NationStates Jolt Archive

"There's nothing to be shy about," said Nadia, moving her arm away. It had apparently had the opposite effect of what she had intended.

"We're people, just like you. Most of us are nice, we don't try to make people uneasy, we aren't going to humiliate you... so, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" she asked.

"Well...I have...been...humiliated by...wo..men..." replied Taylor. He sat there shaking next to Nadia. It had been wrong to come here. He should have just stayed in the kitchen and finished the food for dinner. This whole situation was making him sick to the stomach. "Well I'm...eighteen...I have been...stationed here for...two weeks...I joined the army...right after...high school...I have never ...had any success...with wom..en. As you...can...see I like to...cook.""

Nadia's face softened. She had met people like this before, who had had little or no success with the opposite sex, not that she was looking for anyone at the moment.

"I'm 32." She turned her body to face the young man. "I joined right out of the Academy, they have what you would call high school and university education as well as military training in one program, it takes eight years. I graduated when I was 21, with a military commission and a degree in philosophy."

She took a breath and decided to talk to him about his experience with women if he wanted to talk. "So, what did these women do?" she asked. "The ones who humiliated you?"

Taylor was total stunned. He thought back to those days. Those horrid days of pain and suffering. His face showed the pain and anguish. For a couple of minutes the whole room was silent. Taylor let out a deep sigh and started to breath heavily. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead. His hand was now drenched in sweat. "I rather...not talk...about that..."

"OK," said Nadia. She wouldn't press him on the issue, but if he opened up to her later, she would be willing to listen.

Nadia got up and brought a small towel from the bathroom. She sat down and handed it to Taylor so he could wipe the sweat from his head if he wanted. "Here."

"Well, for the most part, you would talk to me the same way you would talk to one of your friends. Can you tell me a little about why you joined the army?" From what she understood, the Canadstein military saw precious little action.

Taylor and wiped his hands clean. He wondered why he was still here. This whole thing was very unconformable to him. It could have been so easy to bolt out and be in the hallway right now. But something told him to stay. His legs had a cold numb feeling. Even if he had enough will power to leave, his legs would not budge. "To...simply...escape from it..all. I wanted to go to a place...where no one knew me..."

Nadia looked at the guy sitting next to her. He clearly needed someone to console him, but what could she do? She had tried earlier and only made things worse.

"Well, these people seem to know you quite well. Sometimes you do need to make new friends," she said softly. "But you don't want to run away from your old friends."

She lay back. "You're still a teenager. People at your age often are cruel, but a lot of them grow to be nice people."

"I didn't...have any...friends..." Taylor admitted. This was far too much for Pvt. Hall. He got up and started to walk toward the door. "Is that all...okay...bye...General Sklenova...no I mean...Nadia..."

Taylor quickly bolted for the door and ran out into the hallway. He closed the door behind him, and then let out a deep sigh. Cpl. Johnson put down his newspaper and looked at Taylor. Johnson had a grin on his face. Taylor looked like a wreck. "Taylor you have a good time in there?"

Taylor said nothing and stomped off. Right now he wasn't too happy and wanted to return to the kitchen.

Well, I sure fucked things up. Nadia lay down dejectedly on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She had no idea yet how she had impacted him.

---

For a one-kilometer radius around the Defense Ministry, military police and infantry set up roadblocks, machine gun positions, and sniper nests throughout the area. Tanks and light artillery barricaded the streets, detouring traffic around them. Luckily, there were no residential areas in the perimeter affected by this move.

Helicopter gunships and low-flying heavy bombers and fighters circled the area, spotting that which the snipers and machine gunners couldn't. Some of the helicopters had snipers of their own inside, firing out the door where usually a machine gun was positioned.

General Malakov was planning his speech for the next day, and did not want a raid on the Defense Ministry to take place while he did so. Backup communication systems were tested and retested, in case satellites were shot down. They could be broadcasted simultaneously through radio towers and television stations. Over 100,000 soldiers, not counting the security force of some 30,000, would be watching it in person, along with some 300,000 civilians. More than twenty million would also watch it on TV or listen to it on the radio.

Cpl. Johnson knocked on the door and entered the room. He sighed and looked at General Sklenova. Johnson reminded himself that he was just the messenger. He coughed for a second and started to speak up. "Ah...General Sklenova...Nick requests that you be ready by 8:00 P.M. for a dinner meeting. He also requests that you dress in formal attire."

Johnson did not wait for a response, then went back to his post.

Formal attire... Nadia had brought one formal suit with her, a light brown jacket and matching knee-length skirt. She absolutely hated formal dress; most of what she had brought were casual dresses or trousers and baggy shirts.

Nadia dressed formally for the dinner meeting within fifteen minutes, then knocked on the door, waiting for Corporal Johnson to ask him for more information.

Cpl. Johnson looked into her room from the slight crack between the door and the frame. He needed to get ready soon since dinner would start in one hour. Johnson looked at his watch and peaked into Nadia's room. "Yes, General Sklenova?"

"What does Mr. Mills have in mind?" asked Nadia. "He wanted me to dress formally for the meeting." This was unusual for her, given how informal she'd seen the last meetings.

"I'm just simply the messenger. I have no idea why. He told us to also wear our uniforms. Maybe he wants to be formal?" Cpl. Johnson replied as he shrugged. He did not any idea why Nick wanted this.

"Uniforms?" Nadia replied. "I was under the impression that 'formal' meant 'civilian formal.'" This was, after all, an intelligence meeting, not specifically military, at least to Nadia's understanding. "So I should wear my uniform too?"

"Well most of us did not bring anything that was formal to this country. We thought we would be in fatigues. The other men and I will probably wear our mess dress. Its going to be kind of amusing for me to see Pvt. Hall in one. I honestly think that he has never worn it before tonight." Cpl. Johnson looked over what Nadia was wearing. "General, what you are wearing is fine. Though I do think that Nick is going to wear his tuxedo."

"OK," said Nadia calmly. "I'd sit next to Hall, but he'd probably freak out on me again." She sat down on her bed and waited to be escorted to the meeting.

Cpl. Johnson returned a while later in his mess dress. Along with him were Pvt. Hall and Pvt. Kane. They escorted her to the formal dining hall.

-------

When they entered it was only lit by candle light. The walls were covered with red cherry panels and pictures of past Ambassadors and famous Canadsteinians. The floor was also covered in red cherry but was arranged in an ornate fashion. In the middle of the room was a large and long oak table with five table settings set out. Nick, in his tuxedo, and Sgt. Featherson, also in his mess dress, were already waiting for the group. Above the table hung elaborate crystal chandelier. Pvt. Kane pulled out Nadia's chair and put it back into place once she sit down. The men took their places and sat down.

Two waiters came out with five bowls of soup, crayfish bisque. This was the start of a five-course meal. Each bowl was placed in front of a person. Nick looked eager to talk, and waited for the two waiters to quickly leave.

Nick nodded and the men started to eat. "Eat General Sklenova, but this isn't the real reason I brought you here. Okay...to eat and get to know you better, but also to discuss the plans with General Malakov."

Nick took his spoon and tasted the soup. It was delicious. "General Sklenova I would say that this is the best crayfish bisque I have ever had. You need to taste it."

Nadia dug her spoon into the soup and took a bite, then nodded in approval. "It's good." She nodded back at Nick. "What plans? How have things developed?"

The men nodded with approval at the soup. Though the real critic was Taylor, who found the soup fulfilling and a nice use of the crayfish. Nick looked down at Nadia.

"In due time young one, all your questions hopefully will be answered in this meeting." Nick said with a smile and tried to lighten up the mood. Pvt. Kane made a small chuckle. It was good enough for Nick.

The waiters took the finished soups, while the men talked with the woman. They soon returned with the main course and a bunch of plates. First the plates were set down, then the main course was revealed. It was cooked and seasoned ham, along with steamed carrots and green peas. The men looked on with their hungry eyes. They all waited for Nadia to start.

"I thought I might tell you this Nadia. General Malakov is going to give a speech tomorrow in the Ministry of Defense. I don't know the exact details, but I thought that you would like to know." John Featherson said as he viewed her from across the table.

"So you want us to attend this speech?" asked Nadia, after swallowing a load of green peas. "It'll probably just be Nationalist chest-thumping. Maybe he'll even come out of the closet with his kick-the-Catholics-out agenda."

"I think he will actually say that he wants the Catholics out. Though we are not going to be attending the speech tomorrow. No we have too much to do, than to go to some silly speech." Nick replied as he was cutting his ham. He put a piece in his mouth and chewed on. Once he was finished he started to speak up again. "We are going to kidnap him, and bring him back here."

Nick made it sound easy, but the other men knew that it would be no cake walk. This guy was a general and the Minister of Defense. Pvt. Kane sat there stunned, while the other men continued to eat. This was some pretty heavy news.

"Where do I come in?" asked Nadia. "And how do we pull this off? There's some pretty heavy security there, and Malakov has command of the army. What are we doing, exactly?" She took a slice of the ham.

"We are going to kidnap him at his home. Though we need your help in obtaining a floor plan of his house, and some satellite images of the surrounding area. We need to know everything about his house." Nick replied as he ate a couple of his carrots. The other men knew where they were going to come in. They were going to be the main force in the actual kidnapping.

"I don't know where he lives," said Nadia. "We aren't that close, it's not like he's had me over for dinner. I could get his address from the Ministry database, but it would be risky. I suppose you could plant a GPS on his car and track it." She looked at Nick suspiciously. "What do you want to do with him once you capture him?"

"Ah...good idea, Nadia. I think Sgt. Featherson will have to accompany you to the Ministry of Defense for that mission though. Honestly they are not going to let some Average Joe into that building." Nick said as he finished off his meal. "Basically we are going to kidnap him, so you can sweet talk the Deputy Minister of Defense, what was her name? Ahh it doesn't matter. But with Malakov gone, hopefully she will call off some of the "reforms" that Malakov issued. During this time we are going to force Malakov to admit that he did frame General Kasagawa."

"Samarra Rakhmadi, and she's openly anti-Catholic," said Nadia. "But she's at least not interested in rattling the saber. It's this forcing Malakov to admit anything that has me concerned... you're going to torture him, aren't you?"

"No we will deprive him of food, a bathroom, a shower, and a bed. Basically we are going to try drive him insane. We will never do any physical torture. I want revenge for what he did to Miles. So I think a little payback is in store." Nick replied. The plates had disappeared and now the waiters were coming out with a mixed green salad, some assorted cheese, and some red wine. Nick sipped on the red wine. "We will deprive him of these privileges until he squeals like a pig."

Nadia wasn't sure this was legal under Kahanistanian law. "We have an article in our constitution that prohibits us from extraditing anyone to a nation where they will be subjected to torture or capital punishment," she said. "I can tell you that the Defense Ministry has directories for officials laying around in the Ministry, and I don't think home addresses are exactly classified information."

"Good I want you to take one of those directories. I don't care if it’s against the law, but we will not drag you into this. Malakov will not ever see you, once we get him into the embassy. So you are going to be safe from the government if we get caught. Malakov will pay for his deeds. Nick said as he stabbed some greens with his fork. "So do you think you can do all the stuff I asked for?"

"Given that the guards tried to arrest Mason and that other soldier earlier when they came in, and security's likely to be pretty tight if there's a speech by the Defense Minister, I don't think we'll get in without being seen. I've already been warned away from the Ministry. If you already have his address to kidnap him, then you don't need a directory." Nadia sat back. She didn't think she was much of a strategist, but this operation seemed very ill-planned.

"What do you suggest we do?" Nick said with his eyes fully on Nadia. He needed to hear Nadia's opinion.

"Pose as a tourist and go in after the speech, when security is lighter. Then, just pick up a directory. You might be able to find it online, even, but I've never had any reason to go online. I rarely go to the Ministry." Nadia had by now cleaned her plate. I'll have a hard time getting back to 115 after this, she thought light-heartedly.

"No I mean this whole operation with kidnapping Malakov. What do you think of it? Also tomorrow be ready by 9 A.M. you and Sgt. Featherson are going to that speech, and you will strike after the speech. You will say that you are giving Featherson, an old friend of yours, a tour of the building." Nick and the other men were stuffed by there was still dessert to come. Dessert came out in the form of a pumpkin pie. It was a personal favorite of Nick.

"I should probably wear something to disguise myself," said Nadia, avoiding the question. She still had moral issues with handing over the Defense Minister to be tortured, but the intel agents would be able to succeed without her.

"The guards at the door know what I look like. I don't know if Malakov will go home after the speech, or if he'll return to his office. The guards will probably follow me around if I go openly, but like I said, there's no restriction on the directories, they're not classified." They had little more than what a standard phone book would have.

"You can find them in any empty office, and there are a lot of offices that aren't being used," finished Nadia.

"Well be ready tomorrow. I don't want something as simply as this to go horribly wrong." Nick looked at his watch and saw that it was currently 10 o'clock. He knew that tomorrow was going to be a big day. "Excuse me, but I think it's time that we all got some sleep. I think I will retire right now. Good night Nadia."

Nick got up and kissed Nadia's cheek, then went off to his room. Once Nadia was ready, Pvt. Kane lead her back to the bedroom. He was going to be her guard tonight, since Sgt. Featherson had to be awake and alert tomorrow morning.

Nadia did not react as Nick kissed her. She calmly allowed the soldiers to lead her to her room, where she laid out her uniform for the next morning, and laid down on the bed under the sheets.

She pushed all thoughts of the operation from her head, as they would only keep her awake all night.

OOC: Telegram. Sorry.

Sgt. Featherson woke up early in the morning and thought about the mission. His mind was over reacting. It was going to be next to impossible to get caught on this first mission. All they had to do was go in and get the directory, then leave. He was just nervous and had accepted that fact. Dressing in some civilian cloths, John waited by Nadia's room and had talked to Pvt. Kane to kill sometime.

At seven in the morning, Nadia woke up, showered, and changed into her uniform. She then sat in her room, waiting for the agents to knock on her door and take her along.

John escorted her to the car and started it up. While driving he thought he could strike up a conversation. "Since this speech is going to have a big crowd, where do you think we should park at?"

"Right here will do," said Nadia. They were about two kilometers from the security perimeter.

"Less suspicious that way. Could make it look like we were on a date or something." She figured there were a few hours to kill before the speech.

John parked the car and looked got out of the car. Quickly he put on his sunglasses. He looked toward Nadia and donned a smile. It was kind of funny what she suggested. "So what do you want to do on our 'date', Nadia?"

"No idea, really. Just grab a cup of coffee or something. We'll have to stay pretty alert for this operation."

---

At the Ministry, the perimeters had been fully set up, with checkpoints set up to allow people through to attend the speech, though clearly visible sniper teams walking on rooftops and roving attack helicopters made an assassination attempt a candidacy for the Darwin Awards.

People crowded through the checkpoints in anticipation of the Defense Minister's speech, mostly soldiers, ex-military, enthusiasts, and journalists.

"Do you know any good places around here?" John said rarely ever coming to this part of town. Especially this close to the Ministry of Defense. Actually this was the first time that John had seen it. It was a pretty amazing building, but it would make an excellent target for a bomber or a bomb. The build must have had some extensive underground bunker or labyrinth of tunnels.

"Coffee shop right here," said Nadia. She opened a door labeled Jimmy's Cafe. "Not as good as Starbucks, but cheap and it keeps you awake."

The Defense Ministry, ten stories tall, was far shorter than the one that had been used in the Negev. With SPAA and MANPAD-armed infantry patrolling the buildings with a near-unobstructed view from the rooftops of nearby buildings, as well as fighters in the air, only a truly mad or suicidal individual would attempt to bomb the facility.

"I can't believe that I did not notice this coffee shop." John remarked as he sat down at a nearby table. He looked at the selections of coffee this place had. Some of coffee John had never heard of. He was a little befuddled and looked at Nadia. "Nadia, do you know if I can just get a simply cup of black coffee?"

"Probably," said Nadia. "I usually go with an espresso. I'll only have one, because of the baby." She placed her hands across her stomach.

Nadia walked up to the counter. "One espresso, please."

Getting up with Nadia, he followed her to the counter. "Also one straight black coffee. I will pay for both of them."

John put down enough shekels for both of the drinks. Quickly his coffee was poured into a cup and given to him. He sipped it and nodded with approval. It wasn't the best coffee in the world, but it wasn't the worse either. Better than that instant coffee crap that the Army gave out. Actually this would beat it everyday. John patiently waited for Nadia to get her espresso.

Nadia shrugged. If the agent wanted to pay, so be it. She believed in the woman paying her way, especially when the meeting was her idea, but wasn't going to insist on it.

She took her espresso to a nearby two-seater and sat down, waiting for him.

Once again John followed to the seat and sat down. For a few awkward moments John did not say anything to Nadia. He just sat there and drink his coffee. Occasionally he would take a peak at his watch to see what time it was currently. He sighed and tried to strike a conservation with Nadia. "Nadia, may I call you that General Sklenova, why did you join the military? I partiality joined because my family has a long line of men who served in the army. I thought I should carry on the tradition. Actually this tradition goes back almost 400 years. I'm pretty sure that Miles told you that the last war Canadstein fought in was over 130 years ago, actually to be exact it was 134 years ago. Well one of my forefathers was the commanding General in that war, Thomas Featherson. I don't really see myself ever becoming an officer."

Nadia nodded. "OK... I was thirteen when I signed up for the Academy. At the time, we were on the brink of war with a Sharia-dominated state, we had just gotten out of a war with one of those fascist countries that were popping up all the time back then."

She took a sip. "I didn't even want to turn on the TV anymore, every time the news came on it was images of people being mutilated, amputations, female... cutting, it was terrible. Then I remembered what Karl Marx said, 'from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.' Well, I was of age to join the Academy, because it takes eight years to finish if you don't have high school or university. You could say I joined to help people who needed it, to protect people from the torture and abuse that goes on in the world."

"Well going into the Canadstein Army I knew that I would never see combat. The closest thing to combat the most us have seen is War games. Most of the people in our country see the atrocities, but they never full realize what is happening. None of the citizens in my country have ever witnessed it at first hand. We try to ignore it, and just let it past us by. Personally I don't want blood shed either in our country." John said as he sipped some of his coffee, and set it back down. The warm feeling traveled down through his throat. He looked up from his coffee and faced Nadia again. "Nadia...have you ever loved anyone? I'm just wondering because your pregnant."

tagged for interest.

"I've thought I did before," replied Nadia. "I have no clue where the baby came from. I found out about the baby shortly after getting out of Kraven." She had no real clue about the true origins (http://www.forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11988968&postcount=62) of her baby, as she was unconscious at the time. She figured she'd been artificially inseminated as part of an experiment by a Kraven scientist.

"But I'll raise the child as my own," she said. "I just hope that we don't end up in another war. I know people who have babies and serve in the military, it's not easy at all."

"Yes it will be hard to choose either between your career or the baby. You have choose which is the most important. War is no place for a baby to exist. It's probably one of the worst places actually. I just hope that you choose the right one..." John commented. He knew that this topic was very unconformable for Nadia. Also it was tad unconformable for him. "So who was this one true love you had?"

Nadia frowned. "He was another officer. I was 27 years old at the time, and I was very vulnerable emotionally. I was worried about my career, and about the possibility of going to war... he took me, held me, made me feel loved."

She took a drink and sighed. "For six months or so, everything was fine, and I thought I was in love. Then... I heard him talking to a group of other guys about how he'd gotten me to..." Nadia sighed again, not feeling very comfortable.

"Sounds a lot like the problems I have had. Usually every girl I love is just trying to play me. Either they want to use me or want to just impress someone. I just hope I find that special girl and I hope you find that special guy." John said as became slightly depressed by Nadia's story. Featherson still tried to find that one woman, but it was to no avail. But he wasn't going to give up just yet. "So what did you think of Miles? He was a pretty nice guy when I met him, but seemed to be on edge sometimes and overworked."

Nadia finished her coffee. "He's too emotional," she said. "He attacked General Malakov in his office, and he gets violent at times. Not so much with me, but he's pulled a gun on him once or twice. On the other hand, he seems really nice for the most part. He seems to really like me."

She looked at her watch. It was 11 AM. "He's told me a few times that he was in love with me. I don't know... I can't see getting into a relationship at this stage in my life, especially when I can be reassigned at any moment, and sent to Lord only knows where."

"In the last five years alone I have been transferred to five different embassies. I just got to this one a couple of months ago. I hope the higher ups just leave me here. I'm sick of moving and breaking relationships. But orders are orders. What are you going to do?" John replied as he finished off his cup of coffee. "So how much longer do you think until the speech?"

"Right now, I have a fairly stable position at the Academy as a flight instructor," said Nadia. "I figure the speech will be about three o'clock. We should be able to get to the perimeter in about half an hour, then get into the crowd."

"Well we still have plenty of time left." John said after taking a peak at his watch. "What do you want to do to kill the rest of this time?"

Nadia shook her head. "Can't think of much. I think that as tight as security is, we might take some time getting into the crowd, then all we have to do is attend his speech. I think we should head out."

"Yeah I guess that is the best idea for now." John led her to the crowd of people trying to hear Malakov's speech. He could barely see the security checkpoint up ahead through all the people. Well he had to continue the conversation to kill time waiting in this mass of people. "Let me hear one of your war stories. I kind of don't have any and I find them really interesting. I thought about writing a book covering different stories from soldiers all over the world."

Nadia smiled. "Well, this was in '98, during the conflict we had with Lower East Wahabiland. I was flying an escort mission, and I was going into a no-fly zone. Well, back then we were using MiG-29's, and I knew I stood less than a snowball's chance in a microwave of getting in undetected, even after the HARM'ing we gave their early warning radars, outdated as they were."

"Well, they were about to retake a rebel city, and they blockaded it with tanks and declared it a NFZ." She pronounced the letter "Z" as "Zed." "So, I went in low to the ground, trying to underfly their surviving radars. Either I had to go higher to avoid a building, or someone saw me with the naked eye, because I heard this voice in Arabic hailing me, 'Communist infidel, stop your aggression against Allah.' and I knew I'd been made."

"So, I was trying to keep my plane in the air, and I had to bluff past this guy somehow, or the whole operation was a failure. If I was shot down, then the airlift we were using to feed the civilians was screwed. So, what I did, was I got on the radio, and apparently they took my Middle Eastern accent for an allied nation's, because I said, 'If you fire upon us, you are the aggressors against Allah and His warriors.' I managed to convince them that the food we were dropping to the civilians had Ebola in it."

"Well, that was the only time I ever got in trouble with my superiors. Apparently, some of the civilians heard a rumor that we did give them Ebola, because they weren't nearly as friendly to us after we managed to defeat the government forces. But we managed to save most of their lives, and I'd do it again, even knowing I'd get a letter of reprimand."

They were now approaching the checkpoint, where a group of soldiers were checking ID's and a video camera was conspicuously emplaced, and the soldiers were letting people through who had shown ID.

"Sounds like you have had an adventurous life. So far I have not had a story like that. Though I'm kind of glad, since most of this stories usually come along with the stories of atrocities and murder. Do know Nadia I have never fired my weapon at weapon at another person? I have never needed to kill anyone in my entire life. I should be considered lucky." John stated as the crowded started to try to get into the security bottleneck. "I have never been shot at. Never had to smell the stench of dead bodies. The smell of burning flesh. Sounds like horror."

John stood silent for a moment and looked up toward the sky. He was luck, and he wondered if he could truly handle war. The thought lingered, but he carried on with life.

The security kept on getting closer and closer, as the crowd surged forward. John reviewed the conversation last night and went over the details of the plan. "Remember Nadia, that we are suppose to be a couple."

John's hand silently took a hold of hers. It felt unconformable, but the warmth of her hand was welcoming at the same time. John looked at her and started to laugh.

Soon John and Nadia made it to the security check point. John quickly flashed his ID.

Nadia let the soldier hold her hand as she showed her ID at the checkpoint. The guard looked it over, then looked back at Nadia.

"OK, you can pass. I was a little surprised to see you coming to the speech." He handed the ID's back.

They were now within the security perimeter.

John looked at his watch. It was only 1:30. Though it had taken a hour and thirty minutes to get through line and checkpoint, they still had plenty of time on their hands. He looked around at the massive crowd and noticed Nadia. John smiled and held onto her hand. "So what do you want to do now? We have about a hour and thirty minutes left to kill. Are you unconformable with me holding your hand Nadia?"

"Not really," said Nadia. She was normally not much with physical intimacy, but if it was needed to lower suspicion, it was fine.

Nadia found a bench a few hundred meters from the Ministry and sat down. "So, how was Taylor after he left the room talking to me?"

"Well, it was pretty freaked out. The rest of the day he would only answer in one word sentences. He seemed a little emotionally distraught. Also he seemed to be really out of it. Like he was somewhere else. That night he also drank heavily. He had never seen him drink like that, but what we suppose to do?" John replied as he looked around. Metzuda was a beautiful city, but there was an eerie feeling about it. John always felt like he was being watched by someone.

Jesus Christ... "Well... would you be able to get him to talk to me again?" Nadia asked. A loudspeaker sounded off from the Ministry.

"The speech will begin in five minutes." General Malakov stood in full uniform, his chest bedecked with medals, behind a huge podium at the main entrance to the Defense Ministry, clearly visible from the crowd, no matter how far back they were.

"Well it depends on what he wants I guess..." John replied. Then he heard the loudspeaker and looked around. He could see General Malakov. His uniform looked like a salad of military decorations. John turned back toward Nadia. "I guess it's time we got up closer."

"Good idea," replied Nadia. "Try and get him alone with me again," she said.

From behind his tall podium, General Malakov spoke, his voice booming from his microphone to the vast throngs surrounding him.

"Soldiers of Kahanistan! Citizens of the Republic! I am General Iosif Malakov, the Minister of Defense."

"Some of us are here because we had nothing better to do. Others want to hear what new military policies there will be. Some will want to take a shot at me," he said lightly, receiving a reply of heavy laughter from certain segments of the crowd.

"But, at the bottom, we are all here for one reason: to hear the future of the military of our free Republic. And that is what I will talk about."

The crowd clapped their hands in applause. Nadia turned to John.

"Knowing him, he's just working up to the good stuff."

"I will try my best, but it's all Taylor's choice." John replied, and then he got very quiet once Malakov started to speak.

John stood stone cold while looking at this man. This guy had ruined another General's life and had almost killed both Nadia and Miles. Right now he wished he could have shot that General straight in the head. Malakov had something vile about him that disgusted John. John muttered something obscene and just glared at Malakov. He was defiantly going to get his own.

"A year after a massive international conference (http://www.forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=471196) on the state of our military, we are still widely viewed among the CAD powers as a laughingstock," said General Malakov. "Our military folded in less than a week against the Doomani attack, when we had planes that couldn't see, a defensive line that failed in the most basic of ways, and tanks and missiles that simply did not even reach the enemy invaders. We had a chance to kill Maximus that day, and it was passed up because of our inferior equipment."

The soldiers in the crowd emitted loud shouts of outrage, disgust at the fact that Kahanistan could until now not be bothered to upgrade from its entrenched Merkava IV, or import a decent fighter.

"Had the Kriegzimmer weapons in our arsenal been available when the Doomani attacked, we would have humiliated them on the ground rather than the other way around! We were humiliated in large part because of our inferior equipment. Does anyone in this throng standing before me honestly believe our soldiers are inferior to those of the Doomani?"

The response from the crowd was an overwhelming, "NO!"

"Correct!" replied General Malakov. "And I swear my oath as Minister of Defense, as a general, no, as a mere soldier of the Republic, that as long as I am in charge of this military, we will never again suffer such a disastrous defeat! Never again!"

"Never again!" replied the crowd. "Never again!"

"Never again," repeated Malakov. At a wave of his hat, two dozen Spartacus main battle tanks as well as several Macabean SAM launchers and SPAA, as well as trucks displaying a new Kahanistanian missile claimed to be incapable of suppression by standard anti-radiation missiles, were displayed in front of the general. He was still visible, as his podium was very high and allowed him an eagle-eye view of the throng before him.

"These weapons will protect us from the religious fanaticism of states like the Doomani," said Malakov forcefully. "Never again will we be humiliated by artillery shelling our defenses from outside our range and us not even being able to shoot back. Never again will our radars be one-time use warning systems useless later in the battle. Never again will we sail tubs made of old sardine tins against the mighty superdreadnaughts of the Pwnage or Doomani navies." Malakov placed a strong emphasis on the words "Never again." They rang well in a nation with a 20 - 25% Jewish population.

"And never again will we be sending fleets all around the world, except to prevent genocide," continued Malakov, more softly. "Our military will be geared more towards home defense, and less toward interventionism. If a government crosses the line and initiates genocide, we will intervene, but if a dictatorship takes over, we simply do not have the forces available, but we will still take in their refugees, within reason." Malakov did not mention that to him, "within reason" meant "No Catholics."

"Guess he's not going to say kick the Catholics out," said Nadia. "Wouldn't do for him to seem like an extremist when he's still coming into his own as the Minister of Defense." She looked back at John. "Thanks, I'd like it if Taylor did agree to see me again."

John just shook his head in amazement. This Malakov was charismatic and seemed to have the support of the people, but was an absolute nut. Malakov only wanted all this new equipment for the "defense" of Kahanistan, which seemed a total lie to John. John felt that Malakov was a war monger and was lying to the masses, so he could get support to get newer equipment. He started to chuckle a little bit at Malakov's speech. Though coming here gave him more drive to stop this madman. Malakov was going down.

"He's a total liar. I cannot believe that people actually believe what he is saying. Pretty much garbage is coming out of his mouth. Malakov is only telling them what they want to hear." John whispered. He did not want some insane nationalist starting a fight with him. "Why is Taylor a project, Nadia? It seems like you want to fix him."

"I kind of do," said Nadia. "So he can overcome his shyness." She looked back up at the general. "I kind of got that impression when he kept saying 'Never again!' over and over. It's the motto of the Jewish Defense League. We have a fair-sized Jewish population here."

"If I wasn't a communist, I'd probably have been just as enthralled as a lot of these guys seem to be," she said.

Malakov continued his speech. "I have already begun the process of reforming our army, from a ragtag group of trained, but ill-equipped, soldiers into a force capable of standing against any in the world," said the Defense Minister. "I have appointed our chief of weapon design, General Samarra Rakhmadi, to the post of Deputy Defense Minister, and appointed a former professor of engineering from Kahanistan National University, Dr. Otto Milchmann, as Chief of Weapon Design, to ensure the quality of our weapon designs. Within six months, our weapons will be the equal of those of the Sovereign League or CAD powers!"

Numerous chants of ecstasy, from "Hear, hear!" to "Death to Doomanum!" or even "Allah Akbar!" emanated from the enraptured masses.

The Defense Minister smiled softly as the crowd poured out its euphoria before he spoke again.

"We will once again enjoy a stable lifestyle, never fearing the loss of our loved ones to terror bombing raids, nor being displaced to faraway lands, nor fleeing an invasion, but we will stand and fight for our land! Our wives, husbands, sons, daughters, grandchildren, and our elderly, will be able to sleep calmly in their beds at night, not wondering if some Pestis Dei-laced munition with their name on it is going to drop, not having to fear being skinned alive and nailed to crosses to rot in the heat, not having to outwardly adhere to the practices of a religion not our own for fear of torturous deaths as heretics! We will live the way that we were intended to live, as free people, without fear!"

As the crowd erupted into another display of their affection toward the Defense Minister, Nadia turned back to John.

"Well, I don't think his speech will be more than another half hour or so, think we can get a little closer to the Ministry?"

"Maybe sometimes people are not suppose to be changed. Did you ever think that Taylor was fine with the way he was already?" John noted as he continued to listen to Malakov's speech. It was all a lie, and John had a enough lies for today. Casually he stopped listening, and looked up toward the sky. This country was surely screwed if they did not stop that madmen. This beautiful sky would be filled with fighters, missiles, and bombs. How could this people keep on fighting? Hadn't they already had enough bloodshed?

John attention toward the sky was soon broken by Nadia's voice. His head turned toward her. Quickly he took a peak at his watch and nodded. "Yeah I guess."

Nadia shook her head. "He seemed painfully shy around me, like he was going to get sick. I don't think that's normal," she said as she moved closer to the Ministry.

"Our next crop of officer graduates from the Academy will be trained to a harder degree than the last set of graduates," continued Malakov. "They will all receive improved battlefield command training, and our soldiers will receive more rigorous physical training, to make our military capabilities far stronger on the defensive than they have been! No more will we simply hand ground to the enemy to do with whatever they please!"

After the last wave of cheering ended, Malakov spoke again.

"It's getting hot out today, and I'm sure you're all feeling the heat as well. May you live the rest of your lives in safety and freedom, and I hope to speak to you again in the future."

The Defense Minister stood at the podium for a few minutes longer, as the security perimeters began to disband, allowing the crowds to disperse. Nadia edged closer to the Ministry against the wave of people leaving.

"Well it's normal for Taylor. Did you even ask him if he wanted to change?" John said no more and continued to think about what Nadia had said. Once Malakov's speech was over he firmly grasped her hand. He did not want them getting separated. The mission was just beginning to happen. John fought through the crowd, since they were going against the natural flow of the crowd. He whispered into her ear. "Remember we are coming here because you just want to show your new boyfriend where you work. But remember when need to get the address of Malakov and some satellite photos of where he lives. Correct?"

"Sat photos may be hard, I don't know a lot about satellites," said Nadia. "I don't even know where the satellite command office is."

The guards were feeling a little tired, so they just waved Nadia by as she approached the Defense Ministry. Malakov was leaving to his car, getting ready to go home. The guards had far less important things to protect and were not interested in screening visitors as much as they often would.

"I guess first thing first is finding the address of Malakov. Security around here seems kind of relaxed for the moment." He whispered as he walked with her into the Ministry of Defense. Once in the building, John looked into his pocket. Deep within the abyss was a simple tracker device. This was part of the mission that Nick had not told Nadia. For a second he panicked because he did not feel its familiar shape. Then he felt the shape. Now he was relieved because if he did loose it then most of the day would have gone to waste.

John moved Nadia over to nearby corner and acted like he was going to kiss her. He started to whisper. "Nadia, Nick entrusted me with a tracking device. I'm suppose to put it on his car, so we can find out where he lives Before we get this directory we need to find his car and I need to put it onto it. You need to distract him, while I do this.

John let go of her, with a satisfied face. He did not want of the guards to catch on.

Nadia nodded. "I'll go talk to him," she said. She jogged slowly after Malakov, fast enough to beat him to the car but slow enough not to freak him out.

"General, a few questions about the speech?" she asked. The older general turned to her, nodding his head.

John watched her jog off, but he kept a more low profiles. He casual watched in the same direction. Once he got to Nadia's location he saw that she was taking to Malakov. Looking at all the cars, John did not know which one was Malakov's. He moved himself so he could only be seen by Nadia, over Malakov's should. He made some hand gestures that stated that he did not know which car was Malakov’s.

While the two generals were talking, Nadia sat down on the boot of Malakov's car. Malakov did not suspect a thing, and sat next to her.

"I plan to improve the strength of our military," said Malakov, answering Nadia's last question. "We've got a conflict in Africa, where Allanea's taken a lot of Doomani land and we're protecting natives from being mass-murdered."

"I know," replied Nadia. "But don't you think that the military buildup, the open admission of WMD possession, might get us invaded? We aren't set up to fight off Doomingsland a second time," she said.

"I know." Malakov nodded. "But Allanea will protect us militarily at least until we can protect ourselves. I've already set up arrangements to wargame with several nations. We'll learn more different tactics than I dare to think," he finished.

John creeps to the front of the car. He could hear that Nadia and Malakov were talking it up. Pulling the tracker from his pocket, he looked around. I mean what would you do if you saw a mysterious guy in front of your car? John put the tracker on the car. He walked out and looked to be relieved "Ahh...there you are Nadia. I have been trying to find you."

John gave a small kiss on the cheek. Then he spotted Malakov. John was finally going to meet their target. The man who had destroyed General Kasagawa's life and who Miles had pulled a gun out on. He put his hand out to shake Malakov's. "Oh...sorry I am John Featherson, Nadia's boyfriend. You must be General Malakov. I have heard some stories about you."

Malakov nodded. "Iosif Malakov, Minister of Defense." He pronounced his first name as "Yo-seef." "Really? What have you heard?" asked the general, taking John's hand. He still had nary a suspicion that his car had been bugged.

"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend," said Malakov. Then again, there was no reason Nadia would; he was thirty years older than her and he was married. He had no interest in going out with her.

"Some various stories about the war. Frankly I like what you are doing to the army. I think it's about time we gave up those old rust buckets, and actually got some real technology." John stated. He looked intently. Right now the mission could have been completed. He could knock out Malakov, and then drive back to the embassy in his car. John held back his urge and just looked at Nadia while smiling.

This was one of the few things Nadia agreed with Malakov on. She smiled widely. She certainly didn't agree with his ruthless policy, his willingness to frame people in his way, or his agenda of deporting Catholics. She didn't even agree with the military buildup as such, though she had to admit that the equipment was superior to what Kahanistan had had before.

"The GLI-76 is far easier to fly, and easier for me to teach flying on than a F-35 or even a MiG-29," she said. "Not as vulnerable to those runway-busting bombs the Pwnagians use, either. Never been in one of the Spartacus tanks, but if the ETC's as good as they say it is, we might have a fighting chance against an invader, defeat isn't as... certain... as it used to be."

"I could show you around in one," said Malakov calmly. He had been an armored corps commander before going into the Ministry.

"Maybe later," said Nadia. She actually wouldn't have a problem with riding in one, but now wasn't the time. Malakov opened the door to his car and entered the driver's seat, then started up.

John waved Malakov off. He came up alongside Nadia. "I got it done. So how about we find the directory?"

"You didn't tell me you had a bug," said Nadia as Malakov drove home. "No sense risking going in there, when your GPS crew can tell where he lives. If you still want a directory, I can get one, but I don't see the need now with the bug."

Nadia sighed. "I'd advise you not to be part of the capture team," she said. "Some intelligence agencies have made blunders like that. If Malakov escapes, or he gets off in court, claiming his confession was extracted by torture... or Lord forbid, President al-Omari pardons him for what he did to the military... he'd finger you, and he'd probably do something to me, too."

"He's not going to recognize any of us. I have only said a couple of words to him. Unless he's a master of voices, then I have nothing to worry about. Malakov is never going to see any of our faces. We are going to be wearing ski masks around him. Don't worry about anything. If he does try to escape, then he will have a metal round going straight through his head." John replied as he looked coldly at Malakov's car.

He had to go on the mission with his team. Sgt. Featherson was the leadership of the whole squad. Without him, his squad was pretty much just a group of kids. A lot of weight was on John's shoulder. He hoped that this mission did not cause anymore pressure on him.

"I will make sure that he doesn't ever see you, or know that you were involved with this mission. It will be our problem." John stated as he was holding Nadia's chin. "Sorry about that kiss earlier. I had to make it believable. But it doesn't hurt to get the directory, plus we still need some satellite photos of the area."

"It's all right. We can get satellite photos with Google Earth," said Nadia. "I'll get the directory. You can return to the Embassy, meet me at my apartment or something. I don't want to be seen around the Embassy, just in case." Nadia pulled out a pen and paper, then wrote her address, phone number, and military e-mail address for John.

She started walking toward the Ministry.

John looked at her beautiful gray eyes and took the information. He wondered if he had finally gotten Nadia's trust. This was probably the moment, when it had to be tested. He hesitated to call after. John just stared at her as she walked away. The crowd had finally died down and John walked back to the car with ease. Then finally back to the embassy.

Nadia entered the Ministry and went to one of the common terminals, which had video cameras over it. Nobody could accuse her of sending anything to the Doomani, not that any Communist would so spit on the ideals she had held since she was a pre-teen.

The young woman accessed an online directory of the Defense Ministry's key generals, retrieving a home address and contact information for General Malakov. To disguise her intentions, she looked for several contacts for various officials; Malakov was the eleventh of twenty-six officials she looked up that day. The directory was not classified; it was available to all personnel at the Ministry.

Within three hours from when she had parted with John, she was back at her apartment, using her personal laptop to email the Defense Minister's contact information and a copy of Google Earth to the Canadsteinian Ambassador (she didn't remember John's info, or even if he had given it to her) with instructions to "forward to Sgt. John Featherson."

This is for the Catholics, thought Nadia as she started worrying about the morality of her actions. Sixty million people. The needs of the many...

John reviewed over the papers during the night and handed them over to Nick in the morning. The next two days were pretty uneventful. The soldiers continued their guard duty, while looked over the area around Malakov's house. Pvt. Kane had taken pictures of the area and scoped it out.

Nick knew that he had to plan out the mission careful. He did not want anyone to known that a bunch of Canadsteinians had take the Defense Minister. If they did, then a fiasco would be at hand. That was probably the last thing that the Canadstein government needed.

Overall the last two days at the embassy was business at usual. It would only be a matter of time before they took flight onto Malakov's house. Operation Extraction would not fail.

Two days later

2200 hours

It had been a long day at the office for General Malakov. He had received far more reports that day than he had in the previous week, and on top of that, he had been filing paperwork with the Nationalist Party to run for President when the next election took place. The general still had no idea that his car had been bugged, and he certainly didn't think the Canadstein government was planning anything dirty.

That night, after a heavy dinner at home, he lay in his bed in long johns, his arm across his wife's shoulders. Owing to force of habit, he slept with a pistol under his pillow.

The general's house was a fairly comfortable modest two-bedroom affair, two floors tall and with minimal shrubbery, protected by a standard burglar alarm, deadbolts, and a very large Great Dane. If one managed to get past the dog, by shooting it or preferably throwing a side of pork to it, one then had to break in the door or try a window, without making too much noise or setting off the alarm, and then find the general's room. Smoke was coming out of the chimney, so getting in through there was asking for death by asphyxiation. No, this would require some fairly careful planning...

The next day an e-mail was sent to Nadia early in the morning. It simply stated that her presence was require for the mission. Nick had been up the past two days going over all the information the group had gathered on Malakov's home. Operation Extraction was going to happen very soon. The soldiers seemed very tense. They were going to be the point of the sword.

What do they want with me? Nadia wasn't about to reveal her identity or have the general know she was involved. She picked up the phone and called the Canadstein Embassy, asking to speak to the Ambassador.

"Hello... this is Nadia Sklenova. I'd like to speak with the Ambassador, please." She found it hard to believe that her skills would make her indispensable to a capture mission. She'd never been involved in capturing anyone in her life.

When she called the line was dead. It was as though the entire embassy was deserted, but Ambassador Stapleton had ordered that the phone lines be cut off. What they were going to do was very risky and illegal. William had told the staff what exactly Nick and the soldiers were doing. Also he informed them that if they wanted to leave, then they could do so.

Early in the morning Sgt. Featherson had bought two AK-103s for the the mission. They could not use their G36c on this mission. It would led the police right back to the Canadstein Embassy. How many people in Kahanistan owned a G36c, especially two. Sgt. Featherson and Cpl. Johnson were going to be carrying the AKs, while Pvt. Kane had a PSS Silent Pistol, and lastly Pvt. Hall had a dart gun, to tranquilize the dog, and a PSS Silent Pistol.

-------

Around eight o'clock the men piled up into a truck. Two men sat in the passenger and driver seat. While the remaining two were standing in the back. They all wore ski masks and military camo. Pvt. Hall was sweating all over the place. This was going to be his first mission. Most of the men inside were scared shitless. They all hoped that the mission went without a hitch.

Nick had stayed back at the embassy. He had no formal training, which the Sgt. Featherson and his soldiers had. Most likely he would have just been in there way. Looking at this watch he knew that the men should be arriving at Malakov's house very shortly. The only thing he could do now was wait.

The truck stopped across the street. Sgt. Featherson looked at his watch. They were right on time. He had encountered some traffic, but they got to the location still on time. It was 10:38. Sgt. Featherson loaded a magazine into his AK and looked at Cpl. Johnson as he did the same thing. The two pair laughed at each other. It was odd to see each other in ski masks and military camo. They needed to lighten up the mood.

In the back Pvt. Kane checked his pistol, while Pvt. Hall checked out the dart gun. Pvt. Kane opened a box and took out a pair of wire cutters. He tucked the pistol and wire cutters into his belt. The pair put on their ski masks. They looked toward each other nad nodded. The game was a foot.

What the black ops personnel didn't know was that this alarm was set to sound if the wires were cut, a very common feature. (http://www.alarmforce.com/alarm-plus.php) Not only would this wake General Malakov, but it would send a signal to the police and scare the bejesus out of the dog.

And even if they managed to compromise the alarm, there was still the issue of getting in through the deadbolted door...

The men got out of the truck, but careful hid their weapons. Sgt. Featherson checked his watch it was 12:30. The group had waited for all the lights to turn off inside Malakov's house. About fifteen minutes ago, the house turned completely dark. Now the game was really a foot. The group of soldiers started to walk up the drive way, but soon dropped to the ground. A car passed by the house. Sgt. Featherson gave a hand gesture to Cpl. Johnson. Johnson nodded, and soon scaled a nearby tree. Cpl. Johnson was going to be the look out. He turned on his radio and looked out toward the road. Everything seemed fine.

The three remaining men went back to crawling to up Malakov's house. In front was Pvt. Hall. He tightly gripped the dart gun. Once he got a visual of the target he had strict orders to shoot it. Continuing to crawl up, Pvt. Hall thought he saw a large object in the distance. He moved up a little further and saw the dog. Slowly he took a dark and loaded it into the gun. Sweat was acclimating within the confides of his ski mask. His eye peered through the scope. His hand was on the trigger. Then it suddenly pulled back.

Off in the distance the dog fell to the ground. The group of men crawled up and made sure that the dog was out cold. Pvt. Hall took out the dart and got up. The group of men was far enough in the perimeter not to be seen from the street. Slowly the men were creeping up to the house. Sgt. Featherson scanned the area with his AK. This mission was far from over.

The dog merely gave a yelp as the dart struck it, but within seconds it was out cold. It did not bark long enough to wake anyone, but the agents still had to figure out how to compromise the alarm system, or simply break in and try to grab Malakov before the police showed, and he would probably assume they were robbers who intended to kill him and his wife anyway.

Sgt. Featherson and Pvt. Hall continued up to the house. They had finally made it up to one of the exterior walls. Cpl. Johnson still said that the coast was clear.

-------

Pvt. Kane had disappeared and went back out toward the street. He was going to cut off the power to the whole street. Going to back to the truck he wanted to make sure he was going to cut off the right things. Unfolding an electrical map of the area he saw what transformer would cut off the whole street. No more power was getting to this street.

Kane took of his ski-mask and picked up a small package of C-4. Once the transformer blew up, then he would radio for Featherson and Hall to capture Malakov.

Kane walked down to the transformer and looked up. He scaled the wooden beam and got close to the transformer. The C-4 was placed and a detonator put it. Kane scaled back down and looked around. This would explosion would provide a small bang. He hoped that he did not wake up the whole damn neighbor.

His hand hovered over the button, which would cause the explosion. The other hand was on the on the radio.

"Sir, I am ready to go. So you better be ready."

His hand clamped down onto the button. The transformer exploded and produced a bunch of sparks. Kane frantically called into the radio as he was running.

"John, mission is ready for a go."

-------

Sgt. Featherson heard the mission and gave a signal to Pvt. Hall. He produced Kane's pair of wire cutter. Pvt. Hall opened up the alarms' box and cut off any wires. Then the men broken a nearby window. Sgt. Featherson peeked in, with his AK in front of him, and saw nothing. He gave a hand gesture to Hall to move up. They easily jumped through the broken window and scanned the area. Malakov's bedroom was right above them. Now was going to come the hard part. Pvt. Hall loaded in a new tranquilizer and led the assault into the General's house. Silently they moved toward the stairs.

Although cutting the wire triggered a wireless signal, the average police response time to that part of the city was about twenty minutes. This meant that the Canadsteinians had twenty minutes to break in, grab Malakov, and get him into their vehicle before the police showed up.

Complicating matters was the fact that there was an innocent party involved - the General's wife. She had no idea of the shady dealings he was involved with, just that he was becoming more active in the Nationalist Party.

Malakov woke up when the window broke. His hand gripped the .50 Desert Eagle under his pillow. His wife stirred.

"What's wrong?" she asked groggily.

"Don't know," said Malakov. He was still waking up mentally.

The pair of men slowly moved up the stairs, though they could not help if it occasionally creaked. All of the soldiers had gone over the plan numerous times. A scale model of Malakov's house and his yard had been made. The men knew what was in every room and were it was located. So much time had been put into his mission. It was one of the few things that the soldiers actually thought about in the last two days.

Sgt. Featherson tapped Pvt. Hall on the shoulder, once the pair had made it up the stairs, and pointed toward a door. Inside was Malakov's bedroom. He whispered to Hall. "Remember don't hurt his wife. Malakov is our target. We don't want anyone innocent to die."

Hall and Featherson stood outside the door. Both of the men were sweating. Featherson held his AK and looked at Hall and shook his head. Hall kicked open the door and they both entered. Both men had their guns raised as they scanned and found their target. Pvt. Hall aimed his dart gun at his wife. John cried out and pointed his AK toward General Malakov. "GET DOWN MALAKOV!"

The general believed that these men had come to rob him, and murder him and his wife. How they knew who he was was beyond him, but he didn't care. He might have been persuaded to surrender if it was just him, but with his wife screaming in terror, thinking that she was going to be raped and murdered by one of the local street gangs, Malakov pushed the thought of cooperation from his head.

Malakov stood up out of his bed, his hand still clasping his pistol. He pointed it at the man whose weapon was pointed at his wife. His side was facing the terrorists, or whatever they were.

"Lena, get out of here. NOW!" He was facing a window through which his wife could jump and call the police.

Pvt. Hall pushed the trigger on the dart gun, which was aimed at Lena. He needed to shut her up. She was making far too much noise. The dart shot out of the barrel and flew straight into Malakov's wife. Pvt. Hall quickly dropped the dart gun, and pulled his PSS Silent Pistol out of his belt. Now two guns were pointed toward Malakov. John looked at Malakov, and nodded at Hall. Hall started to speak up. "Do you feel lucky that you can kill both of us before we can get a shot off? Now drop the weapon and no one gets hurt. Just give up Malakov."

"No. But I won't let you hurt my wife, and I won't let you rob my house," said General Malakov. "Put down your weapons, and I'll let you go. I can't identify you with your masks on, so you have nothing to fear from me."

Pvt. Hall got another dart, from the lining of his jacket, and nodded toward John. Hall dropped his pistol and lunged forward at Malakov. He wrestled him down to the ground. Taylor produced the dart. The dart got closer to Malakov's skin. Taylor looked up toward Malakov. He just shook his head and stabbed the dart into Malakov's skin. Hall remembered Malakov’s Desert Eagle and tried to fight for it.

John stood the aside and watched it play out. He walked up to the downed General. His AK was pointed straight into the General's face. "You lose; General that dart will knock you out cold in 10 seconds.”

Malakov grabbed Taylor by the neck, trying to position him between himself and John's AK as he pointed his pistol around the man he was fighting with. However, as strong as he was, he was still in late middle age. While he was large, the tranquilizer was capable of taking out his 140-pound dog, and it would work on a 240-pound man.

As his finger slipped into the trigger guard onto the trigger, readying to shoot the man with the AK, Malakov's grip on his weapon faltered and he passed out, the drug circulating through his body faster than normal because of his increased heart rate.

Taylor quickly got up with Malakov's Desert Eagle. He gave Malakov a shift kick to see if the General was knocked out cold. The General did not move, so Hall guessed that he was correct. John walked over to Hall and gave him back his pistol. "Thanks. I think it's about time we made our grand escape."

Hall took out the darts from Malakov and his wife. Then John started to drag Malakov out of the room and toward the stairs. He was going to need the help of Hall to carry this big man. Taylor saw John drag Malakov and started to laugh. It seemed like they were in the home stretch. Taylor went over to Lena and picked her up. Then he dropped her back on the bed. Rummaging through his pocket, Taylor produced a pair of hand cuffs. He put one loop on Lena's hand and the other on the post of the bed.

Taylor ran out of the bedroom and saw John waiting for him. John had just radioed Cpl. Johnson and Pvt. Kane to get the truck ready. The pair of men picked up Malakov, which was no easy task, and quickly made it down the stairs. Off in the distance they could see the lights of the truck on the driveway. The driver's door opened and Cpl. Johnson rushed out to help the men. They set Malakov in the back with Pvt. Kane and Pvt. Hall. The mission was finally going to be over.

They closed off the back and Johnson and Featherson returned to the front of the truck. Johnson pulled the truck out of the driveway and sped off down the road. Their next stop was the embassy. Featherson had a grin on his face. He picked up his cell phone and called Nick. "The cat is in the bag, and we are enroute back to the embassy. Malakov is ours."

-------

Nick just grinned and sipped his coffee. Now was going to be the hard for him. He needed to make sure that Malakov told him the information. Though if Malakov never talked, then he would end up at the bottom of a pile of dirt. Nick sent a simple message to Nadia stating that the bird had been caged.

-------

In the back of the truck both of the privates were relieved. The mission was a success. Pvt. Taylor was just happy that he wasn't in the hands of the police right now. He took off his ski mask and threw it to the ground. The thing was literally covered in sweat. Pvt. Kane opened up a wooden box and produced another pair of hand cuffs and a burlap sack. They easily hand cuffed and put the burlap sack over Malakov's hand. Now they could finally relax.

Ten minutes after the capture was completed, a police car with four officers and a van with just a police driver in it pulled up to the side of the Defense Minister's house. The responding cop saw a broken window and crawled in with his S&W .50 Magnum and flashlight. Nobody was there.

A backup cop stood at the window in case the intruders were still inside and decided to make a run for it. Two other cops were at the front and back doors.

The van driver went in shortly after the low-ranking cop entered the house through the window. They found Lena in the bedroom, cuffed to the bed.

Now, handcuffs are not like housekeys. One set of standard handcuff keys will open most pairs of handcuffs, and the cop simply freed her and woke her up.

---

Nadia replied to Nick's message the next time she checked her email.

I tried to call the Embassy yesterday and couldn't get through, and they said I was needed. I really don't know what I was needed for.

What are you planning?

The truck made to the embassy without a hitch. The roads were completely deserted. When the truck went through the embassy gates Taylor put back on his ski-mask. He looked at Malakov on the floor. This General was going to have a wonderful time at the embassy. The truck came to a halt and the back door opened up. Sgt. Featherson and Cpl. Johnson were standing there with their weapons pointed at the men.

"We just wanted to make sure that Malakov had not dispatched you two." John said with a smirk as he pointed his AK toward the ground.

Pvt. Kane and Pvt. Hall picked up Malakov and dragged him off into the embassy. Everyone was asleep, so they did not want to make a lot noise. They brought him to the basement, which was pretty much storage. The middle of the room there was only a lone chair. The men rested Malakov on the chair and undid his handcuff, but then handcuffed one of his hands to the chair. Soon Cpl. Johnson entered the room with a wooden box. Inside were the other three handcuffs. So they handcuffed his remaining hand and his two legs to the chair.

Malakov was now securely put into place. The only light was a long light bulb that dangled from a wire. Pvt. Kane took of Malakov's burlap sack and put it into a pocket. Soon the men dispersed, and left Malakov all alone in the basement.

-------

Sgt. Featherson had collected all the weapons and secured them in the armory. Of course the two AK-103s and PSS Silent Pistols were hidden in a trunk that was hidden by boxes full of ammo. The weapons used in the crime would never be found. Groggily looking at his watch it was 1:34 in the morning. He rubbed his eyes and took of his ski-mask. Nick had ordered the four men to meet him in an office.

The four men entered and found Nick sitting behind a desk. Four chairs had been set out along with four cups of coffee. The men sat down and sipped their coffee. They badly needed some sleep.

"I condemn all of you for your actions on this mission. You have successful captured General Malakov and brought him back to the Embassy." said Nick as he sipped his coffee. "Plus they have no idea that we kidnapped that bastard."

Nick directed toward the TV, which was covering the kidnapping of Malakov. The four men watched as the TV showed the same house, which they were in about an hour ago. Cpl. Johnson seemed to be transfixed by the TV. Nick started to continue his talk.

"For getting the job done, I'm going to give you guys a break until dinner today. So you guys better rest up. Later today is going to be very brutal. You might have to get some blood on your boots. Also remember when you are seen in front of Malakov always wear your ski-mask and military camo. No weapons either. We don't want him getting one of your weapons. You are dismissed." Nick stated.

------

The men quickly dispersed back to the barracks. They needed some sleep, plus they needed to get ready for later work. Before getting into bed Taylor looked at Malakov's Desert Eagle. This was going to be a great trophy. This gun was a personal sidearm of a General, and a Defense Minister. Taylor hid the weapon in the bottom of his trunk. No one else knew about it. It was rightful his weapon now.

General Malakov sat groggily on the chair in the dark in his long johns. He had no clue what these people wanted to do to him. He wondered if these intruders had raped his wife and killed her or if they were going to torture her for something. His mind was still swimming from the drug, but he was back among the conscious for now.

---

The cops took Lena's statement. She said that two masked men came in with guns and a tranquilizer and knocked her out, then when she woke up, her husband was missing. She was only able to describe the general frames of the two men, and that one had an AK-type weapon and the other a pistol with a silencer. Not knowing the depths of his corruption, she wasn't able to name any potential enemies, either. The gun that the general kept under his pillow was also missing.

---

Nadia returned to the Academy, telling her superior only that she had been in the Canadstein Embassy for a few days. Her students were glad to have her back.

Peter had learned that he couldn't yank the substitute around; he was stuck cleaning toilets for the rest of the semester for taking the Falcon out. Nadia was unsympathetic. That boy had taken a very stupid risk to show off his balls. She had little more sympathy for Jane, the girl who had gone up in the plane to join the Mile-High Club. She was put on Kitchen Patrol.

Nadia was disgusted to learn that many of the bombing targets put in place at the Academy were constructed to look like the Vatican, the Popemobile, St. Peter's Basilica and other Catholic objects. The rifle targets still looked like Doomani soldiers, but now many had crucifixes painted on them, or obscene portrayals of the Virgin Mary.

Nick looked at his e-mail after eating breakfast. He noticed that he had an e-mail from Nadia.

Yes, Ambassador Stapleton has ordered that all phone lines be cut off for the time being. Sorry about not e-mailing your earlier, but things have been stressful at the embassy. I just wanted to have a simple talk with you yesterday about our plans, but maybe sometime later.

In other news we have successful captured General Malakov. You already probably know if you have been watching the news. I am going to put this man through hell until he confesses to framing General Kasagawa. Basically deprive him of food, a bathroom, shower, and a bed until he spills all the information.

Though when we interrogate him we are going to go by the Kahanistan Anti-Nationalist Front. Basically to think that we have kidnapped him for ransom or to stop some law from pass. How does that sound for a terrorist group. Well today is going to be a start of a busy day. If you need us, you know who to reach.

From,
Nick Mills

Nick finished the e-mail and sent it off. He picked up a nearby newspaper on his desk and started to read it.

-------

Later during the day, around noon, Nick entered the room with the "uniform" the soldiers were suppose to wear in front of Malakov. He walked up to Malakov and looked down at him. From the hole in the ski-mask Nick had a smile. Now wasn't the time for revenge, but to get this case done. Nick put one of his leg on the chair and rested his arm on it.

"So, I can finally meet famous General Iosif Nikolaievich Malakov. You are probably wondering where you are? Well it doesn't matter. Iosif you are in the hands of the Kahanistan Anti-Nationalist Front, the KANF for kicks if you want. We are very small but we are going into the big leagues now. You are a little birdie that has been caged by us. Also your wife, was it Lena, ahh...she was very nice women. I had my way with her, and then I let my men rape her. Then when she was no longer useful to my men; I ordered that she be shot. She is dead..." Nick said with a devilish smile. "Make yourself conformable, because you are not escaping."

In the corner of the room a camera had been set up. Once Malakov finally broke down and admitted to framing General Kasagawa, then they would have it all on tape.

Nadia coldly deleted the messages from her computer. She did not want to be implicated if something went wrong, and didn't like being reminded that she was involved in criminal activity, even if it was to help Kahanistan's sixty million Catholics, over 99% of whom lacked even the slightest of pro-Doomani sensibilities.

She couldn't wait for that baby to hurry up and get out of her so she could hit the bottle. Unfortunately for her, the baby wasn't due for another nine weeks. Nadia lay down on her sofa. She didn't like Malakov, but how long could she sit by and let him be tortured?

---

General Samarra Rakhmadi was now in charge of the Defense Ministry. Her first action was to order the military police to find Malakov and retrieve him, combing through what they knew of his personal life to come up with a list of potential enemies. She also ordered Colonel Herbert Morris, who had earlier approached the Embassy, to take control of the investigation. Rakhmadi also detailed Major Phillips to join the operation; her security expertise would come in handy when trying to find how an intruder might think.

---

Malakov sat facing the masked man stonily. Lena had no information to give to enemies; she was registered with the Nationalist Party but did not even know of his conversion to anti-Catholicism. She would not have been useful very long. The general let the terrorist's words sink in, but said nothing... yet.

"No words from the high and mighty Defense Minister. I guess you never really loved Lena or gave her any pleasure at all. But my men and I defiantly did do the latter of the two. Though it is quiet sad that such a lovely lady was married to the likes of you. She was innocent and probably knew nothing of your deeds, mainly the one against the Catholics. But sadly enough she was in the way and had to be disposed of." Nick said as he paced around General Malakov. "I would say that her death is mostly your fault General. If she hadn't been married to you, then she would not have died. She could still be living right now. Alive and carrying on with her life. Alas that is not the case now. Lena is now buried somewhere in the godforsaken desert. I hope that God is merciful on her soul."

Nick did a quick sign of the cross and looked back the Iosif. "But none of that matters now Iosif. You probably only care about your own life. You don't give a shit about the Catholics do you?"

Malakov was furious now, but he was still tied to the chair. He wanted so badly to bash this arrogant Mary-worshipper's brains all over the floor. Poking fun at a man's impotence is bad enough, but insulting all he loves and cares about is far, far worse. To be blamed for the murder of his wife... well, that was beyond the pale.

"You and your terror cult need to be herded onto airplanes and ships, sent to Doomingsland, and any who resist will meet the full force of Catholic barbarity on your families, at our hands," said the general coldly.

"How about the Catholics who died and fought for this country? We have our blood in this soil. So you are telling me that we fought for nothing? That all my brothers and my father died for nothing? They did not give a damn what religion you were. But you, Malakov, you have some much hate for people that have died and sacrificed so much for this country." Nick replied. "I hope God welcomes you into the Kingdom of Heaven with open arms. We are not like those Doomani bastards."

"I have hate for Catholic animals like you, who murdered an innocent woman who had nothing to do with any of this," replied General Malakov. "That is all the proof I need to know what your kind are like."

"Very well. You already choose your path along time ago. The KANF already knows that you want to expel the Catholics. Mainly we have kidnapped you to stop this plan from going through. I know that General Rakhmadi, the new Defense Minister, would never go expel the Catholics, even though she is a Nationalist." Nick stated as he stepped onto one of Iosif's feet. "We also know that you framed General Kasagawa, so you could get the spot as Defense Minister. That letter was so fake, that a blind man could see right through it. How about that? You framed and ruined the life of an innocent woman. I guess it is an eye for an eye."

"I did not frame anyone," said Malakov. He wanted to mentally convince himself that she was in fact a traitor. Hell, he actually believed she was a traitor, which was one of the reasons he'd faked the letter - he wouldn't be able to gather enough evidence on her otherwise beyond the fact that she was a Catholic. In no country in the civilized world can someone be convicted of treason simply for being Catholic.

"General Rakhmadi hates the Catholics as much as I do. Why do you think I put her in her position? I knew she would not oppose me when I order the military to round up you, and all of your evil, subhuman, mackerel-snapping friends, herd them onto leaky old barges at the point of a bayonet, and ship you all to Doomingsland, where you can fight for your God against the pagan infidel heretics of Automagfreek." He spoke the last few words with a Doomani accent.

Nick punched Malakov in the gut and left the room. He had enough of his crap for now. Upon exiting he took of his ski-mask and looked out the window. Malakov was going to be hard to break.

Malakov began working on his bonds. It had been forty years since he had had rope escape lessons, which were still offered at the Academy. The Minister of Defense rarely has to use them, so he had let his skills languish. Probably won't help much with cuffs... But it was all he had.

He wanted to bash this cocky, murdering terrorist until blood came out of his head. With his size, that wouldn't be difficult once he could get free.

As he worked on the bonds, he also scooted toward the door, where his 240-pound bulk could block anyone else from entering. Should he have freed himself by then, he could also ambush whoever came in next, and take their weapon.

OOC: They are handcuffs, not rope.

Business as usually carried on inside the embassy, until it was a little after dinner. Now it was time to see how Malakov faired. John walked down into the basement to check on Malakov.

The general had the chair on three legs now, having used his legs to dislodge one of the chair legs and was now working on the second chair leg. He was also sitting with his back against the door to block entry as he pressed his newly freed left foot against the front right leg of his chair. Once that was finished, he intended to use the back of his chair as a heavy club, to strike whoever entered in the head.

John felt something block the door. Jeez Malakov had somehow blocked the door. His foot went directly into the door. While trying to kick the door open John yelled for some help. Quickly the soldiers arrived with their "uniforms" and guns in hand. The group of men pulled the door opened.

Malakov fell flat on his face as the door was pushed open, overcoming the resistance of his weight against it. Blood was coming out of his nose, apparently struck when he hit the floor. He grunted as his head struck the granite.

Hall produced a syringe with a compound that would numb his body, then knock him out cold. The syringe quickly was stab into Malakov's arm. Men watched as Malakov went out cold again. John was surprised that he could escape from that chair. The group of men were going to have to create something more harder to escape from. Withing fifteen Johnson had come up with an idea.

A metal chair was produced and brought down to the basement. This was no special chair. This chair was meant for runaway criminal, from Canadstein, that somehow made it to this country and were brought to the embassy. The chair had never been used before, so it gleamed. The chair had built in handcuffs for the arms and legs. Plus it could be easily bolted down to the ground. The men bolted the chair to the ground and place Malakov. Pvt. Kane produced four separated keys which individual locked a handcuff. Going through each handcuff and then Malakov was secure in the chair.

John looked at his watch and called it a night. The door was locked from the outside and the single light turned off. Once Malakov came to his senses again it would be in the next twelve hours.

12 noon

General Malakov took about five seconds to awaken and realize where he was. He took another fifteen seconds to realize he had pissed himself. That tends to happen when one is not provided basic hygiene facilities. Oh well. Nothing worse than when I was captured by the... I can't even begin to pronounce it, long-ass African tribe names.

---

24 April 1971

Tribal village near Mbarara, Uganda

Captain Iosif Malakov and three other soldiers were driving a Chieftain tank (the Merkava hadn't been invented yet), looking to launch a raid on a tribal village that they believed had captured and cannibalized two paratroopers, in hopes of rescuing a third one.

About three kilometers from where intelligence said the village was, the tank, with Malakov commanding it, suddenly lurched forward. The 26-year-old captain bumped his noggin against the front of the commander's copula.

"Cap'n. You all right?" Private Vladimir Subotov, the tank's gunner called.

"I'm fine," said Malakov. "But this tank isn't going anywhere." He crawled out of the tank, his AK-47 at the ready. The tank had fallen forward into a hidden pit, and was sticking halfway out of the ground. The driver, Sergeant Muhammad Chorga, was frantically gunning the engine and shifting back and forth between forward and reverse without success.

"Chorga!" Malakov called. "This tank isn't going anywhere. Get the arms and supplies, we'll have to go on foot. It shouldn't be that far."

Chorga and Corporal Jim Lowder, the tank's loader, staggered out of the tank. As they did so, Lowder caught an arrow in his chest. Malakov grabbed the first-aid kit and bandaged the wound around the arrow to stop the bleeding, but it was all in vain; despite the best efforts of the crew, the young man died under the care of his commander. He was only 19 years old.

"Subotov. Put him in the tank, we're not leaving his body for these cannibals," said Malakov. "Chorga, come with me."

The two men, a white man and a black man who spoke Swahili, trudged toward the village, arriving three hours later. They came just in time to see the paratrooper lowered into the steaming pot. Malakov fired his AK-47 over the heads of the cooks, who fled in terror, tipping the cannibal stew pot over as they ran. Chorga came with him, untying the paratrooper. No sooner had he finished than he was struck in the back by a spear, which protruded through his chest.

"Captain..." was all he said before falling off the mortal coil.

As the captain brought his AK to bear on the spearman, he was struck in the head by a large rock thrown from another direction. Malakov fell to the ground.

When he woke up, he knew not what time it was, he was stripped naked and tied to a wooden platform. The bonds were so tight his rope escape lessons were useless. During the three days he was bound, he repeatedly soiled himself and kept sane by mentally reciting phrases in the Basic Field Swahili course he had recently completed.

Three days later, he was recovered by a squad of Kahanistanian Marines. The paratrooper his crew had saved escaped, and Private Subotov reported how the tank had become disabled. Malakov was awarded a promotion to Major for his rescue of the paratrooper with no civilian casualties, and awarded a Distinguished Service Cross.

---

36 years later, Malakov reflected back on the time he was bound to his own sh*t to maintain his sanity, as he was bound once again to his own sh*t.

John stepped down into the basement. It smelled horrible. He guessed that Malakov had taken a bathroom break. He turned on the single light and still saw the General in his chair. There was going to be no escape for him. John paced around Iosif and said nothing. Then he returned right in front of Malakov. "Do you want more people to die General?"

"What do you mean?" asked General Malakov. The stench did not bother him, as he had endured far worse in Africa. "I don't want war. But to maintain peace, one must prepare for war, so that your enemies will be too afraid to attack you."

---

The cops took Lena down to the station. Since they had had some trouble waking her, they took a blood test to see if she had been drugged. Maybe she had taken drugs, killed her husband, gotten rid of the body, and chained herself up to hide her crime. While they were at it, they persuaded her to allow them to perform an examination to determine if she'd been sexually assaulted. That might lead them down another path of investigation.

The Metzuda Police Department also posted a half million shekel reward for information leading to General Malakov's whereabouts. The military police matched the reward, so whoever found him, or betrayed their accomplices and surrendered him, would receive one million shekels total. This was about $1.8 million USD.

"What about your little plan to invade your enemies? Did you not think that people would die?" John said as looked Malakov directly in the eye. "We already know about your plan once you stole the spot of Defense Minister. We are stopping you from ruining this country."

"Do you know what the Whyaticans did to us, Mr. Maryworshipper?" said Malakov angrily. "After their invasion, they handed over all of our territory to the Doomani, then, when we had a working peace, we approached them about retrieving officials who had fled and been handed back to the Doomani by Transylvania. They said we had to leave our Midlonian protectorate status and enter their sphere of influence. We upheld our end of the bargain, and not only did they not get our people back, but we were left to drive the Midlonians out ourselves when they retaliated."

"They cost us terribly, which we could ill afford. Do you not agree that this treachery must be punished? Do you not believe that Emperor Paulus Whyatica should be hanged in front of the Presidential Palace? Do you not believe that we should take revenge once the Freeks and Doomani weaken each other to the point where we can take over? Those nations have embarrassed ours, made us appear as weaklings and pariahs, and now we are effectively isolated from the world."

Malakov continued to rant about the evils of the Doomani in particular and Catholics in general. It was similar to the beliefs of the more vocal anti-Catholics who were beginning to take over the Nationalist Party.

"We should not strive for revenge for what has happened in the past. Yes they wronged us, but there is no more need for blood shed. Two wrongs doesn't make a right Iosif. We need to plan for a better future. Make our country a better place. Maybe make a generation that does not have to endure a war? Is that so bad? Some of us are just sick of war, and we are finally standing up against the government," John said.

Malakov nodded. "We should. But we should do this after we have established that the world cannot walk all over us, expect us to keep our agreements while they break theirs with impunity. We should establish that there is a nuclear penalty for betrayal of government officials and citizens who are merely leaving Doomani control. Only after we have shown Kahanistan to be strong can we have this peaceful society."

"But why? Why all this force?" John stated. It seemed an utter mystery to him.

"Our enemies believe that we are weak. They believe we are cowards. Until they are dispelled of that notion, they will never cease to invade us."

"How do you know that?"

Malakov looked at the hooded terrorist as if he were trying to explain the most complex aspects of Nationalist politics to a four-year-old. "Because during the last war, our enemies felt they could ignore diplomacy, and they believed they had all the cards with force. Because in ViZion, the Doomani openly told us that we were weak. Negotiations, of course, failed utterly."

"You might be correct, but you are about to cause your own reign of terror. You want to get rid of us Catholic just because your psychotic hate for the Doomani. What if someone of us are just innocent? We have never helped the Doomani, but fought and died fighting against them. Malakov, all that hate is going to burn you up." John said as he looked down at Malakov. "We merely kidnapped you, so your little plan would not go through. I and the rest of us just want peace. So we had to get rid of the madman."

"Is that why you raped and murdered my wife?" asked Malakov. "And what do you plan to do with me? Just leave me here to rot? Take me out back and shoot me? Are you going after General Rakhmadi as well?"

---

Nadia was still thinking about what the Canadsteinians must be doing to the General. She didn't like his politics, and wanted him out of power as much as anyone, but she wasn't happy about being an accomplice to torture. She didn't know who to talk to, either... her phone was probably tapped, and it wouldn't surprise her if her email were being monitored as well. She took her cell out, thinking about how to get advice on what to do without seeming suspicious enough to get herself kidnapped again.

---

That day, General Rakhmadi detailed some of the Ministry's guards to trail her around for security. She wasn't about to be disappeared any time soon.

The military police had drawn up a list of suspects and shared it with the civilian police. The suspects included Catholic militants, leftist anti-discrimination organizations, and foreign intelligence agencies. It would take them some time to go through them all.

The reward had attracted its share of hoax callers who wanted to cash in. Among these hoaxers were people who reported the neighborhood Catholic church; after three raids on churches in two days, including one that ended in the shooting death of a priest by police, the department decided to investigate church calls more closely before sending in armed police.

However, not all of the calls were hoaxes. There was a report of a suspicious van around the time Malakov disappeared, and the blackout that night had been ruled as sabotage, meaning an organized element was behind the kidnapping. The make and model of the van had been identified, but not the license plate number. The police filed this evidence away, trying to narrow down their lists.

"No to make you suffer General. We are not going to lay a finger on you. Starvation and dehydration will finish you off. You life is not worth one bullet I am sorry to say." commented John. "General Rakhmadi is merely a pawn, but you are a bishop. Malakov, you are pinnacle of the hate of the Catholics. All that hate against innocent people. You truly are sick..."

-------

The truck had been driven out of the city, and blow up to pieces in the middle of the desert.. The remaining pieces had been buried. Pvt. Hall and Pvt. Kane made sure that no one would find the remains of the truck. Once their task had been finished, a car picked them up and drove back into Metzuda.

Malakov stared straight ahead. With his size, he could probably go for weeks without food, though he would be significantly lighter and weaker. Possibly, he would even be thin enough to simply slide out of the restraints, but he would be very weak by then, and unable to outrun his pursuers.

If this were an ordinary prison, this would not be a problem... In most prisons, the prisoner was generally allowed to move within the cell. The Defense Minister racked his brain. When I get out of here, special forces personnel will have to read Houdini.

---

Not only had the police not found the van after lengthy searches, but inquiries to local dealerships failed to turn up suspicious persons. This meant that either the van had been owned a long time (unlikely; most would not risk the license plate being seen and keep their own vehicle) or it had been bought outside the city. The National Police began to make inquiries in other cities.

Also, the police had to deal with criticism from local Catholics for what many saw as religious profiling. At least one officer coming off of a shift was pelted with rosary beads and crucifixes by angry demonstrators.

"We aren't terrorists!" the demonstrators shouted as they hurled Catholic artifacts at the police.

---

Nadia dressed in civilian clothes the next weekend; a leather jacket, loose-fitting T-shirt, and a pair of jeans. She had a bullet-resistant vest under her clothes, just in case. Thinking that the Canadsteinians had tapped her phone, she drove to a park across town, walked to a nearby pay phone, and called.

"Mara... I need your advice on something. We really need to talk," she said.

"Just in time," said Mara. "We were just able to get out of the palace. I'll be there."

"No," said Nadia. "I don't think it's safe there."

This was very unlike Nadia. Mara knew that there was something bothering her - something very serious. Nadia was emotional, but she did not usually seem this distressed without some reason.

"OK," Mara replied. "See me at my apartment. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Thank you," said Nadia. "I'll be there."

---

Fifteen minutes later

Mara Fulton's apartment

Mara's apartment was similar in many ways to Nadia's; a one-room, semi-spartan environment comfortable for living but by no means luxurious. Like Nadia's apartment, Mara's residence showed signs of having been cleaned recently, but Mara was not as fastidious about cleanliness as Nadia. In the living room beside the TV was a playpen, in which a two-year-old girl played with a rag doll.

No sign of a male in this apartment was visible. The poor girl had grown up without a father, having lost him in the Freekish War on a mission. Nobody had a clue what had happened; no corpse had ever been found.

Nadia sat down on the sofa next to Mara. Two pairs of gray eyes locked onto each other.

"Nadia, what did you want to talk to me about?" asked Mara. She looked worried; more so than she had sounded.

"It's about the Defense Ministry," she said. Nadia wanted to get this off of her chest, but she was still afraid. Mara hugged her.

"What happened in the Defense Ministry?" Mara asked. She, of course, knew about the disappearance of the Defense Minister. She had also tried to help Nadia hack into Malakov's computer. Mara did not like Malakov's politics anymore than Nadia did. Neither woman was a Catholic, but they were both militantly opposed to discrimination in general and mass relocation in particular.

Nadia looked into Mara's eyes. She couldn't talk very well because of her emotional state. "I... I helped... I'm responsible for Malakov's disappearance," she choked out finally.

Mara placed one arm around Nadia's shoulder, and held her hand with the other, not taking her eyes off of Nadia's. She was somewhat surprised, but her attitude to Nadia did not seem to be negatively affected.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Mara asked.

"Mara, I gave information to the Canadsteinian Intelligence," she said, holding the other woman tightly in her arms. "I gave them Malakov's address."

Mara's expression changed from one of compassion, to surprise, to shock, and finally to bemusement. "That's not much of a crime," she said. "Malakov's address is in the phone book. It's not classified. That's what you were so worried about that you wanted to talk to me?"

"It's more serious than that," replied Nadia tearfully. "They're holding him, they said they were going to make him confess that he had framed General Kasagawa."

Mara and Nadia both knew that Malakov was bad news. They both knew there was a good chance he had framed his predecessor. They also both knew that the only way to make that man confess to anything was to torture him. And Malakov, even at his age, could stand up to a fair amount of torture before he confessed. In fact, in his condition the torture would likely kill him before he confessed.

Mara did not hold anything against Nadia; the Canadsteinians could have easily gotten the information without her, and they would likely have done something to her as an accomplice.

She smiled warmly. "So, if we go to the police..."

"No!" said Nadia. "Then the Canadsteinians will know I leaked. They're probably watching me," she said. "They said they were. That's why I didn't use my own phone to call you. You could talk to someone in the Ministry though, General Rakhmadi or someone. But I don't know what to do, I could ruin relations with a whole country over an internal problem..."

Mara did not know what to do. She just hugged Nadia again and stayed with her to console her. She would talk to someone in the Defense Ministry about an anonymous tip...

"All you have to do to get released is to admit that you did frame General Kasagawa. We both know that you did that crime. The truth will set you free some people say. I guess it is true in this case." John said, and then he left the basement.

Nick was there waiting for him. John took off the mask.

"Let him rot there for a couple of days. Maybe it will soften him up." Nick said as he patted John on the back. "How about I treat you to dinner?"

"I think I will like that." replied John as he clenched his ski-mask.

-------

The week continued with little disturbance. During the rest of the week a man in a ski-mask would appear before Iosif. They would just keeping on repeating the same line over and over. "The truth will set you free." Of course these "visits" only occurred two times during the week. A little wager had been set up to see how long it would take for Malakov to crack underneath the pressure.

Taylor kept out of the bet, and could barely stand knowing that they held a man prisoner in the basement. How could he just stand on the sidelines and watch this man wither away? It was against the principles his parents taught him. Right now he was having a moral dilemma. What should he follow? His superior officer or his morals and beliefs?

He could tell that John was having a little trouble with keeping Malakov prisoner. Malakov was a totally different case, then General Sklenova. They were not starving her, but treating her with respect and dignity. John often commented how it ghastly the smell was down there. Malakov being down there was getting to John. As the days progressed John's bags underneath his eyes grew. As the days pasted John looked more sickly.

John finally got to his breaking point and stormed into Nick's office.

"Nick I have something to tell you..." John said slowly as he looked Nick.

"I know John. You look like an absolute wreck. I already have the key to make you better." Nick replied as he looked at his watch. He looked back up. "Actually the key has opened the door to relief. Your problem as already been solved."

John looked stunned and left the office. It was pretty obvious that Malakov was the problem, but what had Nick done? Had he killed Iosif? It seemed an utter mystery to him. Right now he just needed to calm his nerves.

Late in the week, the conditions began to catch up to Malakov. He was sick, he had started dry-heaving (having had nothing to eat, he had nothing to throw up), his heartbeat was faint, and he had a fever of 103F (39C.) He spent most of the weekend sleeping in a very uncomfortable position, slouched forward as far as the restraints would allow him.

He knew that his captors would probably just shoot him. If they released him now, he would, truthfully, claim that he had been tortured, and order a roundup of all Catholics in Metzuda.

---

Mara had told General Rakhmadi that Malakov had been captured by the Canadsteinians. She was conscientious enough not to tell her that Nadia had given her the information, but the Deputy Defense Minister did not care where the information had come from. After all, Miles had been poking around the Ministry several times, and Malakov was scared enough of him to order him shot on sight.

"I should have known, Colonel," said General Rakhmadi. "I'll have Major Phillips and Colonel Morris go to the Embassy."

"I can't imagine they'll hand him over, or admit that they have him," said Mara. "With the military buildup, they're probably afraid we'll wipe them off the map. They'll probably give us the run-around."

"Which is why we'll send a unit of armored infantry and tank support," replied General Rakhmadi. "Colonel Morris will command the tanks, and Major Phillips will command the MP's. If you desire, you can have a role in the assault, too."

Violate diplomatic immunity? The Xirniumites raised hell with us when St. Fedski violated their diplomatic immunity. Our reputation is bad enough as it is. Mara wanted no part of it, but she had to help Nadia's conscience, and she had to do something if Malakov was being tortured - even if it meant the destruction of relations with Canadstein.

"I'm a security officer," she said. "I'll look around for secret hiding places and the like that could hold him."

"I knew I could trust you," said Rakhmadi. "I don't know how, but I know I can trust you. You will lead the searchers when the main force gets into the Embassy grounds. There will be a total force of 150 military police and 10 tanks."

John walked the perimeter of the embassy. He was back on his routine. Now he did not look as sickly as he did two days ago. Sgt. Featherson seemed to be more upbeat since the whole thing with Malakov had ended. He gripped his G36c. Now he was just back to patrol the perimeters. Back in the embassy most of the soldiers were glad that things were going back to normal. They had normal times and no longer had that cloud of being caught over their head. It seemed to be utter bliss to them.

He looked up to the sky and uttered a sigh of relief.

The stout, white-haired colonel and gothic-looking woman officer showed up at the Embassy gates again - the same ones who had tried to get Miles extradited earlier.

This time, however, they were accompanied by another female officer, a tall, slim Lt. Colonel who looked to be about 35. She had long, dark hair, medium skin tone, and gray eyes. She had been introduced to the other two on the way to the Embassy.

"We're here to carry out a search of the Embassy," said Colonel Fulton. Like Major Phillips, she spoke coldly with an Israeli accent. However, while externally she did not look as scary, she could be an intimidating presence, especially since her facial expression did not admit of any warmth. She might have been an attractive woman if she'd smiled, but she was here to expose torture and help her friend's conscience. She had put her reputation on the line for Nadia and wasn't going to leave empty-handed.

Sgt. Featherson looked the group of Kahanistani. Two of them looked familiar, and he remembered that they were the weirdos trying to look for Miles. But the third one was a totally new face. John listened and raised his eyebrow. They probably knew about Malakov. Featherson kept his cool composition, but was starting to panic. If these soldiers found Malakov, then they would defiantly be screwed. There was going to be escape. John simply nodded and then whistled. Pvt. Kane, Pvt. Hall, and Cpl. Johnson came rushing out of the embassy building with their rifles. They joined John at the gate and looked at their opposites.

"Why do you want to look inside the embassy?" John said as the other men holstered their weapons.

"We're checking for illegal facilities," said Colonel Fulton. She gripped her S-200 Q&C battle rifle imported from Sarzonia. "Espionage facilities, secret arms caches... secret prisons."

As if to make her point clear, the lead tank about thirty meters away began gunning its engines. It made a sound that was like a combination of a speeding tractor-trailer and a camel farting.

"Then to gain access you are going to have to leave your weapons. It is a rule for all Canadsteinian embassies and I must abide by them." replied John as looked at the soldiers. These people meant business if they brought a tank. Sweat rolled down his face as the sun beamed down on him. Things might get a little touchy. "So either leave your weapons or you will not enter to look around for whatever you think we have. Oh but I about secret weapons caches we have a basic armory. Filled with some anti-tank weapons, more ammo in crates, and some grenades. Also may I know who I am exacting speaking to? I already know Colonel Morris and Major Phillips. They have come to the embassy before."

The soldiers remained at their gate and waited for the Kahanstanis to drop their weapons.

The new face nodded. "Lieutenant Colonel Mara Fulton, commander of the Presidential Security Detachment," she said coldly. She was not about to hand over her weapon, and neither were the other two officers. They were carrying Kriegzimmer Hali-53's.

The ground troops were military police officers, and very few of them had anything heavier than an assault rifle, pistol and flash-bang or smoke grenades. However, they had been told that torture was taking place, and weren't leaving until they had turned the place upside down.

"I'm not going to let you in until you drop and leave your weapons. If you bring weapons into the embassy, then it will be noted as a declaration of war. Canadstein will come in full force to this country. So leave your weapons." John said as his voice grew louder.

Ambassador Stapleton was alerted by the tank coming to the embassy. He ran outside and saw the soldiers at the gate. William did not want a confrontation to escalate. Cpl. Johnson turned around and noticed that Ambassador Stapleton and Nick were coming out. Johnson rushed toward the men. He turned their backs away from the gate.

"Those are some Kahanistani soldiers. They want to check out the embassy. They think that we are holding Malakov, but they are not cooperating with us. They want to bring their weapons inside of here, but John is insistent on them coming in here unarmed." Cpl. Johnson whispered, and then peered over this shoulder.

After Whyatica had declared war over five agents being dropped into occupied territory, Mara took the war declaration seriously. She lowered her weapon as the tank stood behind her, then handed it to Colonel Morris. She also handed over her sidearm and signaled to three other MP's.

"I'll go in, with three others," she said. Two men and a woman MP officer came to her. The three MP's had their sidearms on, but not drawn. They had handed their assault rifles to comrades as well. One carried a smoke grenade. Only Mara was completely unarmed.

"Wise decision Miss Fulton. You could have sparked a new war." John replied.

John gave a signal. Pvt. Hall and Kane opened up the gate. Ambassador Stapleton and Nick scurried back inside along with Cpl. Johnson. As quickly as the gate was opened, it was soon shut closed again. The two privates remained at the gate, while Sgt. Featherson led the group inside.

"Oh...sorry I have not introduced myself. I am Segregant John Featherson of the Canadstein Army." John stated as he opened up the front door of the embassy.

"Sergeant Hans Feldstrom, Sergeant Lucia Amiliana, and First Lieutenant Katrin Romano," said Colonel Fulton, introducing the three other MP's, a tall, beefy man of about 25, a stocky, short woman around the same age, and a thick blonde woman nearly six feet tall and about 30.

"You might be advised that if we don't report within six hours, the tanks have orders to storm the Embassy," she said. "Now, let's get down to business." She led the soldiers toward the smallest building in the complex. Better to eliminate the smaller hiding places first, then go toward the larger structures if they didn't find Malakov.

"Go ahead. I hope you find whatever you are looking for. I will be waiting right here. Call me if you need any help." yelled out John as he sat down in a chair in the reception area.

The embassy actually was just a normal two story building, which had a small basement what was used for storage. On the first floor there were just bedrooms, the kitchen, a small dining room, and the large formal dining hall, which Nadia had seen. The second floor had one stairwell up, which was connected and open to the reception area. It was also shaped like a L and most of the space was taken up by the Ambassador's office. Also on the second floor were the other offices. The embassy only had a staff of seven. So they did not need that much room.

The only other building on the grounds of the embassy was a small building that looked like a military barracks. It contained the armory and sleeping quarters for the soldiers stationed there.

John picked up a nearby newspaper and started to read.

"There are only two buildings here," said Lt. Romano. "I think we should split up."

"Good idea," said Fulton. "You take Amiliana and go to the barracks, look around there. I'll look around the other building. Feldstrom, come with me."

The two women MP's went to the barracks. Fulton and the other MP entered the embassy building itself.

When the two women arrived at the barracks they would only find Cpl. Johnson cleaning his boots. He was contracting on his boots and then finally noticed them.

"What are you two ladies doing in here?" ask Cpl. Johnson.

"Looking for illegal weapons, equipment, and facilities," said the taller of the two women. "Lt. Katrin Romano, Kahanistan Military Police. This is Sergeant Lucia Amiliana, also from the Kahanistan Military Police." The large blonde woman nodded down toward a short, dark-haired girl about nine inches shorter than her.

"We're not interested in your personal effects," said Romano. "We're more interested in secret passages that could hide illegal facilities, and illegal weapons."

---

Meanwhile, in the embassy building itself, Fulton and Feldstrom had decided to split. Fulton went downstairs, while Feldstrom went upstairs. They began to look for secret passages, hidden rooms, and listened for the sounds of torture. Soundproof material would raise immediate suspicion in the seasoned security commander.

"Corporal Johnson. I am sorry to say that you are not going to find any of that here. You ladies just better not touch any of our stuff. Someone might go apeshit on us and we don't want that to happen. So just keep out." replied Cpl. Johnson as he continued to clean his boots.

-------

Meanwhile back inside the main building both Fulton and Feldstrom both searched to no avail. There was nothing for the embassy to hide. The only thing that worried John was the room where they hidden Miles. Though that was safety tucked away and was down the hallway on the first floor and was blocked by a plant. It was not unnecessarily a secret room, but had been put in the blueprints for anyone to see. The room just did not have a regular door handle or a door for that matter.

"That's OK," said Romano calmly. She started looking under beds and behind pictures for anything out of the ordinary that could potentially be used as a hiding place.

Amiliana was focusing mainly on floors and ceilings, prying or stomping on anything that looked suspicious, hoping to find a passage somewhere.

---

In the embassy, Feldstrom looked under desks, behind pictures, even in toilets for secret passages on the second floor. The only place he didn't look was in the women's restroom. He'd have to ask Fulton to look there, if she hadn't already.

In the basement, Fulton was peering through old cobwebs and using a flashlight to scope anything suspicious, tapping on walls to see if there was anything out of the ordinary and listening to see if the walls were hollow. She even got down on her hands and knees looking for something she thought she'd seen there...

"You are not going to find anything in here. We have nothing to hid." Cpl. Johnso n set down his boots after cleaning them.

-------

In the basement there were sixteen holes in the ground. Four holes were situated to make a square. There were exactly four groups of four squares. Sgt. Featherson stood at the foot of the door, that led to the basement.

"Miss Fulton, what are you looking at?" asked Sgt. Featherson as he stepped down the stairs and walked alongside of her.

Fulton shook her head. Without her weapons, she had a sense of unease around the sergeant. "Trying to find something," she said emotionlessly. She peered down into the holes with her flashlight, then looked back at the sergeant.

After about two hours of unfettered access to the barracks, the two women decided to have Feldstrom look in the men's room while they went to the embassy building itself. "Thanks for your cooperation," said Romano as she left.

"Whatever. I just what to end all of this." Cpl. Johnson said as he put away his boots, then he got onto this bed. "Also I wanted some sleep."

-------

Sgt. Featherson seemed perplexed by the holes. He acted as though he had never seen them before. Crouching down he got a closer look at them. His hands moved over them. "Nothing out of the ordinary. They were probably made while the construction. I have never noticed them before though, but I don't spend that much time in the basement. Who told you to come here? Was it General Sklenova?"

There was virtually one person who knew about it, Nadia Sklenova. Why had she ratted them out? Didn't she want Malakov in jail. John knew that she had deceived them the whole time. General Sklenova must have been another pawn of Iosif.

"I don't report to General Sklenova," said Fulton. "I was sent here by General Rakhmadi, the Deputy Defense Minister," she said.

It had dawned on her that the sets of holes were likely connected. She pulled out her radio.

"We've got something promising in the basement," she said. "And the Canadsteinians seem scared shitless, so it must be good. Nukes, or a spy facility, or something else big and important." She did not want to let on that she had been sent there to uncover evidence of torture, and she certainly didn't want Nadia to be implicated.

"Yeah..." all John said as went back up the stairs and sat back down. There was going to be no way that they connect the holes with anything. It was just a bunch of useless holes. They could do nothing. All they were doing was just trying to comb the place over and scrutinize everything. A grin appeared on his face as he looked outward the gate. They would be gone very shortly.

Five minutes later

"Where's Sergeant Feldstrom?" asked Colonel Fulton as Lt. Romano stuck a Swiss Army knife into the holes, trying to pry away at the holes, and Sergeant Amiliana looked for a seam that might mean the four sets of holes were part of a plate of some sort, a cover. They had to mean something...

"He's checking the men's room in the barracks," said Amiliana. "There's nothing else in the barracks that could be suspicious."

Pvt. Hall and Kane had set up a pair of chairs to watch the gate. It was a little amusing to see the tank in front of the embassy. To an outsider it would look as though the embassy had been invaded. The pair of men exchanged stories and drank some beer, but occasionally looked at the Kahanstani soldiers. They looked so stiff over there. Though that Major Phillips was back with that group, and she kind of bothered both of them. Wait take that back all of the squad.

Pvt. Kane got enough guts and went up to the gate. Kane left the confides of the embassy and ventured into Metzuda. He walked up to Major Phillips with one hand carrying a beer bottle, which was half full and the other hand near his pistol.

"Major Phillips, you probably do not know who I am, but why exactly are you in the military? You certainly don't look the part." Pvt. Kane said as he played with the toothpick in his mouth.

---

Nick and Cpl. Johnson appeared by Sgt. Featherson's side. They each had a beer in their hands, but Cpl. Johnson had an extra. He handed it over to Sgt. Featherson. Gladly took it, but looked at his watch. The Army had strict orders that they were not suppose to drink during their hours. It was 6:15 and he was officially off duty.

"They are still down in that basement." said John as he pointed to the basement door.

"They must be so fascinated by those holes." Cpl. Johnson said jokingly.

"Neither do you," said the pale, Morticia clone looking woman, looking at the beer bottle.

"Anyway... I'm sure everyone you've asked has given you the same answer. I joined because there was too much... evil, too much torture, too much hatred in the world," she said. "To do my part to minimize the evil in the world, to fight against the Kraven Corporation, against Doomingsland, against the anti-Hatarian coalitions..."

Her radio beeped. "Colonel Fulton reporting in." This was so the troops wouldn't storm the Embassy for another six hours. "We've found some suspicious holes in the basement, but no luck getting under them. Requesting shovels, jackhammers, and ground-penetrating radar devices. So far, they're our only lead. Over."

"Roger that, Mara. We'll have some there in half an hour. I'll contact supply immediately. Over and out."

The Major nodded to a private standing near her. "Contact supply and requisition two shovels, two jackhammers and a subsurface radar unit," she said in her idiosyncratic monotone.

Upon hear the orders Pvt. Hall ran inside and told Sgt. Featherson. He was sick of this. These Kahanstani were not going to tear up the basement floor to see what was under some holes. Sgt. Featherson, alongside the other troops, went down to the basement. John approached Miss Fulton and looked at the other soldiers.

"I am sorry, but you are not going to tear up the basement floor. We are not going to let you bring in that equipment. Frankly we don't want you to tear up the floor because of some suspicion. Do you know how much money it will take to replace the floor?" John stated as he looked around. "We let you in here without a fight. You probably should not even be here. You have no warrant, nothing, but we were kind enough to let you in. And now you want to tear up the basement?"

---

Back at the gates Pvt. Kane was trying to stall for time. He looked at Major Phillips and stopped right in front of her, so she could not get back to the group.

"Honestly why did you join the Military? I can tell that is not the real reason. Come on you can tell me. I will tell you why I joined the military. I basically joined to get kill sometime." Pvt. Kane said as quickly made up a reason. The real reason he joined the military was he was conscripted oddly enough. Kane had a habit of blowing stuff up, so the government gave him two choices. Join the army or get sent to prison.

"Believe me, I don't want to be here either," Fulton said crossly. "But I have very reliable information that something bad is here. We won't tear up anything we don't have to, we'll scope the whole area with ground-penetrating radar first. Of course, we'll need someone in here who knows how to use it."

---

"Not the real reason?" asked Major Phillips. She thought back to what she had said, about there being too much hatred in the world, and realized that they probably thought she hated Catholics.

"There is so much hate in this world, and unfortunately too much of it has been deposited here. I know I don't seem like it, but I actually do care about the people, about the hatred. I don't hate Catholics. I'm not siding with General Malakov, I'm merely following orders here. I would never comply with an order to deport people based on their faith..." She realized she didn't know who she was talking to.

"What did you say your name was?" she asked.

"Fine that is all you are bringing in here. Once you do "ground-penetrating radar" stuff, then you are going to have to leave. I am only going to ask nicely once Miss Fulton." John in the nicest tone he could possibly do.

---

"Oh sorry about that I am Isaac Kane. It seemed like such a bland answer. I have heard that some many times it has gotten pretty old. 'I just want to stop evil' that is what it sounded like. Most of the time it isn't even the real reason. Also I all known is your last name Major Phillips, what is your first?" Pvt. Kane replied.


"I have another question. Then why do you look that way? You look like a goth to say it plainly. The first time the I heard about you I was pretty freaked out. Cpl. Johnson, one of the soldiers who met you at the gate, seemed to be stunned. Maybe if you were not so scary people, then people might warm up to you." Issac asked.

Mara shook her head. She couldn't leave without Malakov. She had staked her reputation to help Nadia's conscience and to save a man from torture. The last thing she wanted was having the Xirniumites or Amestrians accusing Kahanistan of practicing extraordinary rendition.

A supply officer arrived at the gates with the radar unit, as well as two shovels and two jackhammers.

Phillips was still talking to Kane. "Nerissa." She sighed. "My skin tone is naturally like this, I don't have a lot of pigment. I'm not an albino, but I'm fairly close." She ran a finger through her long black hair. "In the Negev I had to wear SPF 90 sunscreen on my face."

"Enough people here warm up to me," she said. "I'm just too used to the way I look to try another appearance at my age." She was in her late thirties, from the look of her.

"No, you just can't admit that we are hiding nothing. Have you found anything at all? No. You are probably risking your whole reputation on this. I am sorry that you did that, but whatever you were trying to find is not here. Miss Fulton I am sorry that it has come to this, but you are wrong. There is nothing underground. Can you just leave us in peace?" John stated as he stared into her eyes. Miss Fulton's eyes reminded him of Nadia's. They convened some kind of pure innocence. He wished that he could help, but he had strict orders.

---

"Thats a little odd. Actually I never met an albino before. You seem to be a pretty nice person once you get past the first appearance. That is mainly why I came over her. To see how the true Nerissa was, not the image I had conjured in my head." Isaac said as he looked over her shoulder. He noticed that man was standing near the gate with two shovels, two jackhammers, and some kind of machine. He had orders not to let anyone inside the gate without orders from Sgt. Featherson.

Mara sighed. She didn't like being called Miss when she was on duty and in uniform. "Colonel Fulton," she said. "Or Mara." She got on the radio. "Phillips, what's the story on that equipment?"

"It's here, we're trying to get it into the complex."

The major smiled. "Thanks. Now, I have to help the technical people get the machines into the Embassy." She pulled a pen and paper and scrawled her phone number down. "You want to talk to me later, give me a call." Phillips walked over to the man with the radar equipment and digging tools.

Pvt. Kane put the slip of paper in his back pocket. Issac looked at the man near the gate and quickly placed himself in front of the gate, but ditched the beer bottle. He had a stern face on and fixed his beret. His arms were behind his back.

"I am sorry but at this moment no one is to enter until I get further orders from my superior office. I have to ask that you step away for the time being." He stated in a almost robotic voice.

Off in the distance Pvt. Hall came running to the gate. He saw Pvt. Kane standing on the outside of the gate. Taylor came up up to him and whispered something to him. Then he went off running back to the embassy.

---

"I am sorry Colonel Fulton, but you are only going to do the radar today or forever. There will be no destroying of the floor. If you do not accept this, then we will have to ask for your superior officer and will report your actions. I also might add that you are no longer on your native land, but soil owned by the Federal Republic of Canadstein." stated John as Cpl. Johnson and Nick started to block the doorway.

The several dozen military police outside the Embassy still had their assault weapons with them. Some near the entrance cocked them, but were not ready to fire at this point. They weren't going to let the Canadsteinians bar them from the grounds until they had found what they were looking for.

Major Phillips was apparently willing to try to avoid a firefight. "I'll let you talk with your superior," she said. "Let me know what you hear."

---

Fulton smiled cynically. She knew that if they called her superior officer, they would just be told that General Rakhmadi had asked her to go, which was what she had said earlier, and that her expertise as a security officer made her valuable to a search operation of this significance.

"So what do you choose Colonel Fulton?" John said as he looked straight at Mara. He defiantly had enough of this crap. This was the final straw. He did not give a damn anymore. If she did not cooperate, then they would be forcefully thrown out of the embassy. He could hear footsteps behind him. It was only Pvt. Hall. John blankly looked at her. "So what is it?"

---

"I have orders from Sgt. Featherson to let only the radar machine in with its specialist. Now which one of you is that specialist?" Isaac singled them out and let the specialist inside the embassies walls. Though he quickly went back to guarding the gate.

Mara was getting fed up with these people. "Do you want to clear your government's name or not?" she snapped. "I'll let you know what we find with the radars."

---

"I am," said a Chinese-looking man with the insignia of a second lieutenant. "Lt. Li-Kung Wang." He lifted the radar equipment above his head. "Now, where is the officer who requested this?"

"God...okay that Miss Fulton inside. I guess I have to show you now." Pvt. Kane easily climbed the gate and then looked back to Major Phillips. He called out. "Make sure none of your men go past the gate."

He led Lt. Wang down to the basement, but upon opening the door he found it being blocked by his comrades. They moved and cleared a path of Lt. Wang. Isaac did not look back and rushed to the gate.

---

"Sgt. Featherson stand down. They are not going to find anything. We have nothing to hide." Nick said as he put his hand on John's shoulder.

Featherson calmed down, but then run out of the basement. The Canadsteinians left the basement and went back to their normal duties.

They seem pretty sure... Fulton took the radar device and set it down in the center of the four sets of holes, where she believed was the most suspicious area. If nothing was found, they would start scanning through walls and over the grounds until something did show up.

Wang turned on the device, and began a scan of the area underneath the basement, looking for anything hollow that might indicate where the Defense Minister was being held.

A bit too self-assured... Mara sat down and let the radar specialist work his magic. Unless they're hiding him in a secret prison... No. Nadia had told Mara about being held in the Embassy, but had sworn her to the strictest secrecy; she did not want an international incident. Kahanistan was not, despite the military buildup, ready for war, even against a military like that of Canadstein, which they considered inexperienced and low-quality. Even if it were, there was nothing to be gained by war; the worst thing they would do if Malakov were found would likely be to cut relations with Canadstein, and at best, simply expel the Ambassador and invite Canadstein to send a different ambassador.

She watched nervously as the radar specialist scanned under the floors of the Embassy into its foundation.

---

Phillips nodded. "Nobody crosses the gate without my orders. We want to find this, not start a war."

They would find absolutely nothing. Nick and the soldiers had done a good job of keeping any evidence of being found. General Malakov had been disposed of and would never be found. If these Kahanistani would have come a couple of days earlier, then they would have found Iosif. But it was already too late. Nick, Sgt. Featherson, and Cpl. Johnson went to the kitchen and decided to have an early drinking secession. They had gotten away with their crime for now. Nick knew that Nadia could no longer be trusted, but she would get her own. Cpl. Johnson set out three glasses, and Nick poured some whiskey into them.

"Well, they will be gone shortly. A toast to the future!" said Nick as he put up his glass. The other two men followed and put their glasses.

---

Isaac and Taylor had made it back to the gate and were now sitting in their chairs. Isaac had discussed what he had learned from Major Phillips. Taylor seemed to be equality surprised. Isaac went back up the gate and looked at his watch, 7:08. The Kahanistanis had been here for almost four hours.

"So, why is Colonel Fulton so insistent on finding something? Has she bet her reputation on this little fiasco?" Pvt. Kane said to Major Phillips as he walked up to her.

"Colonel Fulton... well, I don't know her that well," said Phillips. "We just met today. She strongly believes that you are holding General Malakov. She believes that he is being mistreated in there, and... we are militantly opposed to the use of torture."

The odd woman stood with her back to the gate, facing Kane. "I believe her reputation may be the least of her worries. She will not abandon someone who is in danger, no matter what the risk to her personally is."

"Sorry I have never heard of this General Malakov? I believe that Colonel Fulton is trying to scrutinize everything until she finds some suspicious, which she has done with these holes." replied Issac. "Whatever source she got was wrong."

Major Phillips looked quizzically at Kane, as if trying to understand what he had just said.

"... The Minister of Defense," said Phillips. She knew there was something suspicious about the Canadsteinians. Who couldn't have heard of the Defense Minister's alleged plans to overthrow the government? She's right... there is something going on in there.

Meanwhile, Romano and Feldstrom were looking around on the first and second floors, behind plants, desks, paneling, even toilets, leaving no stone unturned. Finally, the lieutenant worked up the nerve to ask the Ambassador outright for the plans to the facility - the "secret plans," as the large woman officer put it.

Fulton and Wang had not found much in the basement, and were in the process of moving the radar to the first floor to scan.

---

Malakov's wife appeared on TV for the first time, with a high-ranking officer of the National Police behind her. As she asked for the safe return of her husband, the police officer promised immunity for whoever handed him in or provided information, and added that the reward had been increased to two million shekels.

When they were conducting their radar test on the first floor they would come upon the "hidden" room. It was small white room they contained a bed, desk, and small lamp. It only had enough room for one person to go inside. The room was dusty because the last person to use the room was Miles, and that had over a week ago.

---

Ambassador Stapleton gladly gave them the blueprints of the whole embassies' grounds. The blueprints showed every little bit of the main building and the barracks. There was nothing for William to hide. But he made the blueprints stay in his office as the lieutenant looked over them.

---

"Yeah sorry I don't watch the news or read the newspaper that much. The only time I ever hear news is when I hear other people talk about it. So I guess this guy kind of disappeared. I wondered who kidnapped him." replied Isaac as he looked at Nerissa.

Romano looked over the plans, and jotted down notes. She would take them to the radar operator and have him scan other areas.

Amiliana pored over the white room for any sign of General Malakov. The room did not look like a torture chamber. Maybe he wasn't being physically tortured, merely held prisoner until Kasagawa's name was cleared. Well, the charges had been dismissed ages ago - there had to be another reason. The military police officer started looking for fibers with a magnifying glass. Fulton, on her advice, did the same in the basement - the most likely place to hold someone.

"He's probably been rendited," said Fulton cynically. "Shipped him out when they figured we'd eventually come here looking for him. I'd send someone to Canadstein for him. Find out their secret prisons and the like..."

---

Nerissa nodded. She believed the Canadsteinians were responsible. She was, after all, a military police officer, and she was capable of putting two and two together to conclude that the people Malakov was so terrified of that he put shoot-to-kill orders on were responsible for his disappearance.

If they found nothing here, they would scan again for underground rooms throughout the grounds; there weren't that many places the room he had been hidden in could be concealed.

"That's what we want to find out," she said. "There's been an immunity deal offered by the National Police and the Justice Ministry... the first person to turn state's evidence goes free, with the two million shekel reward. The Republic wants to find him very strongly."

The only fibers they would find were of the people that worked at the embassy. Malakov had only touched the metal chair, which had "disappeared" along with Malakov. So the Kahanstani could look forever and they would not find one piece of evidence. Apparently the Canadsteinians were good at something, cleaning and making sure no evidence was left behind.

---

"Well it is too bad because you are not going to find him here." Isaac could sense the tone coming from Nerissa. She felt that they were guilty, and he could tell by one of her hints. Two million shekels and immunity sounded alright, but Pvt. Kane was never going to betray his own countrymen. He would be known as a rat when he got home. Plus the other men would be sent to prison in this country. Isaac would not let that happen. "I would help if I could, but I have never heard of seen this General Malakov."

He's totally full of shit, too. Nerissa shook her head. Maybe Kane would take her up on her offer; she had given him her phone number for a reason. She smiled mysteriously. Was she digesting what he had told her... or was she signaling her interest?

---

Mara and her group took photographs of suspicious areas, making sure no documents were photographed, using cell phones and digital cameras. More than twenty photographs were taken of the suspicious holes in the floor, as well as in the white room and the secret entrances.

It was almost ten o'clock when she finally threw her hands up. The MP's had scanned every cubic micron of the embassy grounds. Disillusioned and frustrated, she strode out of the embassy. They would have to have a forensics team go over the place later.

Issac talked with Nerissa a little longer, until he noticed the time. It was past ten o'clock. He woke up Pvt. Hall and the pair went off to the barracks. They had met up with Sgt. Featherson and Cpl. Johnson in the barracks. John had told the other men that the Kahanistani had found absolutely nothing of value. He also told them to keep up their guard. They all probably be followed now because they were suspects in this case. But there was still one thing to take care of General Sklenova. Tomorrow morning John was going to pay her a little visit.

Nadia knew that Mara would never betray her confidence, but she was still fearful. She had given information to help her conscience and to stop the Canadsteinians from using torture to extract confessions, and she knew that they were probably watching her. She slept uneasily that night with an assault rifle next to her.

---

Mara spent all night poring over the photographs with a forensics team, a joint task force of military and civilian police agencies. She was standing near the holes in several of the photographs, so one could get an idea of how wide apart they were. One of the agents suggested that the holes were spaced apart so that some piece of equipment such as a heavy restraint chair, or a machine of some sort, could be emplaced there, and Mara facepalmed when she realized she had failed to notice that possibility.

"Get me a description of the van that was reported," she said. "Pull up the satellite photos of the Embassy and copies of security footage from nearby buildings, if we're right, we should see that van going in, and coming out." The person who had reported a suspicious van had thought the men coming out were burglars and the burlap bag with the Defense Minister in it was a bag of stolen loot. But maybe not... Mara hoped she could get the embassy expelled before they could harm Nadia or her.

Nadia's doorbell rang early in the morning. A little surprise was waiting for her.

Nadia picked up her weapon and dragged it to the door. She was still in her sundress, the one she usually slept in. She looked through the peephole.

Shit. She cocked the weapon and held it by the pistol grip as she unlocked the door.

When Nadia looked through her peephole she saw absolutely nothing. But when she opened it John was waiting there with his hands up. He could have easily took the pistol out of her hand, but was not here to hurt her. John walked into her apartment and looked at her.

"Why Nadia.."

Nadia held the assault weapon across her chest, her hand still over the pistol-like grip. She sat down on her chair, not taking her eyes off of the soldier.

---

Metzuda Police obtained copies of surveillance footage from every building within a kilometer of the Embassy, which they pored over looking for the vehicle that had taken Malakov. Phillips and Fulton seemed confident that they would be able to find him within a few days. They weren't so happy about the idea of him rounding up all the Catholics, but they believed there was enough opposition to prevent that.

"Why Nadia...we thought we could trust you. Miles thought he could trust you. You were just playing us the whole time. You probably were working for Malakov the whole time. We were just trying to save this country and look what you did to us." John said as he shut the door behind him.

"I wanted to be free," Nadia replied coldly. "I didn't want to be held prisoner while you did Lord only knows what to General Malakov and all I could do was wait helplessly to be released. Mara... Colonel Fulton... said that she couldn't find any traces of him. It's not like her to just give up like that, what did you do?"

She sighed deeply. "We will save this country, with or without you. The Communist Party will not allow sectarian hatred to divide us or plunge us into a war. Do you have any idea what you could have done? When you release him, he will be even more hardline than he was before, and we will have even more trouble stopping him. You know the 'Liberal until I got mugged' meme? Well, mug a rightist and see what you make of him. Mark my words, next month he'll be marching the Commies into Dachau with the Catholics."

"Why should I tell you anything? You will just be the dirty rat again. Nadia, you have already spilled your guts. You stabbed us in the back Nadia. How does that feel?" John said as he sat down on the nearby couch. He was not mad with her, but disappointed that she would betray them. John thought that she was in there for the fight and to save Kahanistan. He put his head down and listened to her.

"So do you want a civil war? If we release him without admitting to framing General Kasagawa, then he will roam freely. He will carry on with his plan, and a civil war will ensue. But if we do succeed, then he will be locked away and the country will be saved for now. I am just trying to do what's right Nadia..."stated John as he started to become teary eyed. But rage had consumed his eyes. "Are you one of Malakov's pawns?"

"No!" said Nadia. "I'm a loyal Communist. But I don't believe in torture, and I certainly don't like that I was used to get his information, even if you could have gotten it without me. Kasagawa is free. She's still a general, and she's, from what I got of her, more interested in putting this behind her than in pursuing vengeance."

"I'd like Malakov locked away, but I don't want him kept in a secret facility, and have us accused of extraordinary rendition when he gets out, or have him sending troops out to look for these anti-nationalists, and tearing the city upside down. We have to gather the evidence on him ourselves, then try him in our own system."

"And do you think the Nationalists will believe a forced confession? If anything, you're just giving them more ammunition and making things harder for our side. He confesses, you release him, the Nationalists will go along with him when he rounds up his opponents."

"None of it matters anymore anyways. We have already deposed of Malakov. Nick took him out of his misery. Malakov was an absolute wreck when he died. He was actually begging to be killed. Such a sad way to die for such a "great" leader to die. I was getting to the breaking point. I could not stand for it much longer. The nationalist no longer have a strong pillar of support. They have no earthly idea who even took him kidnapped." John said as he stood up and looked out the window. The sun was starting rise to commence a new day.

"You still are one of Malakov's lackeys, aren't you? Yes you can still be a loyal communist, but secretly be loyal to Malakov. Maybe he ordered you to embed yourself with the communist and found out about their plans. Is that what truly happened Nadia. Is just all a facade. Is everything just all part of Malakov's plan? A woman that I finally found that actually seemed to be truthful and caring, was actually just like the rest of them? The men back at the embassy had respect for you and you have destroyed that. Guess what? Taylor, I think, will never talk to another woman again. When you broke our trust you broke his heart." John told her as he turned around. His cheeks were flushed and his eye were swollen and burning red. Tears ran down from his eye. It was a mix emotion of hatred, betrayal, and sadness. "WHY?"

John dropped to his knees and put his face into his palms.

Nadia was shocked. The soldier had admitted murder to her. She wanted nothing more than to just blow his head off right there. She cradled the FN FAL in her arms as if deciding what to do. It was several seconds before she could speak.

"I've been a communist since I was sixteen years old. That's half as long as I've been alive," Nadia said icily. She couldn't let herself be affected emotionally, not now. This man had tricked her into signing the Defense Minister's death warrant. "Look elsewhere for your conspiracy theories. Now get out before I lose what little control I have and blow your worthless head off." She raised the weapon toward the man's head.

"Then kill me! I thought I could trust you, but that has been shattered. I actually thought I had feeling for you. I have done nothing wrong against you. Just kill me now!" John got up and walked forward. He got the barrel of the FN FAL and but it in his mouth. His hand tightly gripped it as he got down onto his knees. There was going to be no way that Nadia could shake loose his hands. Tears were pouring of his eyes. His cheeks were now a deep red. John started to mutter something with the barrel in his mouth. It was a old prayer that his father had taught him.

Nadia looked him in the eyes, her finger on the trigger. She took a few deep breaths. A tear welled up in her eye.

No. I can't do this. Nadia took her finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard. I can't kill him, even if he deserves it.

"No." Her voice cracked. "I... I'm not a killer. I'm not like you, I won't do it." She sat down and got an idea. "Come with me, we're going for a ride."

John soon finished the prayer and opened his eyes. He could hear Nadia talking. A nod was all she got. John followed Nadia, but really wondered what she was true. Was he a murder?

Nadia guided John out of her apartment and to the elevator. "After you," she said, motioning for him to open the elevator.

John heard the familiar ding, after he had pushed the button to call for the elevator, and the elevator doors opened. He entered and kept his distance from Nadia. He still pondered if he had really helped killed Malakov. John looked at his hands. Were this hands stained with the blood of Malakov? He turned his head away, and then looked at Nadia for a split second.

Nadia pressed the button for the ground floor and walked out, her car keys at the ready, when she dropped them, about five feet from her car. "Mind picking those up for me?" she asked.

He simply nodded and picked them up. Though as soon as he was going to hand them over his hand, which was holding the keys, was shaking. His head was faced down as his hand moved closer to her. Then suddenly he looked up and faced her. The keys dropped into her hand. John just straight into Nadia's gray eyes. They were pure and clean. Something he honestly had not seen in ages. Something about them screamed innocence to him. John looked away and continued to the passenger side of the car.

Nadia sighed and stuck her weapon on the seat, between her legs. She started up the car, and backed out of the parking lot, getting onto the street.

During the entire car rid John just stared out the window and said nothing. What Nadia had said about him being a murdered really had effected him.

Ten minutes later, Nadia arrived at the National Police field office, pulled into the parking lot, and stopped.

"Let's go," she said calmly. She opened the door and climbed out.

"Why what are we doing here? I am not going into that building..." John said as he looked at the National Police Field Office building. Was Nadia honestly trying to trick him in turning himself in? Was she playing with his emotions again?

OOC: I will be gone from June 18 to July 7. So can we put this thread on hold until then? I have really like participating in his thread and it has been great rping with you.

Nadia nodded. "We'll have to talk to someone in there. I think you can take advantage of the immunity offer," she said. "Your choice, really." She got out of the car. "Come with me."

[OOC: Certainly, I'll put the thread on hold when you leave.]

John stood their stunned. If he did take the immunity, then he would be betraying all of men back at the embassy. He would sink to the level that Nadia was at currently. If he even went in there, then that would just further the suspicions that the government had against the Canadsteinian embassy. John got out of the car, but stopped in the parking lot. He looked at Nadia across from him.

"What will happen to the others...I will betray them..." weakly said John as he stopped walking.

"I'm sure there's a way you can warn them, and they can flee the country," said Nadia, trying to assure him. "Then, it depends on if your Ministry of Foreign Affairs is willing to extradite them."

"No...I am not going to betray my own countrymen...I am sorry Nadia, but this is the wrong thing to do...." John said as he stared at Nadia. He could not believe that she wanted him to do this.

"It's the right thing to do," said Nadia. "Unless you want your friends getting away with murder. I don't think you want that. It's the only way you'll have a clear conscience again."

"How do you know that we even murdered Malakov? YOU ARE JUST MESSING WITH MY MIND. You know if we release Malakov after he kills us, then you are next." John stated.

"You just told me," Nadia said coldly. "You told me in my apartment. With luck, I might be able to arrange that only Nick is prosecuted. Enough of this. Come with me." She took him by the hand and walked full force toward the main entrance of the station.

Smacked her hand away and just shook his head. "You still never answered why Nadia? We never hurt you. All of us treated you with respect and this is how you repay us? What a low blow. I just wonder how Miles would react if he was here. He loved you..."

John walked away and did not look back. He would never betray his friends. Even if it meant dying. He would at least know that he died not being a rat. A tear rolled down his cheek. Today was an utter disappointment.

"You held me prisoner to force me to help you, you didn't tell me you planned to murder him," she said. "Now, come with me." She sounded more forceful than she had been before.

"I told you...I am not coming with you." John said as he looked at her face with a calm expression. His hand was against her cheek. "I can't believe that I had feeling for you. You were once a warm and caring person, but now you are a cold ice queen. I do not even known why I came here. Maybe it was to see you again or to..."

John's hand left the softness of her cheek. He jogged off and turned his back one last time. He saw Nadia, and broke down crying. What had he truly become?

Nadia strode into the police station, setting her weapon on the desk while she spoke to the duty officer.

"I have information about the disappearance of General Malakov," she said. "I need to talk to the head of the investigation."

"Commander Collins will speak with you in fifteen minutes," said the duty officer.

John returned back to the embassy and spent the rest of the day drinking. This day was just a gloomy day.

A relatively young man about Nadia's age, with short strawberry blond hair and in a police uniform, extended his hand to Nadia.

"Commander Adrian Collins, National Police," said the police officer. "I'm in charge of the investigation into General Malakov's disappearance," he said. "You had information for me?"

Nadia nodded. "Brigadier General Nadia Sklenova, Republic Guard. I know two of the people who disappeared and murdered General Malakov." Nadia's voice was starting to shake. "And I'm afraid they'll come after me."

The commander looked at Nadia, shocked. "Murdered?" He seemed stunned. "Come with me to my office," he said shakily.

---

Collins' office was fairly neat, a bit narrow for a commander. His office was so narrow that his desk was almost as wide as the office, and it had several file cabinets behind it. The desk was covered with documents relating to Malakov's case and had a warm pitcher of coffee that had probably been out for days.

The officer pulled up a chair for Nadia, then sat down. He seemed very upset to learn that Malakov had been murdered. Nadia feared the worst until she noticed that Collins was wearing a crucifix; he was a Catholic. He was also, if the decorated paperweight on his desk was any indicator, a Nationalist. He must have caught her looking between the crucifix and paperweight, for he nodded.

"It's not that unusual. A lot of Nationalists are Catholic. We believe in a strong nation, it's just that a lot of people who believe that hold us responsible for our nation's problems. But let's not digress into sectarian politics." He looked back to Nadia, visibly irritated. "What I want to know is, what evidence do you have that General Malakov was murdered, when I just spent two hours this morning assuring his wife that he was still alive?"

Nadia looked back at the man. "John Featherson... one of the soldiers in the Canadstein Army, came to see me, from the Embassy. He was very upset with me for giving information about his disappearance to the military police, and he told me that Nick Mills from the Special Agent Department murdered General Malakov. The information I gave led the military police to search the Embassy, and they found nothing."

Collins nodded. "How did you come to have information on the disappearance of General Malakov?"

"I was asked by some of the Canadsteinian agents who were investigating a theory that he framed General Kasagawa for treason to come to the Embassy. They detained me until I agreed to help them bring down Malakov. I agreed willingly once I was told he wouldn't be murdered, and they kidnapped him. The only assistance I gave them was his address, which was in any directory."

"I see... no real case for complicity here, you didn't make the crime possible, even," said Commander Collins. "And then, why did you give information to the military?"

"They told me they would force Malakov to confess to the framing of General Kasagawa," said Nadia. "I was afraid he was going to be tortured, and I told a friend. She was in the military and she requested temporary assignment to a post in the investigation. I went to her for advice, on what to do, I didn't know what to do," she said, crying.

Commander Collins picked up a tissue box and gave it to Nadia, who took one and wiped her tears. "Can you tell me the name of your friend, General Sklenova?"

"Mara Fulton. She's the commander of..."

"The Presidential Security Detachment," said Commander Collins. "I know who she is. I spoke with her last night. She was so frustrated about those holes in the basement floor that we later figured were probably emplacements for some kind of torture or restraint device."

"Well," continued the commander, "what happened after you talked to Mara... Colonel Fulton?"

"She said she would give information to the Defense Ministry and leave me out of it, but they found out somehow. Her information led to the search of the embassy grounds. Then, this morning, Featherson came to me, and confronted me about betraying them, the Embassy. He was very upset with me. I responded by telling him that kidnapping Malakov would make him even worse when they released him after forcing the confession, and he admitted that Nick Mills had killed him."

"Nick Mills... you said he was a special agent?" asked the commander.

Nadia nodded. "Yes. I talked Featherson into getting into a car with me, then took him to the police station, intending to turn him in. He wouldn't go into the building with me, but if you check your video surveillance..."

Collins smiled as the cogs in his head turned, understanding Nadia's idea. "I can get a visual of him." The police commander smiled widely. "General Sklenova, you might have gotten me a damn good piece of evidence. Will you let me collect fibers from your car, so we can get this Featherson's DNA? I want to see him and Nick fry."

Nadia looked quizzically at the officer. "But Malakov wanted to drive you and your friends out of the civilized world," she said, eyeing his crucifix. "And send you to Doomingsland. You seem awfully eager to bust his killers."

Collins nodded, his blue eyes making contact with Nadia's eyes. "Malakov was an extremist, that's for sure," he said. "I'm no friend of his extremism, and I certainly don't think that Catholics have to be deported, especially to Doomingsland of all places. But this is Kahanistan, General Sklenova. And in Kahanistan, being an extremist is not a capital offense." In fact, Kahanistan did not have the death penalty at all.

He picked up the phone. "Forensics? This is Commander Collins. I'd like a forensics team sent to scour a vehicle for fibers, and get a visual on an individual who was in the parking lot about an hour ago... Thank you."

He hung up. "General Sklenova, it'll be about an hour before we get a picture of Featherson, and then we can put out an all-points bulletin for him. Johnny sets one foot outside of the embassy..." He pulled out his nightstick and brought it down with a sickening SMASH! on top of the desk, "and I'll bust his kneecaps with this." Looking at Nadia's horrified face, he shook his head. "Just kidding. But I'll be real mean to him, just not abuse him. Well, in the meantime, do you have anything to do in the next hour?"

Nadia shook her head. Collins nodded. "Neither do I. Care to go out for something better than mess fare? When we get back, we'll have an APB out on Featherson, and if you can describe this Nick Mills for our sketch artist, I'll put an APB on him too. I'll also have some police watching your apartment, and we can bust some more Canadsteinians if they come for you."

Nadia smiled. "How's chicken kung pao?" she asked.

"You like Chinese?" said Collins. "I love the stuff. The Nationalists would kick my ass if they knew that I once traveled to Southeast Asia to sample forty different kinds of Asian food."

He chuckled. "The Nationalists, for the most part, see the Southeast Asians as... manipulators, interlopers. They say that without them, we'd have had to forge our own allies and been all the better for it. Oh, no racism involved," he said casually, looking at Nadia. "Just nationalism, pure and simple. There are Nationalists of Asian descent in Kahanistan. The ideology of the Nationalist Party is that we should put Kahanistan first in foreign policy. That's all. Unfortunately," said the commander, getting up to open the door and lead Nadia out, "some people want to remove parts of Kahanistan. I'm not talking about the name-change project, to find a new, less outdated, more secular name for the nation, hell, I'm all for us being called Liberistan or something carrying connotations of freedom. I'm talking about removing parts of our people, who make modern Kahanistan what it is. And if this extremism is left unchecked, we'll be in a civil war before you can say Rack Jobinson."

Nadia smiled. "For some reason, most of the Nationalists I've known are extremist whack jobs, you're the first rational one I've met in some time. Then again, you do know that I'm a communist, don't you?"

Collins nodded as they descended an elevator and Nadia retrieved her weapon from the front office. As they left the station, they saw the forensics team going through Nadia's car to get fibers from Featherson and video footage of him from the station's cameras. They walked to Collins's squad car.

"Have you ever driven a police car?" asked the commander.

Nadia shook her head. Collins smiled. "Well, it's like driving a regular car," he said, opening the car and indicating for her to sit in the driver's seat. "Start your engine," he said, handing the keys to her when she sat down. He entered the passenger seat.

As Nadia drove, the officer pointed out the rocket launcher release system, the sirens, the radar scanner (called a radar "gun" in most police forces, but this was built into the cruiser itself) and other accoutrements of a police car. They arrived within five minutes at Chang-Lo's Fancy Chinese Restaurant.

After John walked a block away from the Police Station he saw that a car was trailing him. He looked back and saw the driver's face. It was Nick. The car pulled up to him and the window rolled down.

"Do you need a ride back, John?" said Nick as he put his head out the window.

John simply nodded and entered the car. During the ride back to the embassy, John had told Nick what had happened. Nick said that all their problems would be solved today, but first John had to call all of the soldiers to his office. The car pulled into the embassies' gates, and the pair of men went their separate ways. One to get his squad together and the other to get ready to share his thoughts.

---

The four men, that were the protectors of the Canadstein Embassy in Kahanistan, entered the office. From the outside all of the blinds were pulled down over the windows. This meeting was to be conducted in the utter most secrecy. Inside the office Nick sat behind a desk, while four chairs were set out in front of it. The men sat down and waited to hear what Nick had to say.

"I have partly gathered you all here because of the betrayal of Nadia. We thought we could trust her on previous comments that Agent Mason had made. She has broken that trust and is probably spilling the rest of her guts right now." Nick said as he looked at the group of men in front of him. "She thinks that I murdered General Malakov and probably dumped his body in the desert from what Sgt. Featherson had told her. I have actually killed a man in my entire life. I said I deposed of Malakov to Sgt. Featherson, and he took it as kill. But Malakov is actually quite living right now. When I said "deposed" I actually meant that I got him out of the embassy. So I thank you for your actions Sgt. Featherson."

The men were perplexed. They all thought that Nick had executed Malakov somewhere in the desert. They could all hear the screams of Malakov as he was being dragged out of the embassy. Isaac had said he could see Nick was holding a weapon. When Nick came back the weapon had mysteriously disappear. None of them questioned what Nick had done, and carried on with their lives.

"Actually General Malakov is no longer in this country. He is currently at one of my agencies many "black sites". But all of this is not the real reason I have gathered you here. The real reason is to give you all a chance to leave the embassy and this country. We are all under surveillance, which will probably lead to our arrest with Nadia's recent visit to the police station. We all participated in something that is highly illegally. By just being here we are brewing a fiasco or some kind of conflict between our two countries." stated Nick. "Sgt. Featherson you do not have a choice of staying or leaving, but I think it is for the best. While the rest of you have a choice. So what is your choice?"

Everything in this whole meeting had to be formal. Nick pulled out a list of the remaining soldiers at the embassy.

"Corporal Irving Johnson what is your choice?" said Nick as he looked at the Corporal.

"I am leaving." Johnson replied.

"Private Isaac Kane what is your choice?" said Nick as he now looked at the Private.

"I have decided to leave also." Kane replied.

"And lastly, Private Taylor Hall what is your choice?" said Nick as he looked at the last person.

"I guess I will leave..." Hall replied. He was still saddened that Nadia had broken their trust. Actually he was probably the most effected. Nadia was the first women that he started to have admiration and trust in, but she had broken that. Now he wondered if he could ever trust another woman in his life again.

"Okay since it seems that you are leaving get ready to pack your belongings. We are leaving this afternoon. We have to leave as soon as possible. They are probably going to storm into the embassy soon, but sadly we will not be here. The other staff at the embassy will be fine. Honestly they have no real proof against us. Ambassador Stapleton and his staff never took part in the act, and have no idea what the Kahanistani government is talking about. You are all dismissed." Nick said as he got, and the men soon followed. The men filed out of the room and went back to their barracks.

---

A few hours later all the men were packed and the barracks had been cleaned out. All the men were sitting the reception area. They all seemed to be pretty be stunned. The day's events seemed almost to be surreal. The men were just waiting for Nick. Ten minutes before Ambassador Stapleton wished them all farewell and hoped to see them all again. He said that they were probably the finest and funniest soldiers that had ever guarded the embassy. William sadly walked up the stairs to his office. All of the soldiers had respect for the Ambassador and deeply were going to miss him.

Nick came down the first floor hallway with his suitcase. The men followed and loaded up in a van, which had mysteriously come out of nowhere.

---

When they were starting to leave Isaac ran out the van and to the phone on the receptionist desk. He grabbed it and dialed a number. All he got was an answer machine. It was of Major Nerissa Phillips.

"Yeah...I got the answer. Oh...it is Private Isaac Kane. I just wanted to say bye and it was too bad that I could not see you again. Maybe even...never mind...it does not matter anymore. I hope you have a good life....Nerissa."

Isaac put the phone down and walked back to the van. The van rolled out of the embassies' gates and to the airport.

---

The van stopped on the tarmac of a private airport. It was the same airport that Miles had escaped from. The men filed out of the airport and looked around. This might be the last time that any of them ever saw Kahanistan or each other. They boarded the jet, and looked out their windows as the jet was taking off. They were finally going home, but were leaving another one.

Official Statement from the Free Havenic Republic of Kahanistan
Ministry of Justice

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/kahanistan.jpg

The Government of Kahanistan has reason to believe that members of the Canadstein Embassy staff perpetrated the crimes of kidnapping and murder of a member of our Cabinet, Defense Minister General Iosif Malakov.

We therefore ask the Canadsteinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to waive the diplomatic immunity of one Nick Mills who we believe to be the killer and a member of the embassy staff, and extradite him to Kahanistan should he have arrived in your nation.

As we cannot be sure that complicity does not go as high as the Ambassador, we also request that his diplomatic immunity be waived so that we may investigate whether or not he was involved in these crimes.

Signed,
Marcus Octavius Cassius,
Minister of Justice

Shmuel Avraham Stein,
Chief of National Police


---

Major Phillips would not receive the message until late at night, after she had gotten off of a long, depressing day at work. She lay numbly on her bed and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

---

[OOC: I'll be putting this on hold till Canadstein gets back.]

A simple message replied within five minutes. It stated that following:

The Canadsteinian Government has no records of any "Nick Mills". We are sorry that we cannot help, but we are here and willing to help.

Signed,
Harry Paget
Minister of Foreign Affairs

---

A few hours later a private plane landed and five men got off. They were all finally back home.

OOC: I am finally back and happy to continue with this rp.

Ministry of Justice, Metzuda, Kahanistan

Dr. Marcus Octavius Cassius, Minister of Justice, read over the document. Bullshit. Probably lying through their teeth, like governments do all the time, or maybe it's an alias.

Dr. Stein, the chief of the National Police and Cassius' direct subordinate, shook his head. "What do you think the odds are that Mr. Paget is in need of a massive enema hose?"

"Damn good," said Cassius. "If Mills is an intelligence agent, they either wouldn't have any record of him in the MFA, or it would be an alias. Of course, that raises the question of them having intelligence agents in the embassy."

"Colonel Fulton said she didn't find anything that looked like espionage equipment in the Embassy," said Stein. "She'd know what to look for."

"Which means the Canadsteinians are full of shit," replied Cassius. "But how do we get them to slip up and admit it?"

"I'll have someone from the National Police try to discover records of this Nick Mills from Canadstein," said Stein. "We won't have to get an admission from their government. I'll just have someone from Cybersecurity scope out the records. Even if it's an alias, we'll get something on him, he'd have records under his alias."

---

Chang-Lo's Fancy Chinese Restaurant

Commander Adrian Collins was still talking to General Sklenova. "So, General... what do you want to see come of this investigation?"

"I'd like to see General Malakov's killers sent to prison," said Nadia. "I'd like to make it clear that any political ideology, no matter how hateful, is not persecuted here. We certainly will not let our politicians be murdered for their expressed beliefs."

"See, the Communists and Nationalists are not that different," said Collins. "We want the same thing, but we have different ideas of how to go about it. The Nationalists see themselves as protecting Kahanistan's liberties from foreign oppression. The Communists see themselves as protecting the people from exploitation at the hands of foreign businesses, both to safeguard the interests of the nation. The only conflict is when extremists, like the Jucheists on your side, or the 'kick-the-Catholics-out-ers' on mine, make one." The National Police commander's cell rang.

"Just what I need on a date with a pretty lady," grumbled the commander. He answered. "Collins."

"Commander, this is Dr. Shmuel Avraham Stein, the chief of the National Police. You're going to be receiving a cyberneticist on your team, a Dr. Ali Kamel Mohammed. We're going to get information on Mr. Mills from Canadstein so we can extradite him."

"Thanks. I was wondering how we were going to get more evidence on him. Hopefully we can bust him and send him to jail for a long time, with a seven-foot Doomie named Bubbus Maximus, or something like that."

"Hopefully," said Dr. Stein. "Anyway, let's concentrate on getting those records. I'll hear from you later."

"Later," said Collins, hanging up. "Well, we're getting a computer specialist to help us get records the Canadsteinians deny exist. How's that sound?"

Nadia smiled. "Exciting." She didn't have a lot of hope they'd be able to get them, but she wanted to encourage him.

The commander looked into her eyes. "So, when's the baby due?" he asked, trying to maintain conversation with her. She had just finished her Chinese food while he was talking to his boss.

"About six weeks," she said. "It's pretty big. I must be around 130 or 135 by now." Nadia's pre-pregnancy weight was 115 pounds, fairly slim for a woman of 5'5". Luckily, she had gained relatively little weight aside from the very large baby.

"It sickens me to think that the Canadsteinians would kill a pregnant woman, but I can't take any chances of that. I'll have a police guard at your apartment, with your permission of course. Standard procedure for high-profile witnesses."

"Thanks." She didn't know Malakov that well, but figured he had probably had a gun, too. She couldn't rely on her own weapon to keep her from disappearing in the middle of the night.

"In the meantime..." said Collins, "I'd really like to see you again, General Sklenova." His eyes were still making contact with hers, and she could tell that he was interested in her, probing to see if she was married or in a relationship without asking outright. (With the rate of unwed motherhood in Kahanistan and the proliferation of war widows from the numerous wars Kahanistan had been involved in, nobody assumed that a pregnant woman was married.)

"I'd like that," replied Nadia. She scribbled her cell number and email down. She wasn't sure that she wanted a new relationship, but she would at least give him a chance, although she likely wouldn't make any moves that would push the relationship beyond friendship.

Private Airport, Near Ottawa, Canadstein

The five men looked at each other as they held their own respective suitcases. They had all lied in Kahanistan, but it was to escape with their lives. If they had stayed then they would have been sent to rot in some godforsaken prison. None of the men were going to risk that just to stay in Kahanistan. Most of them thought that it was the best thing to do. The men were ruffling too many feathers within the Kahnistani government. But none of that matter. The five men were finally in the clear. They each said their good byes, until only Sgt. John Featherson and Nick Mills were the only ones left.

The pair of men looked at each other, and then looked out toward the sun set. Featherson noticed that sun was a fire red as it slowly dipped into the horizon. He knew that he would never see these men again. They would be scattered to the four winds. John turned back toward Nick.

Tears were rolling down Nick's face. This kid had endured so much on his first mission. But now he had to accept the realities of being a Agent of the Canadstein Intelligence Agency. His cheeks resembled the red bottom of a baby.

John moved over toward his young comrade and patted him on the back.

"I know that we did some horrible stuff back in Kahanistan, but you did a damn fine job." John said as he looked out toward the sunset. "Just remember Nick, this was just one mission..."

John patted Nick on the back one more time, and then walked off toward an awaiting car. Only Nick remained on the tarmac. He questioned if he had done the right thing. Had he only done all those things to make sure that his first mission would be a success? Was it even a success? This twenty-three year old had locked up a General and Defense Minister of a foreign nation. Malakov hopefully would never be heard from again.

With a sniffle Nick walked solemnly to the car waiting for him.

---

Undisclosed Location, Codenamed "Moltke", Canadstein

When Malakov would wake up he would be in the middle of a brightly lighted room. Everything withing the room was white, even the one piece clothing he was wearing. A toilet sat in one corner and another sat a bed, which was bolted to the floor. Another corner would reveal four lines that made out the shape of a rectangle. This is where the food would be delivered. On one of the walls was a speaker. Directly behind it was the one way mirror. A man peered through the mirror and was looking at Malakov.

Canadsteinian Black Site

The situation was a little easier on the Defense Minister. No longer would he wallow in his own sh*t. No longer would he be starved to near-death. He was feeling a little better, but still not in the best of health; the detention was taking a toll on him and he often sank into bouts of depression.

No matter how trained he may have been 40 or so years ago, no man in his 60's was going to be able to fight his way out of a black site, jack a plane (if he even knew how to fly it - he was trained as an armored commander, not a pilot, though he had basic experience with helicopters) and figure out which direction Kahanistan was in.

General Malakov sat back in a corner and waited, knowing his captors wanted something from him. Otherwise, why hold him rather than just shoot him, as he had expected?

---

National Police HQ

Commander Collins and Lieutenant Ali Kamel Mohammed sat behind a huge Justice Ministry mainframe. They were busy trying to break into birth records for Canadsteinian cities and towns great and small, dating back the past forty years for any sign of a Nick Mills who had joined the military or the intelligence arm.

On a standard workstation, the operation would take weeks; on this beast, it could be done in hours, assuming preventative actions had not been taken.

---

Mara Fulton's apartment

Nadia and Mara were busy talking about the situation in the government; both were sick of the whole Defense Ministry upheaval. They would let the Justice Ministry and Foreign Ministry handle the mess.

"The Fordies are getting antsy along the border," said Nadia. "I certainly hope our defenses are up to the job."

"Yeah," said Mara. "They'll have a job getting through the borders, we've got wire nets, landmines, hidden SAM nests, about four different kinds of tank, arty up the kazoo... all kinds of trenches and crap. They get past that... well, things get interesting," she said. "Let's just say we've trained up a bit since we fought the Doomies."

"The Senate isn't so confident," replied Nadia. "Rumor has it they're talking about a senatus consultum ultimum." A senatus consultum ultimum, or "final decree of the Senate," authorized the Senate, during times of war, to appoint a general as "Supreme General" for three months, or the duration of the war, whichever was shortest. The Supreme General had nearly dictatorial powers during the war, but could be prosecuted for any war crimes or detrimental acts while in that office after the term.

During the term of a S.C.U. the civilian government left the country and the Supreme General appointed a cabinet to temporarily perform the duties of the civilian Cabinet. Basically, a S.C.U. was the declaration by the Senate of martial law. Only during a S.C.U. were Kahanistan's Civil Internal Defense Groups, or CIDG's (pronounced, "cidjis"), activated. These were civilians who had signed on to take up arms in a semi-organized manner to fight in the event of an invasion, rather than the unorganized mobs who had fought in the Freekish war and been slaughtered at ratios of over 1,000 to 1 against the Sentinels.

However, discipline, training, and promotion standards varied widely among the CIDG. While some of their commanders were the equals of the finest Doomani generals, others were merely gang leaders in uniform who met minimal training standards. They were also over-reliant on infantry, and did not often have top-of-the-line kit. When they did have armored vehicles, they were often M2 Bradleys or Merkava III tanks. A typical CIDG was armed with an FN FAL, Interceptor body armor, a Beretta M9, steel helmet, gas mask, and Swiss Army knife. Many brought their own weapons, or purchased foreign ones, often on the black market.

During peacetime, CIDG members were civilians. They worked at civilian jobs, went to university, looked after their children, or lived in peaceful retirement.

"Well, at least Malakov won't be around to kick the Catholics out during the S.C.U.," said Mara. "But your mother's a CIDG officer, isn't she?"

Nadia nodded. Katriana was indeed a lieutenant commander in the CIDG, serving as a battalion commander. Her husband, Nadia's father, had been the battalion commander, but he disappeared in the Doomani occupation and was believed dead. Katriana had taken over de facto command, and was considered one of the better commanders.

"The CIDG won't be activated unless the city itself comes under attack," said Nadia. "We should be able to repel the enemy before it comes to that."

"Does she know that the Senate might call up the CIDG?" asked Mara.

Nadia nodded grimly. "She knows. She knew that when she and my father got together and decided to form a CIDG unit during the Pwnage war."

"Moltke", Canadstein

Malakov would still have no idea that the Canadsteinian were involved with this whole plot. At all times his transporting team was ordered to wear ski masks and military camo pants and jackets. They were suppose to dress up like they were terrorist. Malakov would probably think that he was relocated to a new base.

A lone man entered and looked at Malakov through his ski mask.

---

No information of Nick Mills would exist. Once becoming an agent with the CIA all public information was to be destroyed. This was to prevent the murder of any family member of an agent. They were virtually a citizen of no country, but swore to be loyal to the Canadstein government.

Unknown Base

Malakov looked up and spoke to the man in the ski mask.

"What is your intention with me?"

---

National Police HQ

Lt. Mohammed shook his head. "We can't find anything on him," he said after eight hours of searching and double-searching every public record in Canadstein.

Commander Collins nodded. "Well, we know it's an alias, there's no Nick Mills in all of three billion and some people in Canadstein."

"Either that or he's not a native, he became a citizen later in life," said the cyberneticist. "We'll have to ask General Kaselev for permission to attempt a search of the Canadsteinian central records, the civilian police don't have that kind of authority."

The commander hated having to bring the military into the civilian police operation. But he had no real choice: Kahanistanian law prohibited the civil police from any action that might risk an international incident.

"Call him up."

---

Within an hour, a tall, muscular man in his late 30's, with short dark hair, numerous scars and burns, and an intimidating black uniform adorned with medals, entered the station.

"We don't have the facilities here... we'd have to use a military-grade mainframe to even have a chance at getting into the Canadsteinian Intelligence archive," said General Igor Kaselev.

"Whatever you say, General," said Collins. He wasn't going to give up the search, but his mainframe just wasn't big enough.

"Of course, the military police will want to supervise this mission. Should you find anything compromising the Canadsteinian government, report it to me. The military will take care of it from there."

Kaselev led the two other men to his car, where he drove to the Defense Ministry and its vastly superior mainframes, which were geared for breaking deep encryptions. Simple codes could be broken in minutes, but deeper encryptions would often take weeks to get through. On the National Police mainframe the operation would have taken 20 years.

---

Nadia Sklenova's apartment

Nadia had returned home. Mara was going to some kind of ball in Cazelia and didn't know when she'd be back. The apartment was now swarming with police, probably a dozen she had seen on her floor.

She sat down on her bed and lay back, the baby pressing down on her stomach. Nadia looked up at the ceiling, holding her full stomach and going into deep thought about what would happen in the next few days. She wasn't likely to become a casualty of war now that she was merely a flight instructor, albeit a military one. Her mother, on the other hand, would be in the middle of the action if the city were breached. While a battalion commander, she was also 70 years old and not able to move as fast as she used to.

If. Metzuda was one of the most fortified cities in the world, sown with land mines, tank traps, trenches, mobile artillery defenses, and heavy tanks (Kahanistan had obtained production rights for DMG's Behemoth II HBT) as well as surface-to-air missiles, mobile AA and flak cannons, and whispers circulated of even more dangerous armaments...

"Moltke", Canadstein

The man looked puzzled at Malakov for a second. Then he started to pace around the room. Abruptly he stopped and turned back at Malakov. He stared straight at him.

"Do you know why you are here General?" the man replied in a monotone voice.

---

The police would simply never find this elusive "Nick Mills". They had guessed wrong that his name was an alias. Actually it was real name, but the Canadstein government had no record of him. So Mr. Paget had told the true, from the information he knew. Nick was a man without a country, but was ready to die for one.

Malakov nodded. "You are opposed to my policies regarding the Catholics in Kahanistan, and accuse me of framing General Kasagawa."

"What do you want to do with me here?"

---

"Well, go for it," said Kaselev. He pulled up a chair next to the Defense Ministry mainframe, allowing Lt. Mohammed and Commander Collins to use it to attempt entry into the Canadsteinian Intelligence database, looking for Nick.

Kaselev wasn't sure that it was an alias, but he knew that something fishy was up. It was either an alias, or his birth records were in another country, assuming he was not a native.

When he found Nick, he would detail a unit of the Special Combat Service to grab him. The computer began doing its dirty work...

---

That morning, Nadia went to her mother's apartment. She had to see her before war broke out. Nadia knocked on the door. She was dressed casually, a loose-fitting T-shirt and baggy trousers under her favorite leather jacket.

Katriana answered the door, a large gray kitten in her arms. She was wearing a thick sweater and baggy trousers. 100-pound women do not retain body heat very well, especially if they're also 70 years old. She kissed her daughter gently and motioned to her spare rocker. It had been her husband's, and she kept it in case he was still alive after having fought with the insurgents in the Negev.

Nadia smiled sadly and kissed her mother on the cheek, then sat next to her in her father's rocker.

"How are you?" asked Katriana, handing Nadia her kitten. She picked up another that had been sniffing at her legs. "You never come to see me unless something's bothering you."

"So many things..." Nadia replied. "I'm worried about the situation with the Fordies. About if they'll invade, and what they'll do."

"Nadia... they won't attack civilian populations. The war probably won't even involve the CIDG, even if a S.C.U. is approved. That even assumes a war breaks out. We'll probably sit on the sidelines, we don't have the military to throw around in that kind of a war. The only way the CIDG would be involved is if civilian populations here are attacked."

This was very relieving to Nadia. She hugged her mother tightly.

"Something tells me that you aren't just worried about me," said Katriana, stroking her other kitten. "How is the situation in the Defense Ministry going?"

"Not well," said Nadia. This was what she wanted to talk to her mother about so badly. "My apartment is under police guard, I gave information to the National Police about Malakov's disappearance. Their commander was really nice, he took me out for Chinese. He doesn't seem to be having a lot of success, he emailed me last night to say he was talking to General Kaselev about using the military's mainframe to steal Canadsteinian secrets."

"So Canadstein is responsible," said Katriana. "I should have known. I won't miss Malakov if he turns up in the desert somewhere... but I'll be there for you if you need me," she added hastily, noticing Nadia's shocked expression.

"Personally, I think General Rakhmadi is worse. She openly said on TV last night that Catholics have to be 'watched.' She'll bring this country to ruin," Katriana finished.

Nadia held her mother's hand with one hand and stroked the kitten with the other. She had never had a kitten as a girl. It calmed her to stroke the kitten and hear it purr. Maybe this was why her mother had four or five of them around.

"We know that you framed her, so cut the bull." replied the man as he looked at Malakov. "We want you here to stop you from killing any Catholics. You truly are a monster. Can't we just live in peace? But you want to shatter all of that. I for one have had enough of these silly wars. So people have died for worthless causes it is pathetic. They have died for nothing, but mere land. Do you believe that land has to be soaked with blood of the innocent?"

---

A mysterious man arrived at the Metzuda. The man was a Canadstein agent, who was not a government mission but a personal one. He felt that he still had something to finish in this city. This man had booked and taken one of the many flights to this city. Now he was finally here. As he walked out of the airport, slowly his bowler hat came off from his head. Everything that he had left here was starting to tear him apart. His moral dilemma was growing worse each day. He knew that if he did not resolve everything here, then he would surely die inside.

The man sat down a nearby and looked up toward the sky. Now was his chance to at least make a difference. He was a wanted man, and waited for the police to finally recognize who he was.

He looked at his watch and wondered how long it take for them to come. He set his bowler hat in his lap, and set the suitcase to his side. A sigh was released and the man tried to relax.

"I don't want to kill anyone," Malakov said coldly. "At best, the Catholics of Kahanistan would be deported. Preferably to Doomingsland, but any country that will take them is fine with me, as long as they get out of my country and don't act as some fifth column for the Doomani."

"I've had enough of these wars, too. I want to retire in peace and spend the next 30 or so years in peace. Kahanistan has not waged a major offensive war since we intervened in ViZion, and the wars since have been purely defensive engagements, responses to invasions by Kraven, Doomingsland, and now Northford. I want to make Kahanistan strong, so we will never be invaded again."

---

Commander Adrian Collins stepped out of the Ministry while Kaselev was still figuring how long his mainframe would take to break into the Canadstein Intelligence database to look for Nick. As he stepped out, heading for the corner shop to buy beer and maybe a bouquet of flowers for Nadia, he saw a vaguely familiar Canadsteinian man sitting on the street...

The Canadsteinian was approached by a Kahanistanian police officer with short strawberry blond hair and green eyes, a muscular frame, and Commander rank insignia. His name tag read "Collins, A." He appeared to be in his 30's, and quite friendly.

"Hello," said the officer. "Can I help you?" He knew there was something fishy here, but he wanted to make sure this was the right guy.

"What have the Catholics done to you? Nothing. Is this some kind of personal vendetta?" The man said as he paced around Malakov. "If you do get rid of the Catholics, then a civil war might commence. To many Catholics this is their homeland and they will fight to insure that their children live here. Do you want that to happen Iosif? Your hands will be stained with the blood of the innocent."

The man stopped directly in front of Malakov.

---

The man picked up his bowler hat and put atop his head again. The shadow of the hat crossed the man's face, making it impossible to see the man. He looked up and back toward his watch. Just the people he wanted, but it had taken thirty minutes for this to happen. The man read Collins; name tag and also caught sight of his insignia.

The men looked up quietly with a blank stare, but his hand moved up toward his beard, which was covered by the shadow. Obliviously the man had not shaved in days, but Collins could not see that.

"Yes...I am seeking a certain General Sklenova...Do you know I can find her Commander Collins." The man slowly replied as the words rolled off his tongue.

"This is a matter of national security. The Catholics have collaborated with the Doomani to destroy Kahanistan before. If they are removed from this country, it will prevent a civil war, not cause one. As long as they remain here, and the people grow to hate them, the seeds of strife will grow."

Malakov honestly seemed to believe what he was saying. He feared the Catholics were a threat to Kahanistan because the Doomani were Catholics and they were the greatest threat Kahanistan had ever faced.

---

"General Sklenova... I know who she is," said the officer. "Commander Adrian Collins." He extended his hand, but did not take his eyes off the tramp.

"I know where she can be found, yes," said the commander. He didn't want to give away her location, as he was trying to protect her from retaliation by the Canadsteinian government.

"First, I'd have to know who you are."

"How do you know that Iosif?" The man simply stated.

---

The man lowered his head and just stared at the hand. He shook his head and looked back up toward Collins. His eyes looked straight into Collins'. Something did not feel right.

"Why do you have to know? Why can't you just tell me where General Sklenova?" replied the man. His patience was starting to wear away. This police officer better tell him soon...

"Because we will remove the force who would start the civil war," said Malakov calmly. "No Catholics, no fifth column, we have a united front against the Doomani."

---

Collins shook his head. For all he knew, this man could be an agent sent to murder General Sklenova. He couldn't let that happen.

On the other hand, saying as much would be an admission that she had given information to them. He didn't want to do that, either. He'd already talked too much in admitting he knew where she was.

"There are people she wishes to avoid," said the commander. "Such a pretty woman... she probably has stalkers everywhere from Allanea to Zukariaa."

"Fine. Believe what you want to believe. There is nothing we can do to change you, but we can do something to stop you. Good day Iosif. I hope the remaining days of your life are not too brutal." The man stated with a grin on his face.

He walked back out the door and took the ski mask off. His face was covered in sweat. He leaned up against the wall and stared down the hallway.

---

Since Commander Collins was not going to cooperate there was no point talking with him any longer. Mystery man stood up and faced the police officer. The shadow retreated on his face and revealed part of it. The man was smiling.

"Do you know who I am? Well it seems you don't. I am a wanted criminal in this country. I successful escaped from this country, but I returned for some reason. My crime has been tearing me apart." the man stated. "So what are you going to do Mr. Collins. Arrest me? Go ahead..."

Malakov shook his head. They were not going to get through to him, and he wasn't going to get through to them. Well, when the invasion took a turn for the worse, they would beg his mercy and ask him to deliver them from the evil Catholics.

---

"Well, what did you do?" asked the commander. "I've got some unsolved crimes on file, any information you can give me would be useful." He was wary of accepting hoax confessions ever since the police raided a church that someone had claimed Malakov's body was hidden in.

Through the one way window a man was sitting at a control panel. He retrieved a cd from his bag, and inserted it into a slot. Then he pushed one of the numerous buttons on the control panel.

Inside Malakov's cell music started to play through the medium size speaker. A person who loved classical music could instantly tell that the piece was 1812 Overture. The man nodded with approval as he recognized the piece.. He picked up a book and quietly started to read.


---

The man was taking back that this police officer had done really nothing. In most countries he would have already been handcuffed and in vehicle heading toward a jail. The man shook his head at Collins. He had told the truth, but obviously this cop did not believe him.

The turn around and now his back faced the cop. His head turned to its side. He then stated. "I guess it is really hard to get arrested around here. But good day to you, Mr. Collins."

His bowler hat came off and was tipped toward Collins' direction. It returned to its rightful place, then the man's head turned to its original position. He continued to walk and did not look back.

Malakov preferred rock music of his youth, 60's rock and roll, but did not seem put off by the Overture. He sat back in his corner and waited for the situation to get so bad that they would have no choice but to release him.

---

Collins thought he recognized the man's face. He radioed for backup.

"Says he committed some crime, but won't say what it is. I'd like someone to tail him, get evidence. I have a feeling he's foreign, it might have something to do with an unsolved case. I'm about two blocks north of the Defense Ministry."

He followed the man, waiting for his backup to arrive so he could get this man's statement and find out if he was running a hoax or if he had something to do with the unsolved pack rapes of Catholic girls, or the firebombing of a Jewish center, or even the disappearance of General Malakov.

The man could feel the presence of someone following him. He had just scored a direct hit. After the simple exchange of words this cop must have been suspicious now of him. Walking down the street he stopped and looked at his watch. It was starting to get late, so he hoped that the police would bring him in soon.

Within five minutes the backup was there. He was a large black man, about 6'7" and weighing almost 400 pounds, on a police motorcycle.

"This your perp, Commander?" asked the man.

Collins nodded. "I think he's got something to do with an unsolved crime, but take his word with a grain of salt until we get evidence."

The large man looked down at the Canadsteinian. "Come with us, we'll take your statement at the National Police station."

"He wanted to talk to General Sklenova," said Collins. "I'll call her, and ask her if she wants to come along." Guess the flowers will have to wait...