NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: NOTE: First of all, this is an invite only roleplay. If you have not received a TG, or do not receive one within several minutes of this, consider yourself not invited. If you think you could make a serious, worthwhile contribution to this RP, TG me giving me a lengthy, detailed account of why you should be part. Other than that, some other thigns.

I want all posts in this thread to be worth reading. That means length. That means detail. That means quality. So no 'I n00kZ teh BAD GYU and w3 winz0rX', please.

And with no further ado, on with the set-up

IC:

Newspapers had been flashing headlines for weeks. Important things. It started with 'DEREK BEATEN IN POLLS, WALF TAKES PM'. Within several days, it had moved on, past 'WALF ATTACKED', and past 'HOSTAGE SITUATION IN OUTER HARAKI', and also past 'DEREK DEAD: TERRORISTS BOMB HOUSE'.

Then had come the most striking one of all.

Atherlon Times, the Inner Ring's Finest News

'WALF ATTACKED, INJURED'

Prime Minister Jaime Walf, earlier today, was attacked. His motorcade was struck by a combined terrorist attack, as Walf returned from the Borderlands, where he had been aiding in the negotiations with terrorists inside a small town besieged by terrorists. His motorcade was struck by - estimated number - a dozen men, all heavily armed. They had explosives among their armaments.

Walf's motorcade was struck heavily, injuring Walf himself, and killing more than half a dozen Internal Intelligence Agency Secret Service agents, including three of Walf's four personal guard. More than twice that number again were injured, and two of those men will not last through tonight. Walf took a bullet to the chest, severely injuring him. His aide, Colin Hart, was critically injured during the assault, taking a 7.62 caliber bullet to the chest. He is being operated on, and may not survive the next hour.

Walf has been taken to a secure location, heavily guarded by members of the Marine Crisis Response Team, who are also tracking down the surviving attackers, at least four of whom are still at large. A CRT spokesman, First Lieutenant Daniel Phillips, said earlier today, only an hour after the attack, "Rest assured, every man, woman, and child out there in Haraki, for we, the CRT, shall do everything we can to track down these men. We know one of their faces, and should be able to track down the rest through that. In the meantime, Prime Minister Jaime Walf is being kept under secure guard. There is no way that he could be attacked again. Not from the secure location he is in. He is safe." Lieutenant Phillips stopped there, and no other people have been available for comment.

The attackers, from the wounded and killed, have been positively identified as ex-members of the terrorist organization, thought to be destroyed, Liberation Front of Haraki. These men were either members who had never been captured, or had left the organization prior to the governmental cleansing. However, it is believed this was the very last action ever by the LFH, as these were the only members remaining. The LFH is closely related to Black Hand, a terrorist organization made of assassins known to have been given a contract on Prime Minister Walf's life. There have been two attempts on his life by Black Hand.

Prime Minister Walf shall continue his Prime Ministerial duties as soon as he is well enough, which should be very soon, says a source who prefers to remain anonymous. Until his full recovery, Vice-Prime Minister Dace and the other Ministers who work in the Office of the Prime Minister are under guard and are well-protected.

-Arnold Hisey, Atherlon Times





The country had been struck hard by this. No major decisions were made within the next few days, as Jaime Walf recovered. However, the attack had not been the last thing that would plague Walf's career.

<tag for later>

*Tag*

-Will post when have time.

Much later, tucked away in the depths of Lambda, Nathicana lay quietly watching Jaime as he slept. It seemed the cares of the world, and the heavy weight on his shoulders had been taken away for this brief moment. She hardly dared breathe for fear of waking him and taking that away.

Too much had happened, and in much too short a time. She knew the past few hours, though blissful, had been spent in denial on both their parts. The rest of the world would catch up with them eventually. The papers detailing the day's events was proof enough of that.

And then there was Laura.

She still didn't know what to do there. She felt for the woman on a level. And yet ... her first loyalty that way was with Jaime.

Loyalty.

She'd shown him anything but, at least in one case ... and currently, that one case was on Rhea, floating in a jar, kept alive by SHODAN's nano-wizardry and skills.

Too much indeed.

She let her eyes wander over him, as if memorizing ever detail, blocking out the bandages, trying to not see the cut on his forehead, focusing more on the innocent, peaceful expression on his face.

You're too good for me, boy. Too good by half.

It didn't matter that he was older ... it never did. She remembered back to the first time she'd called him that, and the teasing reaction she'd gotten in return. I should have known then you were trouble. I told you -I- was trouble. Gods, Jaime, I tried. I tried. Leopards simply do not change their spots.

This wasn't going to be easy, whatever path they chose. And she knew it.

Newspaper headlines, of course, can be some of the most misleading things. Some newspapers were usually exempt from this. The Atherlon Times, for example, almost always printed 100% accurate stories. One of them was not. For example, 'DEREK DEAD: TERRORISTS BOMB HOUSE' was very misleading, as the man was alive, and had set up the 'accident' that destroyed his house, his life, and 'killed' him. He was sitting in the background, scheming. He knew he could no longer run Haraki. His supposed death had simply ruined any chance of that and, frankly, the people simply hated him too much. They hated him, and they loved Jaime.

But Derek had a plan. His agents were in place. He had allies. Powerful, underworld allies. One of those allies had unleashed a devastating attack on Jaime the very same day. It had failed, as Derek had known it would. But it had accomplished what Derek wanted to know. It had confirmed his suspicions, and made him realize everything about Jaime. He had analyzed what he already knew, and sorted through information he had already gained. He assessed the situation, and after he saw what he saw, he cursed himself for not realizing something so blindingly obvious. He cursed himself for not seeing it earlier, but he knew that to injure Jaime, to truly damage him badly enough that he could finally fall, he had to do something very special, and had to make sure that different things happened.

Derek made plans. The attack that had come had hit Jaime exactly where it hurt. Derek had smiled at that. Not in front of anyone. He had given up any hope of ever showing emotion to other people. It would make him weak in their eyes. But Derek knew that his plans were coming to fruition. His agents were in place. His allies were ready to strike. Everything would come together, and Derek knew that soon, very soon, he would once again be running the Rogue Nation of Haraki. Not from the seat of Prime Minister, of course, but from behind the scenes. His agents were in plce, and could begin their assigned tasks very soon. His men were in place, and something extra had happened that Derek hadn't planned on. The Clan Wolf considered Jaime a traitor, and had come out of hding to attack him. Derek knew this was too good to be true. It was like some god, some unseen force, was guiding him back to leadership.

The Clan was not his ally, nor his friends. But they were doing exactly what he could hope for from an enemy of Jaime's. They were doing exactly what Derek wanted.

From his seat in the center of a web of crime, corruption, treachery, and betrayal, he knew he could win this. He knew he had a good chance, as long as he struck high, struck fast, and struck hard. He knew that if he began his campaign while Jaime was incapacitated, he knew he could win. And he began.

<<excellent. look forward to seeing where you're going with this.>>

Glad to see I have your approval. That's high praise, coming from you.

A woman, perhaps in her mid-sixties, yet still relatively attractive, if you could look through the gathering wrinkles and grey hair, calmly stood at her stove humming, cooking a pan of eggs for her husband, who was getting up slowly. Mrs. White, the people nearby called her, whenever they came by to visit or when she went visiting to them. She was a nice, kind woman, and was simply wondering how the small boy she'd adopted from an orphanage, Jaime Walf, had become Prime Minister.

She lived in a small town in the Outer Ring of Haraki, about a hundred kilometres from the border to the Inner Ring. She hummed a little tune, aimlessly, thinking about what it was. She'd heard a child humming it as she walked past ... It had gotten stuck in Mrs. White's head. She smiled. Young people's music these days. So much noise you couldn't tell what it was.

She finished the eggs, sliding a spatula in under them and quickly transferring them over to a plate, on which she had already arranged several pieces of toast. She turned the heat off on the stove, putting the frying pan in the sink, for later washing, and moved to the fridge. She opened the door, peering inside for a moment, before taking out a bowl of fruit and a bottle of grapefruit juice. She poured herself a glass of it, putting the bottle back into the fridge.

I'll indulge myself this one time, she thought, smiling and sipping the juice, as she sighed. Jim was never up early, but still, this was rediculous. She'd been up for an hour and a half. More than that, she realized, glancing at the cloak hanging from the wall. She sighed, shaking her head. Time to get him up. He needed to eat his breakfast before it got cold.

She walked down the hallway towards their bedroom, sipping her juice as she did. She reached out. The door was open a crack. She frowned. She hadn't left it open. She was sure the door had latched. Oh well. She'd worry about that later.

She slid it open with a loud creak, and stepped in. Jim was lying on the bed, eyes closed. She sighed, putting her free hand on her hip. Still sleeping at this hour. He had to be at work in thirty minutes.

She walked over, shaking him by his shoulder. He mvoed loosely, not responding or waking up. She started to worry. "Jim?" she said, grabbing him and urgently turning him over onto his back. Her eyes widened with fear and the glass fell from her hand, shattering on the floor. Jim's throat was slashed open, blood staining the sheets of the bed and the shirt he was wearing, and spattered across his neck.

She stepped back a few feet, her eyes wide with fear.

That was when a massive weaight hit her between the shoulderblades. She was knocked to the ground, panicking, yet paralyzed with fear, as strong, firm hands grabbed her chin and the back of ehr head and suddenly, quickly, tore it to the side, snapping her neck. Her mouth fell open, and she went limp, ceasing her struggling.

Footsteps sounded, and the sound of their backdoor swinging open and shut a few seconds later.

Ten minutes later, Chris Derek got a phonecall. A deep voice came through the phone. "It's done."

Then the connection was severed.

For the record (And because he's going to be playing a major part in this RP), here is a picture of VPM Dace.

http://man-neko.com/IMAGE/KOBA/KOB001.JPG

Here's two pictures of HIA Agent Archangel

http://www.greatdave.org:7777/filgaia/roff/avatars/suikoden/sui_avatar_04.gifhttp://www.greatdave.org:7777/filgaia/roff/s/suik2_jowy.JPG

Haraki, just as a note: you always seem to have freaks running your government.

Also: I will jump in as soon as an oppurtunity presents itself.

Hey! He's not a freak! I just found the pic off Google and really loved it. I was considering making him Alucard's picture for a very long time, but them I found that and it fit perfectly.

Anyway, for those of you who received invitations and are wondering when (or how) you are supposed to jump in, I am currently only writing the prologue, and that's what you've seen posted. As soon as the prologue ends and you feel like you're supposed to jump in, you'll know.

(ooc: right on. and hey, reminds me - you've written short descrips but never posted a pic o' Jaime. *grins* curious. hope you didn't mind the earlier post - that was where we'd left things off from the Trials thread, and it seemed to fit in time with where things were happening here. let me know if it's a problem.)

OOC: No, it's fine. I forgot to add something in that post saying that for those of you who had already posted, there was no problem. And as for the picture of Jaime, well ... I've never quite found a picture that suits my idea of him. He's one of those characters where I can't describe him well, because I have an unclear picture in my own head of him, so I can't describe him, but I never see pictures that suit him. Trust me, if I ever asee a picture that looks like my vision of Jaime, I'll post it.

Oh, and also, I've been realizing lately that some people may not know how to pronounce Jaime the way I mean it to be pronounced. For future reference, it's (Jaim), not (Jaim-ee).

OOC: Okay, this scene is only open to myself and Nathi, as it's a secret conversation between two of my characters and her, and will be the end of the prologue, as it sets up the rest of the story, but after this scene is over, the RP is open to all who have been invited or accepted by TG.

And another note: That shot where I put the picture of Dace, if I decide to put any pictures of my other characters, I'll put them there.

IC:

Dace stepped through the wall to access Lambda, the computer identifying him as Dace, VPM to Haraki. He bypassed the security, punching in the codes, and leaving the two Secret Service men at the outer room, as Guardian passed him through.

He stepped around the corner, running into a group of six CRT men guarding a door. "Nichols," he said with a nod. "I assume Jaime's inside."

Nichols nodded, saying in his customary British accent, "Yeah. He's inside with his wife."

Dace didn't move, his black overcoat hanging down around his feet, shrouding his body in darkness. "I need to talk to him. Important reports, plus customary discussion."

Nichols nodded, pounding on the door and then buzzing through the intercom, "Jaime, Lady Nathicana. There's a certain VPM named Dace here. Needs to talk to you."

Jaime turned his head to look at Nath, his gaze saying, We may as well let him in.

Nathi nods, sighing softly. It was too good to last ... may as well get this over with.

She slowly slips down off the bed, quietly pulling on some clothes. "Let him in when you're ready, mi amore," she says, running her fingers absently through her hair and straightening her shirt.

He nodded, turning over so that his (clothed, for those of you who were wondering) legs hung down over the side of the bed, and pulled on a shirt. "Come in, Dace," he called, Guardian transmitting it to the other side. The door swung open, and Dace stepped in, closing the door behind him and switching off the intercom.

"Jaime," he said with a nod. "Good to see you're feeling better. Now maybe these ten secret service idiots that trail my every move will get off my damn back. Anyway, I bring news, reports, and all that jazz."

He nodded to Nath. "Lady Nathicana."

She sits back down next to Jaime, managing to look quite protective of him, despite her relatively diminuitive size. She watches Dace closely as he enters the room, and nods to him politely upon his greeting.

"Dace."

He gave another nod in acknowledgement before standing up straight, and reaching into his overcoat, producing a report and laying it on the bed beside Jaime. "That's a report on the results of the hostage situation in the Borderlands." He produced another report. "And a report on the medical status of all those injured in the attack on you."

"As well as verbal reports."

Jaime raised an eyebrow at this. "Go on."

Nathi chooses to listen quietly, for now, not speaking. She slips her arm around Jaime's waist, hoping to be of some comfort at the bad news she knows is coming.

She'd seen the street ... the bodies ... this wasn't going to be easy for him.

He has to face it eventually.

"First of all, Jaime ..."

Dace paused, running through the facts he knew, and simply wondering which piece of bad news to spring on him first. He decided on the lesser one.

"There's a man in Trent who's rallying people behind a political banner. Basically, he's bashing you, your campaign, whatever. His campaign is 'Free Haraki', and it looks like he's basically trying to sew seeds of disbelief in you and your campaign."

Jaime sat quietly through this report. "And?" he said quietly. "You said 'First' as if there was a second."

Dace nodded sadly. "I'm afraid there is. Your adoptive parents are dead. They were found murdered this morning. I'm sorry."

Nathi tightens her grip around his waist, leaning in close. Oh God ... oh God no ... not that ... not on top of everything else.

She doesn't know what to say to that. Doesn't know even where to begin. To say it will be ok seems so empty.

Those bastards, so help me ...

"Be strong, mi amore," she says softly, for his ears only, She reaches over to take hold of his hand, giving it a firm squeeze.

Jaime closed his eyes for a moment, and as they reopened, they were blazing with fury and anger. "Dace," he said, his voice calm, yet an undertone showed he was seething with fury. "You are going to find the people who did this, and you are going to capture them, alive. And you are going to bring them to me. Alive. Got it?"

Dace nodded. "CRT?" he asked quietly.

Jaime raised his head, glaring at Dace between two locks of his hair, falling down in front of his face. "CRT, Black Ops, whatever it takes. You're VPM. You can pull whatever authority you need."

Dace slowly nodded, his gaze from behind his mirrored glasses on Jaime's free hand, which had curled into a very tight fist. "Yes sir."

Nathi stayed close, trying to lend him what strength and comfort she can, feeling sick inside at the news.

"Jaime," she says hesitantly, "You know I have contacts and operatives as well ... they're yours for the asking." She gives Dace a brief glance, hoping to convey that if he felt it neccessary, even if Jaime didn't, she was still willing.

Be strong ... il Dio, Jaime, I'm so sorry.

"As I said," Jaime said in a quiet, very dangerous tone, almost a whisper, "Whatever it takes. Just find the bastards."

He barely had the willpower to turn his head and look down at the reports giving him whatever bad news was to be found inside the other two reports that Dace had brought him. "What other bad news have you got for me?" he grumbled quietly.

"Well, it's not exactly bad news ... The CRT were forced to storm the town to end the hostage situation. Throughout the course of the combat, which took less than five minutes, two hostages died, another one suffered a flesh wound, all terrorists were eliminated, and one CRT opartor took a bullet to the chest, most of which was stopped by the armour he was wearing. He'll be fully operational again within three days."

Nathi nods quietly, looking to Dace and mouthing 'later', wanting to get through this first.

She listens carefully to the information, nodding. More than acceptable losses, all things considered. She hoped Jaime would see it as such. There were a thousand things she wanted to ask, wanted to say ... and for once, she kept her place. This was his to take care of.

I can only do my best to support him, so long as he'll let me. That and stay close. I'll be damned if I'm going to let them hurt you again. I can't protect the others. I know they're doing this to get to you. But at least I can try and keep you safe, boy.

Jaime nodded. "Acceptable. Tell them to work on the hostage losses, though. How'd that happen?"

"As they stormed the town, there were hostages out in plain view, in the middle of the town, in the open. An enemy sharpshooter, as our boys stormed the town, saw them and opened fire on the hostages before a CRT man took him down."

Jaime nodded. "Acceptable. Tell the CRT good work.And Dace, before you go ... What is the name of the 'Free Haraki' man in Trent?"

"Davis Warden," Dace replied in a monotone.

"Thank you. That is all," Jaime said quietly, nto letting emotion pierce his voice.

Dace nodded, turned, and left.

Nathi looks up at Jaime, her face tight with concern. "Talk to me, Jaime," she says quietly. "Please."

She gives his hand another squeeze, leaning in against him and gently holding him close. "I'm so sorry."

He's got to be strong. Can't let this weaken him. Not now ... especially not knowing how that all affects him. But will he let me help?

Jaime simply sat there for a moment, his fist still clenched into a tight fist, silently raging. FInally, he spoke. "Those bastards," he said in a silky, dangerous tone, "Will pay. For everything they've done."

His emotions were wild with rage. He simply couldn't withstand the anger beating at his mind.

"Yes," she says simply, her voice neutral, "they will."

She watches him quietly for a moment, then nods. "Is there a gym here? A place to work out? You need to work some of this out. If ... if your shoulder is up to it ... we'll need to check with your doctor."

I need to get contact info to Dace as well ... oh hell. I've never seen him like this ...

"Yeah," he says quietly. "Yeah, there's a gym here. A gym ... Yeah."

He fell silent them, his hair falling down over his eyes in clumps. He made no move to change it, even so that he could see. He simply sat there, his head hanging forward, his fist clenched, his other arm limp, hanging at his side.

"Talk to me, Jaime ... you can't just sit and keep this in. Get it out, mi amore. Gods ... I am so sorry. I can't imagine ... "

She thinks back to her own clouded past, and the loss of her own parents. But she'd been so young. She never had the years of bonding and love he did.

"Please, let me at least try and help?" Nathi felt awkward and helpless, not something she's used to. She slipped back away from him, giving him a bit of space, not knowing quite what to do.

He simply sat there for what seemed a long time, but couldn't have been more than a minute or two. Then he finally raised hi head, looking at a spot on the wall,. his hair barely moving, but he looked out between it.

"Oh god ..." he whispered.

What's happening to me? What am I supposed to do? Help me, Nath ... Help me ...

This isn't good. He can't just sit here like this ... damned if I'm going to loose him this way. He's been through a lot. Going to have to go through a lot more. Has to be strong. And if he can't ... I'll just have to be strong for him.

Nathi stands up, walks around to stand in front of him, and gently but firmly takes both of his hands in her own.

"Jaime, get up. We're going out. We're going to see your doctor, I'm going to speak with Dace, and we're going to see just what you can and can't do with that shoulder of yours right now. What we are not going to do is sit here and let you mope."

She winced inwardly, knowing this sounded harsh. It's for the best. He can't crack now.

"There will be time for mourning later. Now, you have work to do." She looks up at him, her face serious. "And I'll help you."

This seemed to snap him back to reality. He stood up, slowly, then looked down at her and nodded. "Yes. I've got work to do. I assume you've made arrangements with your own nation? With the Dominion?"

He looked up towrds the door, brushing hair out of his eyes. "Knowing Dace, he's probably waiting outside for us."

He always did have a knack for things like that.

She shakes her head. "Not more than I already had before I came out here the fir--" she breaks off, frowning. "It won't take much. A couple phone calls. I ... I already have people here, as you know. Masetti and Pascali outside, are but two. Your people had some of the others sent back, but there are others. And Jas ... you know him. I was told he'd have people on the way as well. I only need get in touch with him and have him change his directives ... he'll do it for the money." I hope.

"You have good people, Jaime. Well trained. You have folks loyal to you. All will be well," she says firmly. "They won't get away with this."

Nathi reaches up on tip toes and kisses him gently, one hand brushing the hair back from his face, careful to avoid the stitches across his forehead.

"Only one problem we have to deal with when we walk out that door, and I need to know, now that you've had a chance to sleep on it, and despite all the other, what you want me to do about it." She looks at him with a good deal of concern.

"Laura. She's still waiting, you know."

He stood there silent for a moment or two before responding. "Yes. We do need to address that issue, but I don't think I can do it right now. Albeit, I'll probably need to get her help later on. Hers and Archangel's, because they're two of the best agents the HIA ever had, and if we're planning on tracking down these people, we'll need their help. Only problem is, Archangel has to do it. Laura doesn't. But I can't talk to her right now. I just can't. I hope you can understand that."

He knew the time would come when he would have to face her again, but it wouldn't be now. He didn't have to do that yet.

Nathicana nods. "Then, she'll just have to wait." She gets a determined look on her face, meaning damn well to enforce this herself if she needs to. She leads him to the door, opening it a crack and speaking to Nichols.

"I want the doctor to meet us in the gym. Dace too. We've some things to discuss. Make the arrangements. Now, we also need a guard, as usual. Yes, I'm aware we're safe here. I'm not taking any chances. Laura is not to be allowed in to see Jaime - he'll speak with her when he's ready, not before. You let her know that if she gets snappy. Anyone else, as standard, announce and request first. No one gets to him without a thorough search, and his ok. Understood?"

She was in full Dread Lady form, issuing commands as if she owned the place, her blue eyes glittering coldly, challenging anyone to deny her her right to help her husband.

"Massetti, Pascali. Due li accompagnate. Io programmi sono cambiato. Non sto andando, voi conosco questo. Non posso ora. Se dovete avere un motivo, quindi conosca questo - non è sicuro. Servite il più bene me e Marik rimanendo con me e mantenendo la cassaforte di Io e di Jaime. Tutto il disobedience e il Dio Io li ucciderà io stesso." She rattles off instructions and a warning to the two men in a clipped manner, drawing herself up to her full unimposing height and giving them each a steady look.

"There will be no arguments," she says to them both.

"Si, la mia Signore," the both murmur, clearly not pleased. Pascali actually looks slightly alarmed.


Translation: "You two accompany us. Plans have changed. I am not leaving, you know this. I can't right now. If you must have a reason, then know this - it is not safe. You serve me and Marki best by staying with me, and keeping Jaime and I safe. Any disobedience, and by God I will kill you myself."

As Nathi finished, Jaime motioned to Nichols. "Nichols," he said. "I need to see Archangel, too, as soon as possible. Get in touch with her, because I'm sending her on assignment. I want to see her within several hours at the outside."

Nichols nodded. "Sir." One of the CRT men ran off to do that.

He turned, nodding to Nath. "Your instructions will be carried out."

He turned, shouting off a short string of instructions to two of the men in Harakian. They nodded and left. Nichols sighed and shook his head. "The only two men in the entire company who don't speak english, and I have to have them both," he said, pretending to be exasperated. "But still, they're some of the fiercest fighters I've ever seen."

She nods in approval, looking around quietly before stepping out into the hall, assuring herself things are as they should be. Nathi keeps close to Jaime, for all the world looking like not only wife but fiercely protective body guard.

"Lead on, Nichols," she says simply, making a quick signal to her soldati to fall in behind.

Nichols stepped away from the wall he had been leaning on, and started off down the hallway, followed by two CRT men, then Jaime and Nath, and then the remaining two CRT guards, the massive black man and his silent partner. Nichols led them through a confusing mass of passageways, almost like a maze, before, after several minutes of walking, arriving at a door and knocking on it. It slid open in front of them, and Nichols beckoned Nath and Jaime through, into a large gym, complete with everything a CRT Marine might need for training, except for a shooting range. That was down the hall.

Dace was already leaning on the wall, waiting for them. The doctor was ushered in the far door at the same time as Jaime and Nath were shown in theirs.

"Look him over, doc. Let us know how his shoulder's doing, and what he can and can't do. Be liberal. Dace, if I could have a word?"

She gives Jaime's hand a reassuring squeeze, pulling out her cell phone and dialing a number.

"Marik, it's Nath. And before you even ask, no I'm not coming home. I need you to call off your dogs. There's bigger things going on and I need them on it."

"For chrissakes, woman, do you think I haven't been keeping my eyes open?

"Well then you realize what's going on. I'm safer here than you could possibly imagine. You know how I generally refuse guard, yes? Well, I've no choice here, and I assure you, these boys know their stuff. I have Massetti and Pascali with me - they can confirm. I don't think its safe to leave just yet, not with all that's going on. Call them off, and put them on the task with the Haraki folks - working in concert - to track down these sons of bitches. I want this done, Marik, and I want it done now."

There is a long pause as Marik quietly thinks. Meanwhile, Nathi is quietly writing down instructions, names, and numbers on a small pocket notebook, giving Dace a wry smile. Just let me wrap this up, boy ...

"Nathicana, it is my job to--"

"It is your job to obey, Marik. You've served me well, and we both know it. I've never had a better. Don't force my hand in this. I've given you plenty of leeway thus far. I'd hate to have you replaced."

Again, silence.

"Understood. But know, I do not like this."

"I know," she says quietly. "Hang tight. This will all be done soon. And the sooner you get your people on the job as well, the sooner we can be done with it all. Now - get in touch with Jas. Get him to stand down as well. You know his prices. Buy his cooperation as well. I want one of his teams in here stat. Contact will be Dace, Jaime's VP. He's the one calling the shots on this, and I want full cooperation, capeche? And Marik ... alive if possible. I want those bastards alive"

She gets the responses she wants to, and nodding quietly, snaps the phone shut. She looks up at Dace, tearing the small page out of her notebook and handing it over.

"Just let them in, Dace. Some are already within your borders, some are not. Those are the names to contact, use my people as your own. They'll have strict orders to do as they're told, and I assure you, they've all been very well trained. Especially the Black Company folks. I'm covering the bill there."

Nathicana glances over at Jaime and the doctor, checking on the progress there, her brow furrowing again with worry as she watches him standing there quietly.

Dace nodded, taking the page and looking over it. He murmured something that sounded like it included the word Archangel, but it was hard to tell. He pocketted the paper. "Thanks," was all he said.

The doctor, after a few minutes, looked up, and stepped over to Nath. "Well," he said, in his whiny but pointed voice, "He was hit badly, but the man has incredible regenerative skills. He shouldn't have any strenuous activity for a while. No fighting, no sparring, no shooting a gun, at least not with that hand. Keep him at a desk, or, at least, away from the lines of wherever he'll want to be. It won't require a cast, because nothing's actually broken, but it should stay bandaged for at least a week."

Meanwhile, Dace had gotten on a phone he'd pulled from his pocket, and was talking rapidly into it in Harakian. After a few minutes of non-stop talking, he removed the phone, slammed the mouthpiece back into it, and it disappeared into his overcoat.

"Dammit, doc, that's not good enough. Can you rig him up so he can work out some frustration?" she asks, looking back and forth from the doctor and Jaime. "I want to know what he can do without seriously damaging himself further. She cast sidelong glances over at Dace on occasion, cursing quietly for never learing Harakian.

I -should- have gotten those augments. Slot and run rather than all the bother of this learning business for languages and the like. Dammit all to hell. And gods, what am I going to do with this boy? Gods, Jaime, tell me how to help.

The doctor frowned. "I suppose I can do my best, but he shouldn't do anything too tiring. I suppose he will need to work off frustration. Used to send his fist through walls. Yes, I'll do my best, but I can't promise any good results."

At that moment, the same door that the doctor had come in from and an attractive, yet bored-looking woman stepped through.

http://www.greatdave.org:7777/filgaia/roff/avatars/suikoden/sui_avatar_04.gifhttp://www.greatdave.org:7777/filgaia/roff/s/suik2_jowy.JPG

"Archangel, reporting for duty," she said, mostly directed towards Jaime and Dace, but addressing all four people in the room.

Nathicana looks sharply at the woman, taking her measure quietly, obviously on her guard. She watches quietly though, minding her business, and hovering near Jaime protectively.

"Thanks, doc," she says softly. "Do what you can. Jaime? How you holding up?"

Jaime smiled. "I'm good, considering," he said quietly, watching Archangel enter the room, slowly crossing to lean on the wall.

Seeing the way Nath was looking at her, she responded in a bored voice, "No need to look so nervous. They confiscated my gun after they heard I was seeing the PM."

Dace smiled and shook his head. "Lady Nathicana, this is Archangel, one of the HIA's best field agents. Archangel, Lady Nathicana."

"Yes, I remember you," Archangel said, still looking into Nathi's eyes with a piercing gaze, as if looking into her soul. "Before they made me a field operative, I had to do a detailed report on you. That was ... what, five years ago?"

Nathi smiles back, unflinching, her eyes hard and cold. "I trust it was at least, interesting work?" she says in a clear but quiet voice. Her carriage is anything but nervous, though she is quite watchful. She tilts her chin up in the imperious way she so often does, one brow quirking up in challenge.

"At any rate, a pleasure, I'm sure. Glad to see you on the job, all things considered. If they say you're the best, then I have no doubt of your abilities. I've already been impressed with those agents I've seen perform."

Some time after my rise to power. Interesting. Had your eye on me even then, Chris? Then most certainly checking to make sure I wouldn't compromise your bodyguard. I should have known. And still, with all that, here I am, with him. Despite it all. I'm curious as to what all you found, boy ... what all she thinks she knows.

"Very interesting work, indeed," Archangel responded in a dull monotone. "Especially the part where ... Oh, never mind. Dace, why have you brought me here?"

"I didn't," Dace replied.

"I did," Jaime told her. Archangel raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Go on."

"I want you to work with Dace and an old agent of the HIA's. Tracking down criminals inside Haraki. The kind of work you've been doing for four and a half years. The kind of work you're called the best at. Dace will give you details."

Nathicana refuses to respond to the implied barb, still haughty in her stance. She stands proudly next to Jaime, a pleasant enough smile painted on her face.

Again, she says nothing, letting Jaime take care of things, deferring to his right and rule here.

What does he have in mind?

Archangel turned to Dace, inquiringly. Dace started talking in Haraki, very quickly, as was the custom of him at any point, speaking in Harakian. After all, the language had originally been made to be spoken very quickly. He had finished instructions within two minutes. Archangel nodded.

"Agreed."

Dace nodded in return.

With that, she turned, and stepped out the door she had entered in.

"She's your assassin, isn't she?" she asks Jaime softly, unable to repress the slight shiver that runs through her at the thought.

"Are you going to let me in on things, or is this more of the 'wait til later' that we so often seem to do?"

"Doc - is he about alright to cut loose a bit?" she asks, her voice steady and insistent. "Lets get some of that frustration out, Jaime. You've done well. The wheels are in motion. Take some time for yourself. And for the love of God ... talk to me. Let me help." She ends in a much quieter tone.

"No, I'll talk to you ..." Jaime said. He looked up, glaring at the doctor, who stood up straight. "Yes, it should be safe for him to release some pent-up anger now. Just not too much."

He bowed, turned, and scurried out of the room.

Dace coughed lightly, reminding Jaime a question had been asked and not answered. Jaime nodded. "Assassin, yes. Sometimes. She's very, very good at killing people. Her most recent orders, given by Dace, are to find who's responmsible for the acts happening inside my nation, and to report back. As well as trying to get as close to them as possible. Makes it easier to kill them then."

"Understood." She watches the doctor go, giving him a quick nod of thanks.

Nathi looks up at Jaime, her expression softening as she slips an arm around his waist.

"Talk then, mi amore. I'm listening."

ooc: it's been over a week - I'm guessing this is another dead thread?

OOC: Never. My internet died for a week and I barely had enough time at school to answer issues so I kept growing. But now that I'm back ... *cracks knuckles* Well, uh ... Nothing but the fact that I'm back, and I'm making an IC post to tell about it.

IC:

Jaime sighed, allowing some of his weight to sink down onto her, knowing she can take it. He closes his eyes, calming himself, simply breathing deeply for nearly half a minute before opening them again, his eyes searching the room. He gave Dace a pointed look, and the tall man turned, stepping through a door that closed behind him, leaving Jaime and Nath alone in the room.

"Well," he said, his voice tired, as though he was world-weary, almost as if a lifetime of hard activity and avoiding death was finally catching up to him, "I suppose I may as well start at the beginning. It's where everything comes from, and, it seems, where everything is leading back to."

"I don't know who my parents are. I was found in a basket on the steps of an orphanage when I wasn't even a year old. I spent a few years there - And hated it miserably the whole time I did. After several years, I took the first chance I could to get out of there. That meant leaping into the all-too-caring arms of an older couple, who'd never been able to have kids themselves."

He stopped for a moment, shaking a tear from his eye, not allowing it to form fully. "And now they're dead - Because of me."

He held up a hand, one finger across Nath's lips, stopping her from the comment he knew she was going to make. "Let me finish."

She seemed to back down somewhat, nodding to show she understood.

"I spent a few years there, until I was ten, and I never doubted it. I never doubted them. I thought they were perfect people." He gave a dry, humourless laugh. "Load of bullshit, eh? No-one's perfect. The illusions of a child. Stupid illusions. Later, I found out they weren't perfect. They were nice enough - Unless I disobeyed them. When I disobeyed them, they cracked down. And when I say they cracked down, I mean they came down hard. I was grounded for a month for being half an hour late. Car accident. They didn't believe me. Thought I'd been off getting laid by some random girl."

"Anyway, during the period of my life where I was trying to find out just who I was, trying to expand, become myself, they were harsher than ever before. They were trying to make me into a perfect mold of themselves. So, of course, I disobeyed them. What did you think I would do, after all."

He stopped, pausing for several minutes, as though reminiscing, but again he started speaking just as Nath was about to. "I started ignoring everything they said. Barely heard them half the time. Now that they're gone, I see I was an idiot to do that. Never got to spend the time I should've with them. By fifteen, I hated their rules. I hated their laws, their customs, everything about what they wanted to make me. They started coming down harder on me, and I started ignoring them even more. Then, well ... I left for university, and graduated so soon ... You probably already know all this. That was the only thing they were ever proud of in me. Academics. Intelligence. Smarts."

"I became an HIA agent, and I ignored them even more. They never asked to see me. It was almost like they'd disowned me as a son. Later I found out they'd forgiven me, seen they'd been too hard, all that jazz, but by then it was too late. I'd barely remember anything but the bad. I couldn't even remember the times I'd thought they were perfect people."

"I never really told them I worked for an intelligence agency. They would've disapproved too much. I didn't tell anyone. There was no-one to tell. They thought I was a doctor, or a lawyer, or something that would require a prestigous degree that I got in half a year. But I didn't. I wasn't. I went into the kind of profession I knew they'd hate. I worked alone for years. five, six - Maybe even seven years, I worked alone. Becoming the HIA's best field agent. And, if I may say, I deserved that title. Anything they needed, I could do. All the stuff I'd do most people wouldn't believe. And the worst part is that I did it all on trust. I trusted not many people, but the man that gave me my missions was one of them. What a f*cking amateur mistake."

"I don't know why I didn't see it earlier. I was falling into a trap. I was becoming a heartless killing machine. I couldn't feel pain. I could kill people without anyone ever knowing. I would go to a country I'd never heard of, kill someone I didn't know, whose name I'd never seen or heard until my briefing, and send some poor third-world country into chaos, leading to a revolution and civil war that lasted half a decade and killed half a million people. And I'd do it allwithout thinking. I'd do it without feeling. I needed a shock. Something to snap me out of my reverie. And hell, did I get it."

He paused again, looking ahead, at a mark on the wall. Nath said, quietly, not wanting to stop him, "Go on. Please. I'm listening."

He nodded, but kept looking at the one mark on the wall of the Lambda gym. "I made that mark, you know," he said sadly. "Got so mad one day, because they'd assigned me a partner, I slammed my fist into the wall after shredding three punching bags. Hurt like hell, but I made my point. They still didn't take her away. Still made me work with someone. I think they were testing me. Seeing if I could work under different conditions."

"For the first two months of working with her - My partner - Laura ... I hated it. Hated her. Hated the f*cking bureacracy that got her assigned to watch my back. That was, until she saved my life. Caught in a tunnel. A ventilation shaft. We were going perfectly, but we didn't account for the fact that we were being watched. When I jumped down into the room we were after, I found myself facing down the barrel of a USP. I can still remember the serial number of that gun. I can remember how many wrinkles were in the man's hand. I can remember the exact colour of his eyes. Just how much he was sweating. The man was terrified, but, true to his job, he kept his gun straight. Right at my eye. The moment probably lasted a tenth of a second, but it seemed like a tenth of a decade. Then, well ... I still, to this day, don't know what happened. A blur, a flash, something moved across my vision. And then the man was lying on the gorund, bleeding from a shot that had half torn his head off. My aprtner whom I hated had looked past that and shot the man about to kill me. After that, well ... Let's just say I didn't mind working with a partner as much."

He stopped again, simply looking blankly forward for a moment, before continuing, but slower, as if it was painful to remember. "I spent two, maybe three years working with her, and over time we became a perfect operating team. The ultimate Black Ops agents. There was nothing we couldn't do. And then, one day ... We were betrayed. Walked into a trap that we couldn't get out of. Given false information. To this day, I - we - still don't know just who in the HIA did it to the two of us. But we were captured, and held fopr several days. During this time, they put her through all the torture they could think of, and forced me to watch, without touching me at all. Trying to break either one of us, somehow knowing just how to hit us. I watched the most disgusting practices I've ever seen or heard of done on her before my eyes, and I was helpless. And then, about five days after we were first captured, they finally gave up. Shot her once and left her for dead, lying on the floor of a barren room somewhere. I snapped. Don't know what happened. I was found eighteen hours later wandering through the wilderness outside Atherlon by a hiking couple. Nearly died of fright, I'm told, when I fell out of the woods into their campsite, bloody and half-dead."

"I woke up three days later in the HIA hospital. My supervisors had no idea what had happened. They only had my word to go by. I was demoted, and I never worked with a partner again. I have my reasons to suspect they followed me, and watched me very closely, for at least the next two or three years. Maybe to this day."

"Then, well ... I was recruited to be Derek's bodyguard, and ... well ... The rest is history. History that you know. Up to today, when everything that's happened to meis falling apart. Like a carefully contructed house of cards with a brick dropped in the middle before I could put on the final ace."

AN: This takes place later on.




Davis Warden.

He was a name. A statistic. A face at most. And every known fact about his life was memorized by Archangel before she set out on her mission. Get closer. Find out the facts.

She spent days finding his routine, seeing what he did every day. It was a boring routine, except for when he began to tell lies about Jaime Walf. The worst part was that he seemed to be gathering followers, believers, who hung off his every word. His political campaign was gaining approval from the public. Not very big approval, but he had money behind him. High-up authorities were being bought off behind the scenes. No-one wouold admit to this, and there was no concrete evidence, but Archangel could tell. She knew the signs.

She got closer and closer. Within five days of beginning her mission, they knew each other by name - Hers false, of course - . By a week they were considered friends. She knew her job was being done.

---

She knocked on his door, humming a small tune for his benefit. There was nothing wrong. How could there be? Her work was oing perfectly. The door swung open and a grinning Davis answered it.

SHe didn't see why she didn't simply draw her gun and blow his head off all those times. But it wasn;t her style. She didn't see why she was ordered to find information and kill him later when orders came. Too damn political.

She stepped inside, kissing him, and hating every moment she spent with him. He didn't notice. He swung the door shut behind her, and her eyes widened as she heard the clicking of a hammer behind her. She didn't move, as Davis drew back. "So. Assassin? Information Gatherer?" he asked pleasantly.

"You bastard," she grated, cursing herself for falling into such an obvious trap.

"Nice try. I know you're armed. Remove your shirt, or I'll have Frank shoot you."

Her eyes flared with anger, knowing she had been betrayed by someone within the HIA, pulling her shirt over her head, revealing her USP Compact under her left arm. Davis reached out, pulling the holster out, snapping the strap with it. He slipped it into his own belt. "Frank," he commanded, "Deal with her. But keep her alive for questioning, and also bargaining later."

Archangel didn't move, not until Frank rumbled from behind her, "Raise your hand slowly into the air."

She did so, putting them beside each other at his order. They were grabbed in one large, meaty fist, and she could feel and hear them being duct taped together, pulled down behind her back. Then A large weight slammed into the back of her head, and she collapsed, groaning. Davis leaned down, injecting her arm with a needle. A tranquilizer. She groaned, and went limp.

Davis stood, gesturing to Frank, a massive man holding a .357 Desert Eagle. "Send her to our contact. Inform him she was spying on me, and find out who she was working with. I'll allow our contact to deal with her as he sees fit."

Frank nodded, grabbing Archangel over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and hauling her off further into the house. Davis leaned down, picking up the shirt Archangel had thrown on the floor. "Too bad it had to come out this way," he said, with a smirk on his face. "It's really too bad. I would have loved to have gotten to know you better before sending you away. But I suppose these things are preplanned, so what are you supposed to do ...?"

He stood, walking into the living room, as Frank returned. "It's done. She's ready to transport. I'll move her later, once the sedatives have worn in completely."

Davis nodded. "Good. How long will that take?"

"Half an hour at most. She should be out for half a day."

"In other words," Davis cut in, "Plenty of time. Do what you will. Do with her as you see fit."

Frank nodded, grinned, and reutrned where he had come from.

OOC: Of course, this is OOC information until I divulge it.

Lost time. Missed opportunities. The theme rang all too true with Nathicana. She'd listened, several times wanting to say something, to comfort, to disagree with when she felt he needed ... and as per his wishes, had let him go on. As well as they knew each other, it was still amazing to have secrets and previously unknown things come up. Private by nature, she knew she kept a lot from him, but for some reason, never expected him to do the same. It always took her back a step, as now.

So many similarities, and yet, such differences. She was again struck by the odd mix they made, somehow finding a way to work in spite of it all. As full of duty as he was now, she found it odd to hear him speak to her of rebellion, though she remembered enough those days when she'd quietly railed against the system and those running it. She'd never quite managed to strike out as he did - it simply wasn't allowed. She'd have never gotten to where she was had she continued to try. In her heart, she'd hated, schemed, plotted, and in the end, keeping her emotions hidden, her anger private, had paid off.

She glanced with some alarm at the mark on the wall, quietly giving Jaime another squeeze on account as he spoke. Her face tightened however, as he went on to describe things with Laura. She'd heard a bit more than he on that subject, and part of her started to wonder if whether he wanted to or not, if talking to Laura wasn't something he needed after all.

"Ah, mi amore," she said softly. "What are you going to do now, and how can I help?" Nathicana looked up at him, the worry clear in her eyes.

"Well ..." he said quietly and slowly, waiting, thinking of what to say. "I'm going to get up, and I'm going to do my job. It's all I can hope for right now. The nation's going to be in a lot of turmoil what with my attack and this new political uprising in the North. I'm going to do all I can to keep it together."

---

Dace waited at the entrance of Lambda, knowing that he needed to tell Jaime sometime soon. That Davis was accusing Jaime of false crimes, and gaining believers, followers - Almost worshippers. They were a small group as of yet, but he knew they would grow if the government didn't do something. So he did all he could do until he could get back to his desk. He sat down against the wall, pulled out his laptop, and began to compose a formal response.

Nathicana nods quietly. "You know I'm behind you, Jaime. I'll do what I can." She pauses for a moment, unsure of how to approach the next bit.

"I know you haven't wanted to but ... " She looks up at him, still worried. "Perhaps you should, um maybe at least try and talk to Laura, just in case. I don't know. The whole thing makes me damnably uncomfortable, but, maybe there's a reason for it all."

She sighs quietly. "If nothing else, maybe you can use her to help."

He nodded. "I was planning on using her to help. She knows Black Hand better than anyone alive, with the possible exception of me. She needs to be in there, as long as she's working for us. I just can't talk to her right now. Someone she knows. Someone she trusts, I'll send. I just can't think who right now."

He rose suddenly, turning and striding several steps away, his hands clasped behind his back, over in front of a punching bag suspended from the ceiling by a thick, heavyweight chain.

Suddenly he gritted his teeth. His eyes flared with anger, and he swung his body around, slamming a spinning kick into the side of the punching bag, sending it jolting away. He met it with an incoming right punch as it swung back, and then a thrusting kick as it flew away. He spun again, leaping into the air and kicking it twice, once with each foot, before slamming into it with a backhand from his right. catching it's chain with his hand to stop it.

She stood back, quietly watching him, not pressing the issue of Laura with him. It was enough he would use all his assets.

Nathi winced, watching him, still worried for his shoulder, and knowing he needed to work things out. She schooled her face to the standard impassiveness she used when needing to control emotions, and waited for him to be done.

Let it out, mi amore ... get it out of your system so you can move on.