this smaller northwestern district of the city were not used to seeing this many strangers arrive all of a sudden to their locality and very suspicious. But none of this will matter after Selling is dead, was what Sigmund considered a positive thought and Selling didn't seem to have noticed them.

"The movie was great..."

"The hot actress man, what's her name?"

As soon as the movie-goers poured out of the cinema, the agents who had went to the movie hall informed Acharya that Selling and his companions had moved out and provided the directions for the bus the group had taken.

"They are out of the bus." Moments later, one of the agents informed Acharya.

"Oh, I can see them." Acharya watched a group of men and women get off the bus and walk down the street. The bleached blond man, Selling, was dragging an inebriated woman to stand on her feet. "Enjoy your last happy moments, Selling. Hit it!"

The car sped and pulled in front of the group who had just returned from watching a movie. The driver and Acharya remained in their car while the three occupants of the back seat got out.

"Is there a problem?" the bleached blond man asked.

Meanwhile, a woman in the group was dialing the police at the arrival of these strangers. "I am calling the cops."

"Yes there is. And it won't do you any good." The female AMI agent produced her handgun and fired. As the bleached blond man slumped, his terrified friends screamed.

"Murder!!!" One of the men shouted and the entire street was now filled with lights. People peeked out of their windows to check what was happening at the streets.

The female AMI agent started searching the bleached blond man's corpse. His friends, visibly angry threw around punches in the air but the two other agents prevented them from tampering in their operation.

"He is dead." The female agent nodded to Sigmund. She found the dead man's ID. "Vrikan Han-Tsuma. Bastard was posing was a Xrevaran - " Her eyes then saw that the dead man had an extra thumb in his left hand. "It's not him!"

"What?" Sigmund Acharya raised hie eyes.

"He has an extra thumb. It's not him..." Tears dropped down the female agent's eyes when she realized her fatal mistake.

As she continued staring at the innocent face of the dead man, she heard sirens in the distance and police cars approach the scene while Sigmund Acharya shouted "Fuck!"