“Yes, I have wondered about the sudden halt in attacks from the SSAWPS,” Brycen acknowledged, turning to Griffin. He felt more comfortable with him there, and he liked talking to Griffin more than this kid named Rian Allen. He related to him more, what with their experience in an agency under their control being on the brink of chaos or destruction. He didn’t know much about what was the IISOW now, but he knew about the ASW. Everyone knew about the ASW, and although he was sorrowful at the loss of Sean, who was such a great leader, Brycen was in awe of finally being able to meet Jameson, whom he’d heard a lot about.
It had never made sense to Brycen that the ASW had only five buildings spread throughout the various countries of the world, all of which had been destroyed by the SSAWPS. It wasn’t just the SSAWPS, and almost all the agencies knew. There was something else out there hiding in secret that they should be worried about. But now that all of the buildings had been destroyed, the ASW had appeared to fall apart, even in the undercurrent services. On the surface, they appeared to regroup as the IISOW, but Brycen knew the ASW ran even deeper than most agencies knew. Something about the ASIAW. The Protection Organization of Abaca Fiji didn’t have a lot of experience with this agency, so Brysen had been surprised when Griffin had shown up outside the shields to his fortress with Jameson, Rian Allen, and a girl who had claimed to come from the GCA by the name of Chloë Helvik.
“We believe that this is because the attacks on your agency were just a distraction from something so much more important,” Chloë expressed. “Right now the SSAWPS are attacking a bunch of smaller agencies, but those attacks have lessened greatly and the larger parts of their forces seem to be inactive at the moment.”
“Which begs the question, what are they waiting for?” Jameson considered.
Brycen leaned forward on his desk and put his chin in his palm. “Do you know?” Jameson glanced at Rian, who had been quiet so far except to say his name. Brycen realized that Rian hadn’t even told him what agency he worked for, so he asked.
Rian looked up. “I’m with the Secret Association of Viktor Executives,” he said. “It’s a new agency that hasn’t been here for very long but is considerably large, although unnoticed by those who haven’t been approached by it. The SAVE knows a lot about what is to come, specifically about the Supreme Assembly of the Great Unprecedented Brotherhood. The SAGUB have been around for longer than most agencies know and have been amassing their forces, including the SIASS, the CGG, the SSAWPS, and even what is left of the UCAPS.”
Brycen had surprise written across his face. “The SSAWPS making allegiances? The UCAPS continues on?”
“Well…” Chloë started, but Rian stopped her by raising his hand. Brycen looked at him again.
“Yes. The UCAPS have been working on rebuilding ever since Faryl Ghoad and Laurita Fonseca were killed,” Rian explained. “Señorita Fonseca was of a high rank in the SIASS leadership, and Faryl Ghoad was the son of the original leader of the CGG, although he was the one who made it into the agency it is nowadays. We do not know where the leadership of the UCAPS is, but there have been rumors of a bombing made by a SIASS member in a meetinghouse of the UCAPS that killed them.”
Brycen sat back from his desk. “So how did you get involved with the SAVE?” he asked.
Rian let out a breath. “It was actually the UCAPS. Viktor has a way of recruiting agents who have been on the wrong side to join him.”
Brycen started in his chair. “Wait, what? You were with the UCAPS? How?”
Rian sat down in a chair across from Brycen. “My uncle, Kent Allen, worked for the UCAPS,” he began. “Once I was with him when he got a call from them about a mission that couldn’t possibly wait. Both my parents were working at the time and my little sister usually stayed over at a friend’s house because she was too young to go to school, so he was usually the one to take me everywhere. That day we had gone to a festival quite a long ways from home, and the mission was close to where we were, so Uncle Kent took me with him and told me to wait in the car. He said he had some important business to attend to, but it took longer than expected and I couldn’t wait for him to get back. I left the car but got lost in an alley behind a warehouse. When I couldn’t find him, I started back towards the car but just as I rounded a corner, he found me. There was an explosion, and he pulled me away in the opposite direction. It felt like we ran for at least a mile before he stopped at a gas station and called a taxi. He rode home with me, but he didn’t say anything when I asked him about the car. He didn’t say much at all.
That night the explosion was in the news. I recognized the place where he had parked his car, so I knew it was his. The next morning my mom told me before she left for work that a friend was taking me to school instead of Uncle Kent. As soon as they dropped me off at Kenny C. Guinn Middle School, I left for my uncle’s house. I knew where he lived. I saw agents in his living room when I looked through a window, so I barged in, stupidly thinking I could somehow protect him. But they weren’t his enemies, and I wouldn’t leave until he finally told me about the UCAPS. I figure he didn’t think anyone would believe a twelve-year-old kid if I were to tell anyone, but he definitely didn’t expect me to join the agency as soon as I turned fourteen. I thought it was cool being some sort of spy, even if it was just an internship, and I had never told anyone about my uncle being in the UCAPS. It was easy for me to go on stakeouts or organize files at the facility because my parents were always gone and Uncle Kent usually drove me around anyway. I usually tried to keep my grades up, but my mom didn’t care about that and my dad didn’t expect too much of me. When my grades slipped below a C+, it was usually Uncle Kent who told me to shape up. He wouldn’t let me drop school, which is a good thing. My parents never knew about my work with the agency, even when I went on a mission to Arizona with Uncle Kent when I turned sixteen. We had told them it was a road trip we were going to take and they shouldn’t worry about it.
Uncle Kent got an undercover job in Arizona, and somehow he convinced my parents there would be better job opportunities for them there as well. So we moved to Pheonix and Uncle Kent worked in Mesa. It was a huge change from Spring Valley in Nevada, but I got used to it quickly because I started working more with the UCAPS. I usually scouted for weaknesses in other agencies that had been dubbed “overly-privileged”. The UCAPS had this idea that agencies were trying to rule over other agencies or control people’s lives and take away their freedoms. Their biggest problem was the HIA. I always thought it was odd that they had allied themselves with the SIASS because the whole desire of the SIASS was edged on power. But I guess the UCAPS couldn’t see that. Kent told me that the SIASS was different because it was only trying to revise those agencies and transform them into something better. I started to believe him, too.
It wasn’t until Viktor found me and spoke with me that I started to realize how terrible it was, what the UCAPS was doing. They were tearing down perfectly good agencies just for their own ambitions and fear of others having too much control. He told me about all the good things the HIA had done, and how a lot of those things involved stopping the SIASS. The UCAPS was so messed up that they didn’t even realize how irrational it was to be allied with the SIASS, who were taking over agencies in order to gain control. When the SIASS allied with the CGG, I had somehow overlooked what a horrible step had been taken in the UCAPS as well and how much it had swayed from its original course. He told me about a program that was working against an agency that sought to gain power over all other agencies and control the world. It was called the Supreme Assembly of the Great Unprecedented Brotherhood. He told me straight out that this SAGUB to which he was referring was a higher leadership to the SIASS, the CGG, the UCAPS, and the SSAWPS. I hadn’t even realized there was a higher power that connected and controlled all these agencies. And I had been a part of it!
When he told me of his agency, the Secret Association of Viktor Executives, and how it was a small, covert, and obscure agency working to rid of the SAGUB in any way it could, I was eager to join. Something about its small-scale and modest operations enticed me; possibly because of the training and beliefs I had received from the UCAPS in order to distrust large, commanding agencies. It was through the SAVE that I learned about the workings of the SSAWPS. There’s something bigger here that we are trying to figure out, some reason why they are bridling their forces and controlling their resources more. In order to combat that, we have to build our numbers and make sure we are ready for whatever is to come.”
Brycen sat back comfortably. “Are you sure you’re okay with that? If the SAVE continues to make allegiances and get larger, then it could become one of those agencies that controls others. In fact, it’s natural for larger agencies to take charge, and sometimes they can overlook the rights they may be stepping on.”
“I’ve thought about that,” Rian said, nodding. “I have a lot of my own questions as well. What if we ally ourselves with the wrong agencies? What if we overstep our boundaries? What if our calculations are wrong or we make the wrong decision about something important, possibly life-threatening? These are all things I have problems with, things I worry about. Times are rough when you have to be a leader, but” –he stood and turned away—“I’m seventeen now. It’s taken awhile to get to where I am now and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve begun to trust who I am and what I need to do. And I trust Viktor. I am just as concerned now as I was before about the abuse of power, but I think I understand the good from the bad a little bit more now.” Rian turned to Brycen. “And I know that what we are doing is right.”
Brycen stood up from his chair with a smile. “The POAF thanks you for coming here today, and we would like some time to consider your proposal.” He stuck out his hand to Rian, and when he took it, Brycen closed it in with his other hand. “I have a lot of respect for you,” he said, before letting go.
Rian gave a modest smile. “Thank you for your consideration.”
Brycen nodded. Jameson stepped forward and handed a folded slip of paper to Brycen. “Please, when you have your answer, contact us.”
“The sooner the better,” Chloë added. Then the three of them left. Brycen stared down at the paper in his hand. He was almost ready to accept, but there was something he had to do first.
*****************
Rian hadn’t been entirely truthful with Brycen. There was more to his story than anyone knew. The part where there had been three graves. His parents hadn’t moved to Phoenix for work. He had lied. While he was with Uncle Kent on the mission to Arizona, his parents had gotten in a car crash while taking Lyla to a festival. It was the same festival he had gone to years earlier with Uncle Kent, when he had found out about the UCAPS. That was part of the reason why it had been so easy for Viktor to change him. He had already begun to feel sick about working with the UCAPS, even though it had nothing to do with the SIASS. It was the coincidence of the crash that made him ache, and he had been hoping for some sort of change. So when Viktor came and told him about the SAVE, he knew he had made the right choice, not only because of his doubt about the UCAPS but because he was tired of living in the past.
He entered the jet behind Jameson and Chloë closed the door from the cockpit then started up the engines that lifted them into the air. They headed towards Japan, where Lawler had told him was a clue to the abandoned SIASS base. It was peculiar that the base hadn’t been destroyed yet or that what was left of the SIASS hadn’t been able to keep it much of a secret that the base was now abandoned. Maybe there was something still important to the SIASS left there. Or maybe it was a trap. Nobody knew, but Rian was hoping they would soon find out. He was prepared for it to be a trap, and he was sure that they would be able to check it out without too much issue.
He walked towards the back of the plane and sat down next to Guilian. “What’s up?” Guilian asked as Rian sat down. He had been part of the ASW before it had exploded, but he had been working in a different area and offered his services when the others needed it. He had joined the IISOW but jumped at the chance to join the SAVE when he heard about it. He was a dedicated soldier and was willing to help whenever and wherever needed.
“I have a lot of confidence he will join,” Rian answered. “If not, at least we put the idea in his head. I know he will be fighting for the right side when it happens.”
“It?” Guilian questioned. He looked towards the front of the plane, where Chloë was piloting and the others were sitting quietly. “You all keep talking about this ‘it’ like it’s some kind of tangible being. It’s almost like you’ve already marked ‘it’ on your calendar.”
“I don’t know, Guilian,” Rian responded. “Whatever it is, I know it will bring a lot of destruction. If you don’t see war as a possibility, you can never be prepared for it.”
“So it’s a war.”
Rian looked at him, but Guilian was still staring towards the front of the plane. Rian turned his head to watch the clouds go by the window on the other side of the plane. “It seems like it,” he said finally.
*****************
Xarissa was ordering her breakfast when Kate walked up to join her. The waiter left and the girls began to talk.
"How close is this 'talisman'?" Kate asked.
"Pretty close. We should be able to 'observe' it easily," she replied. Kate picked up the menu and scrutinized the English translation.
"How much longer?" Kate wondered.
"How much longer to what?" Xarissa asked back.
"Everything. How long do we have to stay here? How long until the boys wake up? How long will it take to 'observe' the 'talisman'? How long until the waiter comes back?" Kate faced Xarissa. "I never liked staying in one place for long."
The waiter returned to their table with Xarissa's meal.
"Are you ready to order, sir?"
"Yes," Kate answered, ignoring the fact that he called her 'sir', and told him what she wanted. The waiter scribbled her order on his notepad, asked if they needed anything else (which they denied) and walked away.
The waiter returned several quiet minutes later with Kate's meal. As soon as he left, three boys came noisily down the corridor.
"About time you showed. Did you get lost?" Xarissa scolded.
"Nope. Overslept," Daniel answered confidently.
"We don't have time for that," Kate replied. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible."
"What's the rush?" Chris asked.
Kate and Xarissa both glared at Chris.
"Women," Hayden whispered quietly.
The three boys didn't get a proper breakfast: they had several granola bars and snacks from their own supplies and from a small Japanese shack in front of the hotel by a bus stop.
"So..." Daniel started. Nobody answered. "What's the plan?"
"Get on a bus, go inside the museum, observe the talisman, leave," Xarissa answered smartly. Daniel was silent after this sharp reply. He was silent for the rest of the wait for the bus. He was silent on the bus, while walking to the museum, while they were searching for the talisman in the museum. He was silent when they found the talisman and while they were observing the talisman and he was silent when they left. It wasn't until they went back to their hotel rooms when Daniel finally spoke.
"Are we going home now?"
"Tomorrow," Xarissa replied as Kate opened the door to their room. "Get some sleep." The two girls slipped inside the bedroom. The boys did the same.
*****************
As soon as Daniel laid on the bed, he zonked out. Tokyo was 16 hours ahead of Phoenix: he was severely afflicted by jetlag. Daniel had traveled east before by plane when traveling from Denmark. Jetlag was always worse traveling west. The rest of the team, however, wanted this to happen. Chris confirmed that Daniel was asleep, then texted Xarissa. Xarissa then texted her instructions to the two boys.
The group left in couples: Chris with Xarissa, Hayden with Kate. They toured Tokyo, ate dinner, and drank lots of caffeine. When night finally came, the group returned to the top of the hotel, dressed in their gear and ready for work.
“I hope Daniel is still asleep, or he’ll be a mess when he wakes up,” Kate commented as she helped unpack the plane.
“Why is that?” Chris questioned, lifting the heavy bag carrying their emergency float over his head.
“Chris, keep that on the plane,” Xarissa instructed.
“He would wake up and not be able to find anyone. That would be kind of freaky for someone so unregulated to agent duties and all that entails,” Kate explained as Chris turned around and carried the float back into the plane.
“I don’t think we will have to worry about that,” Hayden stated.
“Why’s that?” Chris asked with exertion as he set the float on the floor and pushed it back into the cabinet.
“In fact, you might find it pretty difficult to wake him up when we get back,” Hayden added thoughtfully. The others turned towards him and stared at him. Slowly Kate realized what he meant by that and raised her eyebrows towards Xarissa, who just shook her head and shrugged.
“Why?” Chris asked, not getting it.
“Do you realize that this whole time all you’ve been doing is asking that same question?” Xarissa huffed as she passed him. “Everyone get in.”
As soon as everyone was in, Xarissa typed the address of the museum into the autopilot and set it to “circle target” at a high elevation with sharp angle degrees in order to get as close to the museum as possible.
“Hayden and Katie, you will be making the pick-up. I want you to parachute to the top of the museum at this point here.” She pointed to a spot on the GPS, having taken into account wind direction and positioning angles before they started unloading the plane. “You will have to go through the vents.” She handed them each thin, handheld devices. “This shows a blueprint of the building, and the vents are marked in green. Those red dots that you see are guards on duty. The yellow dot in the center is our target. Extraction time will have to be at about 11:43 to 11:46.”
“Three minutes?” Hayden inquired, looking up from his work on the parachute belt around his waist.
“Yes,” Xarissa answered. She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “It’s exactly 11:35 now. In about a minute and a half, there will be an opening for roof entry, but you have only about 40 seconds to get the grate open and dive in. Estimated time until drop is…55…54 seconds. Any questions?”
“So we have about 5 minutes to get to target, three minutes for take-down,” Kate summarized, finishing up her parachute. “How much time do we have to get back?”
“There’s another opportunity for roof access at 11:49, but you should have more time then. I should be able to hover-maneuver the plane over you at that point, but you need to say the code word for pick-up, ‘about face’, thirty seconds in so that I can be there on time. Stand by the side hatch; it’s almost time. Oh, and one other thing. Try to leave the place as it was. We want to go as unnoticed as possible, leaving as little traces of the extraction as possible.”
“Gotcha,” Kate acknowledged. The two agents stood by the hatch as the doors opened. They grabbed hands as Xarissa counted down the time, and as soon as she reached zero, they jumped off.
“Just a quick question,” Chris mentioned. “What am I here for?”
Xarissa huffed and turned to him. “I’m not sure. Certainly not to complain,” she snapped.
Chris raised his hands in defense and backed away, sitting down in one of the seats to wait for the others.
*****************