Chapter
4 – What Has to Be Done
The third year of Protocol M10:34
has come; it's the planned final year. Because of all the work we’ve done, the
Zeitloses Imperium is weakened more than they’re saying publicly, and the
allies we’ve armed now have enough weapons, ammo, and vehicles to wage war
against them. Still, the Campione brothers have much for us to do, and want us
to cause as much damage as possible, even if it means also hurting ourselves
and allies. For example, Garnet, Bezalel, and I have been chipping away at
Imperium soldier bases within our country. If we declared war, they would’ve
been told to get out or be destroyed, but since the war has yet to be declared,
they’re just areas full of sitting ducks that we can plunder for weapons and
supplies.
Right now, we’re in a town that
honestly supports the Imperium, holds parades and appreciation celebrations for
them, and many of the townspeople are employed in their army. Because of this
real love of the Imperium, they’re sending their officers here for a vacation
and to celebrate their unity with the United Chimaera States. Donnie is
personally taking part in assassinating them, along with a group of personally
selected Protocol M10:34 agents to help us out.
After Donnie lays out the plan to
kill all the Imperium officers at the celebration dinner to get rid of them all
at once, Garnet raises a question. She asks, “What about the civilians? What
about the Imperium soldiers whose home is this town?”
“They’ve chosen their side. If they
fight against us, then they won’t be spared,” Donnie says.
“For the sake of our secrecy?”
“For the sake of the safety of our
nation.”
“But we’re attacking people from
our nation!”
“Focus only on the targets. Anyone
else can be shot in non-lethal areas, but this has to look like another
extremist attack.”
“Are you listening to what I’m
saying? What I’m concerned about?”
“You knew what you were getting
into when you signed up to be an agent. A citizen of this nation can be just as
deadly to its safety as any foreigner, and this gathering of Vorfahren proves
it. If we start the war against the Imperium now, the people of this town will
fight against us and cause trouble for others, their own countrymen. We’re
stopping them before any harm can come to anyone in our home. Understood?”
“…yes, sir.”
Donnie gives me that deadly look
again, and I find it hard to keep eye contact.
Thankfully, he looks away and at
Bezalel. He asks, “Are you with us, Bezalel? You look like you want to say
something.”
“No, nothing, sir. You already
answered a question that I had,” Bezalel says.
“Good. Let’s get to it then.”
All agents head out to the hall
where the appreciation ceremony is being held in disguise, wearing security,
waiter, and suits and dresses. Those dressed up as waiters place small bombs
under the assigned seats of the Imperium officers; the agents dressed up as security
knock out the real security guards and secure the camera room; and the agents
who are blending in with the party set themselves up in parts of the hall to
take care of the rest of the targets in the crowd where civilians are. Once everyone,
including the late arrivals, is at the party and the officers start giving
their speeches, Donnie radios for us to begin the attack. We put on our gas
masks, blow up the officers, and activate the tear gas in the ventilation
system. While everyone in the hall is choking and struggling to stand, we put
down every officer and target on our list, and then quickly head out.
Garnet, Bezalel, and I regroup back
at our hideout with Donnie and the rest of the agents. Donnie tells us we’ve
done a good job and to stay in hiding and await further orders. While waiting
for orders, Garnet, Bezalel, and I walk around town in our casual disguises to
blend in with the rest of the townspeople to scout for information. The
townspeople talk about how angry they are and also terrified about what
happened at the hall the other day, and how something should be done about it.
Local officers are investigating it, but have been paid off by the SIB to do a
surface-level investigation and then close the case with no conclusion to it.
“When the war starts, I wonder if
we’ll have to keep doing this,” Garnet says to us in a low voice.
“We’ll be going after real bad guys
who are trying to hinder us in winning the war. I’m sure it’ll be business as
usual,” Bezalel says.
“I hope so. What do you think,
Draco?”
I grunt in response, think for a
second, and then say, “I’d be happy to use that free unlimited paid vacation
they’re offering as a reward for our work.”
“You know what? Me too. We’ve been
back in our country for over a year, and it’s been a long time since I last saw
my family,” Garnet says.
“I somewhat agree. It depends on
whether or not I feel the need to participate in the war,” Bezalel says.
“You already fought in one world
war. Why fight it again?” I ask.
“I know that it’s God’s calling for
me. If God wants me to die in it for the sake of others, then I will. If not, I
get to enjoy more time with bandages and gas masks on my face for the rest of
my life.”
A couple more days pass before we
hear back from command, but we don’t get orders this time. Instead, we are told
to simply watch the news, so Bezalel, Garnet, and I go to the nearest bar and
tell them to turn on the conference. The Campione brothers are meeting with the
heads of the Imperium from all major countries to renew their alliance with
them, or that’s what they think. Early into the conference, masked men in suits
lock the doors of the conference room and keep the cameras rolling. The leaders
of the Imperium are taken by surprise and ask the Campione brothers what is
happening.
Vincenzo smiles, stands up, and
says, “What’s happening is that we’re declaring war on you. You might’ve had the
notion that we were allies or might’ve been smart enough to see that this was
the plan from the start, but that doesn’t matter now. You might also be
wondering why I’m declaring war like this in front of the world. Well, I am the
Commander in Chief, and all good leaders lead from the front and put their
lives on the line for those they love.”
Vincenzo, Cesare, and their guards
pull out their guns and engage in a gunfight with the Imperium leaders and
their guards. All the cameras are shot in the chaos, and the people on the news
start talking about it. Everyone in the bar we’re in is in a panic as well over
what is happening, while Garnet, Bezalel, and I leave.
“That was something else,” Bezalel
says.
“I guess that means the protocol is
over,” I say.
“I hope it is,” Garnet says.
Going back to our hideout, Donnie
calls us telling that Protocol M10:34 is finished, and that “Thy Will is done,
the code phrase to release all agents of the protocol from their mental
training. He then gives us the option of continuing to help the country against
the Imperium or taking a vacation, and the three of us chose to take a vacation.
We go to a private resort in the City of Angels that’s owned by the SIB. While
relaxing on the beach, we enjoy our drinks and the good weather.
“I still feel bad you can’t completely
enjoy the weather with that mask on your face, Bezalel,” I say.
“Don’t. I’m used to it. Besides,
peace and relaxation are in the mind, and the pain I still bear I use as
penance for my sins,” Bezalel says.
“Heh. What sins are you guilty of?”
“…many, as of late.”
Garnet gets closer to me and says, “Draco,
we need to talk to you about-”
A shot rings out from behind us,
and Garnet is shot in the head, killing her. Before Bezalel can get up and
react, he is shot and killed in the same way. Meanwhile, I continue to sit and
drink while looking up at the sky. Donnie approaches me with a drink of his
own, dressed in swim trunks and a colorful dress shirt, as if he’s simply here
to enjoy the beach with me. Two other agents dressed like him come to take away
the bodies of Bezalel and Garnet and clean up what happened here.
As we sit together, Donnie says, “They
were going to expose the protocol, Draco. They had to die.”
“I know. I arranged for this to
happen, didn’t I?” I ask.
“You did. You showed your loyalty
to your country, and for that, you can enjoy your vacation for as long as you
want, even retire in it.”
“Donnie, did we really do the right
thing?”
“I think so. We did what we had to,
so that we could free the world from the Imperium.”
“I pray that you’re right.”
“I do the same, Draco. I do the
same.”
Donnie and I continue to enjoy our drinks and the weather, and talk as if what happened didn’t occur. From what I've heard, they're burning everything about Protocol M10:34 to ashes, and any agents or allies who try to expose it are being buried six feet under. For everyone else loyal to the country, the SIB watches us and gives us what we want as long as we don’t say anything, which I won’t. I think I’d rather just forget about it all and live in penitential seclusion with my loved ones, like a cloistered monk or nun. The memory of Garnet and Bezalel will probably haunt me until I see them again in the afterlife. I hope they’ll forgive me for what I had to do.
The End
Chapter
3 – 19 8 1 4 15 23 0 1 14 7 5 12
Another year of Protocol M10:34 has
passed, and progress is monotonous, with highs and lows, yet steady. Because
President Campione can’t officially support us, he’s sent United Chimaera
States forces against the groups we secretly support. Several people with the M
on the palms of their hands have been either killed or jailed, some of whom
were actual extremists or agents of the protocol. President Campione hasn’t
been sending many agents to give us a heads-up about raids on our allies and
hideouts, so we have to be ready for them to give the appearance that we’re
apart from our own country. As for us, Bezalel and Garnet have had more emotional outbursts, so to keep the mental training holding on in their minds, I’ve had protocol agents come to help them, under the guise of therapy and medical care.
This year, we’re helping a revolution brew in Frankreich. It’s been occupied for a long time and was one of the first countries in Proavus to fall to Adler and the Imperium. Now, we have to make sure the Imperium’s forces are weakened here, especially since it’s one of the planned invasion sites for the coming renewal of the Second Great War. Given the importance of this task, we have multiple agents working in the area and are supposed to get more help today because of a secret weapon we found. A series of knocks on our hideout door gets my attention. After going to it and quietly asking for the code phrase, I’m given the correct response, and I open the door to see that it’s one of the heads of the SIB, Donnie Parlarono.
After letting him in, Garnet,
Bezalel, and I greet him. I say, “It’s a surprise to see you out here, sir.”
Donnie is the spitting image of a
normal person with brown hair, brown eyes, and the dull colored fedora and suit
of a common worker, and this is the appearance he usually has to hide how powerful
a man he actually is.
Taking off his fedora, Donnie
smiles at us and says, “Ah, that’s the point. Aha, I’m just glad to be out of
the States. To be honest, it’s better being out here than there because I have
to work with agents of the Imperium to fight my own people. It’s emasculating.”
“Tell me about it. It felt
emasculating helping Ruthenia get back on its feet to fight back against
Adler,” Bezalel says.
“Good work on that, by the way.
Ruthenia was absolutely key in restarting the Second Great War, and with them
now able to fight back against their occupiers on their own in Eastern Proavus,
we can focus more on Western Proavus. So, tell me about this secret weapon here
in Frankreich.”
Sitting down with Donnie and giving
him a cup of coffee, I show him pictures of the labs we’ve infiltrated and
documents we’ve copied.
“This weapon we’ve discovered is a
variation on the gas-based weapons used in the First Great War, except this one
is supposed to make others hallucinate,” I say.
“Who in the Imperium made them?”
Donnie asks.
“No one did. This is an independent
Frankreich resistance movement, comprised of extremist citizens and the
remnants of their army, who want to take their country back at all costs,”
Garnet explains.
“What of the resistance movement
you’re leading? Do they have anything to do with them?”
“No, they’re a separate movement,
who are in conflict with the actual extremists.”
“I think this opposition is a
government plant,” Bezalel suggests. “How else could they be so well armed and
get the materials they needed for the kind of weapon they have?”
The thought of one
government-backed revolutionary movement fighting another is so funny to me
that I can’t help but laugh a little.
“Whatever the case is, these actual
extremists can’t be allowed to use their weapon. Do you know where it’s being
kept?” Donnie asks.
“Yes. We have our people watching
the area and sending us updates,” I say.
“Tell them we’re going to move in
today to end this threat.”
We do as Donnie says and get ready.
Donnie has brought a few more Protocol M10:34 agents with him as backup for
this attack on the extremists’ hideout, along with a case full of agent tools,
including lock-picking devices, electronics jammers, gas masks, and tools that
make people easier to interrogate. Heading out to the town, all the agents and
allies we have in the area surround the target building, then go inside. From
the outside and inside, it looks like a normal home converted into a bakery, but in the basement, behind a hidden door, it's a research facility.
Our small infiltration group spreads out throughout the facility to cover more
ground, plant explosives to blow this place up, and secure the secret weapon.
While sneaking around, we use our knives to silently kill and get them out of
our way before hiding their body in dark corners of the facility, lockers, and
boxes that shouldn’t be discovered until we leave.
As I set the explosives, I peek into one of the rooms to see how the weapon is being made and the gas being tested on Adler soldiers. The soldiers go insane, yelling, screaming, and crying, with some even killing one another or themselves with their bare hands, and as this is happening, the observers are laughing and joking about it. Additionally, people in black robes in the room are performing some sort of occult ritual. Before I can move on, I hear gunshots and the alarm ringing. All the doors in the rooms lock, the lights go out, and the gas used on the test subjects starts leaking throughout the facility.
I put my mask on, and yet I can
still smell the gas and start feeling affected by it. My head feels light, and
my body feels weightless, as if I’m moving in a dream. Everything around me
blurs together like a swirl, and I start hearing more sounds of screaming,
fighting, crying, and gunshots. I try to find a way out of the facility, but
every hallway looks the same, and the facility looks like it goes on forever.
“You threw yourself into danger for
the sake of others, but now, you throw the innocent into danger for the sake of
your country,” I hear a dark voice say.
A door in the hallway opens. Going
through it, I find myself back in the City of Angels in a burning ship. The
criminal scum in it start shooting at me, and the sounds of screaming and
crying children and innocent adults push me to recklessly shoot and run through
the criminals to get to them. While running through the ship, I see the
innocent killing themselves by hanging or shooting themselves in the head
because of what they’ve been through and done against their will. Reaching the
source of the crying and screaming, I see them burning alive in a cage that I’m
unable to unlock.
“No! It didn’t happen this way! I
did save some of them from this ship!” I say out loud.
A door in the cage opens to a
hallway in a rundown apartment. I go through it as a dark voice says, “No, but
you still didn’t save all of them like you wanted to, just like how you didn’t
save other innocents during your time as an officer.”
Knowing what’s through the door, I
refuse to go through it, instead going through the door back where I came, and
somehow, I find myself in the apartment.
“I tried my best. I was still a
beginner! I learned from my mistake!” I say.
I do my best to run out of the
apartment, but I keep ending up on the same floor and closer and closer to the
door I dread going through.
“You failed. You still hold onto
it, despite not wanting to. The memory is permanently seared into the back of
your mind, like a constant motive and reminder never to fail again,” the dark
voice says.
I exit at the bottom of the
staircase and find myself in a room with a young girl holding a gun to her
head. No matter how much I struggle, I feel helpless, unable to do anything but
watch her cry and take her own life. The floor beneath me cracks and then falls
apart. Now I’m back in the Middle East, backed by Adler soldiers and facing the
Cult of the Pale Green Horse. We ruthlessly execute the people we once helped
as we make our way through a palace decorated with the bodies of other soldiers
and civilians.
My mind remembers that it’s in the
present, so I thankfully switch to non-lethal rounds to knock out the child
brides of the Middle Eastern leaders and kid soldiers they force into service.
Still, the Adler soldiers shoot and kill them. I lift my gun to shoot them
back, but I can’t.
“Complete your assignment, agent.
Don’t be compromised. Think of the greater good,” a dark voice says.
My arms lower my gun, and I go back
to clearing the palace until the Adler soldiers and I leave it and enter the
streets of Ruthengrad when it was under the control of the Slav Federation.
Garnet actively argues with the Adler officers to spare civilians and injured
soldiers, while Bezalel helps the soldiers and then stays on the sidelines with
me when the Adler soldiers start dividing the people into those who will be
spared and those who will be killed or shipped off to death camps.
“You stood by and helped your
enemies do evil. Do you think you’re justified in doing so because you were
facing another evil enemy?” the dark voice asks.
“I pray every day to know and do
better,” I say.
“You don’t do enough. You say you
pray, but you don’t do enough. You’ve always been under a puppet master's
influence. You’ve never needed their brainwashing to do their bidding.”
Visions of what I’ve been doing
during Protocol M10:34 blur together and push me through the events all at
once, as if the whole world and time are converging together around me. I kill my own countrymen, torture people for information, stab and shoot a
countless number of foreigners, blow up various city and town buildings, and
walk away from helping extremists who shoot anyone they want to. Taking the
advice of the dark voice, I pray harder until the visions
stop one after the other, and I find myself back in the facility I was in. I
slap myself a few times to make sure I’m truly awake and in reality, and
thinking that I am, I use my radio to call my fellow agents.
“Donnie, Garnet, Bezalel?” I say
into the radio.
Around the facility, I see signs of
a gunfight, dozens of dead bodies, and blown-open doors and cages. I hit my
head a few times to make sure the gas isn’t affecting me, then I start hearing
someone moving around.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” I say
with my pistol up.
Thanks be to God, Bezalel and
Garnet appear from around the corner. They’re bruised, bloodied, and their
clothes and armor are in tatters, but they’re fine. I run over to hug them, and
they hug me back.
“What did you think, we died?”
Bezalel asks.
“Did you have those strange,
realistic nightmares too, Draco?” Garnet asks.
I let go of them and say, “Yes, I
did, and it was horrible. I still feel the effect of it in my head.”
“You too? I’m remembering things
that I thought were bad dreams.”
“What exactly are you remembering?”
I ask.
“Shooting civilians, killing our
own police officers and soldiers, and torturing people who didn’t deserve it,”
Garnet says.
“Don’t believe it, Garnet. You’ve
seen the occult stuff that they were doing here. I have to see a priest on our
next day of rest,” Bezalel says.
“He’s right. We all need a day off
and a blessing from a priest after this,” Donnie says as he appears from behind
us with his accompanying agents, who are holding heavy bags.
“Sir! I’m relieved to see you’re
okay,” I say.
“I can say the same about you.
Let’s all get out of here before the authorities arrive.”
Garnet, Bezalel, and I agree;
however, before we go, Donnie puts his hand on my shoulder.
He whispers in my ear, “That gas
might’ve compromised Garnet and Bezalel’s mental training. Keep a closer eye on
them.”
Looking in Donnie’s eyes, I see the dead serious eyes of a man who’s ready to kill, so I nod in agreement and hope that it doesn’t come to that, and yet, those hopes start to fade immediately when Garnet and Bezalel voice their concerns to Donnie about him and his agents retrieving research and materials that were used to make the gas. Donnie explains that he’s taking it back home so that our scientists can study it to find a way to counter it, an explanation Garnet and Bezalel find unsatisfactory.
Again, Donnie looks at me, so I
agree with him, saying, “If our scientists research a way to counter the gas,
then fewer people can be hurt by it in the future.”
“Well, there’s no arguing with
official orders on an unofficial operation. I hope both of you are right in
what you’re doing,” Bezalel says.
I hope so, too.
Chapter
2 – Sowing Seeds of Destruction
It’s been a year and a few months
since Protocol M10:34 began, and it’s been going mostly to plan, as far as I
know. There have been uprisings by citizens of the United Chimaera State, and
even military, police, and SIB agents have participated in protests and been
caught helping The Sacrifice, and other groups inspired by them popping up in
other countries. I don’t know whether the president and his brother enlisted
more people into the protocol or whether they were always part of it. All I
know now comes through rumors, and the odd agent who delivers my orders tells
me a bit of what’s going on, says the rest doesn’t matter to me, and leaves.
Right now, Garnet, Bezalel, and I are in Ruthenia, the part of Eastern Europe
that was once the Slav Federation. Last year, we helped the Middle East and
Adler defeat the Slav Federation, so helping them fight back against Adler and
the Imperium is a little awkward, to say the least, which is why we’re mostly
helping those who appreciate us freeing the region from the radical Slav
ideology.
We’ve been giving them parts to
make tanks, helicopters, and boats, and stealing guns, explosives, and ammo
from them. After supplying the Ruthenians with so much, we all think it’s about
time we take back some ground from the occupying Adler forces. Before the
battle even starts, the people of Ruthenia drink and celebrate. This isn't just
tradition; it’ll also throw off the occupiers, who are on constant alert for
any signs of rebellion, especially with current events. Garnet and I aren’t
taking part in the drinking game, though Bezalel is. I can count on one hand
the times I’ve seen him with his mask fully off, and this time, he’s wearing
bandages to cover his scarred and burned face. His eyes are a different color
than I usually remember, or maybe they change color like mine, and his hair is
a charred black, kind of like mine, but with less visible grey.
So far, Bezalel has been
out-drinking every Ruthenian for every pre-battle and casual drinking challenge
presented to them. These people have a major drinking problem. It’s no wonder
why they were conquered so easily by the Slav ideology and Adler army. As
Garnet and I watch Bezalel drink and dance like an idiot with the rest of the
drunken revolutionary soldiers, I hear her laugh.
I laugh too, and say, “This is the
first time in a while, Garnet. Are you drinking too much?”
“No. I just find this all funny to
watch, and there’s a weird sense of peace to it, like we’re not waging a shadow
war on the Imperium.”
“They call it a war on terror, but
I like the sound of shadow war better. You are right, though. I’m a bit
saddened that we can’t enjoy times like these more often.”
“It’s the life of an SIB agent.
It’s what we signed up for.”
“Yeah…it is.”
“Hmm? Is something wrong?”
“No. What surprises me is that
these people are seemingly celebrating the day before they attack one of their
cities with their own people in it.”
“They think that some of their own
countrymen are traitors for not fighting back against Adler. I assume they’d
think twice if they were hurting and killing their fellow countrymen if those
people had nothing to do with the current occupation.”
Garnet is speaking as if she didn’t
do exactly that not too long ago, and I guess she shouldn’t be able to remember
or think twice about it.
“God bless them if they can live
with their choices. It’s a hard thing to do, especially in our line of work.”
“They don’t think they’ll live for
long. It’s the Ruthenian way to throw troops into a human meatgrinder for the
sake of their causes. If they do end up thinking more about what they’ve done
and get bothered by it, then there’s drinking it away, as they do with most
other things.”
“Ha! You’re right.”
After the Ruthenians and Bezalel
have their party, they sleep off their hangovers for a couple of days before we
get moving. From what I hear, the Adler troops aren’t expecting any attack,
figuring any rumors they heard were just drunken Ruthenian ramblings. They
expect the attack to come from foreigners and not natives of this land that
they’ve conquered and renamed, so once this coming attack is over, the
Ruthenians will have to cut out the drinking and take this more seriously.
Before the battle, a leader in the revolution carries a bottle of vodka with
him to the front of the gathered troops.
He throws it to the ground,
breaking it, and says, “No more will we suffer the ever-oppressive eye of
Adler. No longer will we let our people get taken away to re-education and
death camps. We will no longer bear the poisonous influence of their propaganda
and our own countrymen who have betrayed us by siding with them. Today, we
light the fires of freedom and earnestly begin our glorious revolution, and
take back our motherland!”
“Oorah!” the rest of the
revolutionaries say as they raise their hands in the air and throw down their
alcohol.
They exit the building we’re in and
flood the streets of the city they mean to take: Ruthengrad, once called
Slavengrad. Secretly placed explosives go off, blowing up Adler checkpoints,
artillery and anti-air guns, tank positions, and government buildings. Garnet
stays behind to coordinate all allied forces from the basement, while Bezalel
and I join the fight on the ground. Helicopters take off from the rooftops, and
tanks leave their garages and turn on their own. The Ruthenians charge,
scattering groups of Adler soldiers to their own and their enemies’ detriment,
as soldiers from both sides die in droves.
Bezalel and I aren’t as suicidal as
the Ruthenians, and fight in our own way with some of the other revolutionary
soldiers, who choose to take cover in buildings and move from one to another as
we advance to each holdout of Adler soldiers and officials. As the battle rages
on, I watch as Ruthenians focus much of their fire on their own police force,
just as much as the Adler soldiers, given their tendency to hate those they
view as traitors more than foreigners. They also set fire to businesses with
Adler flags on them and places that support them and recruit for their army and
occupying government. Not even police stations are spared, and any citizens the
Ruthenians come across are forced to take up a gun and join the fight.
“Emergency forces from Adler have
been called in. Expect reinforcements to arrive in five minutes,” Garnet says
over our radio.
“Let’s not keep them waiting then!”
a Ruthenian leader says.
All Ruthenian troops and armor move
to where Garnet says the reinforcements are coming from. Even the civilians and
the injured are forced to keep moving without a moment's rest. When the
Ruthenians meet the reinforcements, they kill them more easily than they did
the city’s defenders, as if the battle has made them all proper soldiers. Garnet
informs us of another three waves of reinforcements, each one of which is defeated
by the Ruthenians, who get progressively better at killing and more zealous and
excited with each victory over the Adler military. Their cries of excitement
get even louder when Garnet says that the remaining Adler forces are retreating,
meaning the battle is won. The Ruthenians cry out even louder, and I swear I
can hear other Ruthenians miles away cheering.
Back in the city, Garnet rejoins Bezalel
and me, and we watch the Ruthenians fire their guns in the air, break apart the
Adler statues, burn their propaganda, cheer, and talk about the greatness of
their victory and the many more to come. All remaining Adler soldiers, officials,
citizens, and their known supporters are brought out by the Ruthenian soldiers
and civilians, and beaten, shot, mocked, spit on, and hanged in the streets.
Looking at Garnet and Bezalel, I don’t see the slightest change in their facial
expression as they watch the Ruthenians do the same things that Adler has done
to them. The only thing we say to the leaders of the Ruthenians is that we are
glad for their victory and look forward to continuing to support them. They
thank us and invite us to take part in their sadistic celebration, but we refuse
as politely as possible and go back to the underground hideout to rest.
Bezalel walks ahead of me in the hideout
and slams his hands on the table as he says, “Fuck!”
I’m shocked and unable to say
anything at Bezalel’s sudden display of emotion. He hasn’t shown this much
emotion since the time we brought a human trafficking ring in the City of
Angels, and I’m wondering if the mental training is wearing off.
Garnet walks up to Bezalel, puts a
hand on his shoulder, and says, “It’s going to be okay, Bezalel. It’s not like
they’re punishing people who don’t deserve it.”
“I know, it’s just…I don’t know
what it is,” he says.
“Is it that they’re killing people
in front of children?” I ask.
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s it. I prefer
their drinking parties rather than their murder ones,” Bezalel says.
“Me too, buddy. Let’s get some rest.
Didn’t you want to beat me at Durak?”
“Oh, that’s right. Let’s do that. I
need to get my mind off what I just saw.”
While we’re playing cards and just
starting to joke around, Garnet screams and cries.
“Animals! They’re all scum! They
killed the children too!” she says.
Bezalel and I run over to comfort
Garnet as she continues to scream and cry. What’s going on? The mental training
is supposed to prevent things like this. Are the real Bezalel and Garnet
starting to break through? After calming her down, Garnet tries to fall asleep.
I mainly recommend it because falling asleep should reset her mental restraints
and help her forget what happened today. Bezalel looks at the time and gets
some rest as well. While I’m reading my Bible, what Garnet said hits me.
“Did she say they killed children
too?” I accidentally say out loud.
Now that I’m remembering it, the
Ruthenians were killing children and teenagers as well, just as the Adler
troops and anti-revolutionary officers did. It’s a terrifying thought that the
horror of what happened is only now sinking in. I hope and pray that this
mental training doesn’t have any long-lasting effects. I’m also hoping that
we’re doing the right thing by helping the Ruthenians. Some of them might be
nice, good-natured people, but the same can be said about those from Adler and
the countries in the Imperium. Both have their evil characters and are
essentially two sides of the same coin. I may not feel it in my head, but in my
heart and soul, I’m getting tired of working with horrible people for the
greater good.
Chapter
1 – Deniable Ops
In the United Chimaera States’
capital, my fellow Secret Intelligence Bureau, or SIB, agents and I walk
through the rainy, dark streets in black agent trench coats with hoods pulled
up to cover our faces. We head into a Mediterranean restaurant and go to the
kitchen. At the freezer, a chef stops us and asks for our employee ID. My
fellow agents and I take off our gloves and show him the subtle M on the palms
of our hands. He lets us into the freezer, where we move aside another door and
head down a set of stairs. Two featureless, black-masked guards near the cellar
door check the M on the palms of our hands again before letting us through the
door behind them. Inside the dimly lit room, a group of well-dressed, featureless,
black-masked men armed with rifles guard the president and his brother, the
vice president, who are seated at a table with wine and a charcuterie board in
the center.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please take
a seat,” President Vincenzo Campione says.
We all take our seats around the
table. The Campione brothers are as well-dressed as usual. Vincenzo Campione
wears an expensive-looking red and black fedora and dress suit, while his
brother, Cesare Campione, wears much the same, except his fedora and dress suit
are grey and blue. They both wear snake masks and don’t say a word.
Cesare leans forward and says, “You
have all been specifically chosen by us because of your beliefs and dedication
to see those beliefs change the world. Protocol M10:34 has been activated, and
the United Chimaera States will reignite the Second Great War so that the
oppressive Zeitloses Imperium will fall. They think that because they control
Western and Eastern Proavus on the other side of the world, nothing can ever
challenge them, and the Adler supreme leader will have his Eternal Reich, but
he’s mistaken. He, Il Luce from Lupa, and the Emperor of Tatsu will die by our
hand, and what you do will weaken their forces and give our allies what they need
to join us in the coming war.”
Cesare sits back, and Vincenzo puts
his elbows on the table, clasps his hands together, and says, “No one else
besides Heaven and us will know what you’ve done. Your reward will be payment
under the table and a world at war. You will shoot allies and sabotage them to
sabotage our enemy, and you are to dedicate yourselves to this task, even if it
means dying to complete your objectives. If you are somehow caught alive in
this operation, we will not acknowledge knowing you. Do you understand?”
After a second passes, we all say
we do.
“Good. From now until the
completion of Protocol M10:34, you are considered dead men and women,” Cesare
says.
They place pictures of ourselves in
our hands and set them on fire to burn to ash. Afterward, the M on our palms
are further burned into our skin by the tip of a hot rod of iron.
“Before you go, let us say one last
prayer. Our prayer,” Vincenzo says as he takes the hands of those near him.
Holding each other’s hands, we all
say, “Mother Mary, take the world as given to you by your Son. Let what is done
in the dark affect what is done in the light. See how we mark our palms to show
that we are yours. Use us, your Son’s tools, to enact His will. Our Lady of
Sorrows, Terror of Demons, rain justice upon the world, so that the guilty may
be punished, and the repentant may be relieved. Amen.”
“Go make war to bring peace to the
world,” Vincenzo says.
“Yes, sir,” we all say.
All agents of the SIB leave the
Mediterranean restaurant and go their separate ways. Garnet, Bezalel, and I
don’t say anything to one another as we head to our first target. When we were
first chosen by the president and his brother to be part of this protocol, we
knew what we were getting into, and that there’d be no going back. There’s
nothing to be said about it or questions about our orders. There’s only
completing them and creating a better world, free from the Imperium and their
radical Vorfahren ideology. There’s only doing God’s will and sacrificing our
lives to it.
Garnet, Bezalel, and I drive to a
nearby warehouse, change, and arm ourselves. Bezalel doesn’t need to change
much either, other than his clothes, since he usually wears a gas mask because
of his First Great War injuries. As for Garnet, she takes off her agent
glasses, ties up her brown hair, and puts on the same black bodysuit, black
mask with a pelican on it, and body armor on her chest that I do. The group
that we’re helping, called The Sacrifice, is an extremist group funded, armed,
and managed by the SIB. We’re going to be attacking a parade featuring soldiers
and officers from Adler, Lupa, and Tatsu who are here as a show of the United
Chimaera States unity with the Zeitloses Imperium.
With the parade’s plans and
structure provided by the Chimaera States’ army, Garnet reviews the plans we’ve
made with The Sacrifice. We’re focusing on blowing up and shooting the Imperium
soldiers and officers, and only wounding our own. For this operation, we can’t
use knockout rounds or gas that puts people to sleep. We have to make this look
like a real terrorist attack, like the rest of this group’s attacks, so we have
to be extra careful not to shoot our actual allies. As with most of our
missions, Garnet will be on comms, updating everyone on what’s going on and
what we’re supposed to do, while using her drones, given to us by the SIB, to
see what’s happening.
Once Garnet’s briefing is done, a
leader of The Sacrifice steps up and says, “With this operation, we will
finally begin to make real progress in pushing out the foreign invaders from
our country. Do not waver in doing what you already know to be right and
dedicating yourselves to it. Remember, we sacrifice our time, talent, and lives
to this cause for the sake of others and a better tomorrow. Well? Are you
ready?!”
A cheer rings out in the warehouse
as The Sacrifice mobilizes, gets in their cars, and drives out to their
designated locations. Bezalel and I set ourselves up in a building that’s under
construction. Two rifles and the detonators for the explosives are already
where we need to be, so we take our places and wait for the parade to come to
us. While waiting, I see Bezalel’s leg shake.
“Come on. Come on. Let’s get this
over with,” Bezalel whispers to himself.
I grab Bezalel’s hand; he looks at
me, I nod, and he nods back, understanding that I know how he feels. It’s then
that I recall a suppressed memory. I remember being alone in a windowless, dark
room with President Campione and his brother.
Vincenzo sits on the table near me
and says, “Draco, your reckless dedication to throwing yourself at danger when
innocents are in danger and your willingness to go above the law when it fails
to enforce justice is why you’re here while Garnet and Bezalel are not.
Self-sacrifice is a sign of a true Catholic, of a true man of honor. This is
why we’re telling you more about Protocol M10:34 than what we told most other
agents. The mental training you and your fellow agents will go through will not
only strengthen you against interrogation and prepare your minds for the task
ahead, but it will make you do as we say to the letter.”
“Sir, can I ask something?” I ask.
“That’s why you’re here. We’re
revealing everything to you.”
“Are you going to brainwash us? Put
us under some kind of mind control?”
“You could say that,” Cesare says
as he sits on the other side of the table. “When we say Protocol M10:34, your
minds will automatically become comfortable and compliant with our orders
without question. Once the operation is done, we will say Thy Will is Done, and
the so-called mind control will release you from its hold, and you’ll slowly
forget what you’ve done.”
“What is the purpose of doing
this?” I ask.
“To ensure the operation’s secrecy,
and that it is never traced back to us.”
“What if I refuse to take part in
it now?”
“Don’t you trust us?” Vincenzo
asks.
“I do. I’m just asking.”
“We know you won’t refuse. Given
everything you’ve done for us and our country, we know you’ll do your best to
complete Protocol M10:34, so that we can free the world from the Vorfahren’s
influence and make the world a more peaceful and better place. Are we wrong?”
“No…no, you’re not.”
“Good. The mental training you will
go through will be different than the one that most other agents are going
through, so that you’ll remember this conversation even after the operation
starts. We need some people per group of agents to think outside the box, and
we trust you to take measures into your own hands where needed,” Cesare says.
“I won’t let you down.”
My mind leaves the memory as I
remember the secret that most other agents don’t know about this protocol. I
feel bad for them, especially Garnet and Bezalel, who I’m friends with. If
Garnet knew that we would be getting our own countrymen in danger, then she’d
refuse to take part in it to begin with. As for Bezalel, he’d have his
reservations, but would probably go through with the orders, given that he’s
still a loyal soldier of our country. I walk over to see the approaching parade
of soldiers from different countries and the crowds of civilians gathered
around it. Sounds of laughter, celebration, joy, and music are coming from
below, and through the scope of my rifle, I see mostly happy faces, though
there are some who seem displeased at seeing the foreign soldiers.
“These foreigners want to be
celebrated, so let’s give them some fireworks. Engage them after they go off,”
Garnet says.
Seconds pass, and the street blows
up where the foreign soldiers are standing. Some of our soldiers and civilians
are caught in the blast, but we don’t have time to check to see if they’re
alive or not as Bezalel and I fire our rifles at the surviving foreign officers
and soldiers. The extremists of The Sacrifice engage the foreigners on the
streets with the guns we’ve provided to them, while also trying to wound our
own police and soldiers, so as not to kill them, as we agreed. Of course, some
are killed, but that is something to be mourned and worried about later. The
mental “training” I’ve gone through shuts out the worry I have for civilians
and my own armed countrymen who are dying in this attack, and gives me tunnel
vision on my objective.
It isn’t until Garnet gives us the
go-ahead to retreat and Bezalel and I are on the streets below to see the carnage
that we’ve caused first hand does the impact of what we’ve done truly hit me.
The feeling is numb, and somehow, I don’t regret anything. I knew what I was
getting into, but I feel surprised by it all as if I didn’t. This is something
I’ll definitely have to pray on later, and pray right now that God gives me clarity
and mercy.
“Watch out!” Bezalel says as he
points his gun behind me.
I turn around and shoot at police
officers and soldiers from our country, killing two by accident. We then run to
our car and speed away, only slowing down when we get clear of the scene and
blend in with the rest of the traffic. Garnet, Bezalel, and I meet at a listening
post hidden in the city and turn on the TV to see that The Sacrifice is
livestreaming their admission to being the perpetrators behind the attack. They
show the M on their palms, so that if any of the Protocol M10:34 SIB agents are
caught, the authorities will assume that they’re just members of The Sacrifice.
The masked leader of The Sacrifice
says, “We are sons and daughters of Matriarch Madonna, and defenders of our
faith and country. As such, all foreign invaders are considered hostiles. Today’s
attack is just the beginning of our war against all those who betray us and
seek to corrupt our country. I humbly ask that all citizens of the United Chimaera
States and other occupied countries join us or get out of our way because we
will not stop until we achieve our goal or are killed in the process.”
Garnet and Bezalel talk as if they
just finished another assignment and talk about getting dinner and then getting
some rest. It’s eerie to me how indifferent they are about what’s going on. I
truly hope that they never find out about what they’ve done and that we are
doing the right thing, and not justifying evil deeds with the goal of a good
end.
Download on books2read from various online retailers - https://books2read.com/b/mvawxJ
The Slav Federation is aggressively expanding into the Middle East. In response, the United Chimaera States secretly supply weapons and troops to aid the natives in countering this expansion. Meanwhile, the SIB deploys agents Draco, Garnet, and Bezalel to monitor the situation and pursue their own agenda, which includes a tentative alliance with another opposing nation to dismantle the Slav Federation and its corrupt ideology.
Chapter
4 – For the Sake of Something Greater
Adler and Chimaera State soldiers
prepare for the assault on Slavengrad, the capital of the Slav Federation.
Taking it all but guarantees that the Zeitloses Imperium and all the countries
under it will have both Western and Eastern Proavus, making it a power greater
than all historic empires, though only somewhat on par with the United Chimaera
States. This isn’t to say there aren’t pockets of resistance still fighting the
Imperium; however, they won’t be able to free themselves from its rule without
help. That’s another problem to deal with at a different time. Now, we have to
focus on taking Slavengrad and ending the Slav Federation.
Garnet has been talking to Eren and
making plans with him and the Adler leadership rather than talking to Bezalel
or me. It’s not that she likes them more than us. It’s just that she knows that
talking to us won’t change anything about how Adler will handle their battles
and treatment of civilians. Ever since Zubr, Garnet hasn’t said much to us, and
Bezalel and I haven’t tried to console her, other than our prayers and asking
if she needs anything. If anything, the only thing we can think of doing to
actually help is get this battle over with so Garnet can rest from what’s
happening here. Speaking of which, the battle is about to start, and Garnet and
I are teamed up with Eren again, while Bezalel is helping soldiers from our
country.
All allied forces gather together
in front of the Adler general as he gives his speech. He says, “Men of Adler!
Today is the day that you prove once again the strength of our blood and bonds!
For too long, the Slav Federation has poisoned the world with its revolutions
that have only sown chaos and division between all peoples. Now, they face the
consequences of their hubris. Men of Adler! Fulfill your destiny and be their
divine executioner! Leave no guilty soul unpunished!”
The soldiers of Adler yell out
before their leaders tell them to charge, just as our air support and tanks
finish softening up the city’s defenses. Armored motorcycles, trucks, and
trucks mounted with turrets drive through the flattened, burned, and bombed
ground on their way to Slavengrad and enter the city to bring more chaos to it.
With our feet on the ground, we advance toward the Orthodox Church, where a
contingent of the Slav army is held up. It’s not too much for us to deal with,
but what’s below the historic center of the Orthodox heresy is what we’re
really looking for.
Garnet says, “You’d think the heads
of an atheistic society would hide in a bunker or one of their government
buildings, but the best place is actually the least likely: a church.”
Using her electronic device, a
hidden door opens near the altar of the church, and a cellar door in the room it
hides.
“And you two are fine shooting holy
men associated with the church?” Eren asks.
“The Orthodox are heretics and
apart from the true Catholic Church. Besides, do you really think an atheistic
society would leave a church like this standing if they didn’t have a deal with
them?” Garnet asks.
“I assumed these people would sell
out to their masters in government, but I didn’t know if you would think that
of them. It’s good that you know and aren’t naïve.”
Going into the basement, we are met
with gunfire from priests and men in holy garb, but with the amount of people
we have, they’re no trouble to push through. There’s what looks like a vault
door in the basement that Garnet hacks through and reveals a room full of gold,
artwork, and guns. Through this room is a door at the back that we go through
and find a series of hallways that look like the hallways of a hospital, given
how white and sterile they look. Garnet tries to hack through the doors, all of
which are electronically locked, but she isn’t able to. Eren offers to use his
multitool to open them. When he opens the first door, we are met with a bunch
of humanoid robots that are made of steel, all have the same blank face, and have
machine guns for hands.
In a second, their eyes turn red,
they raise their gun hands, and start firing at us. We fire back and retreat to
take cover. Our guns aren’t very effective at taking down the robots, with each
robot needing ten or more bullets to put down. Garnet works on hacking the
machines, but keeps getting errors, so she instead hacks each robot one at a
time to have them turn on one another.
“Ah, screw it! I’m going to release
an EMP. We’ll have to book it past the robot and then find where they’re being
controlled from,” Garnet says.
Eren and I agree with her plan, and
Garnet uses her device to make the power go out, and the robots turn off. We
all push past the robots, but by the time we do, the power turns back on.
Expecting a fight, we immediately raise our guns and open fire; however, the
robots are barely able to fire their guns, and most short-circuit and fall
over.
“Turning things off and on is
usually the answer to all mechanical problems,” Eren jokes.
“We can’t rest easy yet. Unless you
haven’t noticed there are only three of us left, and we only started searching
this bunker,” I say.
“Right, and I can’t radio for
reinforcements from down here, and all our forces are probably still busy
taking the rest of the city.”
“There shouldn’t be much of the
bunker left to explore from what I’ve downloaded from the systems I’m still
trying to hack into. We’ll retreat if we have to,” Garnet says.
“Sounds good to me,” Eren says.
Thankfully, Garnet is right, and
not much of anything else is left in the rooms except food, water, gold,
pornographic material, prostitutes, and the leaders of the Slav Federation,
whom we take in alive after shooting them in the legs when they try to resist
us. We drag them away, and then radio for transportation.
Eren adds, “Bring the broadcasting
equipment over. It’s time to make an example.”
About thirty or so Adler soldiers
arrive at the Orthodox church in trucks and set up the scene to hang the
leaders of the Slav Federation, even as the battle in the city continues. The
leaders say that the people will continue fighting against us, even if they see
them die live on TV and on internet sites, but after the execution scene is set
up, they start begging for their lives, and when no one responds to them and
just insults them, they start yelling insults at us and go back to saying how
we’ll regret this. The Adler soldiers put nooses around the necks of the
leaders as the broadcast begins.
In front of the camera, Eren says,
“This is Officer Eren Rommel of the Zeitloses Imperium. Behind me, you can see
the burning city of Slavengrad, and its leaders about to be hanged for their
crimes against virtue and humanity. Let this be a lesson to all who force their
corrupting beliefs on others, especially the people of Adler.”
Eren waves his hand, and the
leaders of the Slav Federation die a slow death, hanged in a live broadcast to
the public. The sounds of fighting soon die down in Slavengrad, and the city is
taken by Adler, by the Zeitloses Imperium, marking the presumed end of the Slav
Federation and victory of their political enemies, the Vorfahren. Now, sounds
of celebration ring out throughout the city, most of which are coming from the
Adler soldiers and those from the Chimaera States, who are happy that they can
finally go home. To the surprise of Garnet, Bezalel, and me, the Adler troops
let the city’s native population celebrate with us, most of whom seem thankful
for the Adler troops and talk trash about their would-be leaders.
At our table, Garnet asks Eren,
“What’s with the sudden show of mercy to the people of Slavengrad?”
“Why wouldn’t we be? They’re
willing to serve us, they’re nice people, and some of them even fought against
or defected from their own army,” Eren says.
Garnet looks as if she’s trying to
say something to argue against him, but she chooses to stop and tries to enjoy
the party.
“With this victory, we’ve
solidified our friendship, have we not? You won’t stab us in the back as you
did with those child molesting Middle Easterners?” Eren asks.
“Of course we won’t. Your supreme
leader should be getting a call from President Campione soon. Actually, here is
a show of our trust,” I say as I put packets down on the table for Eren and the
other Adler officers at our table.
Eren picks it up and says, “What’s
this? Some kind of party drug you people in the States use?”
“You could say that. They’re
antidotes.”
“Antidotes to what? We’re not
sick.”
“As far as you know. Bezalel and I
poisoned your meals before the battle, and if the three of us left before
giving you the antidotes, you would’ve died tomorrow as we leave.”
Garnet looks at us in surprise, and
the officers look at one another and laugh.
“I really like you people from the
States now! You really know how this whole charade should be done!” Eren throws
us packets on the table and says, “Here. We did the same to you, and you would’ve
died on your flight out of here tomorrow.”
Bezalel and I can’t help but laugh
too, along with Eren and the Adler officers, and we all consume the packets as
if we were sharing celebratory shots.
Eren continues, “We were convenient
friends before, but now we are brothers.”
We continue to talk with Eren and the
Adler officers as if we were actual friends for the rest of the party. Garnet,
Bezalel, and I go to the hotel room given to us by the Adler army to stay in
for the night.
“You two poisoned them?” Garnet
asks.
“It was part of the plan. Did you
forget?” I say.
“I…I did. I was so focused on trying
to make them treat prisoners and civilians of war that I forgot.”
“Don’t worry, Garnet. You kept them
distracted while we did what we had to,” Bezalel says.
“I should worry. I think I was
harsher on you than I should have been. I’m sorry.”
“This whole thing with Adler, the
Zeitloses Imperium, and people who subscribe to the Vorfahren ideology isn’t over.
You’ll have plenty of time to get back at them and change things for the better,”
I say as I activate our secret radio frequency to call the president. “How did
the talks with the supreme leader of Adler go?"
President Campione says, “It went
well. He’s an interesting and fun fellow to talk to. He actually loves his people, buys into his ideology, and is good at complimenting us and our
beliefs. I’ll soon meet him and his friend from Lupa to solidify our country’s friendship
with them. Good work in the Middle East and the Slav Federation, but it isn’t
over yet. It’s time to initiate Protocol M10:34. The Vorfahren may think they’ve
taken the world, but they have another thing coming. God will soon give them
what they deserve through us.”
“Yes, sir,” the three of us say.
We take off our gloves and look at the palms of our hands, where a subtle M is drawn in the center, marking us as secret members of Protocol M10:34. Now the real war begins.
The End
