Chapter Three
Like the brightest star on a clear December night a tall man in a long black trench coat stood out against the snow covered serenity of Alaska on a dark winter morning. The walking silhouette approached a snow buried building as his coat bellowed to one side in the bitterly cold wind. He approached the base and pulled off his black leather glove, he placed his hand on a black panel which lit up immediately and scanned it. He lowered his head and a tiny beam scanned his iris, a green circle appeared as his identification was verified. Almost immediately the outline of a door appeared and opened, he walked in.
‘Special Agent Daryl Troy designation 115 welcome to SIA Headquarters, please remain still while a full body scan is complete’ a robotic female voice filled the air, with a grasp for English that would make one assume it came not from a computer but a living person. He folded down the collar of his long coat and revealed his sharp and commanding features his shaved blonde hair blended seamlessly into the darker facial hair of his well-defined jaw line. He looked special op’s in black boots with no visible laces, combats and a polo-neck under the padded body armour on his upper half. He stood tall at six four, hiding his steely gaze behind a pair of slim dark sunshades.
Even through his shades he half closed his eyes as two bright shafts of light emanated from either side of the dark room. They flickered over him as they scanned every part of his body and retracted as quickly as they appeared.
‘You have contracted the Tuberculosis contagion since your last visit Mr Troy, your body toxicity level is twenty three per cent and you have a high level of alcohol in your bloodstream were you aware of this?’
‘Well the alcohol yes but the other two, I’m afraid I had no idea. Computer is the Tuberculosis active?’ Troy seemed untroubled by the results of the scan.
‘No sir the Tuberculosis bacterium is currently dormant. However these results are undesirable and must be cleaned from your bloodstream. Would you please step into the blue room to your right’ the computer gave its directions to a rather agitated agent. In the last month Troy had been working undercover in a remote area of Malawi, monitoring the production of enriched uranium for use in nuclear power plants, or so it had been alleged by their government. He discovered that the uranium was being used innocently and that their secrecy was due to the prying eyes of neighbouring nations. Perhaps that was where he picked up TB he thought privately.
Troy spun around to his right and walked through with a reluctant swagger, entering a room with an overpowering sterile feel about it; the walls were black with a smooth matt finish and had no markings or imperfections. He walked toward two foot-shaped lights on the floor as he had done countless times before to clean his body of various kinds of chemicals and ailments.
‘Well computer I must say this pales in comparison to my last visit, toxic levels of radiation and... Oh yeah, a severed Achilles tendon’ Troy spoke to the unseen computer with a smirk on his face but the intelligent machine gave no response.
A beam of green light fired the top right corner and slowly made its way towards his head. His Eyes closed, it continued down to his chest and penetrated his body re-appearing on the other side as if he were a ghost. It reached his feet and gained speed, it moved up and down several times and then disappeared. His body tingled all over making him shudder as the lights around his feet dimmed until they could be seen no more.
‘Your body has been cleaned of all undesirable chemicals and toxins, your body toxicity level has been reduced to point six percent and your liver has been temporarily reconditioned. Your body efficiency has increased by twenty seven percent. Have a nice day agent Troy’
‘Thank you very much’
He continued down a long corridor that resembled those of a twentieth century primary school with all the charm and charisma of that dull era. Images of rare birds found locally to the area and fire alarm activators were all that Troy had for company as well as the odd darkened room filled with camera equipment. Bird research was the facilities cover story and had served it well for eighty years without hindrance and as far as the American government was concerned the facility funded itself and was of no interest. A handful of the SIA’s team reeled out sheets of uninteresting data regarding bird migration annually, just to make sure prying eyes were kept far away. Troy reached a silver door when he finally got to the end of the overly long corridor and stepped inside the elevator to be greeted by yet another female voice requesting the floor he required.
‘Level ten please computer and quickly, I think I’m late!’
Plummeting into the ground below the rapid elevator carried the young agent to the lowest part of the facility, SIA central command was nearly one hundred feet under the snow plains of Alaska.
In a dark room partially illuminated by a gold art deco desk lamp perched atop an old oak table, Thorn sat watching the huge screen on the wall opposite which displayed all the latest news from the Hungarian attack.
‘Come in Janner’ he shouted in response to a rather weak treble knock on his office door he knew who it was immediately, Dr Christopher Janner was renowned for his genius with physics but certainly not for his strength.
‘What went wrong Janner? The inhibitors were proven to be untouchable. How has this happened? Why did he do it, he seemed fairly content before his annual leave two months ago!’
‘Well sir I’m afraid I don’t know. As I’m sure you’re aware in our tests of the inhibitor chip we were only able to override them by manipulating the microcomputers implanted in their brains and sir let us not forget, they are completely unaware of them’
‘Of course I know all about the fucking inhibitor chips Janner it was my idea! I helped design them, build them and I know every weakness; there aren’t any!’ Thorn loved having someone to shout at and Janner was usually first for the chopping board.
‘It could be the armour. I was on the team that developed it. We noticed the alien material began to bond with human tissue and DNA after around seven hours of constant use’ Thorn continued, his knowledge of SIA technology was obviously second to none. Janner listened intently.
‘In the final trial phase we had a technician from the control room who offered to be our guinea pig if you like. We wanted to see how long we could keep the armour active before it shut down’
‘That information is not on file General, may I ask why?’
Thorn rose to his feet slowly, headed toward the display screen and switched it off, clearing his throat as he did.
‘It was kept out of the archive by my predecessor. We all knew that to make an omelette you have to break some eggs but he felt broken eggs were not for the SIA database’
‘Anything else I didn’t know General?’
‘Look that’s irrelevant; anyway the kid testing the armour started to act real strange and became aggressive after we pushed it to seven hours for the second time. We found that we couldn’t remove the belt once the armour was de-activated, it had somehow become a part of him’
‘Well the armour is partially organic; the alien species probably used that to their advantage so it worked in harmony with their own bodies’
‘You’re correct but we guessed the material didn’t react with the E.T.’s in the same way it does with humans. We will never know for sure because they didn’t survive the crash but if it reacted with them like it does with humans they’d have killed each other during their journey here!’
‘He started to change in appearance so we sedated him, his face was contorted by rage and luckily for us the armour was under our full control. If he had activated it I might not be here to tell the tale’
‘That explains everything General, Frost has simply gone mad! That’s rather easier to stomach than a conscious deliberate decision to kill millions of innocents!’
‘I’d like to believe that but it doesn’t explain how he managed to get past the four hour emergency shutdown system. A system controlled by the inhibitor chip. He would have to deactiva
te the chip before he even got close to dangerous exposure levels’ Thorn had been stewing this over in his head for some time and it showed.
‘Well whatever it is he needs to be stopped before he destroys the planet’
‘I agree completely he seems to be on some kind of vengeance mission. His first target was General Hamza, second in command of the jihadist movement; Akhira. I suppose that gives us something to go on’ Thorn finished as his communicator tingled his arm to alert him to a call.
‘General six agents are here and waiting in the briefing room shall I alert them of a delay?’
‘I’ll be down there shortly Miss Karim, thank you’ Thorn responded and disconnected.
‘We just made them too intelligent Janner. Perhaps it’s true what they say maybe there is a thin line between genius and madness’ General Thorn added a touch of philosophy to the conversation and nodded Janner towards the door.
Janner entered the briefing room followed by Thorn and they approached two empty places at the head of a large rectangular table. Thorn sat down and surveyed his beloved team who looked back patiently, some wore knowing looks of worry while others looked alert and refreshed believing this was merely a new mission briefing. As was the procedure they had been programmed with, the agents began announcing themselves one by one which was something that was beginning to annoy Janner after years of hearing it. The agents thought nothing of the formal register it was all they had ever known.
‘Special agent Javier Torres designation 110 at your service sir’ all were given a number or ‘designation’ for use during operations when communications could be compromised. Torres had an aggressive edge to his expressions which his slim features accentuated; he held his head high showing pride at being part of the SIA. His short dark curly hair was neatly gelled into place and added to the Hispanic look, a Spanish rasp in his voice settled it for anyone meeting him for the first time. His abilities centred on a huge knowledge of all forms of martial arts, being trained to a professional level in all of its incarnations. His area of expertise focused on operations in Spanish and South American countries; he spun his pen cleverly and quickly over his fingers, impatience getting the better of him. Torres was unaware of the events that had just unfolded thousands of miles away in Budapest. To his left was the empty chair where designation 111- Frost had been sat just two months before at the last meeting.
‘Special Agent Ryu Takuya Designation 112 at your service sir’ announced the next agent quickly after Torres had started the roll call, they were not men of pointless emotion or worry and wasted no time continuing procedure without a thought for their absent team mates. Takuya was designed for resourcefulness and athletic ability, when sheer brute force and quick thinking were needed; that was where Takuya came into his own. Trained in much the same way as Torres, they regularly faced each other in the sparring gym usually with Takuya gaining the upper hand. He was renowned for finding people who didn’t want to be found, a skill that would be needed soon. His genes were derived from Japanese origin his oriental look was one of sophistication, he blended into eastern locations easily with a fluent knowledge of the cultures and languages of the area. A dark menacing look in his eyes was emphasized by a mildly pointed chin and sharp nose; his hands were folded neatly on the table. Nick-named ‘the Ninja’ for obvious reasons Takuya scoured the room eerily, he could sense something did not feel right but he had no idea why the meeting had been called.
The next agent along lifted his head up rather rapidly from deep thought, he knew exactly why they all been summoned.
‘Special Agent Kurt Miller Designation 113 at your service sir’
Miller was coloured, his presence was a powerful one and his attitude and mannerisms helped it hugely. Fully educated in all African cultures and languages, Miller enjoyed huge success in helping to shape the African continent for the better. His actions helped toward the end of corruption in the governments of its nations, a fact that gave his already inflated ego an unnecessarily large boost. He was designed with strong leadership qualities and they stood out like a sore thumb, following procedure to the letter. In Miller the geneticists had realised that leadership qualities did not always make for a great leader of men, Miller was almost power-hungry and the rest of team knew it. His short black hair was constantly tidy, resembling a young businessman or perhaps a junior politician his comrades had quietly decided. Miller was known for frequently talking over others and making himself heard, feeling intensely that what he had to say was of more worth than the rest of his team. Miller had often sensed disobedience in Frost and voiced it many times to his superiors who dismissed his thoughts as bordering on jealousy.
‘Special Agent Adya Sadek Designation 114 at your service sir’ Sadek was designed as Millers personality double, as two leader figures were sometimes needed in times of crisis. He stood tall at six four and had respect of all at the table including Thorn. His dark styled hair gave him the look and feel of an investment banker, his controlled demeanour gave away more than just a hint of his area of excellence. Sadek’s genetic make-up was Indian in origin, his broad shoulders and regal features gave him the look of an ancient Saracen warrior. Everyone respected Sadek for his patience, ability to listen and incredible intellect. The geneticists had got the mixture of leadership and restraint right with Sadek; he was one of their finest creations. He sat back in his chair and folded his arms, Miller had informed him of what Frost had done. Although they were different in their approach, Miller and Sadek were very similar and it kept them close. The empty seat to left of Sadek was reserved for agent Troy who loved to irritate Thorn by arriving ‘fashionably late’.
The room was filled by a Russian voice and the next agent of the SIA announced himself professionally.
‘Special Agent Anton Markov Designation 116 at your service sir’ Markov was intense looking but his cool professional attitude shone through. His hair was blonde and closely shaven, he resembled some kind of soldier from the German special forces his ability was a talent to glean information from just about anyone. His eyes seemed to hypnotise people into trusting him implicitly, his monotonous accent enhanced the effect greatly. Expertly trained in Special Forces combat, Markov was a force to be reckoned with, as were all of them in their specific area. Markov specialised in the countries governed by the UCES where small territorial skirmish’s in the outer lying countries could sometimes break the relative tranquillity of the area, he was renowned for solving matters effectively and above all else, peacefully. Markov sat back in his chair, crossed his hands and regained his cool demeanour; he had no idea of the destruction unleashed just hours earlier in the area of his jurisdiction.
‘Special Agent Li Kym Designation 117 at your service sir’ Kym was designed to be invisible and was frequently used as an assassin for the SIA when leaders of certain terrorist factions needed eliminating. Known as ‘the shadow’ by his team mates, Kym could easily infiltrate even the most heavily guarded locations and successfully undertake his missions with ease. Like Takuya and Torres, Kym had been trained intensely in Martial art combat. As well as hand to hand, his training regarding weaponry was second to none, his steady hand and keen eye had settled the fates of many countries world-wide from the barrel of an advanced sniper rifle. Kym was a quiet and methodical man and rarely uttered more than a sentence, it didn’t bother the team but it created a feeling of mild suspicion with everyone else he met.
Janner let out a whispered sigh thankful that the role call had finally finished. All of the SIA agents were roughly the same height and build, designed to be genetically superior.
‘So where the hell is Troy, he doesn’t know the meaning of being on time!’
Suddenly another agent burst into the room.
‘Special Agent Daryl Troy Designation 115 at your service sir. That body scanner held me up again. Sorry I’m late!’
‘Well if you looked after yourself Daryl the scanner would not have such a problem with you‘ Thorn barked at Tr
oy aggressively, now it was obvious that something big had happened and Troy had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with his absent brother.
Troy removed his coat, threw it on a small table behind the door and sat in his seat, he glanced across to where his brother should be sat, he had no idea what had just unfolded in the peaceful city of Budapest. Troy had always felt closest to Frost, Thorn had told them at an early age that they were from the same twin embryo which was purely by accident. Originally the genetic code of the single embryo was created for ingenuity and athletic ability. Both Frost and Troy were designed to work closely in and around The United States of Europe and the US which they did perfectly.
At eighteen each agent was sent to study in the area of the globe that they were designed for, in order to learn the complexities of the cultures they would one day defend. Frost went to Harvard in the US and Troy was educated in England, they kept in touch constantly and had only drifted apart more recently when Frost stopped returning his calls. Troy thought nothing of it, knowing his brother could sometimes shy away from the world and his team mates, enjoying his own time was something Frost had done since he was a teenager.
‘If you don’t mind General, I’d like to know what this is all about, I can’t remember the last time you called a code red response meeting and where’s Frost?’ Troy did not like being spoken to with disrespect even from his superiors and his disdain shone through. Thorn saw Frost for a split second as Troy fired back, he remembered how similar they were and that it was probably best not to create another renegade agent.
‘I ‘m afraid I have some bad news, some of you are aware of the situation and some of you are not’ Thorn switched on the huge flat screen behind his desk, walked slowly to the opposite side of the room behind his agents and ordered Janner to kill the lights. Everyone’s view was now filled by a news report of the Budapest attack which had taken place only two hours before they arrived. Looks of shock were mixed with those of outrage as the team watched intently. Markov broke the silence of the room.
‘What? This is impossible, why didn’t we know of a plot on this scale? Why did the Integral Grid not detect a nuclear device on the ground, that’s what it’s designed for!’
The Integral Grid was a system of thousands of satellites in place to monitor and watch over the globe. Many wealthy individuals paid to be fitted with a chip that alerted the grid if they medical assistance was needed, unfortunately for Hamza it could also be used to find people.
‘The Grid didn’t pick up the device because it wasn’t a conventional nuclear weapon, it was one of our own, a low yield type three Nuke Pulse was used in this attack’ Thorn answered.
Troy looked at the view screen blankly, colour ran from his face and he gulped quietly. He knew in his bones who had been the culprit of such an outwardly brutal attack, only Frost had the audacity to do something on this scale. But why Troy thought, knowing that his brother would need an incredibly powerful reason to carry out such an atrocity. Torres offered the obvious question.
‘This was Frost’s handy work wasn’t it general’
‘Correct. I’m afraid agent Frost has begun a campaign of destruction and we still don’t understand why. The best hypothesis that we have is that he’s simply lost his mind’ Thorn knew more than he was telling Troy concluded in the sanctuary of his mind.
‘The Grid recorded a tracking chip request by an unknown person with high clearance, we investigated that request and it came from Frost’s communicator’ Thorn continued.
‘Who was he looking for General? I know of a few top level terrorists who bank in Budapest but no-one who would warrant this level of destruction’ Markov was eager to know who Frosts target had been. He was beginning to develop a deeper hatred for Frost that was growing with every second; he had never liked his comrade for his constant disdain and over-confidence.
‘General Hamza located in the First National bank of Hungary; ground zero. He has close links to the Akhira terrorist organisation so I think it would be safe to assume Frost has gone on some sort of assassination mission, perhaps this attack was just to get the eyes of the world focused on his cause’ Thorn knew deep down that Frost was capable of a great many more attacks with equal levels of destruction but was hopeful the severity of the next would be greatly reduced.
‘We need to take him down and we need to do it fast, I have the Planetary Commission on my ass and they want results or they’ll expose the Agency and that is not an option. I want you all thinking resourcefully on this one, he has the Mark Two chopper and combined with his armour he is an extremely dangerous threat‘
‘I’m splitting you into teams, Markov and Kym you’re with Sadek, Takuya and Torres with Miller. Troy I want you to find him alone you know him best. Take the Mark One and keep me updated’ Thorn knew Troy was the best man to apprehend Frost for obvious reasons. The rest of the team looked quickly at Troy with a glint of suspicion in their eyes, all except for Kym who was his only true friend amongst his team mates.
‘Thank you gentlemen, that will be all, I want constant updates on your progress, Troy I’ll have a private word please’ the suspicious agents looked at Troy again with mild contempt as they left the room and prepared for the hunt.
‘When was the last time you spoke to Frost?’ Thorn asked Troy in the darkness of his briefing room both his and Janner’s eyes were transfixed on the agent before them.
‘I spoke to him after the last debrief two months ago, he said he was going away somewhere he didn’t say where, to take some time out I think he and Nikita were having some problems’
‘Did he seem angry or different perhaps?’
‘Different in what way General?’ Troy responded, his intrigue growing by the second.
‘I mean out of sorts, not being himself, depressed maybe’
‘Very quiet and deep in thought but I just thought it best to leave him alone if he’s having marital problems. Women can be a real pain in the ass as I’m sure you know General’ Thorn nodded and smiled.
‘Ok so he made no mention of anything that might point to or indicate what he’s done today?’
‘No General if there had been signs such as that I would have expressed my concerns immediately’
‘That will be all then Daryl, thank you and get him found for me yes?’
Troy stood tall, threw his coat over his shoulder and motioned to the door.
‘I’ll get him sir don’t worry about that. If you find anything more on his reasons for all this I want to know instantly’
‘Will do’ Thorn answered as Troy nodded in response, the door closing as he did.